deceased 441 5) The tasleem
The Book of Prayer
Funeral Prayer Continued
بَابُ آدَابِ الْمَشْيِ
إِلَى الصَّلاَةِ
Funeral Prayer Continued
[More Rulings for the Prayer]
He who misses the prayer for the deceased may pray at his grave --- for up to one month. 442 If the deceased is absent from the town, he should pray for him with the intention (as if he is in front of him). 443
وَمَنْ فَاتَتْهُ الصَّلاَةُ عَلَيْهِ، صَلَّى عَلَى الْقَبْرِ إِلَى شَهْرٍ. وَإِنْ كَانَ الْمَيِّتُ غَائِبًا عَنِ الْبَلَدِ، صُلِّيَ عَلَيْهِ بِالنِّيَّةِ.
441. According to (A/SM), it is:
This is because of the hadith above and the fact that this is what the prayer is about.
442. It was posited that the body would have decayed after one month had passed. Imam Aḥmad also said that there was no report indicating that the Prophet (SA) prayed it after the one month.
The Prophet (SA) prayed by the graves of people whose funeral prayers he had missed. (N, A, Ḥib: S) (One of them was the black woman who used to sweep the mosque.)
The funeral prayer is the only one that can be prayed in front of a grave, for the Messenger (SA) said:
443. When the Najâshi (Negus) died in Abyssinia, the Prophet (SA) prayed for him, and the Companions prayed behind him. (Ag) It has not been proven that the Prophet prayed for al-ghâ’ib (the absent) except in that case.
(A) + (+S): Praying for al-ghâ’ib is permissible for any Muslim.
(a) + (-H, -M): Praying for al-ghâ’ib was a special case for the Prophet (SA) and is not prescribed after him.
(a) + (-t): Praying for al-ghâ’ib is only prescribed if no funeral prayer was offered for the deceased where he died.
[Special Cases]
[Washing Impossible] If washing him is not possible due to lack of water or fear of maceration of his body – as in the case of one who was afflicted by smallpox or one who was burned – or when it is a woman amongst men or a man amongst women, then he is to be given dry ablution (tayammum). However, it is permissible for each one of the spouses to wash his companion; likewise for an umm al-walad 444 with her master.
وَمَنْ تَعَذَّرَ غَسْلُهُ لِعَدَمِ الْمَاءِ، أَوْ لِلْخَوْفِ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ التَّقَطُّعِ، كَالْمَجْدُوْرِ وَالْمُحْتَرِقِ، أَوْ لِكَوْنِ الْمَرْأَةِ بَيْنَ رِجَالٍ، أَوِ الرَّجُلِ بَيْنَ نِسَاءٍ، فَإِنَّهُ يُيَمَّمُ. إِلاَّ أَنَّ لِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنَ الزَّوْجَيْنِ غَسْلَ صَاحِبِهِ، وَكَذٰلِكَ أُمُّ الْوَلَدِ مَعَ سَيِّدِهَا.
Some contemporary scholars suggest that it may be indicated for someone who made great contributions to the religion or Ummah, like the Najâshi (Negus).
444. Umm al-walad (lit. ‘mother of the child’) is a slave woman who gives birth to her master’s child. She cannot be sold or passed on as inheritance, and she becomes free upon the death of her master.
445. (A): Or if one was unjustly murdered. (a) + (-H, -M, -S): Only if he was martyred on the battlefield. They cite that ‘Umar and ‘Uthmân had the funeral prayer offered for them.
446. They all agreed that martyrs are not washed.
(A) + (+M, +S): There is no janâzah prayer for them. Their proof is that the Prophet (SA) instructed the people to bury the martyrs of the Battle of Uḥud without washing them or praying for them. (B – from Jâbir) (a) + (-H): There is a janâzah prayer for them. They cited, among other proofs, that on the day of Uḥud, the Messenger of Allah (SA) ordered that Ḥamzah be wrapped in his cloak, and then he offered the funeral prayer for him. He said takbeer nine times; then the slain were brought and laid in rows, and he offered the prayer for them. (aṭ-Ṭaḥâwi in Ma‘âni al-Âthâr, from ‘Abdullâh ibn az-Zubayr. The authenticity of this report is controversial.)
be taken off him, and he should be wrapped in his clothes. If he is shrouded with other cloths, there is no harm.
الْحَدِيْدُ وَالْجُلُوْدُ، ثُمَّ يُزَمَّلُ فِيْ ثِيَابِهِ، وَإِنْ كُفِّنَ فِيْ غَيْرِهَا، فَلاَ بَأْسَ.
The one who died in a state of iḥrâm 447 is washed with water and the crushed dry leaves of the sidr (lote) tree. He must not be dressed in stitched [or form-fitting] clothes or have perfume applied; his head must not be covered, and his hair must not be cut nor his nails clipped. 448
وَالْمُحْرِمُ يُغَسَّلُ بِمَاءٍ وَسِدْرٍ، وَلاَ يُلْبَسُ مَخِيْطًا، وَلاَ يُقَرَّبُ طِيْبًا، وَلاَ يُغَطَّى رَأْسُهُ، وَلاَ يُقْطَعُ شَعْرُهُ وَلاَ ظُفُرُهُ.
This, by consensus, is not applicable to other types of martyrs who die outside of the battlefield, such as the ones listed by the Prophet (SA), “The one who dies of plague, drowns, dies of pleurisy, dies of a stomach disease, is burned to death, or dies underneath rubble, and the woman who dies in pregnancy or labor.” (D – from Jâbir ibn ‘Ateek. D:S) For these and others who die a painful sudden death, Allah will grant them the reward of the martyr in the hereafter, but the rules of martyrs are not applied to them in the dunyâ.
447. Iḥrâm is the intention to perform the Hajj or ‘umrah. It includes abstaining from certain worldly practices, as prescribed.
448. During the farewell Hajj, a man was standing at ‘Arafah with the Messenger of Allah (SA) when he fell off his mount (camel), and it kicked him and killed him. This was mentioned to the Prophet (SA), who said:
“Wash him with water and sidr (crushed lote tree leaves) and wrap him in his two sheets. Do not scent his body or cover his head or his face, for he will be raised on the Day of Judgment making talbiyah (the phrase repeated by pilgrims throughout the rites of Hajj and ‘umrah, which begins ‘Here I am, O Allah, here I am (responding to your call)’.” (Ag – from Ibn ‘Abbâs)
اغْسِلُوهُ بِمَاءٍ وَسِدْرٍ وَكَفِّنُوهُ في ثَوْبَيْهِ ولا تُخَمِّرُوا رَأْسَهُ ولا وَجْهَهُ فإنه يُبْعَثُ يوم الْقِيَامَةِ مُلَبِّيًا.