Funerals (Kitab Al-Jana'iz)

كتاب الجنائز

Chapter 29: Wailing

Narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) cursed the wailing woman and the woman who listens to her.

Narrated Ibn 'Umar

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: The dead is punished because of his family's weeping for him. When this was mentioned to 'Aishah, she said: Ibn 'Umar forgot and made a mistake. The Prophet (ﷺ) passed by grave and he said: The man in the grave is being punished while his family is weeping for him. She then recited: "No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another."

The narrator Abu Mu'awiyyah said: (The Prophet passed) by the grave of a Jew.

Yazid ibn Aws said

I entered upon AbuMusa while he was at the point of death. His wife began to weep or was going to weep. AbuMusa said to her: Did you not hear what the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said? She said: Yes. The narrator said: She then kept silence. When AbuMusa died, Yazid said: I met the woman and asked her: What did AbuMusa mean when he said to you: Did you not hear what the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and the you kept silence? She replied: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: He who shaves (his head), shouts and tears his clothing does not belong to us.

Usayd ibn Abu Usayd, reported on the authority of a woman who took oath of allegiance (to the Prophet)

One of the oaths which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) received from us about the virtue was that we would not disobey him in it (virtue): that we would not scratch the face, nor wail, nor tear the front of the garments nor dishevel the hair.

Chapter 30: Preparing Food For The Family Of The Deceased

Narrated Abdullah ibn Ja'far

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Prepare food for the family of Ja'far for there came upon them an incident which has engaged them.

Chapter 31: Should The Martyr Be Washed

Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah

A man had a shot of arrow in his chest or throat (the narrator is doubtful). So he died. He was shrouded in his clothes as he was. The narrator said: We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commanded to remove weapons and skins from the martyrs of Uhud, and that they should be buried with their blood and clothes.

Narrated Anas ibn Malik

The martyrs of Uhud were not washed, and they were buried with their blood. No prayer was offered over them.

Narrated Anas ibn Malik

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed Hamzah who was killed and disfigured. He said: If Safiyyah were not grieved, I would have left him until the birds and beasts of prey would have eaten him, and he would have been resurrected from their bellies. The garments were scanty and the slain were in great number. So one, two and three persons were shrouded in one garment. The narrator Qutaybah added: They were then buried in one grave. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked: Which of the two learnt the Qur'an more? He then advanced him toward the qiblah (direction of prayer).

Narrated Anas ibn Malik

The Prophet (ﷺ) passed by Hamzah who was disfigured (after being killed). He did not offer prayer over any martyr except him.

Narrated Jabir b. 'Abd Allah

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) combined two persons from among the martyrs of Uhud (in one garment), and said: Which of the two has learnt the Qur'an more ? When one of them was pointed to him, he advanced him in the grave, saying: I shall be witness to all these (martyrs) on the Day of Judgement. He then ordered them to be buried without being washed.

The tradition mentioned above has also been transmitted by al-Laith through a different chain of the same effect. This version adds

He combined two persons from among the martyrs of Uhud in one garment.

Chapter 32: Covering The Deceased When Washing Him

Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Do not unveil your thigh, and do not look at the thigh of the living and the dead.

Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin

By Allah, we did not know whether we should take off the clothes of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as we took off the clothes of our dead, or wash him while his clothes were on him. When they (the people) differed among themselves, Allah cast slumber over them until every one of them had put his chin on his chest.

Then a speaker spoke from a side of the house, and they did not know who he was: Wash the Prophet (ﷺ) while his clothes are on him. So they stood round the Prophet (ﷺ) and washed him while he had his shirt on him. They poured water on his shirt, and rubbed him with his shirt and not with their hands. Aisha used to say: If I had known beforehand about my affair what I found out later, none would have washed him except his wives.

Chapter 33: How The Deceased Is To Be Washed

Narrated Umm 'Atiyyah

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came in when his daughter died, and he said: Wash her with water and lotus leaves three or five times or more than that if you think fit, and put camphor, or some camphor in the last washing, then inform me when you finish. When we had finished we informed him, and he threw us his lower garment saying: Put it next to her body.

Malik's version has: that is, his lower garment (izar); and Musaddad did not say: He entered in.

The tradition mentioned above has also been transmitted by Umm 'Atiyyah through a different chain of narrators to the same effect. This version adds

We braided her hair in three plaits.

The above mentioned has also been transmitted by Umm 'Atiyyah through a different chain of narrators. This version has

we braided her hair in three plaits and placed them behind her back, one plait of the front side and the two side plaits.

Narrated Umm 'Atiyyah

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to them while washing her daughter: Begin with her right side, and the places where the ablution is performed.

The above mentioned tradition has also been transmitted by Umm 'Atiyyah through a different chain of narrators. This version has

(Wash her) seven times or more if you think fit.

Narrated Qatadah

Muhammad b. Sirin used to learn how to wash the dead from Umm 'Atiyyah: he would was with lotus leaves twice and with water and camphor for the third time.