FUNERAL RITES & BURIALS
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and to Him shall we returnPlease Call Us Immediately: (216) 676-9177 or (216) 390-3100
We can assist with funeral rites and arrangements.
Helping a dying Person to Pronounce 'La Ilaha Illahllaah'
Imam Al-Nawawi’s Riyad-us-Saliheen
Chapter 150
917. Mu`adh bin Jabal (May Allaah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “He whose last words are: `La ilaha illallaah’ (There is no true god except Allaah) will enter Jannah.”
[Abu Dawud].
918. Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (May Allaah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “Exhort your dying men to recite: `La ilaha illallaah’ (There is no true god except Allaah).”
[Muslim].
Taken from www.abdurrahman.org
Imam Al-Nawawi’s Riyad-us-Saliheen
Chapter 150
917. Mu`adh bin Jabal (May Allaah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “He whose last words are: `La ilaha illallaah’ (There is no true god except Allaah) will enter Jannah.”
[Abu Dawud].
918. Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (May Allaah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “Exhort your dying men to recite: `La ilaha illallaah’ (There is no true god except Allaah).”
[Muslim].
Taken from www.abdurrahman.org
Supplication to be made soon after a Person’s Death
Imam Al-Nawawi’s Riyad-us-Saliheen
Chapter 151
919. Umm Salamah (May Allaah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) visited Abu Salamah (May Allaah be pleased with him) when his eyes were open soon after he died. He closed them (the eyes) for him and said, “When the soul is taken away, the sight follows it.” Some members of his family began to weep. He (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said: “Do not supplicate for yourselves anything but good, for the angels say `amin’ to what you say.” Then he said, “O Allaah! Forgive Abu Salamah, raise his rank among those who are rightly-guided and grant him a successor from his descendants who remain behind. Grant him pardon and us, too. O Rubb of the worlds. Make his grave spacious for him and give him light in it.”
[Muslim].
Taken from www.abdurrahman.org
Imam Al-Nawawi’s Riyad-us-Saliheen
Chapter 151
919. Umm Salamah (May Allaah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) visited Abu Salamah (May Allaah be pleased with him) when his eyes were open soon after he died. He closed them (the eyes) for him and said, “When the soul is taken away, the sight follows it.” Some members of his family began to weep. He (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said: “Do not supplicate for yourselves anything but good, for the angels say `amin’ to what you say.” Then he said, “O Allaah! Forgive Abu Salamah, raise his rank among those who are rightly-guided and grant him a successor from his descendants who remain behind. Grant him pardon and us, too. O Rubb of the worlds. Make his grave spacious for him and give him light in it.”
[Muslim].
Taken from www.abdurrahman.org
The Ruling of crying and wailing over a Dead Person
Imam Al-Nawawi’s Riyad-us-Saliheen
Chapter 153
Wailing is unanimously forbidden (Haram) as will be mentioned later on. There are some Ahadith which forbid us from crying over somebody’s death, and which inform us that the dead will be tormented in their graves as a result of their relatives crying over their death. This prohibition applies only to those cases where crying is accompanied with lamenting and wailing. Weeping without these two is, permissible; and the Ahadith in support of this are many, including the following:
925. Ibn `Umar (May Allaah be pleased with them) reported: The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) visited Sa`d bin `Ubadah during his illness. He was accompanied by `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf, Sa`d bin Abu Waqqas and `Abdullaah bin Mas`ud (May Allaah be pleased with them). The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) began to weep. When his Companions saw this, their tears also started flowing. He (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “Do you not hear, Allaah does not punish for the shedding of tears or the grief of the heart, but punishes or bestows mercy for the utterances of this (and he pointed to his tongue).”
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
926. Usamah bin Zaid (May Allaah be pleased with him) reported: A grandson (child of the daughter) of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) was presented to him while the child was at his last breath. Tears began to flow from the eyes of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam). Sa`d said to him: “What is this, O Messenger of Allaah?’‘ He (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “It is mercy which Allaah has placed in the hearts of his slaves. Allaah bestows His Mercy on the merciful among His slaves.”
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
927. Anas (May Allaah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) came to his son Ibrahim (May Allaah be pleased with him) when he was breathing his last. The eyes of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) began shedding tears. `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf (May Allaah be pleased with him) said, “O Messenger of Allaah, you too weep?” He (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “O Ibn `Auf! It is mercy.” Then he began to weep and said, “The eyes are shedding tears and the heart is grieved, and we will not say except what pleases our Rubb. O Ibrahim! Indeed we are grieved by your departure.”
[Al-Bukhari].
Imam Al-Nawawi’s Riyad-us-Saliheen
Chapter 153
Wailing is unanimously forbidden (Haram) as will be mentioned later on. There are some Ahadith which forbid us from crying over somebody’s death, and which inform us that the dead will be tormented in their graves as a result of their relatives crying over their death. This prohibition applies only to those cases where crying is accompanied with lamenting and wailing. Weeping without these two is, permissible; and the Ahadith in support of this are many, including the following:
925. Ibn `Umar (May Allaah be pleased with them) reported: The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) visited Sa`d bin `Ubadah during his illness. He was accompanied by `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf, Sa`d bin Abu Waqqas and `Abdullaah bin Mas`ud (May Allaah be pleased with them). The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) began to weep. When his Companions saw this, their tears also started flowing. He (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “Do you not hear, Allaah does not punish for the shedding of tears or the grief of the heart, but punishes or bestows mercy for the utterances of this (and he pointed to his tongue).”
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
926. Usamah bin Zaid (May Allaah be pleased with him) reported: A grandson (child of the daughter) of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) was presented to him while the child was at his last breath. Tears began to flow from the eyes of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam). Sa`d said to him: “What is this, O Messenger of Allaah?’‘ He (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “It is mercy which Allaah has placed in the hearts of his slaves. Allaah bestows His Mercy on the merciful among His slaves.”
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
927. Anas (May Allaah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) came to his son Ibrahim (May Allaah be pleased with him) when he was breathing his last. The eyes of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) began shedding tears. `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf (May Allaah be pleased with him) said, “O Messenger of Allaah, you too weep?” He (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “O Ibn `Auf! It is mercy.” Then he began to weep and said, “The eyes are shedding tears and the heart is grieved, and we will not say except what pleases our Rubb. O Ibrahim! Indeed we are grieved by your departure.”
[Al-Bukhari].
Description of the Funeral Prayer
Shaykh ibn Baaz
Q: What is the manner of performing Funeral Prayer?
A: The manner of performing Funeral Prayer is that the Imam (the one who leads congregational Prayer) begins by pronouncing Takbirat-ul-Ihram (saying: “Allahu Akbar [Allah is the Greatest]”) and seeking refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan. He then recites the Basmalah (saying, “Bismillah Al-Rahman, Al-Rahim [In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful]”) and Al-Fatihah (the opening chapter of the Glorious Qur’an, Surah number I). It is desirable that he recites a short Surah after Al-Fatihah, such as Al-Ikhlas or Al-`Asr, or some Ayahs (Qur’anic verses). It was authentically related from the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the Hadith of Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) which indicates this. Then, the Imam should pronounce the second Takbir (saying: “Allahu Akbar [Allah is the Greatest]”) and invoke Allah’s peace upon the Prophet(peace be upon him) in the same manner a person invokes Allah’s peace upon him in the final Tashahhud (a recitation in the sitting position in the second/ last unit of Prayer). The Imam pronounces the third Takbir and supplicates to Allah for the deceased with the well-known supplications (of the Prophet), being attentive to mentioning the correct gender and plural pronouns for multiple funerals. Finally, the Imam pronounces the fourth Takbir followed by a moment of silence and then recites Taslim (salutation of peace ending the Prayer) once to his right only.
As for the opening invocation, there is no harm in either saying it or not. Yet it is better to omit it in accordance with the statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him): Hasten the funeral proceedings…
Q: Would you please explain to us how should the Funeral Prayer be performed as reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him), because many people do not know how it should be performed?
A: The manner of performing Funeral Prayer was demonstrated by the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) as follows: It begins with pronouncing Takbirat-ul-Ihram and seeking refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan. Then, the Imam recites the Basmalah and Al-Fatihah followed by a short Surah or some Ayahs. Then, he pronounces Takbir and invokes Allah’s peace upon the Prophet (peace be upon him) as one does at the end of the Prayer. Then, he pronounces a third Takbir and supplicates to Allah for the deceased.
The best is to say:
O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, those who are present among us and those who are absent, our young and our old, our males and our females. O Allah, whoever You decree to live, let him live in Islam and whoever You cause to die, cause him to die withIman (Faith). O Allah, forgive him and have mercy on him, keep him safe and sound and forgive him, honor the place where he settles and make his entrance wide; wash him with water, snow and hail, and cleanse him of sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. O Allah, give him a house better than his house and a family better than his family. O Allah, admit him to Paradise and protect him from the torment of the grave and the torment of Hell-fire; make his grave spacious and fill it with light. O Allah, do not deprive us of the reward and do not cause us to go astray after this.
All of this was recorded from the Prophet (peace be upon him). If you supplicate to Allah using other words, this is fine. For example, one may say, “O Allah, if he was a doer of good, then increase his good deeds; and if he was a wrongdoer, then forgive his bad deeds. O Allah, forgive him and give him the strength to say the right thing. Then, after a fourth Takbir there is a short pause ending with one Taslim to the right. This was narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him).
It is an act of Sunnah (action following the teachings of the Prophet) that the Imam stands at the head of the body if the deceased is a male and by its middle if it is the body of a female as authentically reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the Hadith of Anas and Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with them both). As for the opinion held by some scholars that it is prescribed in the Sunnah that the Imam stands at the chest of the body if the deceased is a male, this is a weak opinion that has no basis as far as we know. When performing Funeral Prayer, the dead body should be positioned facing the direction of the Qiblah (Ka`bah-direction faced in Prayer), because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: It is the Qiblah (Ka`bah-direction faced in Prayer) of Muslims while living i.e. during Prayer and after death [in the grave]. May Allah grant us success.
Shaykh ibn Baaz
Q: What is the manner of performing Funeral Prayer?
A: The manner of performing Funeral Prayer is that the Imam (the one who leads congregational Prayer) begins by pronouncing Takbirat-ul-Ihram (saying: “Allahu Akbar [Allah is the Greatest]”) and seeking refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan. He then recites the Basmalah (saying, “Bismillah Al-Rahman, Al-Rahim [In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful]”) and Al-Fatihah (the opening chapter of the Glorious Qur’an, Surah number I). It is desirable that he recites a short Surah after Al-Fatihah, such as Al-Ikhlas or Al-`Asr, or some Ayahs (Qur’anic verses). It was authentically related from the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the Hadith of Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) which indicates this. Then, the Imam should pronounce the second Takbir (saying: “Allahu Akbar [Allah is the Greatest]”) and invoke Allah’s peace upon the Prophet(peace be upon him) in the same manner a person invokes Allah’s peace upon him in the final Tashahhud (a recitation in the sitting position in the second/ last unit of Prayer). The Imam pronounces the third Takbir and supplicates to Allah for the deceased with the well-known supplications (of the Prophet), being attentive to mentioning the correct gender and plural pronouns for multiple funerals. Finally, the Imam pronounces the fourth Takbir followed by a moment of silence and then recites Taslim (salutation of peace ending the Prayer) once to his right only.
As for the opening invocation, there is no harm in either saying it or not. Yet it is better to omit it in accordance with the statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him): Hasten the funeral proceedings…
Q: Would you please explain to us how should the Funeral Prayer be performed as reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him), because many people do not know how it should be performed?
A: The manner of performing Funeral Prayer was demonstrated by the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) as follows: It begins with pronouncing Takbirat-ul-Ihram and seeking refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan. Then, the Imam recites the Basmalah and Al-Fatihah followed by a short Surah or some Ayahs. Then, he pronounces Takbir and invokes Allah’s peace upon the Prophet (peace be upon him) as one does at the end of the Prayer. Then, he pronounces a third Takbir and supplicates to Allah for the deceased.
The best is to say:
O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, those who are present among us and those who are absent, our young and our old, our males and our females. O Allah, whoever You decree to live, let him live in Islam and whoever You cause to die, cause him to die withIman (Faith). O Allah, forgive him and have mercy on him, keep him safe and sound and forgive him, honor the place where he settles and make his entrance wide; wash him with water, snow and hail, and cleanse him of sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. O Allah, give him a house better than his house and a family better than his family. O Allah, admit him to Paradise and protect him from the torment of the grave and the torment of Hell-fire; make his grave spacious and fill it with light. O Allah, do not deprive us of the reward and do not cause us to go astray after this.
All of this was recorded from the Prophet (peace be upon him). If you supplicate to Allah using other words, this is fine. For example, one may say, “O Allah, if he was a doer of good, then increase his good deeds; and if he was a wrongdoer, then forgive his bad deeds. O Allah, forgive him and give him the strength to say the right thing. Then, after a fourth Takbir there is a short pause ending with one Taslim to the right. This was narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him).
It is an act of Sunnah (action following the teachings of the Prophet) that the Imam stands at the head of the body if the deceased is a male and by its middle if it is the body of a female as authentically reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the Hadith of Anas and Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with them both). As for the opinion held by some scholars that it is prescribed in the Sunnah that the Imam stands at the chest of the body if the deceased is a male, this is a weak opinion that has no basis as far as we know. When performing Funeral Prayer, the dead body should be positioned facing the direction of the Qiblah (Ka`bah-direction faced in Prayer), because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: It is the Qiblah (Ka`bah-direction faced in Prayer) of Muslims while living i.e. during Prayer and after death [in the grave]. May Allah grant us success.