Explanation of Hadiths from al-Muntaqa al-Munziri's al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib, from the Book of Funerals, Chapter on Encouraging Hurrying with the Funeral and Expediting Burial

The Shaykh : Tonight we studied from al-Hafiz al-Munziri's al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib, in the chapter on encouraging hurrying with the funeral and expediting burial. The first hadith is authentic, as the author's tracing of it indicates to you. He said (may Allah have mercy on him): "It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Narrated by al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah. In this authentic hadith, there is an explanation of the etiquette, indeed an obligatory duty among the duties of accompanying a Muslim's funeral, which is the obligation to hurry with preparing it and delivering it to its grave. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) explains in this hadith the legal cause that necessitates this legal ruling, which is hurrying with preparing the deceased and burying him. He says that the deceased is either righteous, in which case expediting him and his burial in his grave is the good that you hasten to him; and the opposite is the opposite: delaying his burial is only delaying that good from him. What is the good that the Messenger (peace be upon him) refers to in this hadith regarding the righteous man, of whom it is assumed the funeral is of that type? What is this good that we present and hasten to him? It is what came in some hadiths whose chains are not authentic but whose meanings are authentic, such as . This meaning is found in many authentic hadiths, as I had gathered some of them in my printed and well-known book "Rulings on Funerals and Their Innovations". There are hadiths indicating that when the deceased is placed in his grave, if he is a believer and is asked by the two noble angels, Munkar and Nakir, the well-known questions: "Who is your Lord? Who is your Prophet? What is your religion?" then if he is a believing, righteous man, he answers with the answer that had been imprinted in his heart while he was enjoying the intellect that is the basis of the Shari'ah's obligation upon him, for he responded to the call of Allah and the Messenger and believed in everything the Messenger (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) brought. So his answer will be, as it is said today, automatic and natural, because he was saturated with this creed until his last breath. So his answer to the first question will be "My Lord is Allah", to the second "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah", and to the third "My religion is Islam". Then he will be told "Sleep the sleep of a bride", and a window will be opened for him from his grave through which he sees and looks out upon his home and place in Paradise. He will receive from its spirit and fragrance, and he will continue to enjoy that until the Hour stands. If the man is a hypocrite or a disbeliever, he will not be able to answer that, because as it is said, one who lacks a thing cannot give it. He was in this world when he was obligated to believe in Allah and His Messenger, either a disbeliever or a hypocrite who displayed Islam and concealed disbelief. So when he is asked, "Who is your Lord? Who is your Prophet? What is your religion?" he does not know, and he says, and when he answers with the answer "I do not know", he is told "You did not know and you were not guided". And he is struck with that hammer, and the ribs of his body interlock with one another due to its intensity and weight. And thus a window is opened for him through which he looks out upon his place in the Fire. He will receive from its smoke and flame, and he will continue to be tortured by that until the Hour stands. So if the funeral is righteous, it is good that you hasten it to her. This is the good, meaning this bliss, which is better than the bliss of this world, no matter how great the bliss in this world may be, but it is less than the bliss of the Hereafter. It is a model and a miniature example of this bliss that the Muslim receives in his grave until the Hour stands. So if the funeral is righteous, we must hasten with it and deposit it in its grave so that it may enjoy this bliss until the Hour stands. And the opposite is the opposite: if this funeral is not righteous, it is as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , meaning we get rid of it and are relieved of its evil. These meanings and details, whether the funeral is righteous or wretched, and the ruling or consequence that results from the difference between righteousness and wretchedness in funerals, this is a matter that no one in this world knows except the Muslim who believes in Allah and His Messenger. This is because it is among the matters of the unseen, which the intellect and empirical science have no reach into and no way to know its realities. Rather, it is from the knowledge of faith in the unseen, and that is the affair of the Muslim. Therefore, the Muslim is driven in his life and all his actions based on the creed he believes in. And the opposite is the exact opposite: when the Muslim remembers this legal scientific reality, that the funeral is either righteous, in which case those carrying it must hasten to bury it so that they do good to it; if they delay in preparing and burying it, they have done wrong to it. The wise Shari'ah educates the Muslim to do good to his Muslim brother, whether alive or dead. These meanings are not known by others who were deprived of the blessing of faith in Islam.