How is the supplication made for a small child in the funeral prayer?
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The questioner : Regarding the supplication for a small child in the funeral prayer?
The Shaykh : Is the supplication for him or for his parents?
The questioner : The supplication in the funeral prayer... for him or for his parents? I mean, for a small child. For an adult who has died, we supplicate for his forgiveness because he has sinned. But for a small child who has not reached the age of accountability, who died at eight months old, when we pray over him, is there a specific supplication as we hear, where we supplicate for his parents with patience and forgiveness and that Allah replace him with something better? Or is it the same supplication that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used for an adult, with the reward going to his parents?
The Shaykh : Do I understand from your question, may Allah bless you, that you are asking if there is a specific supplication in the Sunnah for a child, or do you mean if there is a supplication in the Sunnah for the child's parents if they have not prayed over him?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : I do not know of either this or that, so nothing of this comes to mind.
The questioner : We stick to the preserved supplication.
The Shaykh : The preserved one.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : ... for example,Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1024Sahih (Darussalam) but there is no specific supplication for a child as far as I can recall at the moment.
The questioner : ... O Allah, make him a treasure for his parents and weigh down their scales with him.
The Shaykh : ... so we differ.
The questioner : Our Shaykh, may Allah bless you, we know that the addition to the four takbirs in the funeral prayer is established, but is the reason for this addition, as some say, that the Prophet or those of the Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them) who did so did it because of the status of that man, being noble or great among his people, so he is prayed over more than four times? Or is it otherwise?
The Shaykh : It is otherwise.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Is the supplication for him or for his parents?
The questioner : The supplication in the funeral prayer... for him or for his parents? I mean, for a small child. For an adult who has died, we supplicate for his forgiveness because he has sinned. But for a small child who has not reached the age of accountability, who died at eight months old, when we pray over him, is there a specific supplication as we hear, where we supplicate for his parents with patience and forgiveness and that Allah replace him with something better? Or is it the same supplication that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used for an adult, with the reward going to his parents?
The Shaykh : Do I understand from your question, may Allah bless you, that you are asking if there is a specific supplication in the Sunnah for a child, or do you mean if there is a supplication in the Sunnah for the child's parents if they have not prayed over him?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : I do not know of either this or that, so nothing of this comes to mind.
The questioner : We stick to the preserved supplication.
The Shaykh : The preserved one.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : ... for example,
Allahammaghfir li-hayyina wa mayyittina, wa shahidina wa gha'ibina
اللهم اغفر لحيّنا وميّتنا وشاهدنا وغائبناThe questioner : ... O Allah, make him a treasure for his parents and weigh down their scales with him.
The Shaykh : ... so we differ.
The questioner : Our Shaykh, may Allah bless you, we know that the addition to the four takbirs in the funeral prayer is established, but is the reason for this addition, as some say, that the Prophet or those of the Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them) who did so did it because of the status of that man, being noble or great among his people, so he is prayed over more than four times? Or is it otherwise?
The Shaykh : It is otherwise.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.