The Book of Funerals

Muhammad ibn Rafi‘ narrated to us, saying: ‘Abd al-Razzaq informed us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: I heard Nafi‘ claim that Ibn ‘Umar prayed over nine funeral biers together. He placed the men nearest the imam and the women toward the qiblah, arranging the women in a single row. The bier of Umm Kulthum bint ‘Ali, wife of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, and that of her son Zayd were placed together. The imam that day was Sa‘id ibn al-‘As. Among the people were Ibn ‘Umar, Abu Hurayrah, Abu Sa‘id, and Abu Qatadah. The boy was placed nearest the imam. A man spoke, and I objected to that. I looked at Ibn ‘Abbas, Abu Hurayrah, Abu Sa‘id, and Abu Qatadah and asked: ‘What is this?’ They said: ‘This is the Sunnah.’

‘Ali ibn Hujr informed us: Ibn al-Mubarak and al-Fadl ibn Musa [transmitted to us]. (Another route:) Suwayd informed us, saying: ‘Abd Allah informed us, from Husayn al-Maktib, from ‘Abd Allah ibn Buraydah, from Samurah ibn Jundub, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed over the mother of so-and-so, who died during her postpartum period, and stood at the middle of her body.

Qutaybah narrated to us, from Malik, from Ibn Shihab, from Sa‘id, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) announced the Negus’s death to the people and went out with them. He arranged them in rows and pronounced four takbirs.

Qutaybah narrated to us, saying: Sufyan narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Abu Umamah ibn Sahl, who said: A woman from among the people of al-‘Awali fell ill. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was exceptionally attentive in visiting the sick. He said: ‘When she dies, let me know.’ She died at night, and they buried her without informing the Prophet. When morning came, he asked about her. They said: ‘We disliked waking you, Messenger of Allah.’ He went to her grave, prayed over her, and pronounced four takbirs.

‘Amr ibn ‘Ali narrated to us, saying: Yahya narrated to us, saying: Shu‘bah narrated to us, saying: ‘Amr ibn Murrah told me, from Ibn Abi Layla, that Zayd ibn Arqam prayed over a funeral bier, pronounced five takbirs over it, and said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) pronounced five takbirs over it.

Ahmad ibn ‘Amr ibn al-Sarh narrated to us, from Ibn Wahb, who said: ‘Amr ibn al-Harith informed me, from Abu Hamzah ibn Sulaym, from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Jubayr, from his father, from ‘Awf ibn Malik, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), while praying over a funeral, say: ‘O Allah, forgive him, have mercy on him, pardon him, and grant him well-being. Honor his reception and make his entrance spacious. Wash him with water, snow, and hail, and cleanse him of sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. Replace his home with a better home, his family with a better family, and his spouse with a better spouse. Protect him from the punishment of the grave and the punishment of the Fire.’ ‘Awf said: I wished that I were the deceased, because of the Messenger of Allah’s supplication for that man.

Harun ibn ‘Abd Allah narrated to us, saying: Ma‘n narrated to us, saying: Mu‘awiyah ibn Salih narrated to us, from Habib ibn ‘Ubayd al-Kala‘i, from Jubayr ibn Nufayr al-Hadrami, who said: I heard ‘Awf ibn Malik say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), while praying over a deceased person, make this supplication: ‘O Allah, forgive him, have mercy on him, grant him well-being, and pardon him. Honor his reception and make his entrance spacious. Wash him with water, snow, and hail, and cleanse him of sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. Replace his home with a better home, his family with a better family, and his spouse with a better spouse. Admit him to Paradise and save him from the Fire—or he said: protect him from the punishment of the grave.’

Suwayd ibn Nasr informed us, saying: ‘Abd Allah informed us, saying: Shu‘bah narrated to us, from ‘Amr ibn Murrah, who said: I heard ‘Amr ibn Maymun relate from ‘Abd Allah ibn Rubayyi‘ah al-Sulami—who was one of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah—from ‘Ubayd ibn Khalid al-Sulami, that the Messenger of Allah established a bond of brotherhood between two men. One of them was killed, and the other died afterward. We prayed over him, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘What did you say?’ They replied, ‘We supplicated for him: O Allah, forgive him; O Allah, have mercy on him; O Allah, join him with his companion.’ The Prophet said, ‘Then where is his prayer compared with his companion’s prayer, and where are his deeds compared with his companion’s deeds? The distance between them is like that between heaven and earth.’ ‘Amr ibn Maymun said, ‘I liked that, because he attributed it to the Prophet.’

Isma‘il ibn Mas‘ud informed us, saying: Yazid—namely, Ibn Zuray‘—narrated to us, saying: Hisham ibn Abi ‘Abd Allah narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from Abu Ibrahim al-Ansari, from his father, who heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say during the funeral prayer: ‘O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, those of us who are present and those who are absent, our males and our females, our young and our old.’

Al-Haytham ibn Ayyub informed us, saying: Ibrahim—namely, Ibn Sa‘d—narrated to us, saying: My father narrated to us, from Talhah ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Awf, who said: I prayed behind Ibn ‘Abbas at a funeral. He recited the Opening of the Book and a surah, raising his voice so that we could hear him. When he finished, I took him by the hand and asked him about it. He said, ‘It is Sunnah and true.’

Muhammad ibn Bashshar informed us, saying: Muhammad narrated to us, saying: Shu‘bah narrated to us, from Sa‘d ibn Ibrahim, from Talhah ibn ‘Abd Allah, who said: I prayed behind Ibn ‘Abbas at a funeral and heard him recite the Opening of the Book. When he finished, I took him by the hand and asked him, ‘Did you recite?’ He said, ‘Yes. It is true and Sunnah.’

Qutaybah informed us, saying: Al-Layth narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from Abu Umamah, who said: The Sunnah in the funeral prayer is to recite the Mother of the Qur’an quietly at the first takbir, then say three more takbirs, and say the taslim after the final one.

Qutaybah informed us, saying: Al-Layth narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from Muhammad ibn Suwayd al-Dimashqi al-Fihri, from al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Dimashqi, with a report similar to the preceding one.

Suwayd informed us, saying: ‘Abd Allah narrated to us, from Sallam ibn Abi Muti‘ al-Dimashqi, from Ayyub, from Abu Qilabah, from ‘Abd Allah ibn Yazid, ‘A’ishah’s foster-son, from ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said: ‘There is no deceased person over whom a group of Muslims numbering one hundred prays and intercedes except that their intercession for him will be accepted.’ Sallam said: I related this to Shu‘ayb ibn al-Habhah, and he said, ‘Anas ibn Malik related it to me from the Prophet.’

‘Amr ibn Zurarah informed us, saying: Isma‘il narrated to us, from Ayyub, from Abu Qilabah, from ‘Abd Allah ibn Yazid—‘A’ishah’s foster-son (may Allah be pleased with her)—from ‘A’ishah, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said: ‘If a Muslim dies and a group of people numbering one hundred prays over him and intercedes for him, their intercession for him will be accepted.’

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Sawa’ Abu al-Khattab informed us, saying: Abu Bakkar al-Hakam ibn Farrukh said: Abu al-Malih led us in the funeral prayer, and we thought he had said the takbir. He turned toward us and said, ‘Straighten your rows, and make your intercession sincere.’ Abu al-Malih said: ‘Abd Allah—namely, Ibn Sulayt—related to me from one of the Mothers of the Believers, Maymunah, the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said: The Prophet told me, ‘There is no deceased person over whom a group of people prays except that they will be allowed to intercede for him.’ I asked Abu al-Malih how many constituted a group, and he said, ‘Forty.’

Nuh ibn Habib informed us, saying: ‘Abd al-Razzaq informed us, saying: Ma‘mar informed us, from al-Zuhri, from Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyab, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever prays over a funeral earns one qirat, and whoever waits until the body is placed in the burial niche earns two qirats. The two qirats are like two great mountains.’

Suwayd informed us, saying: ‘Abd Allah informed us, from Yunus, from al-Zuhri, who said: ‘Abd al-Rahman al-A‘raj informed us, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever attends a funeral until the prayer is offered earns one qirat, and whoever attends until the burial earns two qirats.’ It was asked, ‘What are the two qirats, O Messenger of Allah?’ He replied, ‘Like two great mountains.’

Muhammad ibn Bashshar informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Ja‘far narrated to us, from ‘Awf, from Muhammad ibn Sirin, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever follows the funeral of a Muslim man, seeking reward from Allah, prays over him, and buries him, earns two qirats. Whoever prays over him and then returns before he is buried earns one qirat of reward.’

Al-Hasan ibn Qaza‘ah informed us, saying: Maslamah ibn ‘Alqamah narrated to us, saying: Dawud informed us, from ‘Amir, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever follows a funeral, prays over it, and then leaves earns one qirat of reward. Whoever follows it, prays over it, and then remains until its burial is completed earns two qirats of reward, each of which is greater than Mount Uhud.’