Said by: Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (as)
Status: ⚠️ To be checked — the Arabic wording and meaning are reported with a chain reaching back to al-Kulayni's Al-Kafi (see Imam Khomeini, Forty Hadith, Twenty-Eighth Hadith), but the exact Al-Kafi volume, chapter and Hadith number have not been confirmed against the printed book for this draft.
Reference: Al-Kafi (Shaykh al-Kulayni) — [volume, chapter and Hadith number — to be verified]
Arabic — core saying (excerpt):
مَنْ أَحَبَّ لِقَاءَ اللهِ أَحَبَّ اللهُ لِقَاءَهُ، وَمَنْ أَبْغَضَ لِقَاءَ اللهِ أَبْغَضَ اللهُ لِقَاءَهُ
English translation:
"Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him; and whoever hates to meet Allah, Allah hates to meet him." When the narrator said, "By Allah, we dislike death," the Imam (as) explained: "It is not as you imagine. That refers to the moment of seeing (the Hereafter): when the dying person sees what he loves, nothing is dearer to him than going forward to Allah, and Allah loves to meet him. But when he sees what he hates, nothing is more hateful to him than meeting Allah, and Allah hates to meet him."
Explanation: Disliking death in general is not the same as hating to meet Allah — almost everyone dislikes death. What counts is the moment of truth, when the dying believer sees the mercy and Paradise waiting for him: then he longs to go forward, and Allah longs to meet him. A life of faith turns that moment from fear into longing.
Disliking death in general is not the same as hating to meet Allah — almost everyone dislikes death.