Chapter on what is recited in the funeral prayer. From Abu 'Abd al-Rahman Awf ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed over a funeral.

The reader: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Chapter on what is recited in the funeral prayer. From Awf ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed over a funeral, and I memorized part of his supplication, in which he said:

Allahummaghfir lahu, warhamhu, wa 'afihi, wa'fu 'anhu, wa akrim nuzulahu, wa wassi' mudkhalahu, waghsilhu bil-ma'i wath-thalji wal-baradi, wa naqqihi minal-khataya, kama naqqaytath-thawbal-abyada minad-danasi, wa abdilhu daran khairan min darihi, wa ahlan khairan min ahlihi, wa zawjan khairan min zawjihi, wa adkhilhul-Jannata, wa a'idh-hu min 'adhabil- qabri, wa min 'adhabin-nar

اللهم اغفر له وارحمه وعافه واعف عنه وأكرم نزله ووسع مدخله واغسله بالماء والثلج والبرد ونقه من الخطايا كما نقيت الثوب الأبيض من الدنس، وأبدله دارًا خيرًا من داره وأهلًا خيرًا من أهله وزوجًا خيرًا من زوجه، وأدخله الجنة وأعذه من عذاب القبر ومن عذاب النار

Riyad as-Salihin 935

I even wished that I were that dead person. Narrated by Muslim."

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book *Riyad al-Salihin*: "Chapter on what is supplicated for the deceased". The funeral prayer consists of reciting al-Fatihah, then sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), then supplication. One begins first with al-Fatihah because it is praise of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), then sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), who is the most deserving of people to be prioritized, even over oneself. Then comes the general supplication: "O Allah, forgive our living and our dead", followed by the specific supplication for the deceased: "O Allah, forgive him and have mercy on him". This order is like the order in the tashahhud: the tashahhud begins with "All praises are for Allah", which is praise of Allah, then peace upon the Prophet, then peace upon the person and upon the righteous servants of Allah. This is also the order for supplicating for the deceased, but it begins with the general before the specific, unlike the tashahhud, which begins with the specific before the general, because in the tashahhud you supplicate for yourself—"peace upon us"—and the self is prioritized over others, except for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The important point is that in the funeral prayer, a person says the first takbir, then says: "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds", then recites al-Fatihah in full, then says the second takbir and sends blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The best way to send blessings upon him is what he taught his Ummah: "O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim. You are Praiseworthy, Majestic. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim. You are Praiseworthy, Majestic". Then he says the third takbir and supplicates for the Muslims in general: "O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, our present and our absent, our young and our old". Then he supplicates for the deceased with the specific supplication, including what is in the hadith of Awf ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed over a funeral and he memorized part of his supplication: "His lodging" means his hospitality, meaning honor him in his hospitality, because the deceased becomes a guest of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) when he transitions from this world; he will be in his grave either being punished or being granted favor, so he says "honor his lodging." "Widen his entrance" means widen his grave, because he enters it. "Wash him" means purify him from sins with water, snow, and hail. Snow and hail are mentioned because they are cold, and water is mentioned because it provides cleanliness. May Allah protect us and you from sins, for their punishment is hot. It is fitting to associate snow and hail with water so that water provides cleaning and snow and hail provide cooling. The white garment is mentioned because it is the one in which the slightest stain appears. If the white garment is clean, it means there is no dirt at all, unlike a black, red, green, or similar garment, where the stain is not as clearly visible as in white. Because he has transitioned from the home of this world to the home of the barzakh. The home of this world, as we know, is a home of trials, harm, and turbidity, so he says: so that he may be granted favor in his grave. "His family" means his relatives, such as his mother, his maternal aunt, his daughters, his father, his son, and the like. "A better wife than his wife" means a better wife than his wife in this world, namely the houris, and also his wife in this world, because if a man marries a woman in this world and she dies upon faith, she will be his wife in the Hereafter. If someone asks: How can she be better than his wife in this world if she is the same person? We say: She is better in terms of attributes, beauty, and so on. All of this is supplication that a person makes for the deceased. One should be sincere to the deceased in this supplication. If it is a woman, he says: using the feminine pronoun. If he does not know whether it is a male or a female, he has a choice: if he wishes, he says "O Allah, forgive him," meaning this person, and a woman is called a person; or he says "O Allah, forgive her," meaning this funeral, and the term "funeral" applies to both men and women. So if he knows it is a male, he uses the masculine form; if he knows it is a female, he uses the feminine form; and if he does not know, it is permissible to use the masculine form and permissible to use the feminine form. If he uses the masculine form, the meaning is "forgive him," meaning this person before us; or he says "forgive her," meaning this funeral, and the term "funeral" applies to both men and women. And success is from Allah.