Summary of Fiqh #43: Washing of Deceased by Spouse, The Narration of the Woman from Ghamid, Janaazah after burial

Saturday 4 NOV 2017

Chapter of Prayer: Funeral Prayer

Washing of Deceased by Spouse, The Narration of the Woman from Ghamid, Janaazah after burial

[Going through Hadith from Buluughul Maraam]

  • Narration from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said “If you die before me then I would do the washing of you” [Narrated by Ahmed, Ibn Majah and was authenticated by Ibn Hibbaan]
  • Hadith of Asmaa bint Umays (may Allah be pleased with her) that Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her) stated in her will that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), her husband, should do the washing if she died.
    • Both above hadith show that a spouse can wash the body of the deceased partner (e.g. a husband can wash the body of his deceased wife and vice versa)
    • Except for the spouses, no man can wash the body of a deceased woman and neither can any woman wash the body of a man regardless of how close the relation is
    • NOTE: for a small child (a boy or girl under the age of 3-4 years) then either a men or women may wash them. However, some scholars say children should not be an exception.
    • A
  • The hadith of Buraida (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated the story of the woman from the Ghamid tribe who committed fornication. [Summarised] She was a woman who repented to Allah and regretted the sin and sought forgiveness. However, she knew the punishment was stoning so she came to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) to ask for the penalty [NOTE: having a prescribed penalty applied in this world purifies the person, absolves the sin and removes punishment in the hereafter]. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did not turn to look towards her or listen to her. Then she came another time and again the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did not listen to her, then she came a third and fourth time and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was informed that she doesn’t have intellect, however when he asked her she was competent and said she was pregnant. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said to her “Go until you give birth” so she went. Then when she had given birth (several months later) she came back and asked for the penalty. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said to her “Go back and breast feed your child” then she went and breast fed him. She returned two years later, again asking for the penalty, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) asked for the child to be taken care of and made the decision to apply the penalty. She was stoned and died, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) himself prayed the funeral prayer upon her and she buried with the Muslims (may Allah be pleased with her). It was said to him why did he pray the funeral prayer upon someone who committed a major sin, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)  said “Indeed she made a repentance, (such was the sincerity) that if that repentance was shared amongst the people of Madinah it would be enough for them”. [Recorded by Muslim and others]. (NOTE: this narration is similar to the story of Ma’iz bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him))
    • Point 1: If a Muslim dies due to an Islamic penalty then they are to be prayed upon
    • Point 2: A Muslims is still a Muslim despite committing a major sin
    • Such a person, where the penalty has been established, is to be prayed over, buried with the Muslim
    • Point 3: This is a refutation of the khawarij who declare Muslims to be disbelievers due to committing a major sin. Muslims are within the fold of Islam as long as they do not commit shirk -associating partners with Allah (however committing a sin without repenting may earn a person a stay in hell for a certain while)

  • Hadith of Jabir ibn Samura (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man killed himself with a spear, so the prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did not pray over him [Muslim]
    • Point 1: Suicide is severely condemned in the Quran and Sunnah (it is a Major sin), a Muslim should never kill themselves regardless of how difficult a situation is
    • Point 2: The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did not pray over him to indicate to the people how severe this sin is. NOTE: this does not mean no one prayed the Janaazah prayer at all, rather it is only the people of authority/respect that should not pray over such a person in order to make it clear to everyone the severity of the act,
    • Point 3: following on from the above, however, the rest of the community of Muslims in that area should pray over him as the Janaazah is a fard-kifaayah (a collective duty) and should not be abandoned.
    • Point 4: There is another hadith that indicates the severity of committing suicide that whoever kills himself with a certain method (e.g. a blade, poison etc) then in the hellfire he will continuously be doing that [Bukhari and Muslim]
    • NOTE: eventually a Muslim that kills themselves, after length of time in Hell, will eventually go to paradise as they did not commit shirk and so do not stay in hell forever
  • Hadith of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the woman who used to sweep the Prophet’s mosque and clean it, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) asked about her and was told by the companions that she had passed away, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)said “Why did you not inform me?” [it appears the rest of the companions didn’t think it was necessary to tell him, some narrations mention she passed away at night] and he asked, “show me her grave” and so they did. He prayed the funeral prayer over her grave and said, “These graves are filled with darkness upon their inhabitants and Allah enlightens them if I pray upon them”. [Bukhari and Muslim].
    • Point 1: The virtue of keeping the mosque clean
    • Point 2: The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) used to place importance and give concern to the community, that he noticed when she became absent. This shows his humbleness, modesty and mercy that he asked about her
    • Point 3: it is permissible to pray the Janaazah prayer at the grave, for example if someone missed the Janaazah prayer then he can go to the grave and pray it there. There were many instances and narrations of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) praying the Janaazah prayer upon the graves of Muslims who died while he was away. NOTE: three reasons for praying at grave are mentioned.
      • That you missed Janaazah prayer prior to burial and so you go to the grave to offer it
      • That you already prayed but see others who missed it offering janaazah at the grave and you join them (you should not lead however)
      • 3 if you are asked to lead a Janaazah prayer at the grave.
    • ISSUE: is there a time limit for going to pray at the grave of someone who ou missed the Janaaxah for (e.g. years later)? = Scholars have differed over this issue, Imam Ahmed says the maximum which has been narrated is 1 month, other scholars say it is unlimited as there is nothing in the sunnah which indicates a restriction. Shaykh Fawzaan says the stronger opinion is that it is unlimited as there is no restriction mentioned in the sunnah.
    • Point 4: It is specific to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that the graves would be enlightened by Allah when he prays over them, it is not right for anyone else to claim they can also do that
    • NOTE: tombstones are impermissible in Islam, during the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) simple means such as some rocks would be used to identify where a grave is.

 

NEXT WEEK Insha Allah: Last lesson on Funeral Prayer insha Allah