The Book of Funerals - Sunan an-Nasa'i 1995

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever attends a funeral until the prayer is offered will have one Qirat and whoever attends until (the body) is buried will have two Qirats."' It was said: "What are the two Qirats, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Like two great mountains."

Commentary on the Hadith

This noble hadith from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) establishes the immense reward for accompanying the deceased Muslim from the funeral prayer until burial. The term "Qirat" refers to a massive measure of reward, with scholars explaining it as equivalent to Mount Uhud in size.

The wisdom behind this graduated reward is to encourage Muslims to complete the full rights owed to their deceased brother or sister in Islam. Attending only the prayer demonstrates commendable faith, but remaining until burial completion shows greater commitment to fulfilling religious obligations and providing comfort to the deceased's soul.

The comparison to "two great mountains" emphasizes the magnitude of divine recompense. Just as mountains represent the largest earthly formations known to the Arabs, so does this reward represent among the greatest spiritual compensations Allah grants for this act of devotion and compassion.

Juridical Rulings and Benefits

Scholars classify attending funerals as a collective obligation (fard kifayah) upon the Muslim community. When sufficient numbers perform it, the obligation is fulfilled for all.

This hadith encourages persistence in righteous deeds. The increased reward for remaining until burial teaches us that spiritual benefits often correspond to the level of commitment and effort expended in worship.

The imagery of mountains serves to make abstract spiritual rewards tangible to human understanding, demonstrating Allah's infinite generosity toward those who show kindness to His servants even after death.