Saturday 21 Oct 2017
Chapter of Prayer: Funeral Prayer
- Hadith of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), narrated that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said “the soul of a believer is hanging upon its debt until that debt is paid off on behalf of him” [Ahmed]
- If someone dies and they have a debt, the debt should be paid
- This can be done through the wealth they have left behind
- If the deceased was poor and had no wealth left behind then his family should pay on his behalf
- If the family has no wealth then his relatives,
- if none of them can do it then any of the Muslims can pay his debt. This is because this hadith indicates that the soul of the deceased is held/stuck, cannot progress into paradise until this issue is settled
- from amongst the things the messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) used to place importance was this issue of the debt of the dead. He would ask about it and pay the debt of the deceased
- The hadith indicates that a person will not get into paradise until the debts are paid
- Debt is amongst the rights of the people and must be either paid back or the debtor has to waive it
- NOTE: the above here is regarding a halal loan/debt. If the issue is concerning stolen money which isn’t repaid then this is more serious issue. The rights of the people are an important matter and their rights should be returned and should be done quickly
- Narration of Ibn Abbas about the Sahabah who died in Hajj. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said “wash him with water and Sidr and shroud him in two garments”, and in another narration “shroud him in his garments”, and to not put any fragrance upon him, and to not cover his head because he will be raised on the day of resurrection making the Talbiyah, [Bukhari and Muslim]. We learn from this hadith:
- The obligation to wash the deceased and to used camphor, soap etc. Shampoo and other cleaning products are permissible but camphor is better as it was used by the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)
- To shroud the body is also an obligation. Shrouding is a priority and any money the deceased may have had should be used to ensure he has a shroud before inheritance or debt is considered
- The burial is also an obligation and likewise the wealth of the deceased should be used to cover this before inheritance or debt is considered
- Issue 1: should the special funeral cars be used (the long estate cars with large window)? Shaykh Al-Albaani states this is an imitation of the practices of the non-Muslims and Muslims should not do this.
- Overall: The cost of the washing, shrouding and burial of the deceased should be covered as a priority before debt, will etc inheritance.
- Question from one of the children: If someone dies in a country and no one prays the Janaazah what happens (Example of Artic explorer!).
- Death does not cut off the state of Ihram#
- Issue 2: if someone dies in hajj must his family finish his hajj for him as a substitute?
- Issue 3: The dead muhrim should be kept away from what a living muhrim is kept from such as fragrances.
- Hadith from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), when the prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) died, the ones who washed him were Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Abbas his uncle, Fadl Ibn Abbas, ‘Usama Ibn Zaid, Quthan Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them all). The one who performed the washing was Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and the others were helping. They said “By Allah we do not know, shall we remove the garments of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) just like we remove the garments of [any] of our dead or not [i.e. to wash him with his garments]?” out of respect for him. Whilst they were in this situation Allah placed them in a sleep and they heard a voice saying, “wash the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) with his garments” and so they poured water upon his body and scrubbed over his garments. This hadith shows that:
- Normally the garments are to be removed however this occasion specific to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)
- Washing is to be done in a secluded area and only the ones washing should be present
- From Umm ‘Atiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) who said “The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) came in and we (the women) were washing his daughter (most likely Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her) [Note all the children of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) died before him except Fatima (may Allah be pleased with them all)] and he said wash her three times or five times or more than that if you see fit with water and Sidr and make the last with Camphor” and in another narration “We washed her an odd number of times, i. e. three, five or seven times; and Umm ‘Atiyya (further) said: We braided her hair in three plaits.”[Bukhari and Muslim]. He (صلى الله عليه وسلم) also gave his own izaar (cloth) to them to rub onto her skin for barakah (blessing). We learn from this hadith:
- Washing should be done by same gender (see lesson 39)
- The deceased is washed multiple washing. However, one is minimum, although greater amount, especially odd numbers is better. Washing should not be done more than 7 times unless there is a necessity.
- The person in charge of the washing is left to decide how many times to wash.
- The act of giving his izaar was for blessing and is specific to the Prophet , none of the sahabah did this themselves. This shows the prophet’s belongings had blessing within them and no one else is to attempt to claim that for themselves.
- Note: We see many people (e.g. sufi) these days saying “We have some hair/cloth/sandals etc. of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) for barakah” the scholars have said all these stories are untrue/made up unless they can be proven beyond any doubt. Many people make up such fabrications to attract attention.
- Q&A:
- If someone has a large amount of debt that the community cannot be paid what should be done?
- If the deceased was poor, can zakah be used to pay the debt?
- Homework: find a picture of “Sidr” and “Kaafuur”/Camphor which are fragrances
NEXT WEEK Insha Allah: lessons continue