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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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Is it permissible to make a condition in the funeral prayer for one whose Islam is in doubt?

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The Shaykh : Here is a point: some people say that funeral processions are brought to us for the dead, and we doubt the deceased's Islam because we know, for example, that he did not pray, so we are in doubt. Do we have to turn away and not pray over him, because one who dies while not praying is not prayed over, or do we pray over him? Allah says regarding the hypocrites:
And do not pray [the funeral prayer, O Muhammad], over any of them who has died - ever - or stand at his grave وَلا تُصَلِّ عَلَى أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ مَاتَ أَبَداً وَلا تَقُمْ عَلَى قَبْرِهِ
[At-Tawbah 9:84]
.
The answer is to say: If one is brought to you for prayer over whom you doubt regarding his Islam, or over whom you doubt regarding his apostasy, then make an exception. How do I make an exception? Say: "O Allah, if he was a believer, then forgive him and have mercy on him." When you say this, your responsibility is cleared, because you do not know, but Allah the Exalted knows. "O Allah, if he was a believer, then forgive him and have mercy on him."
And I tell you a story about this. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) says in his book *I'lam al-Muwaqqin*: "The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah had some issues in knowledge that were difficult for him, and Allah the Exalted enabled him to see the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in a dream, so he asked him about them. Among them was that people of religious innovation were brought to him, and he doubted whether their innovation was a cause of disbelief or open sinfulness. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him in the dream: 'Stick to the condition, O Ahmad.'" Who is this Ahmad? Ibn Taymiyyah. "Stick to the condition." The condition is that you say what? "O Allah, if he was a believer, then forgive him." If someone asks: Is it permissible to make a condition in supplication?
The answer: Yes, it is permissible to make a condition in supplication. Did not Allah the Exalted say in the verse of li'an:
that the curse of Allah be upon him if he should be among the liars. أَنَّ لَعْنَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ إِنْ كَانَ مِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ
[An-Nur 24:7]
And she says:
that the wrath of Allah be upon her if he was of the truthful. أَنَّ غَضَبَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا إِنْ كَانَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ
[An-Nur 24:9]
And in istikharah:
If You know that this job is good for my religion and my subsistence and in my Hereafter--(or said: If it is better for my present and later needs)--Then You ordain it for me and make it easy for me to get اللهم إن كنت تعلم أن هذا خيرٌ لي فاقدره لي ويسره
Sahih al-Bukhari 1166
The speech ends here, and after the adhan, if Allah wills, we will complete it.
Grant Muhammad the intercession and the excellence, and raise him to the praiseworthy station which You have promised him.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
If any Muslim dies and forty men who associate nothing with Allah stand over his prayer (they offer prayer over him), Allah will accept them as intercessors for him. ما من رجل مسلم يموت فيقوم على جنازته أربعون رجلا لا يشركون بالله شيئا إلا شفعهم الله فيه
Sahih Muslim 948
We mentioned an issue that is difficult for some people, which is that funeral processions are brought and a person doubts their Islam. We mentioned to you the dream that the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) saw, and that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) guided him to what? To the condition. We mentioned: Is there a corroborating evidence for this dream from the Qur'an and the Sunnah? We said: Yes, the verse of li'an. The husband who accuses his wife of zina, then does not establish proof for it, and the wife does not admit to it, li'an is established between them. He says in the fifth testimony:
that the curse of Allah be upon him if he should be among the liars. أَنَّ لَعْنَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ إِنْ كَانَ مِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ
[An-Nur 24:7]
This is a supplication conditioned by a condition. And she says in the fifth, in response to her husband:
And the fifth [oath will be] that the wrath of Allah be upon her if he was of the truthful. وَالْخَامِسَةَ أَنَّ غَضَبَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا إِنْ كَانَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ
[An-Nur 24:9]
We mentioned from the Sunnah the supplication of istikharah:
O Allah! If You know that this job is good for my religion and my subsistence and in my Hereafter--(or said: If it is better for my present and later needs)--Then You ordain it for me اللهم إن كنت تعلم أن هذا خير لي في ديني ودنياي وعاقبة أمري وعاجله فاقدره لي
Sahih al-Bukhari 1166
And this is a conditioned supplication. In fact, conditioning is permissible even in acts of worship. Subay'ah bint al-Zubayr came to ask the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), saying: She wanted to perform Hajj and she was ill. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her:
Perform Hajj and make the condition that your place is where you are detained, for you have with your Lord what you have excepted حجي واشترطي أن محلي حيث حبستني فإن لك على ربكِ ما استثنيتي
.
Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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