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Salat (Prayer)

About Salat
Salat Overview
Timings
Call to Prayer

How to Pray

Beginning Salat
Takbir Tahrimah
Tie Hands
Ruku
Qawmah
Qawmah (contd)
Sajdah
Jalsah
Second Sajdah
Next Rak-at
Tashahud
Tashahud (Contd)
Salutation
Postscript

At a glance

Fajr
Dhuhr
Asr
Maghrib
Isha

Combining/Shortening
Prayers

Other Prayers

Optional prayers
Friday prayer
Eid Prayer
Rain Prayer
Funeral Prayer

 

Funeral Ceremonies and Prayer

Death is the occasion when ones' vicegerency on earth comes to an end. Death takes away man's family, wealth and authority on earth, but more importantly it takes away his freedom of choice, which the greatest blessing given to man by God ever. One is then left with one's record of deeds and starts the wait for the Day of Judgment.

[Prophet Muhammad, however, said that there are three things which may continue to benefit a person after death: charity given during lifetime which continues to benefit others, knowledge from which people continue to benefit, and a righteous child who prays for the deceased.]

Funeral ceremonies and prayer for the dead is a social obligation in Islam. It is the process in which we make ready our beloved one for his meeting with the Lord. It is in great honour and regard for a dead person that Islam has prescribed to bathe him, shroud him in clean white clothes, perfume him, pray for his salvation, accompany him to his final resting place, and thereby communicate to his soul that he is not alone or lost forever, and has a place in their hearts to the Day of Judgment.

As said Islam demands that the corpse should be honorably dispensed and must be handled with utmost care in the burial procedure. When a Muslim dies his eyes should be closed and his lower jaw bound to the head. He should be taken to be bathed on a platform or bed. The person preferred to wash should be preferably his or her close relative of the same sex. The spouse can wash his or her partner too. Also a minor's body can be washed by either a man or a woman.

The martyrs are not to be washed, but should be buried in the clothes they were wearing.

Recommended way to wash the deceased.

The clothes of the dead person should be removed and private parts should be covered. Raise the head up and gently press down on the stomach to void any remaining excretions in the bowels, and clean it using a cloth tied to ones hand, using plenty of water. The body is now ready for washing.

Starting with the head, wash the body using warm water and soap, first the right side and then the left side. This is repeated three times, or till the body is cleansed well. Final washing can be done by water scented with perfume or camphor. The person's nose and teeth should be cleaned, and moustache, finger nails and toe nails should be shortened. Then the body should be dried with a cloth and perfumed. Male's hair should be washed and combed. Female's hair should be plaited in three braids and placed to the back.

Shrouding the Dead

The body should be shrouded with three large white sheets spread out one over the other, or just one sheet, that are scented with incense. The deceased is laid out, stretched out, over the three sheets. The private parts are padded with cotton and a garment is tied around it, acting like a short pants. Then each sheet is folded over the body one after the other, first left to right and then right to left. Tie at the ends of the head and feet, and if necessary in the middle also, with strings.

The woman is covered with a loin cloth and then a sleeveless body length shirt and then a headcovering and then two sheets.

How to pray Funeral Prayer

Making Funeral Prayer for the dead person and then accompanying him to the burial are highly recommended acts.

Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) said : " If a Muslim dies and forty Muslims, who do not associate anything with Allah , join in the Salatul Janazah, Allah accepts their prayers for him." ( Muslim ).

Funeral Prayer is a very short prayer which requires only four Takbeers (saying "Allahu Akbar") raising hands each time, with no need for other postures like Ruku or Sajdah. The deceased is placed in front of the Imam.

These steps are described in detail as below:

After First Takbeer Imam recites the opening chapter of Quran, Faathiha, silently.

After the second takbeer, he recites darud (prayer complimenting the prophet), as in the final sitting of regular Salat, as follows.

ALLaahumma Salli :alaa muHammadin wa:alaa aali muHammadin kamaa Sallayta :alaa ibraahiima wa:ala aali ibraahiima innaka Hamiidun majiid. ALLaahumma baarik :alaa muHammadin wa:alaa aali muHammadin kamaa baarakta :alaa ibraahiima wa:alaa aali ibraahiima innaka Hamiidun majiid.

O Allah, grace Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You graced Abraham and the family of Abraham, for verily You are praiseworthy, exalted. And bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You blessed Abraham and the family of Abraham, for verily You are praiseworthy, exalted.

After third takbeer, the following supplication is made:

aLLaahumma ghfirli Hayyinaa wa-mayyitina washaahidina wa:aa'ibinaa waSaghiirinaa wakabiirina wadhakarinaa wa-unthaanaa aLLaahumma man aHyaytahu minaa fa-aHyihi :ala-lislaami waman tawaffaytahu minnaa fatawaffahu :ala-l-iimaani aLLaahumma ghfir-lahu wa-arHamhu wa:fu :anhu wa:aafihi wa-akrim nuzulahu wawassi: mudkhalahu wa:silhu bilmaa'in wal-thaljin wal-baradin, wa-naqqihi minal-khataayaa kamaa yunaqqaa-ththawbu-l-abyadhu mina-ddanasi wa-abdilhu daaran khayran min daarihi wa-ahlan khayran min ahlihi wa-zawjan khairan min zawjihi waqihi :adhaaba-lqabri wa-:adhaaba-nnaar

O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, our present and our absent, our young and our old, our males and our females. O Allah, for the one You continue to give life among us, keep him alive in Islam. And for the one that You give death among us, let him die in faith. O Allah, forgive him, have mercy on him, pardon him and make him safe and make his resting place an honorable one and make his entry way exapansive. Clean with the water, snow and hail and purify him from sins like a white garment is cleansed from dirt. Replace for him an abode which is better than his abode [here] and a family that is better than his family and a spouse that is better than his spouse. Save him from the punishment of the grave and the punishment of the fire.

If the deceased is a child, after the part "……….die in faith" one should say,

ALLahumma aj:al dhakhiran liwaalidaihi wa faratan wa shafii:an mujaaban. ALLahumma thaqqal bihi mawaaziinahumaa wa-a:Dham bihi ujoorahumaa wa alHaqahu biSaaliH salafil-mu'miniin wa-aj:alhu fii kafaala ibraahiim waqihu biraHmatika :adhaabal jaHiim.

O Allah, make him a stored treasure for his parents and a predecessor and a responded to intercessor. O Allah, make their scales heavy because of him and make their rewards greater. Join him with the pious, preceding believers. And place him under the protection of Abraham and save him, by Your mercy, from the punishment of the Fire.

Then the Imam makes the fourth takbeer, wait a little and then gives one salutation to his right.

Burying the Dead

After the Janazah Salah has been performed the deceased should be buried as soon as possible.

The grave should be dug deep enough to cover the body well, at least five feet. It is made in two uniform sections, the bottom part smaller than the top part. It should be lengthwise directed towards Qibla.

The body should be gently lowereed and put on the ground of the lower part of the grave upon its right side, facing the qibla. While doing this one should say "Bismillahi ala millati rasoolillah" (In the name of Allah, upon the way of the messenger of Allah). A layer of wood or big stones is then placed over the body. The body is then buried. Everyone accompanying the body should put three handful of soil on the roof of the grave. The remaining part of the grave should then be filled up with soil. The grave can be raised above the ground so that it is not more than a foot above it.

While throwing the three handful of sand recite theQuran verse:

From the (earth) did We create you, and into it shall We return you, and from it shall We bring you out once again. (20:55)

It is not permitted to build any monuments over the grave, even though plants can be planted. It is also forbidden to walk upon it, pray to the inmate or put candles or flowers on it.

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