What is the meaning of our saying in the funeral prayer: "And replace his wife with a better wife" (and the method of the funeral prayer)? And is this said in the prayer for a woman?

The questioner : The questioner asks: What is the meaning of our saying in the supplication for the deceased: "And replace his wife with a better wife and his family with a better family"?

The Shaykh : Yes, the prayer for the deceased is an intercession for him. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: . So the prayer is an intercession. For this reason, it is recommended for the one praying over the deceased to be sincere in his supplication for him, meaning that he should supplicate with his heart and his tongue. Most of those who pray, in my opinion, pray with their tongues but not with their hearts. You find that he recites the supplication, but there is no strength in the supplication. For this reason, it is narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: . The funeral prayer is arranged in order of priority. First: al-Fatihah. Second: the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Third: the supplication for the Muslims in general. Fourth: the supplication for the deceased. When you say the first takbir, you recite al-Fatihah. It is praise of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and glorification of Him. When you say the second takbir, you pray upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), for by Allah, there is no human being who has a greater right over you than the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He is the greatest of human beings in his right over you. He is the one who guided you. He is the one who urged you to good. He is the one who explained evil to you and warned you against it. So he has the greatest favor of any created being over any created being. Be careful, my brother. Be careful of this. And part of his right over you is that you do not transgress his Sunnah by innovating in it, adding to it what is not part of it, or by diminishing it, discarding what was part of it. Follow him if you want his intercession. If you want to be in Paradise with him, then you must follow his Sunnah and not transgress it. Even if innovations are made attractive to you, and even if their innovators gather with their cavalry and infantry, they are nothing. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: . So if you want to know the standard by which acceptance is determined, weigh this deed against what? Weigh this deed against what? Against the Book and the Sunnah. If it agrees with the Book and the Sunnah, it is truth; and if it does not agree with the Book and the Sunnah, it is invalid. Now, the funeral prayer begins with what? With al-Fatihah, which is the right of Allah, then the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then the general supplication. After the third takbir, you say: "O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, our present and our absent, our young and our old", then the specific supplication. This is similar in some respects, my brothers, so consider the tashahhud. It begins with the greetings being for Allah, then peace upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then peace upon us, then peace upon all the righteous servants of Allah. In the specific supplication for the deceased, you say: . It is clear. There is no problem with it, meaning make his grave better than his palace. Make his grave better than his palace. And by Allah, the grave for the believer—may Allah make me and you among them—is better than palaces. A family better than his family, because a person finds annoyance from his family sometimes, and opposition sometimes, and they do not align with what is proper for him. So you ask Allah to replace his family with a better family. Yes. This is confusing for some people: if the deceased is a woman, how do you say "a better husband than her husband"? If she is from the people of Paradise, and she is seeking Paradise, then he is her husband in this world and the Hereafter. We say: Yes, the replacement can be by specific individuals or by attributes. Be careful, my brother. For example, if I say to someone, "May Allah replace your companion with someone better than him," it does not mean that a new companion will come. It may be that your companion is better in his companionship with you. Meaning in his treatment of her. And there is no doubt that the husband with his wife in Paradise is better than the husband with his wife in this world. So, if the person was not married, it is known that he will be given a better wife than his wife, if it is decreed. And if he was married, the meaning is better than his wife in attributes and in companionship. Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.