Advice from Habib Muhammad al-Haddar (may Allah have mercy on him and benefit us by him).
Make your grave the most important thing, for the day on which you are placed in your grave is the hardest day, the day on which you are most in need. For this reason some scholars were of the opinion that it is obligatory to seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of the grave in every prayer. Among them was Imam Ta’us al-San`ani, the student of Sayyiduna `Abdullah Ibn `Abbas. One day he asked his son if he had sought refuge from the punishment of the grave in his prayer. When his son said no, he told him to repeat his prayer. The Prophet himself sought refuge from it, so why do we not do so? He taught us to say:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عَذَابِ جَهَنَّمَ و مِنْ عَذَابِ القَبْرِ و مِنْ شَرِّ فِتْنَةِ المَحْيا و المَمَات و مِنْ شَرِّ فِتْنَةِ المَسِيحِ الدَّجَّال
O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of the Hell-Fire, the punishment of the grave, the tribulations of life and death and the tribulation of al-Masih al-Dajjal.
[Image: from right to left – Habib Abd al-Qadir al-Saqqaf, Habib Hasan al-Shatiri and Habib Muhammad al-Haddar]