Summary of Fiqh #45: Making Duā for the Deceased, the Funeral Procession, and the reward of taking part in the funeral

Saturday 18 NOV 2017

Chapter of Prayer: Funeral Prayer

Lesson 45: Making Duā for the Deceased, the Funeral Procession, and the reward of taking part in the funeral

  • Recap of last lesson (44)
  • Hadith of ‘Auf Ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him): “The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) offered the funeral prayer, and I memorised this supplication (that he said for the deceased) “O Allāh! Forgive him and have mercy on him (or her). Grant him ease and respite. Make his resting place a noble one, and facilitate his entry. Wash him with the most pure and clean water, snow and hail. Purify him from sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. Give him in exchange a home better than his home (on earth) and a family better than his family. Grant him entrance to Paradise and protect him from the trails of the grave and the torture of Hell Fire”” [Related by Muslim]
    • This indicates there are 5 pillars to the funeral prayer
      • The takbīrāt (opening takbīr and 3 more, see Lesson 38 for how to do this)
      • recitation of the Fātihah,
      • sending salutation upon the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)
      • Duā for the deceased
      • To give the salām
    • There are also some conditions of the funeral prayer (See Lesson 38 for more)
      • Intention
      • That the deceased and those praying over him/her are Muslim
      • Must be performed upon purification (as standard for normal prayer)
      • The conditions that apply to general prayers also apply here to the funeral prayer (e.g. facing the qibla, covering the private parts etc)
      • Issue? Can the Janāzah be performed during prohibited times e.g. after Asr but before maghrib?
    • Hadith of Abū Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allāh (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said “If you offer the funeral prayer for a deceased person, supplicate Allāh sincerely for him” [Related by Abū Dāwūd]
    • Hadith of Abū Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said “Hurry up when you carry the dead body (the Janāzah), for if the deceased is righteous, you would be taking it to something better, and if he or she is an evil person, then you will be getting him or her off your necks.” [Agreed upon]
      • There are only two possibilities for the deceased:
        • If he/she was good and righteous then burying them quickly will allow them to be amongst the blessings of the grave
        • If he/she was evil then burying them will remove the harm of having them among the people
      • Walking slowly in a procession (like in some cultures) is not permissible
      • The hadith may have two meanings, either to walk quickly with the body when burying them or to make the entire process quickly (e.g. all of it such as washing etc)
      • There may be necessary reasons for delay in burial such as identifying the body, to establish if the person has actually died/to confirm death, if the close relatives haven’t arrived then a small delay may be applied. Generally speaking the process should be quick and not delayed unnecessarily

  • Hadith of Abū Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said “Whoever accompanies the funeral (the dead body) until he performs the funeral prayer will have a reward equal to (one Qirāt), and whoever accompanies the burial procession, will be doubly awarded (two Qirāt).” Then they asked, “What is meant by the two Qirāt?” He (صلى الله عليه وسلم) replied, “Like two huge mountains” [Agreed upon]. Muslim added the statement “until it is buried”
    • This hadith indicates the virtue and the reward of praying the funeral prayer and going to the grave for the burial
    • There are 3 levels of reward regarding
      • A person just prays, this is the least a person can do
      • A person preys and does the burial
      • A person prays and does the burial, then stays for a while and makes supplication to Allah for the deceased that Allah forgives them, has mercy on them, and strengthens them. This is the most complete level of reward
      • Question: What if you go to the funeral/burial and people are doing innovations (e.g. making adhān, putting leaves into the grave, making dua in congregation, etc)? what should you do?
    • Hadith of Sālim (may Allah be pleased with him) who narrated on the authority of his father (Abdullāh Ibn Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him)) that he (i.e. his father Ibn Umar) saw the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم), Abū Bakr and ‘Umar walking in front of a Funeral [Related by the five Imams, and Ibn Hibbān rendered it sahih]
      • This indicates the permissibility of walking ahead of the body when taking it to the grave
      • People who are on riding animals should ideally be behind the body, not to ride the animal in front. However, this is
      • Question: What if a child (by default classified as a Muslim), who was raised by non-Muslim parents, dies and the Muslims have to do the burial?
    • Hadith of Umm ‘Aţiyah (may Allah be pleased with her): “We were forbidden to accompany funeral processions, but this prohibition was not mandatory for us” [Agreed upon]
      • This hadith indicates that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) prohibited the women from following the funeral procession to the grave
      • The hadith also states this was not a strict prohibition, which indicates that it is more makrūh (disliked) than harām (prohibited). However, Shaikh Sālih Al-Fawzān says her statement that it was not a strict prohibition was Umm ‘Aţiyah own understanding as this was an addition. There is a difference of opinion. The majority of the scholars have the opinion that it is prohibited for the women to follow the funeral procession.
      • Issue: are women allowed to go to the grave yards? = Yes, however this should not be done often/regularly. There is a hadith that the curse of Allah is upon the women who frequently go to the grave yards. Therefore, there is a difference of opinion among the scholars in this regard, two main opinions.
        • Opinion 1: Women should not go to the grave yards at all
        • Opinion 2: Women may go to the graves but this should not be regularly. This is the opinion of Shaykh Al-Albāni, Shaykh Muhsin Al-Abbād and others.
        • Note: it is important to also consider the emotional impact of visiting the grave, e.g. will she come to harm as a result of emotional stress? Other general considerations are standard ones such as appropriate, modest clothing etc.
      • Hadith of Abū Sa’īd (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said “Stand up when you see a funeral procession, and he who accompanies it should not sit down until the coffin is placed on the ground” [Agreed upon]
        • This indicates that one must stand when the funeral procession if it passes by you. If you weren’t following the procession then after it has passed you may sit down etc. However, this part of the hadith has been abrogated. Initially the above was the ruling, however later the ruling changed and this is no longer required.
        • The hadith also indicates that if you are part of the procession itself then you should not sit down until the deceased is put down on the ground, this has not been abrogated and is still the case
        • Question: what if you follow the procession in a car?
      • Hadith of Abū Ishāq that Abdullāh Ibn Yazīd placed a dead body in the grave from the side near the foot of the grave (i.e. the end which will accommodate the feet when the body is placed in it). He then said, “This is the Sunnah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)” [Related by Abū Dāwūd]
        • Note: it is the sunnah that the head of the deceased is placed first from the side of the foot of the grave, but if it is not easy to do so, then the body could be placed in the grave from any side
        • There are various narration regarding what part should be lowered first into the grave; the feet, the head, the side. All of them are permissible
      • Hadith of ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): “Breaking a deceased body’s bones is exactly like breaking them when he is alive” [Related by Abū Dāwūd in accordance with the conditions of Muslim]
        • This hadith shows us the respect which we must show to the dead and that the dead can also feel
        • NOTE: breaking a living person’s bone has repercussions legally, but not for the deceased. It is the respect one has which should prevent him/her from doing such things
        • NOTE: it is also not permissible to step on the graves or sit on the graves.
      • Q&A
        • Does the deceased hear the Duā made for them?

 

NOTE: NEXT WEEK LESSON CANCELLED DUE TO CARDIFF CONFERENCE, the week after that we are back insha Allah