Carrying and Burying the Dead

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) commanded the Muslims with seven qualities and forbade them from seven. The ones he commanded them with are: First: visiting the sick. Second: following funerals, participating in the prayer over the deceased, burying them, and supplicating for them. Third: supplicating for the one who sneezes and praises Allah by saying to him: May Allah have mercy upon you. Fourth: fulfilling the oath of the one who swears and believing him, meaning that if someone takes an oath about something and you are able to make it true, you should do so, so that he does not need to expiate his oath. Fifth: supporting the oppressed person by assisting him and preventing any harm inflicted upon him by the oppressor, to the best of your ability. Sixth: responding to the invitation for a meal, such as a wedding feast, ‘Aqīqah (animal sacrificed after the birth of a new baby), or other similar occasions. Seventh: spreading the greeting of peace, offering it, and responding to it. The ones he forbade them from are: First: wearing gold rings and taking it as an adornment. Second: drinking in silver vessels. Third: sitting on Mayāthir, which are rugs made of silk placed on the saddle of a horse or a camel's saddle. Fourth: wearing a garment made of linen mixed with silk, which is called "Qassiy". Fifth: wearing silk. Sixth: wearing Istabraq, which is thick silk. Seventh: wearing Dībāj, which is the best and most precious type of silk.

1. Clarifying some of the rights of a Muslim over his fellow Muslim.
2. The basic rule is that everything in the Shariah, whether commandments or prohibitions, applies to both men and women unless it is specified as being a characteristic of men or a characteristic of women.
3. Other Hadīths indicate that women are prohibited from following funerals.
4. Other Hadīths indicate that it is permissible for women to wear gold and silk.

صحيح البخاري (2/ 71) (1239). صحيح مسلم (3/ 1635) (2066). تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام، للبسام (ص731).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) commanded hastening in preparing the funeral, performing the prayer over it, and burying it. If the deceased is righteous, it is good that you are sending him to the bliss of the grave. If otherwise, it is evil that you are removing from your shoulders.

1. Ibn Hajar said: It is recommended to hasten, but in a manner that does not lead to excessive speed that might cause harm to the deceased or difficulty for those carrying or accompanying the funeral.
2. Hastening is conditional upon the death not being sudden, where there is a fear it might be a case of fainting; in such situations, burial should be delayed until death is confirmed. Additionally, a slight delay is permissible for a valid reason, such as allowing more people to attend the prayer or for the arrival of relatives, provided there is no concern about the body deterioration.
3. The encouragement to hasten the funeral is for the benefit of the deceased if he is blissful or for the benefit of those who follow it if he is wretched.
4. An-Nawawi said: This implies avoidance of the company of idle and unrighteous individuals.

صحيح البخاري (2/ 86) (1315). صحيح مسلم (2/ 651) (944). تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام، لعبد الله البسام (ص284). تنبيه الأفهام شرح عمدة الأحكام، لابن عثيمين (2/ 367).

The Hadīth of ‘Amr ibn al-Āas (may Allah be pleased with him) which includes the subject of conveying glad tidings and congratulating because it bears a story. The summary of this great story is that some of his companions were present with him while he was in the throes of death. He cried profusely and turned his face towards the wall as he was about to depart this world, so his son said to him: Why are you crying so long as the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had given you the glad tidings of entering Paradise? He said: O my son, I was in three different states (in this world). Then he described these three states. First, he used to hate the Prophet so much and there was no one on the face of the earth who hated him more, and wished he could catch him and kill him, and that was extreme disbelief. He remained like that until Allah instilled love for Islam in his heart. So, he went to the Prophet and said: O Messenger of Allah, extend your right hand so that I may give you my pledge of Islam. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) who was the best of all people in terms of manners, extended his hand, but ‘Amr withdrew his hand, not out of arrogance, but rather to ascertain what he was about to say. The Prophet asked him: What is the matter? He said: O Messenger of Allah, I have a condition (for embracing Islam). The Prophet asked: What is your condition? He said: That Allah forgive all my previous disbelief and sins. That was his biggest worry,(may Allah be pleased with him) fearing that Allah would not forgive him due to what he had done previously. So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: Do you not know that Islam wipes out what precedes it, and that migration wipes out what precedes it, and that the pilgrimage wipes out what precedes it? Three things wipe out all sins: Islam: it wipes out what precedes it according to the text of the Qur’an; Allah, the Exalted, says: {Say to those who have disbelieved [that] if they cease, what has previously occurred will be forgiven for them. But if they return [to hostility] - then the precedent of the former [rebellious] nations has already taken place} [Sūrat al-Anfāl: 38]. Hijrah: when one's homeland is a land of disbelief and he emigrates from it, this action wipes out what preceded it. Hajj: it wipes out what preceded it, as the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The accepted Hajj has no reward but Paradise." So ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) pledged allegiance to the Prophet and loved him intensely, so much so that the Prophet became the dearest of all people to him and he could never take a good look at him out of reverence for him. Glorified is Allah who turns the hearts! In the past, he hated him so much that he wished to kill him, and now he is not even able to lift his eyes to him out of reverence for him, and is not able to describe him because he never fully stared at him out of awe and respect. ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said that if he had died in the first state, he would have been from the dwellers of Hellfire. Then he said that if he had died in the second state, he could have hoped to be from the dwellers of Paradise. Notice his cautious choice of words; he was definitive in saying that if he had died in the first state, he would have been from the dwellers of Hellfire; but when it came to the second state, due to his intense fear, he said that if he had died in that state: "I could have hoped to be from the dwellers of Paradise," and he did not say: "I would have been from the dwellers of Paradise," since the confirmation of admittance to Paradise is a difficult thing to make. Then he said that, afterwards, he was entrusted with many affairs – being a ruler and a leader – and there occurred the incident of the battle with Mu‘āwiyah and others, and ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās was known to be one of the shrewdest and most intelligent men among the Arabs. So he said: I fear that what had occurred after the second state might have nullified my deeds. Then he gave orders that no wailer (a woman who wails and laments the deceased) should follow his funeral, and that after they bury him, they should remain at his grave for as long as it would take them to slaughter a camel and distribute its meat, until he had answered the questions of the messengers of his Lord, meaning the angels who come to the dead person after he is buried. When the dead person is buried, two angels come to him and make him sit upright in his grave and ask him three questions: Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your Prophet? So, ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered his family to stand by his grave for a time interval equal to the time it would take them to slaughter a camel and divide its meat, to seek solace and comfort in their presence. This is evidence that the deceased person can sense the presence of his family, and it was confirmed from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) that the deceased person hears the sound of their footsteps when they are leaving after his burial. Though the sound of sandals as they beat the ground is almost inaudible, the deceased hears it as the mourners depart after burying him. It was confirmed from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in a sound Hadīth that when he buried a dead person, he used to stand over his grave and say: "Seek forgiveness for your brother and ask for steadfastness for him because he is being asked right now." So, when the dead person is buried, it is recommended to stand over his grave and say: "O Allah, make him firm (thrice); O Allah, forgive him (thrice)." Whenever the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said "Salām" (greetings of peace), he used to say it thrice; and whenever he made a supplication, he used to repeat it thrice. In short, the son of Āmr Ibn al-‘Ās said to him: "The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) gave you the glad tidings of being admitted to Paradise", and he said this as a way of giving glad tidings and congratulating for it.

بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، سليم بن عيد الهلالي، دار ابن الجوزي، الدمام، الطبعة: الأولى 1415هـ. تطريز رياض الصالحين، فيصل بن عبد العزيز المبارك، تحقيق: عبد العزيز بن عبد الله آل حمد، دار العاصمة للنشر والتوزيع، الرياض، الطبعة: الأولى 1423هـ، 2002م. رياض الصالحين من كلام سيد المرسلين، أبو زكريا محيي الدين النووي، تحقيق ماهر الفحل، دار ابن كثير، دمشق، بيروت، الطبعة: الأولى 1428هـ. شرح رياض الصالحين، محمد بن صالح العثيمين، مدار الوطن، الرياض، 1426هـ. صحيح البخاري، محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري الجعفي، تحقيق: محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، الطبعة: الأولى 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم، مسلم بن الحجاج القشيري النيسابوري، تحقيق محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار إحياء التراث العربي، بيروت، الطبعة: 1423هـ. نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، مجموعة من الباحثين، مؤسسة الرسالة، بيروت، الطبعة: الرابعة عشر 1407هـ.

Allah, the Almighty, is kind towards His slaves and He wills to facilitate for them the means of forgiveness. Hence, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) urged us to join the funeral procession and prayer, for this is a type of intercession that leads to mercy. Allah, the Almighty, has made the reward of whoever attends the funeral prayer equal to one Qirāt, and whoever attends the funeral till burial another Qirāt of reward. Such is a great reward whose specific amount is known to our Lord. Since the Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) had no knowledge about how much this reward was, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) tried to bring it closer to their understanding, stating that each Qirāt is like a huge mountain. Such an act entails a great reward because it involves the fulfillment of the rights of one's fellow Muslims, supplication for them, a reminder of death and the Hereafter, giving solace and comfort to the relatives of the deceased, as well as other benefits.

تيسير العلام، للبسام، الناشر: مكتبة الصحابة، الإمارات - مكتبة التابعين، القاهرة، الطبعة العاشرة، 1426 هـ - 2006 م. تنبيه الأفهام، للعثيمين، طبعة مكتبة الصحابة، الإمارات، مكتبة التابعين، القاهرة، الطبعة الأولى 1426هـ. صحيح البخاري، لأبي عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، تحقيق: محمد زهير بن ناصر الناصر، الناشر: دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم، المحقق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، الناشر: دار إحياء التراث العربي – بيروت. تأسيس الأحكام، لأحمد بن يحيى النجمي- دار المنهاج- القاهرة- مصر -الطبعة الأولى. عمدة الأحكام من كلام خير الأنام صلى الله عليه وسلم، لعبد الغني المقدسي، دراسة وتحقيق: محمود الأرناؤوط، مراجعة وتقديم: عبد القادر الأرناؤوط، (ط2).