Welcome to Islam
Accept Islam for your salvation
Live according to Islam for your spiritual progress
may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him
Death and Burial of a Muslim
Better to repent while we are still alive
Narrated Hadrat Shaddad bin Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Holy Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) said: The most superior way of asking for forgiveness from Allah (the Glorified and the Exalted) is that His servant should say:
Allāhumma anta Rabbī
lā ilāha illā Anta
khalaqtanī wa ana ‘abduka
wa ana ‘alā ‘ahdika wa wa‘dika mastata‘tu
a‘ūdhu bika min sharri mā sana‘tu
abū’u laka bi ni‘matika ‘alayya
wa abū’u bi dhanbī
faghfirlī fa innahū lā yaghfirudh-dhunūba illā Anta
The Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) added: If someone recites this during the day with firm faith in it, and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise, and if someone recites it at night with firm faith in it, and dies before the morning, he will be from the people of Paradise. (al-Bukhari)
Translation of the istighfār, known as Sayyid-ul-Istighfār (The Supreme Repentance) is:
O Allāh! You are my Lord.
None is to be worshipped but You
You created me and I am Your servant,
and I am faithful to Your covenant and Your promise as much as I can
I seek refuge with You from the evil I have done.
I acknowledge before You all the blessings You have bestowed upon me,
and I confess to You my sins,
so forgive me for truly nobody can forgive sins except You.
Do not wish for death
Hadrat Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) said: None of you should wish for death, whether a righteous man who perhaps may add to his good deeds or a sinner who perhaps may be repentant. (al-Bukhari)
Do good deeds to prepare for the Hereafter
Hadrat Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) said: When a man dies, angels ask what (good deeds) he sent in advance, and the children of Adam ask what he left behind. (Bayhaqi)
Husn al-Khatima (Felicitous end)
Hadrat Mu‘adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) as saying: “If anyone’s last words are, lā ilāha Illallāh (There is no god but Allah), he will enter Paradise”. (Abu Dawud)
Talqin: encourage the dying to recite “lā ilāha Illallāh”
Hadrat Abu Sa‘id (may Allah be pleased with him) and Hadrat Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) as saying: “Recite to those of you who are dying, lā ilāha Illallāh (There is no god but Allah). (Muslim)
Recite Surah YaaSeen over the dying
Hadrat Ma‘qil bin Yasar al-Muzani (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) as saying: “If anyone recites (Surah) YaaSeen out of a desire for Allah’s favour, his past sins will be forgiven him; so recite it over those of you who are dying.” (Bayhaqi)
Weeping for the dead
Hadrat Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We went with Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) to visit Abu Sayf the smith who was the foster-father of Ibrahim*, and Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) took Ibrahim, kissed him and smelt him. We went to visit him later when Ibrahim was giving up his soul, and tears began to fall from the Prophet’s eyes, whereupon ‘Abd ar-Rahman bin ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him, “You too, Messenger of Allah.” He replied, “Ibn ‘Awf, it is compassion”, then shed more tears and said, “The eye weeps and the heart grieves, but we say only what our Lord is pleased with, and we are grieved over being separated from you, Ibrahim.” (al-Bukhari and Muslim)
· Ibrahim was the Prophet’s son who passed away in infancy.
Sayyidatina ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) kissed Hadrat ‘Uthman bin Maz‘un (may Allah be pleased with him) when he passed away. The Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) was weeping till his tears flowed down upon the face of Hadrat ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him). (Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah)
Close the eyes of the deceased and supplicate for him
Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) relates: The Holy Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) visited Abu Salamah (her husband) whose eyes remained open (after his death), so he closed them and said: When the soul of a person is taken away, the vision of the eye also goes away. Then, Abu Salamah’s family began to lament for him. So he advised them: Do not supplicate for anything for yourselves except that which is good because the angels say “Amin” on your supplication. Then, he prayed: O Allah! Forgive Abu Salamah and enhance his (heavenly) position among those who are properly guided, and make some of his successors to succeed him. Forgive us and him, O Lord of the worlds, and make his grave spacious for him and illuminate it for him. (Muslim)
Lamentation prohibited
Hadrat ‘AbdAllah bin Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) as saying: “He who beats his cheeks, tears the front of his garments, and cries out as people did in pre-Islamic times of Ignorance, does not belong to us.” (al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Speak good about the dead
Hadrat ‘AbdAllāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the Holy Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) as saying: Mention the good qualities of your dead and refrain from mentioning their bad ones. (Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi)
Mourning the dead
Narrated Umm ‘Atiyya (may Allah be pleased with her): We were forbidden to mourn for a dead person for more than three days except in the case of a husband for whom mourning was allowed for four months and ten days. (During that time) we were not allowed to put kohl (antimony eye powder) in our eyes or to use perfumes or to put on coloured clothes except for a dress made of ‘asb (a kind of Yemeni cloth, very coarse and rough). We were allowed very light perfumes at the time of taking a bath after menses and we were also forbidden to go with the funeral procession. (al-Bukhari)
Helping the bereaved
Hadrat ‘AbdAllah bin Ja‘far (may Allah be pleased with him) said that when the news of the death (martyrdom) of (his father) Ja‘far came, the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) said: Prepare food for Ja‘far’s family, for they have heard something which takes up their whole attention. (Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah)
Hasten the burial of the deceased
Hadrat Husayn bin Wahwah (may Allah be pleased with him) related that Hadrat Talha bin al-Bara’ bin ‘Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) fell ill, so the Holy Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) came to him to inquire about his health. (After he left) he said: I see that Talha’s death is imminent. So let me know and make haste (with his funeral), for it is not proper that the dead boy of a Muslim should remain (unnecessarily long) with his family. (Abu Dawud)
Ghusl
Narrated Umm ‘Atiyya al-Ansariyya (may Allah be pleased with her): Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) came to us when his daughter died, and said: “Wash her three times, or five times or more, if you see it necessary, with water and sidr, and then apply camphor or some camphor at the end, and when you finish, notify me”. So when we finished it, we informed him, and he gave us his sheet, and told us to shroud the dead body in it. (al-Bukhari)
The shroud
Hadrat Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) as saying: When one of you shrouds his brother, he should use a shroud of good quality. (Muslim)
Sayyidina ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) as saying: Do not be extravagant in shrouding, for it will quickly be decayed. (Abu Dawud)
The funeral procession
Narrated Nafi‘: Hadrat ‘AbdAllah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that Hadrat Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Whoever accompanies the funeral procession will have a reward equal to one Qirat”. Hadrat ‘AbdAllah ibn ‘Umar said: “Abu Hurayra talks of too enormous a reward”. Sayyidatina ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) attested to Hadrat Abu Hurayra’s narration and said: “I heard Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) saying like that”. Hadrat ‘AbdAllah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “We have lost numerous Qirats”. (al-Bukhari).
Hadrat Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) said: Whoso follows the bier of a Muslim out of faith and hope of reward, and remains with it till he says the funeral Prayer over it and then finishes its burial, returns with a reward of two Qirats, each Qirat is like (Mount) Uhud, and whoso says his Prayer over it and returns before it is buried, he will return with one Qirat. (al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Hadrat Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) as saying: “When a dead body is placed on a bier, and men carry it on their shoulders, if it was a righteous man, it says, ‘Take me quickly’, but if it was not righteous, it says to its bearers, ‘Woe to it, where are you taking it?’ Everything but mankind hears its voice, and were a human being to hear it, he would faint.” (al-Bukhari)
Hadrat Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the Holy Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) as saying, When you see a funeral, stand up; and anyone who accompanies it must not sit down till the bier is placed on the ground. (al-Bukhari and Muslim)
The funeral Prayer
Hadrat Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that when the Holy Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) prayed the funeral Prayer, he said:
O Allah, forgive those of us who are living and those of us who are dead,
those of us who are present and those of us who are absent,
our young and our old, our male and our female.
O Allah, to whomsoever of us you give life, keep him faithful to Islam,
and whomsoever of us you take in death, take him as a believer.
O Allah, do not withhold from us his reward, or try us after his death,
and forgive us and him.*
(Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah)
*The du‘a in the funeral Prayer is:
Allāhummaghfir li hayyinā wa mayyitinā
wa shāhidinā wa ghāibinā
wa saghīrinā wa kabīrinā wa dhakarinā wa unthānā
Allāhumma man ahyaytahū minnā fa ahyihi ‘alal Islām
wa man tawaffaytahū minnā fatawaffahu ‘alal īmān
Allāhumma lā tahrimnā ajrahu wa lā taftinnā ba‘dahu
waghfir lanā wa lahū.
(Note: If a woman has passed away, the respective word will be ajrahā instead of ajrahu, it will be ba‘dahā instead of ba‘dahu, and lahā instead of lahū).
Sayyidatina ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) said: If a group of Muslims numbering a hundred pray over a dead person, all of them interceding for him, their intercession for him will be accepted. (Muslim)
Placing the body in the grave
Hadrat ‘AbdAllah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that when a dead body was placed in the grave, the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) recited: “In the Name of Allah, by Allah’s Grace, and following the religion of Allah’s Messenger”. In another version: “And following the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger”. * (Ahmad, Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah) (Abu Dawud transmitted the second version)
* The du‘a is: Bismillāhi wa ‘alā millati Rasūlillāh
Sprinkling water on the grave
Hadrat Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) said the funeral Prayer, and then came to the grave and sprinkled water on it (beginning) from the side of the head. (Ibn Majah)
Graves should not be plastered
Hadrat Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) forbade that graves should be plastered with gypsum, have any writing on them, or be trodden upon. (Tirmidhi)
Visit the graves
Hadrat ‘AbdAllah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) as saying: I forbade you to visit graves, but you may now visit them, for they produce abstinence in this world, and act as a reminder of the next. (Ibn Majah)
Hadrat Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) said that Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) cursed women who visited graves. (Ahmad, Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah)
Hadrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Holy Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) passed by graves at Madina. He turned his face towards them and said: Peace be on you, O dwellers of the graves. May Allah forgive us and you. You have preceded us and we are following. (Tirmidhi)
The greeting is:
Assalāmu ‘alaykum yā ahla’l qubūr
Yaghfirullāhu lanā wa lakum
antum salafunā wa nahnu bi’l athar