What is the death agony? And how does the deceased know that the Angel of Death has come to him? And is it true that a disobedient believer is tormented on any day he dies, even Friday, and then the torment is lifted from him until the Day of Resurrection?

Al-Ihtidhar (the throes of death) is the onset of the preliminaries of death and the nearing of one's end. It may be defined as the soul's nearing departure from the lower extremities and the rattling in the throat. From this comes the Almighty's saying: "But repentance is not for those who continue to do evil deeds until, when death approaches one of them, he says, 'Indeed, I have repented now.'"