Salatul-Janaza (Funeral Prayer)

By Asma Bint Shameem

Salaat al-Janazah is the funeral prayer that is read when a Muslim passes away. 

Praying Salaat al-Janazah is a *fardh kifaayah* which means that if a few in the community pray it, then the rest of the community is absolved of it’s obligation. 

But if no one does it, then the whole community is sinful. 

It is the deceased person’s *right* as a Muslim that we pray this Salaat over him, even if had committed major sins. 

And this is a source of *great reward* for the one who reads it. 

The Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:

"Whoever attends a funeral until he offers the (funeral) prayer will have one qiraat (of reward) and whoever attends until the burial is done will have two qiraats." 

It was said: "What are the two qiraats?" 

He said: "Like two great mountains." (al-Bukhaari, Muslim)

How to read Salaat al-Janazah

Salaat al-Janazah has four takbeeraat. 

There are no rukoo or sujood and when the Imaam leads the people, the men stand in front of the women in rows just like the regular Salah. 

*Step by Step*

1. Raise your hands and say Allaahu Akbar 

2. Seek refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan: Aoodhu billaahi min ash-Shaytaan-nir-rajeem. 

3. Say the Bismillah:

Bismillahir-Rahmaanir-Raheem

4. Read Surah al-Faatihah. 

You HAVE to read Surah al Faatihah. If you don’t, your Salah is not complete. 

5. Raise your hands and say Allaah Akbar 

6. Send blessings and salutations on the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam like we do in Salah at the end of Tashahhud Allaahumma sali alaa Muhammad.... all the way to the end. 

(Durood Ibraheem)

7. Raise your hands and say Allaah Akbar 

8. Make duaa for the deceased 

It’s best to make duaa in Arabic. But if you don’t know it, you can say ANY duaa in ANY language. 

You can even READ the duaa on your phone or from a book. 

9. Raise your hands and say Allaah Akbar 

10. Some ulama allow making duaa here for yourself and for the ummah.  

11. Say salaam by turning towards the right  and say Assalaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullaah

That’s it.  You’re done. 

Some Important points 

Do I HAVE to Surah al-Faatihah?

Yes. 

In order for the prayer to be valid, you must recite al-Faatihah. 

Sheikh ibn Baaz said:

“It is obligatory, as the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said: “Pray as you have seen me praying.” 

And he Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:  
“There is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book.” (al-Bukhaari, Muslim)

(Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 13/143)

Can women pray it too?

Yes. 

Salaat al-Janazah is to be read by men AND women. 

The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

" *WHOEVER* attends a funeral until he offers the (funeral) prayer will have one qiraat (of reward)...:”, 

He did NOT say “MEN ONLY”. 

If this prayer was for men only, he would have specified it. 

Some ulama are of the opinion that it’s necessary to raise the hands in the first takbeer only and you don’t have to raise your hands for the other  three takbeeraat. 

So if someone does not raise their hands in the subsequent takbeeraat, it’s allowed and their salah is valid. 

If the Imaam you’re following makes two salaams, meaning to the right and the left, instead of just to the right, then remember it’s important to *follow the Imaam*. 

Islaamic Guidelines when a person dies

1. Once a person dies, they should close his eyes. 

Proof:

Umm Salamah said:  

"The Messenger of Allaah Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam came to see Abu Salamah when his sight had become fixed (he had passed away). 

So the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam closed his eyes and said: 'When the soul is seized and it leaves the body, the eyes follow it.” (Muslim)

2. Those present should make duaa and say only that which is good. 

Proof:

When Abu Salamah died, some of his family wept and wailed. So the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said: 

“Pray to Allaah only for good for yourselves, because the angels (who are present) say "Ameen" to whatever you utter.' 

Then he said: 'O Allaah! Forgive Abu Salamah; raise his station among those who are rightly-guided; and take good care of his family that he has left behind. O Lord of the Worlds! Forgive him and us, make his grave spacious, and put light therein for him."   (Muslim and others)  

3. The deceased should be washed and shrouded

Basically washing the deceased male or female is through the following steps. 

It can be done this way or any other way as long as water reaches all over the body and nothing remains dry. 

a. First cover the body with a sheet so that it's not exposed. 

b. Put on gloves and wash the private parts by pouring water over the area. 

c. Do wudhu for the person who passed away like we make wudhu. 

Wipe over the mouth and nose with water, wash the face and arms, wipe the head and ears, and wash the feet. 

d. Mix water with some lotus leaves and pour this water over the head, then over the right side, then over the left side, then pour water all over the body. 

If lotus  leaves are not available then we can use soap etc 

e. Repeat this three times or if needed five or seven. 

It's better to do it an odd number of times. 

f. When washing for the last time, it's good to add camphor to the water to add some pleasant fragrance. 

g. Next braid the woman's hair into 3 braids 

h. Shroud the deceased and apply camphor as perfume to the body. 

4. They should hasten to bury the deceased and not wait too long for relatives etc to arrive from overseas 

Proof:

The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

‘Hasten to bury the deceased, for if he was righteous, then you are taking him to something good, and if he was otherwise, then it is an evil of which you are relieving yourselves.” (al-Bukhaari, Muslim) 

5. It’s allowed for the wife to wash her husband and the husband to wash his wife. 

Proof:

Our Mother Aaishah radhi Allaahu anhaa said:

“The Messenger of Allaah Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam came back from a funeral in al-Baqee‘ and I had a headache and was saying, Oh my head. 

He said, “Rather, I should say, Oh my head. It will not matter if you die before me, for I will wash you and shroud you, then I will offer the funeral prayer for you and bury you.” (Ahmad, 25380; Ibn Maajah, 1456; saheeh by al-Albaani)

Ash-Shawkaani said: 

“The words of the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam, “for I will wash you”, indicate that a wife may be washed by her husband if she dies.” (Nayl al-Awtaar, 4/35)

Shaikh ibn Baaz said:

“It is OK for a woman to wash her husband if she is knows how to do that. ‘Ali radhi Allaahu anhu  washed his wife Fatimah radhi Allaahu anhaa and Asmaa bint ‘Umays washed her husband Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq radhi Allaahu anhu.” 

(Majmoo’ Fataawa Wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah Li Samaahat Vol. 13, P. 107)

6. It’s preferred that the face is covered after death but it’s PERMISSIBLE to uncover it and see his face if the family wants to see it. 

And it could be both before as well as after shrouding. 

But the face should not be uncovered once the body is placed in the grave. 

As for a woman, it’s better to cover her face and only her mahrams can see it if they want to do that. 

Proof:

Abu Bakr radhi Allaahu anhu kissed the face of the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam after his death and some Sahaabah (for example Jaabir radhi Allaahu anhu) saw the face of  their deceased loved ones to kiss them and the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam did not stop them from looking and uncovering their face. 

Ibn Qudaamah said: 

“If his family want to see him, they should not be prevented. That is because of the report from Jaabir who said: 

“When my father was killed, I started to lift the cloth from his face whilst I was weeping, and the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam did not forbid me to do that.”

And Aa’ishah radhi Allaahu anhaa 

said: 

“I saw the Messenger of Allah 

Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam 

kiss ‘Uthmaan ibn Maz‘oon after he died, and I even saw his tears flowing. And she said: 

“Abu Bakr came to see the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam when he was wrapped in a striped cloak [after he died]. He uncovered his face, then he leaned over him and kissed him, then he wept and said: May my father be sacrificed for you, O Prophet of Allaah; Allah will not cause you to die twice.”These hadiths are saheeh.”

(al-Mughni (2/350) 

7. There should be no wailing, screaming or lamenting for the dead. 

Proof:

The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

“There are four things in my ummah from the jaahiliyyah which they will not give up: pride in one’s ancestry, slandering the lineage of others, seeking rain from the stars and wailing over the dead. If the woman who wails does not repent before she dies, she will be raised on the Day of Resurrection wearing a garment of tar and a shirt of scabs.’ (Muslim al-Janaa’iz, 1550). 

8. There’s no need to wear black or special clothes for mourning. 

Rather any ordinary clothes can be worn. 

Shaikh Ibn Uthaymeen said:

“Wearing black at times of calamity is a wrong custom that has no basis” (Majallah Al-Da’wah, No. 1789, P. 60)

9. Nothing should be read of the Qur’aan. 

There’s NO PROOF that Surah al-Faatihah or Yaseen or any other part of the Qur’aan be read for the dying or deceased. 

Rather we should make duaa for the  deceased. 

Proof:

Shaikh Ibn Baaz said regarding reading Qur’aan for the deceased:

“There is NO REPORT in the Holy Qur’aan or in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam, or from his companions to indicate that it is prescribed to give one's reading of Qur’aan (or the reward thereof) to one's parents or to anyone else. 

Rather Allaah has enjoined reading Qur’aan so that one may BENEFIT from it, LEARN from it, PONDER its meanings and ACT upon it.

If giving the reward for reading to another was permissible or prescribed, the righteous salaf would have done it. 

*It is NOT PERMISSIBLE to make ANALOGIES with regard to acts of worship, because they can ONLY be proven by a text from the Book of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala or the Sunnah of His Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam*, because of the hadeeth quoted above and other similar reports.”

(Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 8/360, 361)

10. Duaa should be made for the deceased INDIVIDUALLY and NOT collectively in a group. 

There’s no proof from the practice of the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam that he or his Sahaabah ever got together as an ‘organized’ event to offer duaa collectively after anyone passed away. 

When someone amongst them passed away, the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam and his Sahaabah would bury them then the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam would encourage them to make duaa for the deceased. 

However, they did so INDIVIDUALLY. 

And NOT as a group. 

Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan radhi Allaahu anhu said: 

“When the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam had finished burying a deceased person, he would stand over him and say: “Pray for forgiveness for your brother, and ask that he be made steadfast, for he is being questioned now.” (Abu Dawood - saheeh by al-Albaani)

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen was asked about gathering together to make duaa as a group when someone dies. 

He said:

“This is not part of the Sunnah of the Messenger Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam or the way of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs (may Allaah be pleased with them), rather the Messenger Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam used to tell them to pray for forgiveness for the deceased and ask for him to be made steadfast, INDIVIDUALLY and not together.” (Fataawa al-Janaa’iz, p. 228)

11. No soyum (third day),10th day or 40th day or anniversary celebrations 

There’s NO PROOF from the Sharee’ah of holding gatherings of reading the Qur’aan for the deceased on the third day or tenth day or fortieth day or anniversary etc. 

Many people died in the lifetime of the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam. 

But he never held such gatherings. And neither did the Sahaabah. 

If it was good then surely they would have done it. 

But they didn’t. 

Shaikh Salih al-Munajjid said:

“What people say about the soul of the deceased visiting the house after forty days to get the reward is a lie which has no basis.”

12. Family and neighbors should bring the food 

Proof:

When Ja’far radhi Allaahu anhu was killed, the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam  went to his family and said: 

“The family of Ja’far are busy with the matter of their deceased, so prepare food for them.’ (Ibn Majah - hasan by al-Albaani)

Shaikh ibn Baaz said:

“It is not permitted for the family to (especially) make food for people because for the sake of the deceased. 

This is one of the actions of the Jaahiliyyah, whether it is done on the day of the death, or on the fourth or tenth day after the death, or at the new year. All of that is not permitted.

But if guests come to the family of the deceased during the mourning period, there is nothing wrong with them making food for them for the sake of hospitality, and there is nothing wrong with the household inviting whoever they want of their neighbors and relatives to eat with them from the food that has been given to them.” (Majmoo’ Fataawa)

13. No putting the Mus-haf (the Qur’aan book) on the dead body or covering the bier with a cloth that has Aayaat or la ilaaha illallaah or other Surahs written on it. 

Shaikh ibn Baaz said:

“This should not be done, and we should warn against that, because that exposes the Qur’aanic verses to inappropriate treatment, and because some people may think that this will benefit the deceased, which is a serious mistake for which there is no basis in sharee’ah.”  (Majallat Al-Buhooth Al-Islamiyyah, 68/36, 37)

14. When to offer condolences?

Condolences can be offered at ANY time. 

There’s no specific time limit for doing that. 

Proof:

 Shaikh Ibn Baaz said:

“With regard to offering condolences, there are no set days for doing so. 

It is prescribed from the time that the soul leaves the body, before the funeral prayer and afterwards. There is no time limit set for that in sharee’ah. 

Condolences may be offered at night or during the day, in the home, on the street, in the mosque, in the graveyard or anywhere else.”

(Majmoo’ Fataawa Wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah Li Samaahat Vol. 8, P. 362)

And Allaah knows best