The Book of Prayer (Funerals)

Hisham b. 'Urwa narrated on the authority of his father that the saying of Ibn 'Umar, viz." The dead would be punished because of the lamentation of his family over him" was mentioned to 'A'isha. Upon this she said: May Allah have mercy upon Abu 'Abd al-Rahman (the kunya of Ibn 'Umar) that he heard something but could not retain it (well). (The fact is) that the bier of a Jew passed before the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and (the members of his family) were waiting over him. Upon this he said: You are wailing and he is being punished.

Hisham narrated on the authority of his father that it was mentioned to 'A'isha that Ibn 'Umar had narrated as marfu' hadith from the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) that the dead would be punished in the grave because of the lamentation of his family for him. Upon this she said: He (Ibn 'Umar) missed (the point). The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had (in fact) said: He (the dead) is punished for his faults or for his sins, and the members of his family are wailing for him now. (This misunderstanding of Ibn 'Umar is similar to his saying: ) The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) stood by the well in which were lying the dead bodies of those polytheists who had been killed on the Day of Badr, and he said to them what he had to say, i. e.: They hear what I say. But he (Ibn 'Umar) misunderstood. The Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) had only said: They (the dead) understand that what I used to say to them was truth. She then recited:" Certainly, thou canst not make the dead hear the call" (xxvii. 80), nor can you make those hear who are in the graves, nor can you inform them when they have taken their seats in Hell.

This hadith has been narrated by Ibn 'Urwa with the same chain of transmitters. The hadith narrated by Abu Usama is more complete.

'Amra daughter of 'Abd al Rahman narrated that she heard (from) 'A'isha and made a mention to her about 'Abdullah b. 'Umar as saying: The dead is punished because of the lamentation of the living. Upon this 'A'isha said: May Allah have mercy upon the father of 'Abd al-Rahman (Ibn 'Umar). He did not tell a lie, but he forgot or made a mistake. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) happened to pass by a (dead) Jewess who was being lamented. Upon this he said: They weep over her and she is being punished in the grave.

'Ali b. Rabi'a reported that the first one who was lamented upon in Kufa was Qaraza b. Ka'b. Mughira b. Shu'ba said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) saying: He who is lamented upon would be punished because of the lamentation for him on the Day of judgment.

A hadith like this has been narrated by Mughira b. Shu'ba from the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him).

This hadith has been narrated from the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) through another chain of transmitters.

Abu Malik al-Ash'ari reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Among my people there are four characteristics belonging to pre-Islamic period which they do not abandon: boasting of high rank, reviling other peoples' genealogies, seeking rain by stars, and walling. And he (further) said: If the wailing woman does not repent before she dies, she will be made to stand on the Day of Resurrection wearing a garment of pitch and a chemise of mange.

'A'isha reported that when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was told that Ibn Haritha, Ja'far b. Abu Talib and Abdullah b. Rawaha were killed, he sat down, showing signs of grief. She (further) said: I was looking (at him) through the crevice of the door. A man came to him and mentioned that Ja'far's women were lamenting. He (the Holy Prophet) commanded him to go and forbid them (to do so). So he went away but came back and told (him) that they did not obey (him). He commanded him a second time to go and forbid them (to do so). He again went but came back to him and said: I swear by God, Messenger of Allah, that they have overpowered us. She ('A'isha) said that she thought the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had told (her) to throw dust in their mouths. Thereupon 'A'isha said: May Allah humble you! You did not do what Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) ordered you, nor did you stop annoying Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him).

This hadith has been narrated by Yahya b. Sa'id with the same chain of transmitters like one narrated by 'Abd al-'Aziz (with the change of these words): " You did not spare the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) the botheration."

Umm 'Atiyya reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) took a promise from us along with the oath of Allegiance that we would not lament. But only five among us fulfilled the promise (and they are) Umm Sulaim, and Umm al-'Ala', and the daughter of Abu Sabra the wife of Mu'adh, or daughter of Abu Sabra and wife of Mu'adh.

Umm 'Atiyya reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) took pledge from us (including this promise) that we would not lament. Only five amongst us fulfilled the promise, and one of them (who fulfilled the promise) was Umm Sulaim.

Hafsa narrated on the authority of Umm 'Atiyya that she said: When this verse was revealed:" When believing women came to thee giving thee a pledge that they will not associate aught with Allah, and will not disobey thee in good" (lx. 12), she (Umm Atiyya) said: In (this pledge) was also included wailing. I said: Messenger of Allah, except members of such a tribe who helped me (in lamentation) during pre-Islamic days, there is left no alternative for me, but that I should also help them. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: (Yes) but only in case of the members of such a tribe.

Umm 'Atiyya reported: We were forbidden to follow the bier, but it was not made absolute on us.

Umm 'Atiyya reported: We were refrained from following the bier, but it was not made absolute on us.

Umm 'Atiyya reported: The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) came to us when we were bathing his daughter, and he told us: Wash her with water and (with the leaves of) the lote tree, three or five times, or more than that if you think fit, and put camphor or something like camphor in the last washing; then inform me when you have finished. So when we had finished, we informed him, and he gave to us his (own) under-garment saying:" Put it next her body."

Umm 'Atiyya reported: We braided her hair in three plaits.

Umm 'Atiyya reported: One of the daughters of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) died. And in the hadith transmitted by Ibn 'Ulayya (the words are): The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) came to us and we were washing his daughter. And in the hadith transmitted by Malik (the words are): There came in (our apartment) the Messenger of Allah (way peace be upon him) when his daughter died. The rest of the hadith is the same as narrated by Yazid b. Zurai' from Ayyub from Muhammad from Umm 'Atiyya.

A hadith like this has been transmitted by Hafsa on the authority of Umm 'Atiyya with the exception (of these words that the Holy Prophet asked them to wash her dead body): " three times, five times, seven times, or more than that, if you deem fit:" Hafsa (further) said on the authority of Umm 'Atiyya: We braided (the hair) of her head in three plaits.

Umm 'Atiyya reported: 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.

Umm 'Atiyya reported: When Zainab the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) died, he said to us: Wash her odd number of times, i. e. three or five times, and put camphor or something-like camphor at the fifth time, and after you have washed her inform me. So we informed him and he gave us his under-garment, saying:" Put it next her body."

Umm 'Atiyya reported: There came to us the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) as we were washing one of his daughters. So he said: Wash her (dead body) an odd number of times, five times or more than that, the rest of the hadith is the same. She (further) said: We braided her hair in three plaits: (two) on the sides of her head and one on her forehead.

Umm 'Atiyya reported that when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) asked her to wash his daughter, he told her to start from the right side, and with those parts of the body over which Wudu' is performed.

Umm 'Atiyya reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said to them (the women) in regard to the washing of his daughter to start from the right side and with those parts of the body over which Wudu' is performed.

Khabbab al-Aratt reported: We migrated with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) in the path of Allah seeking Allah's pleasure alone. Thus our reward was assured with Allah. And amongst us were those who spent life (in such a state of piety and austerity) that nothing consumed their reward. Mus'ab b. 'Umair was one of them. He was killed on the Day of Uhud, and nothing but a woollen cloak was found to shroud him. When we covered his head with it, his feet became uncovered, and when we covered his feet, his head was uncovered. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Place it (this cloak) on the side of his head and cover his feet with grass. And there is one amongst us for whom the fruit is ripened and he enjoys it.

A hadith like this has been narrated by 'Uyaina on the authority of A'mash with the same chain of transmitters.

'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was shrouded in three cotton garments of white Yamani stuff from Sahul, among which was neither a shirt nor a turban; and so far as Hullah is concerned there was some doubt about it in the minds of people, that it was brought for him in order to shroud him with it, but it was abandoned, and he was shrouded in three cotton garments of white Yamani stuff from Sahul. Then 'Abdullah b. Abu Bakr got it and said: I would keep it in order to shroud myself in it. He then said: If Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, would have desired it for His Apostle, he would have been shrouded with it. So he sold it and gave its price in charity.

'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was wrapped in a Yamani wrapper which belonged to 'Abdullah b Abu Bakr; then it was removed from him, and he was shrouded in three cotton sheets of white Yamani stuff from Sahul among which was neither a shirt nor a turban. 'Abdullah took up the Hullah and said: I would be shrouded in it, but then said: How is it that I should be shrouded in it in which the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was not shrouded! So he gave it in charity.

This hadith is narrated on the authority of Hisham with the same chain of transmitters, but in the hadith narrated by him there is no mention of the story of 'Abdullah b. Abu Bakr.

Abu Salama said: I asked 'A'isha with how many garments the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was shourded. She said: With three garments of Sahul.