Chapters Regarding Funerals

It wasnarrated from Samurah bin Jundab Al-Fazari that the MessengerofAllah (ﷺ) offered the funeral prayer for a woman who had died inNifas,* and he stood level with her middle (i.e. her waist).”

It wasnarrated that Abu Ghalib said: “I saw Anas bin Malik offeringthefuneral prayer for a man, and he stood level with his head. Thenanother funeral was brought, that of a woman, and they said: ‘O AbuHamzah! Offer the funeral prayer for her.’ So he stood level withthemiddle of the bed (the body was upon). ‘Ala’ bin Ziyad saidto him: ‘OAbu Hamzah! Is this how you saw the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) standingin relation to the body of a man and a woman as youhave stood?’ Hesaid: ‘Yes.’ Then he turned to us and said:‘Remember this.’”

It wasnarrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the Prophet (ﷺ) recited theOpeningof the Book (Al-Fatihah) in the funeral prayer.

UmmSharik Al-Ansari said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commanded usto recite the Opening of the Book (Al-Fatihah) in the funeralprayer.”

It wasnarrated that Abu Hurairah said: “I heard the Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) say: ‘When you offer the prayer for the deceased,supplicatesincerely for him.’”

It wasnarrated that Abu Hurairah said: “When the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ)offered the funeral prayer he would say: ‘Allahummaghfirlihayyinawa mayyitina, wa shahidina wa gha’ibina, wa saghirina wakabirina,wa dhakarina wa unthana. Allahumma man ahyaitahu minnafaahyihi‘alal-Islam, wa man tawaffaytahu minna fa tawaffahu ‘alal-iman.Allahumma la tahrimna ajrahu wa la tudillana ba’dah. [O Allah,forgive our living and our dead, those who are present and those whoare absent, our young and our old, our males and our females. OAllah,whomever of us You cause to live, let him live in Islam, andwhomeverof us You cause to die, let him die in (a state of) faith. OAllah, donot deprive us of his reward, and do not let us go astrayafterhim].’”

It wasnarrated that Wathilah bin Asqa’ said: “The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) offered the funeral prayer for a man among the Muslims and Iheard him say: ‘O Allah, so-and-so the son of so-and-so is in Yourcase and under Your protection. Protect him from the trial of thegrave and the torment of the Fire, for You are the One Who keeps thepromise and You are the Truth. Forgive him and have mercy on him, forYou are the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

It wasnarrated that ‘Awf bin Malik said: “I saw the Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) offering the funeral prayer for a man among the Ansar, andIheard him say: ‘Allahumma salli ‘alayhi waghfirlahu warhamhu, wa‘afihi wa’fu ‘anhu, waghsilhu bi ma’in wa thaljin wa baradin,wanaqqihi min adh-dhunubi wal-khataya kama yunaqqath-thawbul-abyaduminad-danas, wa abdilhu bi darihi daran khayran min darihi, wa ahlankhayran min ahlili, wa qihi fitnatal-qabri wa ‘adhaban-nar. (OAllah,send blessing upon him, forgive him, have mercy on him, keephim safeand sound, and pardon him; wash him with water and snow andhail, andcleanse him of sins just as a white garment is cleansed ofdirt. Givehim in exchange for his house that is better than hishouse, and afamily that is better than his family. Protect him fromthe trial ofthe grave and the torment of the Fire).’”

It wasnarrated that Jabir said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), AbuBakrand ‘Umar did not give us so much leeway in anything as they didwith regard to the prayer for the deceased,” meaning that there wasnothing affixed.

It wasnarrated from ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan that the Prophet (ﷺ)offeredthe funeral prayer for ‘Uthman bin Maz’un, and he said fourTakbir over him.

Al-Hajari said: “I prayed with ‘Abdullah bin Abi Awfa Al-Aslami,theCompanion of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), offering the funeralprayerfor a daughter of his. He said Takbir over her four times, andhepaused for a while after the fourth. I heard the people sayingSubhan-Allah to him throughout the rows. Then he said the Salam andsaid:‘Did you think that I was going to say a fifth Takbir?’They said: ‘Wewere afraid of that.’ He said: ‘I was not goingto do that, but theMessenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to say four Takbir,then pause for awhile, and he would say whatever Allah willed heshould say, then hewould say the Salam.’”

It wasnarrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the Prophet (ﷺ) said Takbirfourtimes.

It wasnarrated that ‘Abdur-Rahman bin Abi Laila said: “Zaid binArqanused to say the Takbir four times in the funeral prayer, and hesaidthe Takbir five times for one funeral. I asked him (about that)andhe said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to do that.’”

It wasnarrated from Kathir bin ‘Abdullah, from his father, from hisgrandfather, that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said the Takbir fivetimes.

AbuJubair bin Hayyah narrated that he heard Mughirah bin Shu’bahsay: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘The (funeral) prayershould be offered for a child.’”

It wasnarrated from Jabir bin ‘Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ)said: “If a child utters a sound (after being born), the funeralprayer should be offered for him and (his relatives) may inherit fromhim.”

It wasnarrated that Abu Hurairah said: “The Prophet (ﷺ) said:‘Offerthe (funeral) prayer for your children, for they have goneahead ofyou (i.e. to prepare your place in Paradise for you).”

Isma’ilbin Abu Khalid said: “I said to ‘Abdullah bin Abi Awfa: ‘Didyou see Ibrahim, the son of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)?’ He said:‘He died when he was small, and if it had been decreed that thereshould be any Prophet after Muhammad (ﷺ), his son would have lived.But there is no Prophet after him.’”

It wasnarrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “Then Ibrahim the son of theMessenger of Allah (ﷺ) died, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayedandsaid: ‘He has a wet-nurse in Paradise, and if he had lived hewouldhave been a Siddiq and a Prophet. If he had lived his maternaluncles,the Egyptians, would have been set free and no Egyptian wouldeverhave been enslaved.’”

Husainbin ‘Ali said: “When Qasim the son of the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) died, Khadijah said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, the milk ofQasim’smother is overflowing. Would that Allah had let him liveuntil he hadfinished breastfeeding.’ The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: ‘He willcomplete his breastfeeding in Paradise.’ She said:‘If I know that, OMessenger of Allah, it makes it easier for me tobear.’ The Messengerof Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘If you wish, I willpray to Allah to let youhear his voice.’ She said: ‘O Messengerof Allah, rather I believeAllah and His Messenger.’”

It wasnarrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “They (the martyrs) werebroughtto the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on the Day of Uhud, and hestarted tooffer the funeral prayer for them, ten by ten. Hamzah laywhere helay, and they were taken away but he was left where he was.”

It wasnarrated from Jabir bin ‘Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ)used to put two or three of the slain of Uhud in one shroud. Hewouldask: “Which of them had memorized more Qur’an?” And if one ofthem was pointed out to him, he would put him in the niche-gravefirst. And he said: “I am a witness over them.” He commanded thattheyshould be buried with their blood, and that the funeral prayershouldnot be offered for them and they should not be washed.

It wasnarrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)commanded that the weapons and armor should be removed from the slainof Uhud, and they should be buried in their clothes stained withblood.

It wasnarrated from Aswad bin Qais that he heard Nubaih Al-‘Anazisay: “Iheard Jabir bin ‘Abdullah say: ‘The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)commanded that the slain of the battle of Uhud should be returned tothe battlefield; they had been moved to Al-Madinah.’”

It wasnarrated that Abu Hurairah said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: ‘Whoever offers the funeral prayer in the mosque will havenothing (i.e., no reward).’”

It wasnarrated that ‘Aishah said: “By Allah! The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) did not offer the funeral prayer for Suhail bin Baida’anywherebut in the mosque.”

‘Uqbahbin ‘Amir Al-Juhani said: “There are three times during thedaywhen the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade us to offer the funeralprayer or bury our dead: When the sun has fully risen (until it ishigher up in the sky); when it is overhead at noon, until it haspassed the meridian: and when it is starting to set until it hasset.”

It wasnarrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)placed aman in his grave at night, and he lit a lamp in his grave.

It wasnarrated from Jabir bin ‘Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ)said: “Do not bury your dead at night unless you are forced to.”

It wasnarrated from Jabir bin ‘Abdullah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Offer the funeral prayer for your dead by night or by day.”