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Chapter
15:
Burial Service (Hadith -- The
Traditions):
(Note:
The superscript-numbers [e.g., intention2]
that
appear in the text [in
pink]
refer to the numbers of the explanatory footnotes that
appear at the end of each Hadith
[Tradition].)
1
Ma`qil said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
Recite the Surah Yasin before
the dying among you." 1
(Ah-Msh. 5 : 3.)
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1
This chapter is full of expressions of Divine
greatness and glory.
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2
Umm Salamah said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"When you visit a sick person
or a dead one, speak well (of him), for the angels say
amina to what you say."
(M-Msh. 5 :
3.)
3
`A'ishah said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, kissed `Uthman ibn Maz`un while he was dead, and he
wept, so that the tears of the Prophet, peace and blessings
of Allah be on him, flowed over the face of `Uthman.
2
(Tr-Msh. 5 :
3.)
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2
`Uthman ibn Maz`un was the first person to die from
among those who had fled from Makkah to Madinah for
the sake of their faith in Allah.
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4
Anas said,
Along with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of
Allah be on him, we visited Abu Saif, the blacksmith, and he
was Ibrahim's foster-father. The Messenger of Allah, peace
and blessings of Allah be on him, took Ibrahim (in his arms)
and kissed him and smelt him. then we visited him after this
while Ibrahim was yielding up his spirit; so tears began to
flow from the eyes of the Messenger of Allah, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, `Abd al-Rahman ibn `Auf said
to him, And thou too, O Messenger of Allah? He said, "O Ibn
`Auf! That is compassion." Then he wept again and
said:
"Surely the eye sheds tears
and the heart grieves and we do not say but what the Lord
is pleased with; and we, O Ibrahim! are full of grief on
account of thy separation." 3
(B. 23 : 43.)
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3
Ibrahim was the Holy Prophet's son by his Coptic
wife, Mary. He died when he was eighteen months
old. The words uttered by the Holy Prophet on this
occasion will serve as a beacon to the world in its
tragedies. Abu Saif's wife was wet-nurse to the
Holy Prophet's son.
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5
`Abd Allah said,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, said:
"He is not of us who slaps
the cheeks and tears the garments and mourns like the
mourning of the (days of) Ignorance." (B. 23 :
35.)
6
`Umar said,
Leave them (the women) alone, weeping over Abu Sulaiman, so
long as there is not throwing of dust on heads or wailing.
4
(B. 23 : 34.)
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4
A Muslim must bear the calamity of the death of a
friend or a relative patiently. Weeping is but a
sign of tenderness and compassion in the human
heart, but wailing and other manifestations which
are not consistent with patience are
forbidden.
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7
Anas said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"There is, from among the
people, no Muslim who has three of his (children) dead
before they have reached majority but Allah will make him
enter paradise by His gracious mercy on their account."
(B. 23 : 6.)
8
Umm `Atiyyah said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, came to us while we were washing (the body of) his
daughter; so he said:
"Wash her thrice or five
times or more than that with water having (leaves of) the
lote tree (boiled in it), and the last time put in
camphor; and when you have finished, inform me."
So when we had finished we informed
him, and he threw towards us his waist-wrapper and
said:
"Put it next to her body."
(B. 23 : 9.)
9
`A'ishah reported,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, was shrouded in three pieces of white washed cotton
cloth5,
made in Yaman; there was neither shirt in them nor turban.
(B. 23 : 19.)
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5
Sahuliyyah were so called in relation to
Sahul, a place in Yaman, where they were woven or
whence they were brought; or they were garments
beaten and washed and whitened, so called in
relation to sahul meaning one who beats
and washes and whitens cloths (LL).
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10
Abu Hurairah said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"Whoever stays with a bier
until he joins the burial service over it, he has one
portion; and whoever remains present till the body is
buried, he has two portions." (B. 23 : 58.)
11
Bara' ibn `Azib said,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him,
commanded us.....to follow biers (to their last
resting-place), to visit the sick person, to accept (the
invitation of) one who invites (to a dinner), to help the
oppressed one, to execute the oath, to return the
salutation, and to utter a prayer for the sneezer.
6
(B. 23 : 2.)
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6
Only the first two commandments relate to this
chapter, following a bier and visiting a sick
person.
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12
`Amir reported,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him,
said:
"When one of you sees a bier
then, if he does not accompany it, he should stand until
he leaves the bier behind or the bier leaves him behind,
or it is put down before it leaves him behind." (B. 23 :
47.)
13
Jabir said,
A bier passed by us and the Prophet, peace and blessings of
Allah be on him, stood up for it, and we (also) stood up.
Then we said, O Messenger of Allah! It is the bier of a Jew.
He said:
"When you see a bier, stand
up." 7
(B. 23 : 50.)
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7
Equal respect must be shown to a bier whether it is
that of a Muslim or a non-Muslim.
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14
Abu Hurairah reported,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, gave the news of the death of the Negus on the day on
which he died. He went forth to the place of prayer and made
the people stand in ranks and uttered four takbirs.
8
(B. 23 : 4.)
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8
The Negus was
the ruler of Abyssinia. He had become a Muslim. The
hadith shows that a burial service may be held over
a dead body in its absence. It further shows that
the funeral service consisted of four
takbirs.
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15
Umm `Atiyyah said,
We were forbidden to follow biers, and it was not a decisive
prohibition. 9
(B. 23 : 30.)
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9
Women were advised not to go perhaps, because, in
the first place they could not help in carrying the
bier, but more so because they might break down
under grief.
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16
Al-Mughirah reported,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him,
said:
"The rider shall go behind
the bier; and he who walks on foot may go behind it and
before it and on its right and on its left, remaining
near to it." (AD-Msh. 5 :
5.)
17
Ibn `Abbas reported,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, came to
a grave apart form other graves, so he arranged the people
into ranks and pronounced four takbirs. 10
(B. 23 : 54.)
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10
A fuller account is given in B. 23 : 5. The burial
service over the deceased had been held during the
night, and the Holy Prophet was not informed. So he
held a burial service over again on the grave. The
hadith further shows that the people arranged
themselves into ranks behind the imam. The general
practice is to have at least three ranks (AD-Msh. 5
: 5), but there is no harm if there are two (B. 23
: 54).
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18
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him,
said:
"Whoever prays on the bier"..........He called it salat
(prayer), and there is no ruku` in it, nor sajdah; and
no one should talk during the service; and there is in it
takbir and taslim; and Ibn `Umar would not pray (on the
bier) unless he had performed the wudzu'.(B. 23 :
57.)
19
Samurah reported,
A woman died in childbirth, and the Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, held a burial service over
her, and stood opposite the middle (of the bier).
11
(B. 6 : 29.)
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11
This hadith is again related by Bukhari in 23 : 64
under the heading : "Where to stand in the case of
the woman and the man." This shows that the same
position should be adopted by the imam, whether the
bier is that of a male or a female. Imam Abu Hanifa
interpreted the middle as meaning the breast, and
that is the right position of the imam according to
him, both in the case of the female and the
male.
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20
Talhah said,
I prayed on a bier behind Ibn `Abbas, and he recited the
Fatihah and said, (I have done this) so that you may
know that it is the Sunnah. 12
(AD-Msh. 23 :
66.)
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12
Ibn `Abbas recited the Fatihah in a voice
which others could hear, so that they might know
that it was the Holy Prophet's practice. This shows
that it was ordinarily recited in a low voice not
audible, and further that it was meant to be so
recited by the imam as well as the congregation.
The same is the case with the prayers after other
takbirs. The Fatihah is recited after the
first takbir; al-salat `ala-l-Nabi, as in
the sitting position in prayer, after the second;
and an intercessory prayer for the deceased (hh.
22, 23) after the third; while the taslim is
uttered after the fourth.
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21
Abu Hurairah said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"When you pray over the dead
one, be sincere in your prayer for him."
13
(AD-Msh. 5 :
5.)
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13
The burial service is thus an intercessory prayer
for the deceased one, and any prayer may be
offered. Hadith contains several such prayers. The
one generally adopted is given in the next
hadith.
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22
Abu Hurairah said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, used to say when he held a burial service over a bier:
"O Allah! Forgive our living ones and
our dead ones, and those of us who are present and those who
are absent, and our young ones and our old ones, and our
males and our females. O Allah! Whom Thou keepest living
among us cause him to live in submission to Thee, and whom
Thou causest to die from among us make him die in faith. O
Allah! Do not deprive us of his reward, and do not make us
fall into a trial after him." (AD-Msh. 5 :
5.)
23
Hasan said,
The Fatihah should be recited over the child and then
one should say, O Allah! Make him for us a cause of
recompense in the world to come and as one going before and
a reward. 14
(B. 23 : 66.)
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14
According to one report, the word dhukhr-an
(a treasure) is added before the final word
ajr-an. No burial service is held over a
still-born child (B. 23 : 80).
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24
Abu Hurairah said,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, said:
"Whoever strangles himself
strangles himself into fire, and whoever stabs himself
with a spear stabs himself into fire."
15
(B. 23 : 84.)
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15
According to one hadith, the Holy Prophet did not
lead the burial service of a man who committed
suicide, but his companions held such a
service.
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25
Jabir said,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him,
gathered together in one cloth two men out of those who were
killed in (the battle of) Uhud. Then he asked, "Which of
them knew more of the Qur'an"? When one of them was pointed
out to him, he gave him precedence in the lahd, and
said, "I shall be a witness of these on the Day of
Resurrection". And he commanded that they should be buried
with their blood (on them) and they were not washed, nor was
a burial service held over them. 16
(B. 23 : 73.)
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16
Lahd (from lahada, he inclined to a thing)
is an oblong excavation in the side of the grave, a
lateral hollow, in which the dead body is placed,
the opening into the grave being then closed with
bricks, so that when the grave is filled with earth
the body remains intact. As this hadith shows,
preference was given to the lahd the other body
being placed in the shaqq, the pit itself, and
therefore burial in the shaqq is not disallowed. In
the case of a coffin, the shaqq alone would serve
the purpose.
The martyrs of Uhud were
neither washed nor was a burial service held over
them, and the same rule may be followed in the
exigency of war or other exigencies. Towards the
end of his life, however, the Holy Prophet held a
burial service on the grave of the martyrs of
Uhud.
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26
Ibn `Umar reported,
When the dead body was placed in the grave, the Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be on him, used to say:
"In the name of Allah and
with Allah and according to the religion of the Messenger
of Allah." (Ah-Msh. 5 : 6.)
27
Muhammad reported without tracing it up to the Holy
Prophet,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, threw
on the dead body (at its burial) three handfuls of dust with
both his hands, and he caused water to be sprinkled on the
grave of his son Ibrahim, and placed pebbles on it. (Msh. 5
: 6.)
28
Sufyan, the date-seller, reported,
He saw the grave of the Prophet, peace and blessings of
Allah be on him, gibbous-shaped. 17
(B. 23 : 96.)
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17
The Arabic word is musannam which means
raised from the ground like the sanam (hump) of the
camel.
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29
Jabir said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, forbade the plastering of the grave, and the
construction of a building on it, and sitting on it.
18
(M-Msh. 5 :
6.)
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18
The prohibition to plaster, and build on, a grave
may have been due to the waste of money which it
would involve. Sitting on the grave is prohibited
because it is disrespectful.
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30
`A'ishah, wife of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah
be on him, reported:
When a person of her family died and the women gathered
together over it, then they dispersed, except the family of
the dead and those closely related to him, she used to order
a cooking-pot of talbinah which was cooked, then tharid was
made and the talbinah was cast over it; then she would say,
Eat of it, for I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, say
"The talbinah gives the rest
to the heart of the sick one and takes away some of the
grief." 19
(B. 70 : 24.)
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19
Talbinah (from laban meaning milk) is food
made of bran, milk and honey, or simply of bran and
honey, so called because it is white like milk; and
tharid is bread crumbled into small pieces with
fingers over which broth is poured, sometimes
prepared with marrow and with eggs, considered to
be most delicious. It shows that there was a
gathering when a person died, the object no doubt
being to console the bereaved family. When they
dispersed, food was sent by some near relative to
the family itself and very nearly related friends.
The whole gathering did not partake of
food.
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31
`A'ishah said,
When the news came to the Prophet, peace and blessings of
Allah be on him, that Ibn Harithah and Ja`far and Ibn
Rawahah were killed, he sat (in the mosque), and grief could
be seen in his face, and I saw (him) through the opening at
the pivot of the door.20
(B. 23 :
40.)
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20
To sit in some place so that people may come and
express their sympathy with and console the
bereaved family is, therefore, according to the
Holy Prophet's practice. Praying for the deceased
one is not forbidden, but there is no authority for
the present practice to offer prayers by the
raising up of hands with every new-comer. The only
prayer was the burial service and a prayer on the
grave
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32
`A'ishah said,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, said:
"Do not abuse the dead, for
they have gone on to what they sent before."
21
(B. 23 : 97.)
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21
Abuse is forbidden not only in regard to the dead
from among Muslims but the dead in general. But
criticism in not forbidden in any case; it
sometimes becomes a necessity, as in the case of
the reporters of hadith.
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33
`A'ishah reported,
A man said to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be
on him,
My mother died a sudden death, and I
am sure that if she had been able to speak she would have
given in charity; will she have a reward if I give in
charity on her behalf? He said "Yes". 22
(B. 23 : 95.)
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22
This hadith and the one that follows show that
charity on behalf of the dead is a source of
benefit to them; and it appears that charity on
behalf of the dead was generally practised in early
Islam. Recital of the Holy Qur'an to the dying ones
is recommended (h. 1), but the practice of reciting
the Holy Qur'an over the dead body or on a grave is
not traceable to the Holy Prophet and is an
innovation. Recital of the Holy Qur'an is a good
deed in itself, but to do it for remuneration does
not bring any good to the reciter and certainly
none to the dead. There is no authority of the Holy
Prophet for the Qul ceremony on the third day, or
for the ceremonies connected with the tenth and
fortieth days after death. Nor can they be
considered as acts of charity, for they are not for
the benefit of the poor.
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34
It is reported on the authority of Sa`d ibn `Ubadah
that,
His mother died while he was absent. So he said, O Messenger
of Allah! My mother died while I was absent; will it benefit
her if I give in charity on her behalf? He said, "Yes". He
said, Then I make thee a witness that my orchard Mikhraf is
a charity on her behalf. (B. 55 : 15.)
35
Buraidah said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, used to teach them (to say), when they went forth to
the graves:
"Peace be with you, Dwellers
of this abode! from among the faithful and the Muslims;
and we, if it please Allah, will join you; we ask of
Allah security for ourselves and for you." (M-Msh. 5 :
8.)
Top
Hadith
Section
> A
Manual of Hadith
> Chapter 15: Burial Service (Hadith -- The Traditions)
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