The Book of Funerals

‘Amr ibn ‘Ali narrated to us: ‘Abd al-A‘la narrated to us: Sa‘id narrated to us. [A change of chain:] Humayd ibn Mas‘adah narrated to us, from Khalid ibn al-Harith, who said: Sa‘id narrated to us, from Qatadah, from Zurarah, from Sa‘d ibn Hisham, from ‘A’ishah, that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him; and whoever dislikes meeting Allah, Allah dislikes meeting him.’ ‘Amr added in his version: It was asked: ‘Messenger of Allah, does disliking meeting Allah mean disliking death? We all dislike death.’ He said: ‘That is at the time of death: if a person is given glad tidings of Allah’s mercy and forgiveness, he loves to meet Allah, and Allah loves to meet him; but if he is given glad tidings of Allah’s punishment, he dislikes meeting Allah, and Allah dislikes meeting him.’

Ahmad ibn ‘Amr informed us: Ibn Wahb informed us: Yunus told me, from Ibn Shihab, from ‘Urwah, from ‘A’ishah, that Abu Bakr kissed the Prophet between the eyes after he had died.

Ya‘qub ibn Ibrahim and Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna narrated to us: They said: Yahya narrated to us, from Sufyan, who said: Musa ibn Abi ‘A’ishah told me, from ‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Abdullah, from Ibn ‘Abbas and from ‘A’ishah, that Abu Bakr kissed the Prophet while he was deceased.

Suwayd narrated to us: ‘Abdullah narrated to us. Ma‘mar and Yunus said: al-Zuhri said: Abu Salamah told me that ‘A’ishah informed him that Abu Bakr rode a horse from his residence at al-Sunh. He dismounted, entered the mosque, and did not speak to the people until he went in to ‘A’ishah. The Messenger of Allah was covered with a striped cloak. Abu Bakr uncovered his face, leaned over him, kissed him, and wept. Then he said: ‘May my father be ransomed for you! By Allah, Allah will never cause you to die twice. As for the death Allah decreed for you, you have undergone it.’

Muhammad ibn Mansur informed me: Sufyan narrated to us: I heard Ibn al-Munkadir say: I heard Jabir say: My father was brought on the day of Uhud after his body had been mutilated. He was placed before the Messenger of Allah, covered with a cloth. I wanted to uncover him, but my people forbade me. The Prophet ordered that he be lifted. When he was lifted, he heard a woman crying and asked: ‘Who is this?’ They said: ‘This is ‘Amr’s daughter—or ‘Amr’s sister.’ He said: ‘Do not weep—or, why should she weep?—the angels continued to shade him with their wings until he was lifted.’

Hannad ibn al-Sari narrated to us: Abu al-Ahwas narrated to us, from ‘Ata’ ibn al-Sa’ib, from ‘Ikrimah, from Ibn ‘Abbas, who said: When a young daughter of the Messenger of Allah was near death, he picked her up and held her against his chest. Then he placed his hand on her, and she died while she was in front of the Messenger of Allah. Umm Ayman wept, and the Messenger of Allah said to her: ‘O Umm Ayman, are you weeping while the Messenger of Allah is with you?’ She said: ‘Why should I not weep when the Messenger of Allah is weeping?’ The Messenger of Allah said: ‘I am not weeping; this is compassion.’ Then the Messenger of Allah said: ‘The believer is in a good state in every circumstance: his soul is drawn out from between his sides while he praises Allah, Mighty and Sublime.’

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim informed us: ‘Abd al-Razzaq informed us: Ma‘mar narrated to us, from Thabit, from Anas, that Fatimah wept for the Messenger of Allah when he died and said: ‘O my father, how near he is to his Lord! O my father, to Jibril we announce your death! O my father, the Garden of al-Firdaws is his abode!’

‘Amr ibn Yazid narrated to us: Bahz ibn Asad narrated to us: Shu‘bah narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir, from Jabir, that his father was killed on the day of Uhud. Jabir said: I began uncovering his face and weeping. The people were telling me not to, but the Messenger of Allah did not forbid me. My paternal aunt began weeping for him, and the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Do not weep for him; the angels continued shading him with their wings until you lifted him up.’

‘Utbah ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Utbah informed us: I read to Malik, from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Jabr ibn ‘Atik, that ‘Atik ibn al-Harith—‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abdullah’s maternal grandfather—informed him that Jabir ibn ‘Atik informed him: The Prophet came to visit ‘Abdullah ibn Thabit and found that he had been overcome [by illness]. The Prophet called to him, but he did not answer. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Indeed, we belong to Allah and to Him we return,’ and said: ‘We have been overcome by your loss, Abu al-Rabi‘.’ The women cried out and wept, and Ibn ‘Atik began quieting them. The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Leave them. When death has come, let no woman weep.’ They asked: ‘What is meant by its coming, Messenger of Allah?’ He said: ‘Death.’ His daughter said: ‘I had hoped you would be a martyr, for you had already prepared your gear.’ The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Allah, Mighty and Sublime, has granted him his reward according to his intention. What do you consider martyrdom?’ They said: ‘Being killed in the cause of Allah, Mighty and Sublime.’ The Messenger of Allah said: ‘There are seven kinds of martyrdom besides being killed in the cause of Allah, Mighty and Sublime: one who dies of plague is a martyr; one who dies of an abdominal illness is a martyr; one who drowns is a martyr; one who is crushed in a collapse is a martyr; one who dies of pleurisy is a martyr; one who is burned is a martyr; and a woman who dies in pregnancy or childbirth is a martyr.’

Yunus ibn ‘Abd al-A‘la narrated to us: ‘Abdullah ibn Wahb narrated to us. Mu‘awiyah ibn Salih related, and Yahya ibn Sa‘id told me, from ‘Amrah, from ‘A’ishah, who said: When news of the deaths of Zayd ibn Harithah, Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib, and ‘Abdullah ibn Rawahah arrived, the Messenger of Allah sat down, and grief could be seen on him. I was watching through a crack in the door when a man came to him and said: ‘The womenfolk of Ja‘far are weeping.’ The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Go and tell them to stop.’ The man went away, then returned and said: ‘I told them to stop, but they refused.’ He said: ‘Go and tell them to stop.’ The man went away, then returned and said: ‘I told them to stop, but they refused.’ He said: ‘Go and put dust in their mouths.’ ‘A’ishah said: I said: ‘May Allah rub the nose of that distant one in the dust! By Allah, you have not left the Messenger of Allah alone, and you are not going to do what he told you.’

‘Ubaydullah ibn Sa‘id narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us, from ‘Ubaydullah, from Nafi‘, from Ibn ‘Umar, from ‘Umar, from the Prophet, who said: ‘The deceased is punished because of his family’s weeping for him.’

Mahmud ibn Ghaylan narrated to us: Abu Dawud narrated to us: Shu‘bah narrated to us, from ‘Abdullah ibn Subayh, who said: I heard Muhammad ibn Sirin say: The statement ‘The deceased is punished because of the living person’s weeping’ was mentioned in the presence of ‘Imran ibn Husayn. ‘Imran said: ‘The Messenger of Allah said it.’

Sulayman ibn Sayf narrated to us: Ya‘qub ibn Ibrahim narrated to us: My father narrated to us, from Salih, from Ibn Shihab, who said: Salim said: I heard ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar say: ‘Umar said: The Messenger of Allah said: ‘The deceased is punished because of his family’s weeping for him.’

Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-A‘la narrated to us: Khalid narrated to us: Shu‘bah narrated to us, from Qatadah, from Mutarrif, from Hakim ibn Qays, that Qays ibn ‘Asim said: ‘Do not wail over me, for no one wailed over the Messenger of Allah.’ Abridged report.

Ishaq informed us: ‘Abd al-Razzaq informed us: Ma‘mar narrated to us, from Thabit, from Anas, that when the Messenger of Allah took the women’s pledge of allegiance, he pledged them not to wail. They said: ‘Messenger of Allah, there were women who joined us in mourning during the pre-Islamic period; shall we join them in mourning?’ The Messenger of Allah said: ‘There is no joining in mourning in Islam.’

‘Amr ibn ‘Ali narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us: Shu‘bah narrated to us: Qatadah narrated to us, from Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyab, from Ibn ‘Umar, from ‘Umar, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah say: ‘The deceased is punished in his grave because of the wailing over him.’

Ibrahim ibn Ya‘qub narrated to us: Sa‘id ibn Sulayman narrated to us: Hushaym informed us: Mansur—meaning Ibn Zadhan—informed us, from al-Hasan, from ‘Imran ibn Husayn, who said: ‘The deceased is punished because of his family’s wailing for him.’ A man said to him: ‘What do you think of a man who died in Khurasan while his family wailed for him here? Would he be punished because of his family’s wailing?’ He said: ‘The Messenger of Allah spoke the truth, and you have lied.’

Muhammad ibn Adam narrated to us, from ‘Abdah, from Hisham, from his father, from Ibn ‘Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah said: ‘The deceased is indeed punished because of his family’s weeping for him.’ This was mentioned to ‘A’ishah, and she said: ‘He was mistaken. The Prophet only passed by a grave and said: “The occupant of this grave is being punished while his family are weeping for him.”’ Then she recited: ‘No bearer of burdens will bear another’s burden.’

Qutaybah narrated to us, from Malik ibn Anas, from ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr, from his father, from ‘Amrah, who informed him that she had heard ‘A’ishah. It was mentioned to her that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar said: ‘The deceased is indeed punished because of the living person’s weeping for him.’ ‘A’ishah said: ‘May Allah forgive Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman. He did not lie, but he forgot or made a mistake. The Messenger of Allah only passed by a deceased Jewish woman who was being wept over and said: “They are weeping for her, and she is being punished.”’

‘Abd al-Jabbar ibn al-‘Ala’ ibn ‘Abd al-Jabbar narrated to us, from Sufyan, who said: ‘Amr ibn Dinar related it to us, saying: I heard Ibn Abi Mulaykah say: Ibn ‘Abbas said: ‘A’ishah said: ‘What the Messenger of Allah actually said was: “Allah, Mighty and Sublime, increases the punishment of the disbeliever because of some of his family’s weeping for him.”’