Sunan Ibn Majah
Chapters Regarding Funerals
كتاب الجنائز
Chapter 12
مَا جَاءَ فِيمَا يُسْتَحَبُّ مِنَ الْكَفَنِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Yunus ibn Abd al-A‘la narrated to us; Ibn Wahb narrated to us; Hisham ibn Sa‘d informed us, from Hatim ibn Abi Nasr, from Ubadah ibn Nusayy, from his father, from Ubadah ibn al-Samit: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘The best shroud is a hullah.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Hullah is retained as the garment name in the source; it denotes a two-piece wrap or garment, with the exact textile details unspecified here.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us; Umar ibn Yunus narrated to us; Ikrimah ibn Ammar narrated to us, from Hisham ibn Hassan, from Muhammad ibn Sirin, from Abu Qatadah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘When one of you takes charge of preparing his brother, let him shroud him well.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic uses a general expression for taking charge of or attending to one’s brother, followed by an instruction to shroud him well.
Chapter 13
مَا جَاءَ فِي النَّظَرِ إِلَى الْمَيِّتِ إِذَا أُدْرِجَ فِي أَكْفَانِهِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Isma‘il ibn Samurah narrated to us; Muhammad ibn al-Hasan narrated to us; Abu Shaybah narrated to us, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: ‘When Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), died, the Prophet said to them, “Do not wrap him in his shroud until I have looked at him.” He came to him, bent over him, and wept.’
Chapter 14
مَا جَاءَ فِي النَّهْىِ عَنِ النَّعْىِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Amr ibn Rafi narrated to us; Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak narrated to us, from Habib ibn Sulaym, from Bilal ibn Yahya, who said: ‘Whenever someone in Hudhayfah’s family died, he would say, “Do not inform anyone of it. I fear that this would become a public death announcement. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with these two ears of mine forbidding public death announcements.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source presents Hudhayfah’s repeated practice and his concern that the news become a public death announcement; the phrase ‘with these two ears of mine’ is retained as emphasis.
Chapter 15
مَا جَاءَ فِي شُهُودِ الْجَنَائِزِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah and Hisham ibn Ammar narrated to us; they said: Sufyan ibn Uyaynah narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyab, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Hasten with the funeral procession. If the deceased was righteous, you are bringing him swiftly to goodness; if he was otherwise, you are relieving yourselves of an evil burden.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source gives both alternatives as the reason to hasten the procession: bringing the righteous deceased forward to good or relieving oneself of the other burden.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Humayd ibn Mas‘adah narrated to us; Hammad ibn Zayd narrated to us, from Mansur, from Ubayd ibn Nistās, from Abu Ubaydah, who said: Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud said: ‘Whoever follows a funeral procession should carry each side of the bier, for this is Sunnah. After that, if he wishes, he may continue voluntarily; and if he wishes, he may leave it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
This is a statement attributed to Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud through Abu Ubaydah; it is not phrased as a prophetic report in this source.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Ubayd ibn Aqil narrated to us; Bishr ibn Thabit narrated to us; Shu‘bah narrated to us, from Layth, from Abu Burdah, from Abu Musa, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): He saw a funeral procession being hurried along and said, ‘Let there be calmness among you.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source describes the people as hastening with the procession and quotes an instruction for calmness.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Kathir ibn Ubayd al-Himsi narrated to us; Baqiyyah ibn al-Walid narrated to us, from Abu Bakr ibn Abi Maryam, from Rashid ibn Sa‘d, from Thawban, the mawla of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: ‘The Messenger of Allah saw people riding their mounts in a funeral procession and said, “Are you not ashamed that Allah’s angels are walking while you are riding?”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source identifies Thawban as the Prophet’s mawla; the term is retained without specifying a narrower status.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us; Rawh ibn Ubadah narrated to us; Sa‘id ibn Ubaydullah ibn Jubayr ibn Hayyah narrated to us; Ziyad ibn Jubayr ibn Hayyah narrated to me and said: I heard al-Mughirah ibn Shu‘bah say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘The rider should be behind the funeral procession, while the person walking may be wherever he wishes alongside it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source gives the rider’s position as behind the procession and leaves the walker’s position unrestricted.
Chapter 16
مَا جَاءَ فِي الْمَشْىِ أَمَامَ الْجِنَازَةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ali ibn Muhammad, Hisham ibn Ammar, and Sahl ibn Abi Sahl narrated to us; they said: Sufyan narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Salim, from his father, who said: ‘I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, and Umar walking ahead of the funeral procession.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Nasr ibn Ali al-Jahdami and Harun ibn Abdullah al-Hammal narrated to us; they said: Muhammad ibn Bakr al-Bursani narrated to us; Yunus ibn Yazid al-Ayli informed us, from al-Zuhri, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman used to walk ahead of the funeral procession.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Abdah narrated to us; Abd al-Wahid ibn Ziyad informed us, from Yahya ibn Abdullah al-Taymi, from Abu Majidah al-Hanafi, from Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘The funeral procession is to be followed, not to follow others; no one accompanying it should walk ahead of it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic uses a concise paired expression: the funeral is followed rather than following, then clarifies that no one with it should go ahead.
Chapter 17
مَا جَاءَ فِي النَّهْىِ عَنِ التَّسَلُّبِ، مَعَ الْجِنَازَةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Abdah narrated to us; Amr ibn al-Nu‘man informed me; Ali ibn al-Hazawwar narrated to us, from Nufay‘, from Imran ibn Husayn and Abu Barzah, who said: ‘We went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for a funeral, and he saw some people who had removed their outer wraps and were walking in their shirts. The Messenger of Allah said, “Are you adopting a practice from the days of ignorance?”—or, “Are you imitating a practice from the days of ignorance? I was about to invoke against you a prayer that would make you return in forms other than your own.”’ He said: ‘They took up their outer wraps and did not do that again.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source preserves two alternative phrasings of the rebuke (‘adopting’ or ‘imitating’ a pre-Islamic practice); both are included.
Chapter 18
مَا جَاءَ فِي الْجِنَازَةِ لاَ تُؤَخَّرُ إِذَا حَضَرَتْ وَلاَ تُتْبَعُ بِنَارٍ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Harmalah ibn Yahya narrated to us; Abdullah ibn Wahb narrated to us; Sa‘id ibn Abdullah al-Juhani informed me that Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib related to him, from his father, from his grandfather Ali ibn Abi Talib: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Do not delay the funeral procession once it is ready.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Abd al-A‘la al-San‘ani narrated to us; Mu‘tamir ibn Sulayman informed us and said: I read to al-Fudayl ibn Maysarah, from Abu Hariz, that Abu Burdah related to him: ‘When Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari was near death, he left instructions: “Do not have a censer carried behind me.” They asked him, “Did you hear anything about that?” He replied, “Yes, from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source gives Abu Musa’s instruction and his confirmation that he heard this from the Prophet; it does not include the specific teaching in this wording.
A censer is an incense burner; this identifies the object without adding the English witness’s footnote.
Chapter 19
مَا جَاءَ فِيمَنْ صَلَّى عَلَيْهِ جَمَاعَةٌ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Ubaydullah narrated to us; Shayban informed us, from al-A‘mash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: ‘If one hundred Muslims perform the funeral prayer over a person, he will be forgiven.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic states a count of one hundred Muslims and forgiveness for the deceased for whom they pray.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir al-Hizami narrated to us; Bakr ibn Sulaym narrated to us; Humayd ibn Ziyad al-Kharrat narrated to me, from Kurayb, the mawla of Abdullah ibn Abbas, who said: ‘A son of Abdullah ibn Abbas died, and he said to me, “Kurayb, get up and see whether anyone has gathered for my son.” I said, “Yes.” He said, “Woe to you, how many do you think there are? Forty?” I said, “No, there are more.” He said, “Bring out my son. I bear witness that I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say, ‘There are no forty believers who intercede for a believer without Allah accepting their intercession.’”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source says Abdullah ibn Abbas asked for the number gathered and then cited the report about forty believers interceding; the intercession is not further specified.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah and Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; they said: Abdullah ibn Numayr narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Ishaq, from Yazid ibn Abi Habib, from Marthad ibn Abdullah al-Yazani, from Malik ibn Hubayrah al-Shami—who had been a Companion—who said: ‘When a funeral was brought and he considered the number of those following it to be small, he would arrange them in three rows and then perform the funeral prayer over it.’ He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whenever three rows of Muslims stand in prayer over a deceased person, it is assured.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic ends with أوجب without stating in this text what is assured or made incumbent. The translation leaves the object unstated instead of importing an explanatory gloss.
Chapter 20
مَا جَاءَ فِي الثَّنَاءِ عَلَى الْجِنَازَةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Abdah narrated to us; Hammad ibn Zayd narrated to us, from Thabit, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: ‘A funeral passed by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and people spoke well of the deceased. He said, “It is assured.” Then another funeral passed by, and people spoke ill of its deceased; he said, “It is assured.” They asked, “Messenger of Allah, you said ‘It is assured’ for this one and for that one.” He replied, “The people’s testimony; the believers are Allah’s witnesses on earth.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic repeats ‘It is assured’ for both cases and does not explicitly supply Paradise or Hell in either statement; those are not added.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Ali ibn Mushir narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Amr, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: ‘A funeral passed by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and people praised the deceased’s good qualities. He said, “It is assured.” Then another funeral passed by, and people spoke ill of the deceased’s qualities; he said, “It is assured. You are Allah’s witnesses on earth.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic repeats ‘It is assured’ without explicitly naming Paradise or Hell; those explanations in the English witness are not added.