I ask you, may Allah reward you, to give me a complete description of the Sunnah regarding shrouding the deceased and praying over him, and what is the supplication recited in the funeral prayer?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : This is a letter sent by the listener Ali Muhammad al-Haqqi. The letter is long. In it, his first question says: "I ask you, may Allah reward you, to give me a complete description of the manner of shrouding the deceased and praying over him, and what is the supplication recited in the funeral prayer? I also ask you, may Allah reward you, to inform me of the books that address this topic?"
The Shaykh : As for the books that deal with this topic, they are the books of the jurists (may Allah have mercy on them), as well as those of the people of hadith. Hadith books address this topic, whether they are arranged by chapters or by the narrators. To give you a specific example, the book "Muntakha al-Akhbar", authored by Majd al-Din 'Abd al-Salam ibn Taymiyyah, the grandfather of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on both of them), is a valuable and beneficial book. Al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote a commentary on it, so you can derive great benefit from it. Likewise, the book on funerals in Sahih al-Bukhari, which has the commentary Fath al-Bari by Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, and the books of jurisprudence in all the schools of thought, all address and clarify this topic, and the Muslim can benefit from them.
As for what you asked about regarding the manner of shrouding, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was shrouded in three white garments without a shirt or a turban. The three pieces of cloth are brought and spread out, one over the other, then the deceased is placed on them. Then the ends are folded over the deceased from the sides, from the head, and from the feet, and they are tied so that they do not come apart when the deceased is carried. When he is placed in the grave, the knots are untied.
As for praying over him, he is placed in front of the praying people, and his head is to the right of the imam or to his left; there is no difference between this and that, contrary to what many of the common people understand, that his head must be to the right of the imam. The imam alone steps forward to pray over him, and the people are behind him. As for what some of the common people think, that the awliya (close friends of Allah) of the deceased must be next to the imam, this has no basis. But those who bring him forward, if they bring him to the imam, they step back to the rows. If they have no place, there is no blame on them to line up behind the imam, but they should not line up directly opposite him, because the Sunnah is that the imam is ahead of the ma'mum (one praying behind the imam). They say takbir (saying Allahu akbar) over him four times, or five, or more, according to what the Sunnah has come with. In the first takbir, they recite Surat al-Fatihah after the seeking of refuge and the basmalah. In the second, they send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as in the tashahhud: "O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious." After the third takbir, they supplicate for the deceased and say: "O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, our present and our absent, our young and our old, our male and our female. Indeed, You know our place of return and our place of abode. O Allah, whoever You keep alive among us, keep him alive upon Islam, and whoever You cause to die among us, cause him to die upon faith. O Allah, forgive him, have mercy on him, grant him well-being, pardon him, honor his residence, widen his entrance, wash him with water, snow, and hail, and purify him from sins as a white garment is purified from dirt. And replace his home with a better home, and his family with a better family. And admit him into Paradise, and protect him from the punishment of the grave and the punishment of the Fire. And make spacious for him in his grave, and illuminate for him therein." And he also supplicates with whatever he wishes from what comes to his mind of supplication.
And after the fourth takbir, he says: "Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire." Then he says taslim (the closing salam). If he says takbir and then says taslim without supplication, there is no harm. If he says takbir five times, I do not know what he says between the fourth and the fifth. But if he divides the previous supplication, putting some of it after the fourth and some of it after the fifth, then there is no harm in that. That is, he puts some of it after the third and some of it after the fourth, and there is no harm in that. Then after this, he says taslim once to his right. In these takbirs, he raises his hands with every takbir, as the Sunnah has come with this. This has been authentically reported from the action of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), and it has been narrated as marfu' (a report traced to the Prophet) to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So the Sunnah is that the one praying over the funeral raises his hands with every takbir. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge.
The Shaykh : As for the books that deal with this topic, they are the books of the jurists (may Allah have mercy on them), as well as those of the people of hadith. Hadith books address this topic, whether they are arranged by chapters or by the narrators. To give you a specific example, the book "Muntakha al-Akhbar", authored by Majd al-Din 'Abd al-Salam ibn Taymiyyah, the grandfather of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on both of them), is a valuable and beneficial book. Al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote a commentary on it, so you can derive great benefit from it. Likewise, the book on funerals in Sahih al-Bukhari, which has the commentary Fath al-Bari by Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, and the books of jurisprudence in all the schools of thought, all address and clarify this topic, and the Muslim can benefit from them.
As for what you asked about regarding the manner of shrouding, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was shrouded in three white garments without a shirt or a turban. The three pieces of cloth are brought and spread out, one over the other, then the deceased is placed on them. Then the ends are folded over the deceased from the sides, from the head, and from the feet, and they are tied so that they do not come apart when the deceased is carried. When he is placed in the grave, the knots are untied.
As for praying over him, he is placed in front of the praying people, and his head is to the right of the imam or to his left; there is no difference between this and that, contrary to what many of the common people understand, that his head must be to the right of the imam. The imam alone steps forward to pray over him, and the people are behind him. As for what some of the common people think, that the awliya (close friends of Allah) of the deceased must be next to the imam, this has no basis. But those who bring him forward, if they bring him to the imam, they step back to the rows. If they have no place, there is no blame on them to line up behind the imam, but they should not line up directly opposite him, because the Sunnah is that the imam is ahead of the ma'mum (one praying behind the imam). They say takbir (saying Allahu akbar) over him four times, or five, or more, according to what the Sunnah has come with. In the first takbir, they recite Surat al-Fatihah after the seeking of refuge and the basmalah. In the second, they send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as in the tashahhud: "O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious." After the third takbir, they supplicate for the deceased and say: "O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, our present and our absent, our young and our old, our male and our female. Indeed, You know our place of return and our place of abode. O Allah, whoever You keep alive among us, keep him alive upon Islam, and whoever You cause to die among us, cause him to die upon faith. O Allah, forgive him, have mercy on him, grant him well-being, pardon him, honor his residence, widen his entrance, wash him with water, snow, and hail, and purify him from sins as a white garment is purified from dirt. And replace his home with a better home, and his family with a better family. And admit him into Paradise, and protect him from the punishment of the grave and the punishment of the Fire. And make spacious for him in his grave, and illuminate for him therein." And he also supplicates with whatever he wishes from what comes to his mind of supplication.
And after the fourth takbir, he says: "Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire." Then he says taslim (the closing salam). If he says takbir and then says taslim without supplication, there is no harm. If he says takbir five times, I do not know what he says between the fourth and the fifth. But if he divides the previous supplication, putting some of it after the fourth and some of it after the fifth, then there is no harm in that. That is, he puts some of it after the third and some of it after the fourth, and there is no harm in that. Then after this, he says taslim once to his right. In these takbirs, he raises his hands with every takbir, as the Sunnah has come with this. This has been authentically reported from the action of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), and it has been narrated as marfu' (a report traced to the Prophet) to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So the Sunnah is that the one praying over the funeral raises his hands with every takbir. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge.