Islamic Online University

Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies

Fiqh 102 Assignment

Full Name: Abdalla Doleh

Write an essay of the haram and bidah ways of conducting the funeral
procession, burial, condolence and visiting graves and prove why these
things are bidah or haram and give suggestions or proposals on how to
eradicate these practices. Your answer must be supported by evidences from
the Shariah.
Answer

InthenameofAllahthemostMerciful,themostCompassionate,allpraiseisduetoAllahwhom
we thank for all his blessings and seek help and forgiveness. We also seek refuge in Allah from
the evils of ourselves and the sins in our deeds. Whomsoever Allah wishes to guide none can
misguideandwhomsoeverHerightfullyallowstobemisguidednonecanguide.Ibearwitness
thatthereisnogodbutAllah,andMuhammad isHisservantandmessenger.
Toproceed:
NothingismorecertaininlifethanDeath.Allahhasordainedthatalllivingsoulswilltastedeath
at some point in their lifetime and no concession is given to place, age, gender or health
condition.AllahsaysinthegloriousQuran:

Everysoulwilltastedeath.AndWetestyouwithevilandwithgoodastrial;andtoUsyouwill
bereturned.[Quran21:35](Quran.com,2013)
As with everything relating to our life and the life hereafter, Allah has prescribed to us through
theQuranlaw'sbywhichweshouldconductourselveswhenwearefacedthegreatcalamityof
deathwhereAllahsays:

Who, when disaster strikes them, say, 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him
we will return.'[Quran2:156](Quran.com,2013)
Allah also revealed to us through the Sunnah of His Prophet the best of example in dealing
withanysituationandthecalamityofdeathisnoexceptionwhereAllahsays:

There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for
anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often.
[Quran33:21](Quran.com,2013)
Prophet Muhammad had instructed us to hasten the burial of the deceased as per his
instructions, Hasten the funeral rites (Bukhari, #401). The funeral rites include systematic
stepsthattherelativeofthedeceaseundertaketoensurethatthedeceasedreceiveallhis(her)
funeralrites.
Theobjectiveofthisarticleistoprovideanoverviewofinnovationsthathavebeenintroduced
into the Muslim society and introduce suggested remedies in handling the calamity of death
starting with the Funeral Procession and gradually moving forward to the Burial process,
condolencesandendingwithgravevisitations.
Real Life Example

MostMuslims,intheiradolescentoradultlife,maleorfemale,hadexperiencedthepassingof,
or participated in, a funeral procession either to a close relative, an acquaintance or someone
they did not know. The funeral procession usually begins with the transportation of the
deceasedfromtheirhomeandendsatthecemetery(Muttaqun.Com,2013).
Nowaday,atthehomeofthedeceased,andpriortothetransportationtothecemeterytaking
place,wailingwomeniscommonplaceandmayormaynotbeaccompaniedwithstrikingofthe
cheeks or tearing clothes (Aisha, 2013). Moreover, it is not uncommon for a large crowd to
congregate at the house of the deceased with a feast laid out for them by the family of the
departed (Muttaqun.Com, 2013). Furthermore, depending on the region, there may also be
somesortof audibleremembranceofAllahorloud Quranrecitationplayedinthebackground
either through stored media (cassette tape, CD, etc.) or hired individuals (Ahmad, 2013)
(Muttaqun.Com,2013).Itisalsonotuncommonforthedeathofthedepartedtobeannounced
overloudspeakersorpublishedinanewspaper(Muttaqun.Com,2013).
DuringtransportoftheBieritisalsonotuncommontoseetheBiertransportedintomotorized
vehiclesandthelike,thattravelataglacierpace,tothecemeteryorMasjidfollowedbymen
and women in their own transportation (Ahmad, 2013). Once at the cemetery, both men and
women are present during the burial. Sometimes this process is accompanied with wailing,
chants, dirges, or burning incense if the transportation is on foot (Muttaqun.Com, 2013). On
some occasions, the family of the deceased or the deceased him/herself requests that the
remains be transported and buried in their home country or family cemetery (Muttaqun.Com,
2013).
At the time of burial, and depending on the region of the world, the body of the deceased
maybe buried in a Muslim only cemetery, or a mixed cemetery and if buried in a mixed
cemetery, the body of the deceased Muslim may or may not be buried in an exclusive Muslim
sectionoftheLot(Jibril,2004).Furthermore,thebodyofthedeceasedmaybeburiedwrapped
inawhiteshroud,ashrouddecoratedwithversesfromtheQur'anorspecificdu'aa,andmayor
may not be placed in a wooden gasket prior to placement in the ground, depending on local
governmentregulations (Jibril,2004).Theplacementofthebodymayormaynotallowforthe
face of the deceased to face the Qiblah and most of the time the deceased is placed lying on
their back (Muttaqun.Com, 2013). Sometimes personal articles that belonged to the deceased,
suchasrosarybeadorMushaf,areburiedalongwiththem(Muttaqun.Com,2013).
Upon covering the grave usually a stone inscribed with the deceased name, date of birth and
dateofdeathisplacedonthesurfaceneartheheadtoidentifytheburialsite(Muttaqun.Com,
2013). Sometimes this stone also include verses from the Qur'an, lines of poetry, and/or
pictures of the deceased or even some art work (Muttaqun.Com, 2013). Sometimes structures
areplacedontopofthegravetodistinguishitfromneighboringgraves(Jibril,2004).
Uponcompletionoftheburialfamilymembers,oraspouse,usuallygatheraroundthegraveof
the deceased to recite Qu'ran for the deceased with the intention of assisting them pass the
trialsofthegrave(Muttaqun.Com,2013).
After burial, it is a custom for close friends and family of the deceased to gather either at the
houseofthedeceased,thegraveortheMasjidtogivecondolences(Muttaqun.Com,2013).And
itisalsotypicalforthiscrowdtobehostedwithalaidoutfeastaswellasliveorrecordedQur'an
recitationinthebackground(Muttaqun.Com,2013).
Moreover, it is not uncommon for family members, or a spouse, to visit the grave of the
deceasedregularlyto commemorate thedeathanniversary(Muttaqun.Com,2013).During that
visit they usually recite Qur'an, say du'aa and place flowers or plant twigs and the like
(Muttaqun.Com, 2013). It is also not uncommon for the family to set out on a journey to visit
thedeceased(Jibril,2004).
Unfortunately,mostoftheaforementionedpracticesareinnovationsin Islamthatare explicitly
forbidden according to the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad . Below is a discussion of how
properfuneralrightsshouldproceedaccordingtoAllah'sandHisProphet'sdecree.
Ideal Example

Upondeath,ProphetMuhammad allowedacalmlyexpressedgeneralannouncementofthe
death of a person but forbade spending wealth and an elaborate affair for that purpose. As
recorded in authentic source of Islamic traditions, Huthayfah ibn alYamaan has been recorded
tohavesaid:
"Donotproclaimhisdeathtoanyone,forfearthatitmaybeadeathannouncementandIheard
Allah'sMessenger forbiddeathannouncementwithmyowntwoears."
(atTirmithee and Sunan IbniMajah, #1476,and authenticated in Saheeh Sunan Ibn Majah,
#1203)
Uponinformingtheimmediatefamilymembersorspouse,wailingandscreamingofwomenwas
strictly forbidden by the Prophet according to a collection of hadiths in both authentic
sourcesofhadithBukhariandMuslim,someofwhicharepresentedbelow:
1. "Verily the dead are punished in their graves by the wailing of their family over them."
(Bukhari,#379;Muslim,#2015)
2. The Prophet said, "The deceased who is wailed over is tortured for that wailing."
(Bukhari,#378)
Similarly, striking of the cheeks and tearing of clothes was strictly forbidden by the Prophet
to abrogate traditions that the women of preIslamic Arabia used to practice and from the
destruction it brought to oneself and material wealth. These practices did nothing more than
increasethepainandsorrowthataccompanydeath(Ahmad,2013).
AccordingtoIbnMas'ood,ProphetMuhammadwasreportedtohavesaid:
"Whoeverslapshisface,tearshisclothes,orinvites(others)toanunIslamicsloganisnotofus."
(Bukhari,#385;SahihMuslim,#184)
Oncethepersondies,itisforbiddentodelayburialtoallowformaximumnumberofrelativesto
see the deceased. Prophet Muhammad had instructed us to hasten the burial of the
deceasedasperhisinstructions:
Hastenthefuneralrites
(Bukhari,#401)
Thisminimizescontactwiththedeadbodyandminimizesgriefandhurtofseeingthedead.
Afterdeathandwashingofthebody,thebodyofthedeceasedshouldbewrappedinitsentirety
in up to 3 white cotton sheets that are void of any writing on them (Aisha, 2013). The body is
thentobetransported,preferablycarriedontheshoulder,swiftlytobeburied(Aisha,2013).
Thefuneralprocessionistobecomposedofmensincewomenarediscouragedtobepresent
during this particular event to avoid wailing, screaming and the like in accordance to the
authentic hadith reported in AlBukhari (Bukhari , #378) and in conjunction with the reported
hadithbyUmmAtiyyah:
We have been forbidden to accompany funeral processions but it wasn't strict upon us
(Muslim,#15471548).
The body is to be transported to the Masjid in order for the Janazaah prayer to be performed.
PerformanceoftheprayeratthegravesiteisforbiddenaccordingtothecollectedHadith:
The Prophet forbade the performance of the salaah for the dead in between the graves.
[AlTabaraniandauthenticatedinahkaamulJanaa'iz,#72].
Upon completion of the Janazah prayer, the Bier is to be carried on shoulders again to the
cemetery for burial. If the cemetery is a distance away then the body of the deceased can be
transported to swiftly to the destination without an entourage [Muttaqun.com] but then the
bieriscarriedonshouldersinsidethecemetery(Anon.,2013).
ThedeceasedistobeburiedinadedicatedlotforMuslims;buriedcoveredonlywiththewhite
cotton cloth laying on his/her right side with face towards the Qiblah with no other personal
articles (Jibril, 2004). Placed in the ground feet first along with invocation of du'aa reported by
Ibn'Umar:

"Whenever the Prophet placed a dead person in his grave, he would say, In the name of
Allah,and according to the way (Sunnah) of the Messenger of Allah.
(SunanIbnMajah,#1150)
Once the deceased is placed in the ground, the grave is to be covered with earth and slightly
raised marking the grave site with a stone, without inscriptions, to identify the location of the
grave (Muslim, #1602). No structures are to be erected over the grave (Muslim, #1603). Upon
completion of the burial neither family members nor spouse should remain behind to read
Qur'anforthedeceasedsincethereisnoauthentichadiththatcondonesthisbehaviornorhave
anyofthecompanionsoftheprophet hadperformedsimilaracts(Aisha,2013).
Largecrowdgatheringeitheratthehouseofthedeceased,orattheMasjid,oratthegravesite
isagainsttheSunnah.ImaamashShaafi'eewasreportedtohavesaid:
"Idislikegatherings,evenifthereisnowailingorcrying.Foritonlyrenewsthe[family'sfeelings
of]sorrowandputsburdensontheirfoodsupplies."
(AlUmm,vol.1,p.248;quotedinAhkaamu;Janaa'iz,p.167)
The obligation placed on the family of the dead person to prepare food for gatherings is
incorrect;onthecontrary,theProphet's explicitlyinstructedrelatives,friendsandneighbors
to send food to the bereaved family (Bukhari, #593; Muslim, #5491; Sunan Ibn Majah, #1610
andauthenticatedinSaheehSunanIbnMaajah,#1306]
Commemoratingthedeathanniversaryofthedeceased,either40daysfromdeathoronannual
basis,isforbiddenbasedontheauthenticallyrecordedhadithreportedbyUmmAtiyyah:
Wewereforbiddentomournformorethanthreedaysforadeadperson,exceptforahusband,
inwhichcaseawomanshouldmournforfourmonthsandtendays[duringthisperiod]wewere
notallowedtowearkholonoureyes,norperfumeourselves,norwearcoloredclothes,except
'asabcloth.Itwaspermissibleforusatthetimeofbathingattheendofmensestouseasmall
amountofincense.
(Bukhari,#254;Muslim,#3552)
Also, setting out on journeys to visit graves was specifically forbidden by the Prophet . This
practice forms the basis of idolatrous pilgrimages in other religions (Bukhari, #281; Muslim,
#3218).
Based on the above, it should be the objective of every sincere Muslim that seeks Allah's
pleasure to follow Allah's decree in the Holy Quran and follow in the footsteps of His Prophet
whendealingwithdeath.ItisanobligationforeveryMuslimtoeducatethemselvesastothe
proper funeral rights and that is the best way to reject innovation and to avoid falling into
misguidance.
The objective of this article has been to provide an overview of innovations that have been
introduced into the Muslim society and introduce suggested remedies in handling the calamity
of death. May Allah accept this humble and sincere attempt to explain the subject matter in
goodfaith. Anysuccess in this compositionisfromAllahandanyerroris completelyfrom me.
MayAllahgrantusparadiseandthosebeforeusfromtheProphetsCompanionsandthosethat
followedingooddeed.MayAllahspeace,compassion,andhisblessingsbeuntoyou.

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