Saying Bismillah: In our village in Yemen, when a Muslim dies, the people of the village go out repeating in a very loud voice: La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad...
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : This message reached us from the sender, Ali Ahmad al-Yamani, in Jeddah. He says: Bismillah, in our village in Yemen, when a Muslim dies, the people of the village go out repeating in a very loud voice: La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah. Is it permissible for them to repeat this in a loud voice so that the people in the neighboring village can hear it, considering that the women go out with them to near the cemetery?
The Shaykh : All of this is erroneous. What is prescribed for the one who accompanies the funeral procession and follows it is to be humble and to be mindful of the state of this deceased, knowing that he himself will soon or in the future be in the same state as this deceased. He should take this as a lesson, be discerning, and recognize the state of this world, knowing that its end is destruction. Raising the voice in dhikr behind the funeral procession is one of the religious innovations that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions did not practice.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Every act of worship, indeed every deed that a person believes to be worship and by which he seeks nearness to Allah, if it has no share in the Shari'ah, is a religious innovation that is rejected by its doer. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Muslim 1718b It is also erroneous for women to follow funeral processions, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade following funeral processions. Therefore, a woman should not follow a funeral procession. If she does follow it, it is incumbent upon the men to forbid her and to drive her away from following the funeral procession.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : All of this is erroneous. What is prescribed for the one who accompanies the funeral procession and follows it is to be humble and to be mindful of the state of this deceased, knowing that he himself will soon or in the future be in the same state as this deceased. He should take this as a lesson, be discerning, and recognize the state of this world, knowing that its end is destruction. Raising the voice in dhikr behind the funeral procession is one of the religious innovations that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions did not practice.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Every act of worship, indeed every deed that a person believes to be worship and by which he seeks nearness to Allah, if it has no share in the Shari'ah, is a religious innovation that is rejected by its doer. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
He who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.
من عمل عملا ليس عليه أمرنا فهو ردThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.