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DEATH AND BEREAVEMENT
IN ISLAM
BY IMAM SHAEB AHMED
Introduction
This presentation will include:
• What is Islam
• Death in Islam
• Visiting the sick in Islam
• Funerals rites in Islam and Mourning for the
deceased
• Bereavement and Condolence in Islam
What is Islam
The word Islam means way of life based upon Quran (the word of God) and Sunnah (the
proven practices of the prophet Muhammad ) or submission to Allah .
Islam is built on five pillars :
1-To bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship but Allah and that Muhammad is
his messenger .
2-Prayer ,Five times a day
3-To pay Zakat (charity )
4-To make the Pilgrimage (to Makah once in a lifetime)
5-To keep the fast of Ramadan.(Bukari)
The messenger of Allah Muhammad (peace be upon him)sent muaadh ibn Jubal to Yemen
and said ,you will soon find yourself in a community ,one among the people of the book
,so first call them to testify that there is none worthy of worship but Allah and that
Muhammad is the messenger of Allah ,and if they accept this ,then tell them Allah has
made upon them five prayers during the day and night ,and if they accept it, tell them that
Allah has made Zakat obligatory for them that it should be collected from the rich and
distributed among the poor, and if they agree to it do not pick up the best of their wealth.
Beware of the supplication of the oppressed for there is no barrier between him and
Allah.(Muslim)
THE QURAN AND SUNNAH
ALLAH SAYS :O YOU WHO BELIEVE ,OBEY ALLAH AND OBEY THE MESSENGER .4:59
Visiting the sick in Islam
Visiting the sick is a basic duty one Muslim has for another .
Ibn Abbas said :the first visit to a sick person is Sunnah ,while any visit is a voluntary act (good deed)
and Abu Musa said he heard the messenger of Allah said :feed the Hungry ,visit the sick and free the
captives.
A Muslim has six obligations to another Muslim:
1. To greet another Muslim when you meet him
2. To respond when he invites you
3. To give him your advice when he seeks it.
4. To say may Allah have mercy upon you when he sneezes and says may Allah be praised.
5. To visit him when he falls ill.
6. And when he dies to attend his funeral.
There is a great reward for visiting the sick. Prophet Muhammad said: caller from heaven calls out to
the person who visits a sick person ,you are good and your path is good .May you enter your
residence in paradise.(Hadith)
Prophet Muhammad said Verily Allah the Exalted and glorious will say on the day of judgement O son
of Adam !I fell ill ,but you did not visit Me ,The human will say ,O my Sustainers !how could I visit you
when you are the Sustainers of the Worlds? and how can you fall sick? He the Almighty will say .did
you not know that such and such a servant of mine was sick. But you did not visit him .Did you know
that had you visited him ,you would have found me by his side ........(Bukari)
Visiting sick
Ali said I heard the prophet Muhammad saying :when a Muslim visits a sick in the morning
,seventy thousand angles pray for him ,and they continue praying for him until that
evening. When one visits the sick in the evening the angles pray for him and continue
praying for him until the next morning.
Prophet Muhammad used to visit his uncle Abu Talib nearly everyday ,(Bukari) who was a
not Muslim.
When you visit the sick person ask him to pray for you indeed the prayer of a sick person
is like the prayers of angles .( Hadith)
Pray for the person who is sick O Allah purify him and through your mercy on him .
Be kind to the sick and try to help him
Death in Islam – The Quran
Allah says every (nafs)shall taste of death .and we try you with evil and good for a
testing ,then unto us you will be return .(21:35)Al-Anbiya 35
Every one shall taste death .And only on the day of resurrection shall you be paid your
wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the fire and admitted to paradise
,this person is indeed successful .The life of this world is only the enjoyment of
deception. (3:185)Al-Imran 185
Every soul shall have the taste of death. Then to us you shall be return.( 29:57)AlAnkabut 57
Verily Allah with him is the knowledge of the hour ,He sends down the rain ,and
knows that which is in the wombs. No person knows in what land he will die ,Verily
Allah is the All-Knower .well-Acquainted.(31:34) chaper21 Surat luqman 34
Say the Angle of death put in charge of you ,will take your souls .then you shall be
brought back to your lord.(32:11) As-Sajjdah 11
When the Angles take the lives of the righteous ,the Angles say to them:Salaamun
Alikum enter paradise ,because of the good deeds that you used to do (during your
life) 6:32
Death in Islam - Hadith
Prophet Muhammad said :Remember the destroyer of pleasures-death ,for not a day
passes upon the grave except it says I am the house of remoteness: I am the house of
loneliness: I am the house of soil : I am the house of worms .(Thermazi Authentic )
When Prophet Muhammad was dying he put his hands in a large pot of water which
was close to him and wipe his face with it saying :O Allah help me over the hardship and
agony of death . (Thermazi authentic )
When a Muslim is upon a death ,what
to do...
Allah says :and who despairs of the mercy of his lord ,but those who are misguided .
15:56
Prophet Muhammad said :Let no Muslim die except and hoping the best from
Allah.(Muslim)
Family members , pious friends and the imam should be informed and be present at
his side to help him towards Allah and encourage him to repent and remind him all his
good deeds that he did and ask Allah for Mercy.
When a Muslim is dying they should be lying in the direction of the kabba Makah
(facing head 127 degrees towards south east by turning face right facing Makah ).
According to the teaching of prophet Muhammad it his sunnah to do the following things when someone is dying
:
1-Advice the dying person to say LA ILAHA ILLA-ALLAH (There is no god but Allah (Muslim –Abu dauad Thermazi )
He whose last words are la ilaha illa-Allah shall enter paradise .(AbuDauad and Hakim )
2-Lay the dying person facing towards Qibla Makah .refer to long hadith of Al-Bara ibn Marur in medina when he
died facing towards Makah .
And Prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatimah at the time of her death ,turned her face toward Makah and placed
her right hand under her head.(Ahmed ) second opinion according the shafias the body of the deceased should
be laid flat on his /her back with feet toward kiblah ,and face raised a little facing it.
3- Recite surat Yasin surat no 36 (Ahmed Abu Daud Nasai Al-hakim –and ibn Habban )and surat yasin is the Heart
of the Quran .(weak hadith)
4- Close the eyes of the deceased . Prophet Muhammad went to visit Abu Salamah ,He saw that his eyes were
wide open and blank with the stare of death ,so the prophet closed his eyes and said :Verily when a souls seized
,the eyesight follows it .(Muslim)
5-Cover the deceased :Aishah said When the prophet died he was covered with a piece of cloth (Bukari and
Muslim).
6-Prepare the body for burial without delay as soon as the death is confirmed. Ensuring all legal papers are
prepared .The Guardian, next to kin or imam should wash, wrap and arrange for the burial of the body soon after
the funeral prayer .
7- Settle the debt of the deceased .A believer’s soul remains in suspense until all his debts are paid off (Ahmed
,ibn majah and thermazi)
Funeral rites in Islam and Mourning
Muslims are always buried ,never cremated and burial in united kingdom is usually in wooden coffin. According to
Islam ,Muslims prefer to bury without this and even some local councils have allowed this practice.
According to the teaching of Islam women are not allowed to attend the burials ,because they are faint hearted and
will easily break down but are allowed to pray funeral prayers .
There are many rites for funeral or deceased :
1-washing the body is obligatory on Muslims ,a mans body should be washed by men and a woman's body should be
washed by a woman ,husband can wash his wife's body and wife can wash her husbands body.
2-Remove the deceased's cloths leaving the private parts covered
3-Press the stomach gently and clean whatever comes out.
4- Only clean water may be used and some perfume soap shampoo non alcoholic in the final wash .
5-perform ablution for the body
6-wash three times but if the body is not clean you may wash five times or seven times.
7-Turn the body on its left and than on its right and wash it properly.
8-Wrapping (kafan) the body with a clean white cloth ,use three pieces of cloth for men and five for women.
9.
Tie the front, middle and rear of the body with piece of cloth.
10. It is better to pray in a mosque or an Islamic centre or even in the open public park.
11. The body should be in front of the Imam and every one behind him should be facing Makah .
12. If the deceased is a male, the Imam should stand by the middle of the body and if it is a female then by her
shoulder.
13.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Praying funeral prayer is very important upon Muslims and the way is very simple:
Intention in your heart
Say Allahu Akbar and raise your hands
Then hold your hand on your chest and read surat Alfatiha and some verses from Quran
Say Allahu Akbar and then pray for the prophet
Say Allahu Akbar and than make DUAA for the deceased
Conclude the prayer by saying Assalamo Alikum wa rahmatullhi
And now its your duty to pay respect and then bury the deceased. Do not cry loudly or beat yourself
and tear your cloths its against Islam ,you are aloud to weep because the prophet wept on the death
of his son Ibrahim and said the eyes shed tears and the heart feels pain ,but we utter only what
pleases our lord O Ibrahim !we are aggrieved at your demise .He also wept when his wife ,daughter
and grand daughter died .(At-tabrani)
The prophet Muhammad said: the deceased person suffers because of the wailing of the living ...
(Ahmed)
Bereavement and Condolence In Islam
It is a Muslims duty to offer condolences to the family and relatives of the deceased and
this strengthens the relationship with in the Muslim community ,and in general Muslims
should offer condolence to there friends ,country leadership, for Muslims or non Muslims.
When offering condolences words should be chosen carefully ,and it is recommended to
leave after offering the condolences to give the family time to take care of their other
affairs ,assistance may be offered for anything the family may need and one may stay to
help .
It is also the Sunnah that friends ,neighbours and relatives prepare food for the family of
the deceased.
Prophet Muhammad said: prepare food for the family of jafar for what has befallen them is
keeping them preoccupied.(Abu daud )
When you hear or see someone dying then say these words INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILYA
RAJIHOON (We belong to Allah and Truly to him we shall return .)2: Albaqarah
Prophet Muhammad said: if a servant of Allah is afflicted with a misfortune and says :Verily
we belong to Allah and truly to him shall we return O Allah !protect me in this calamity that
has befallen me and replace it with something better .(Ahmed and Muslim)
Prophet Muhammad said: Allah the Exalted and Glorious says :I have no better reward
than paradise for a believing servant of mine who is patient and resigned when I take one
of his beloved one among those he most cherishes in the world.(Bukhari)
The scholar of Islam consider that the deceased's family ,friends and other good people be
informed about his death so that they may share in the reward of participating in his
funeral.(refer to all books of hadith )
The initial bereavement period lasts for three days, during which prayers in the home are
recited almost continuously.
Only the wife is expected to stay in her home for up to four and half months after the
death of her husband or if she is pregnant until pregnancy ends .
Bereavement and working through grief is a difficult time for everyone .The extended
family network provides a great deal of support for the bereaved .Religion encourages
sharing of grief and provides the means for absolving it.
Allah says :Allah Burdens not a person beyond his scope ...Albaqra 286
And Allah says :the time between death and resurrection passes like one night of sleep.
2:259 6:60
Thank you