FUNERAL RITES: FROM DEATH BED TO GRAVE
Prepared by: Jamil Abdul Razzak
Almighty Allah (swt) says in the blessed Qur’an; “Every soul shall have a taste of death and on the Day of Judgement shall you be paid your full recompense; only the one who is saved from the Fire and admitted to the Garden would have succeeded; for the life of this world is but of goods and chattels of deception” (Qur’an 3: 185)
- Death Bed Conduct:
- A dying Muslim should be helped and made comfortable. Person who is attending the dying Muslim should utter the words of “loyalty”; “La Illaha Ila Allah, Muhammad Rasoul Allah: “No god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah” so, that these words are the last words the dying Muslim hears and utter. The dying Muslim should not be forced to say them.
- The face of the dying Muslim should be turned toward the Qiblah, when signs of death become apparent. Surat Yaseen may be recited at his or her bedside.
- At the instant of death, the eyes of the dead Muslim should be closed and the whole body, including the head, is covered. Loud crying or sobbing is not allowed (haram).
- Announcement of Death:
- All relatives and friends should be notified of the death and time and place of the funeral, including praying time and place on the dead body.
- Public Display of the Dead Muslim:
- It is forbidden to display the dead body; privately or publicly.
- Washing the Deceased:
- The deceased body should be washed and prepared for burial as soon as feasible.
- Every dead Muslim should be washed by a trustworthy, mature and of sound mind Muslim or Muslims.
- The dead Muslim should be washed with clean water.
- It is permitted for a husband to wash and wrap the body of his dead wife and vice versa.
- When a Muslim man dies and there is no other Muslim man in the community and the same for a Muslim woman, then "taimum" of the body can be performed instead of washing with water.
- Water is the washing media, however, if water is not available or in limited quantity or hard to use because of the cold weather or water has an adverse effect on the body, then "taimum" can be used to replace washing the body.
- Only those Muslims who are qualified to wash the dead Muslim body should be present at the washing site.
- Undress the dead body but cover its private parts.
- Lay he dead body flat on an elevated platform.
- Make the intention "niyat" to wash the dead body. Gently, squeeze the dead body’s abdomen and remove any matter discharged.
- Wrap your hand with a clean piece of cloth and use it to wash the dead body’s private organs. When this operation is completed discard the piece of cloth.
- Perform regular ablution "widhu" on the dead body.
- Wash the whole body from head to toes with clean water or soapy water if need to be. Wash the body; three, five, seven or any odd number of times as needed, starting from the right side of the body then the middle part and then the left side. In each time you say: “Bismillah Arrahman Arraheem, Ashadu alla Ilaha illa Allah wa Ashhadu anna Muhamadan Rassoul Allah” (In the name of Allah the magnificent, the Merciful. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and I bear witness that Muhmmad is Messenger of Allah).
- If the dead body is that of a female; spread, wash and braid her hair.
- Dry the dead body with clean towels.
- Perfume the dead body with proper scent; e.g. k’afoor, misk, rose water, if such is available, otherwise, perfuming the dead body is not required.
- If at conclusion of the washing, the dead body discharges certain matter, the discharge should be removed and the discharging place is cleaned without washing the whole body once again.
- Do not cut off hair and finger nails or toenails of the dead body.
- Wrapping the Dead Body:
- After washing the body has been completed, properly wrap the washed body in accordance with the following procedures:
- Wrap the body with clean sheets. Avoid extravagant wrapping materials. Silk is forbidden for male but is allowed for female if it is desired.Expenses of warping material and funeral and burial costs shall be paid from the deceased estate, the legal inheritants or the Muslim community in this order.
- Wrap the dead male body from head to toes three times and female dead body five times.
- Praying on the Dead Body:
- Praying on the body of a dead Muslim is required but limited compulsory that if some Muslims perform this prayer, then others are excused from doing it.
- However, it is highly recommend for those who are able to do it, should do it.
- The prayer shall be lead by an Imam and conducted in the following manner:
- The dead body inside the coffin should be turned on it right side so that it faces the Qiblah when it is placed in front of the Imam.
- The attendees of the prayer should line up behind the Imam in three rows or more, if possible.
- Praying is performed in an upright state. There shall be no bowing or prostrating.
- The Imam and all Muslims joining in the prayer raise their hands, making the praying intention "niyat" and saying the first Takbirah; “Allahu Akbar).
- Then, silently, read Surat Alfatiha (Qur’an: 1). Then, he and others make the second Takbirah by saying: “Allahu Akbar”, with or without raising the hands, after which they, silently, say the “Ibrahimiah”: “Allahuma Sali a’la Muhammad wa-a’la aali Muhammad kama salaita a’la Ibrahim wa-a’la aali Ibrahim, wa-Barik a’la Muhammad wa-a’la aali Muhamad kama Barakta a’la Ibrahim wa-a’la aali Ibrahim fil’ alamin inaka Hameedun Mujeeb.” Similarly, the Imam leads in making the Third Takbirah followed by Dua’ (supplication) for the deceased, the Prophet and all Muslims. Then, the Imam leads in making the fourth and last “Takbirah’ followed by “Tasleem” by turning the face to the right and saying Assalamu Alaikum wa-Rahmatu Allah and turning to the left and saying the same thing. This ends the prayer on the deceased.
- Payment of the Deceased Debt:
- The deceased estate, legal inheritors, relatives and/or friends must pay debts of the deceased, preferably, before the burial takes place’
- Burying the Deceased:
- The burial shall be in a Muslim cemetery or a section of a cemetery reserved for Muslim graves:
- It is preferred that burial takes place in daytime.
- Burial should take place without unnecessary delay.
- The grave should be oriented toward the Qiblah.
- The grave should be six feet deep or more.
- It is preferred to bury the deceased in the shroud (coffin) without casket.
- The body of the deceased should be lowered into the grave so that its feet enter the grave first before the head.
- The person who lowers the body into the grave should say “In the name of Allah and in accordance with the tradition (Sunnah) of Allah Messenger.
- Attendees of the burial, gently, throw three handfuls of dirt into the head side of the coffin (shroud) and saying “from it We created you and into it We return you and from it We resurrect you’.
- It is not recommended to transport a dead body from one city to another for the purpose of burial unless it is absolutely necessary.
- Mourning over the Deceased:
- Mourning over the deceased shall not be more than three days; except for the wife who mourns over the death of her husband four months and ten days.