All praise is due to Allah; we praise Allah and seek Allah’s help and forgiveness. And we
seek refuge in Allah, Most High, from the evils of our own selves. Whosoever has been
guided  by  Allah,  none  can  misguide  him,  and  whosoever  is  misguided,  no  one  can  
guide him except Allah.
And  I  bear  witness  that  there  is  no  god  worthy  of  being  worshipped  except  Allah  Al
l
Mighty,  alone,  without  partner  or  associate.  I  further  bear  witness  that  Muhammad  
(Peace  and  Blessings  be  upon  him)  is  his  true  worshipper  and  messenger,  may  Allah  
the exalted bestow His peace and blessings upon him.
Allah says in the Qur’
an:
"O you who believe! Fear Allah as Allah should be feared, and die not
except in
 a state of Islam
.” [
Qur
’an
3:102]
Everyone must die.
Allah says in the Qur’
an:
“Everyone shall taste death. And only on the day of resurrection shall
you  be  paid  your  wages  in  full.  And  whoever  is  removed  away  from  
the  fire  and  admitted  to  paradise,  this  person  is  indeed  successful.  
The  life  of  this  world  is  only  the  enjoyment  of  deception
:
"
(Qur
’an
3:185
)  
“Every soul shall have the taste of death”
[Qur
’an
29:57
]
The
Prophet
(Peace  and  Blessings  be  upon  him)  
said:
"Remember  the  destroyer  of  
pleasures -
death, for not a day passes upon the grave except it says ‘I am the house of
remoteness;  I  am  the  house  of  loneliness;  I  am  the  house  of  soil;  I  am  the  house  of  
worms’
“(At-
Tir
mithi).
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Remembering  death  discourages  one  from  doing  and  evil  and  encourages  him  
to do
good.
Allah says in the Qur’
an in Sura
h Luqman:
"Nor  does  anyone  know  what  it  is  that  he  will  earn  tomorrow:  Nor
does  anyone  know  in  what  land  he  is  to  die.  Verily  with  Allah  is  full  
knowledge and Allah is acquainted with all things"
(Qur’an
31:34).
The Muslims
 should differ from the
Kufaar
in how we live and the way we
die and
bury
our dead. However,
people listen to
different non-
Islamic traditions and
see their
 ways
of doing things
, copy
them
 and
after time, th
ese innovation
s becomes the norm.
Funerals practices now
adays have been more attune with the
 culture of the land
 and
people than the sunnah of the
Prophet.
The Prophet Muh
ammad
(Peace and Blessings be upon him)
foretold this phenomenon
in the hadith collected by both Imam
Al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim:
"You w
ill follow
 the same path as was those before you inch by inch and step by step so
much so that if they had entered into the
 hole of a desert lizard you will enter too."
They
(The  Prophet  companions)  asked  him:  "You  mean  Jews  and  Christians  b
y  your  words’  
Those  before  you’
?"  He said: "Who else?
  (Other  t
han those two religious groups)"
(Al
-
Bukhari
 and Muslim)
Aside  from  constantly
  reflecting  upon  the  fact  that  we  will  inevitably  die  one  day
(perhaps  even  this  day)  we  should  also  know  how  to  properly  give  our  fellow  Muslims  
their rights when they die before us.
It is our
goal
  in  this  essay  to  report  the  proper  Islamic  way  of  doing  a  funeral, to point
out some of the innovations that have crept into the practices of some of the Muslims
 as
well as remind us of the unavoidable journey we all must take into the hereafter.
WHEN A MUSLIM IS AT THE POINT OF DEATH
A dying person should have
hope and positive thoughts about returning to Allah
“No one should die except that he has good expectations of Allah.”
 [Muslim and others]
The  dying  person  should  return  and  fulfill  all  trusts  and  obligations  or  assign
someone to fulfill them for him and
 he is unable to do so himself
 The  Prophet
  (Peace  and  blessings  be  upon  him)  said:  
“Whoever  had  oppresse  his  
brother  in  his  reputation  or  wealth,  let  him  remedy  that  before  the  Day  Of  Judgment  
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comes. Because no
Dirham
 or
Dinar
 will be accepted then: if he h
as good deeds, they
will be taken from him and given to his brother; and if he does not have good deeds, he
will be burdened with his brother’s sin. [Al
-Al-Bukhari
 and others]
The dying person s
hould have a will if necessary
It  is  necessary  when  one  has  debts
,  borrowed  or  entrusted  items  from  others  or  if  
someone owes him one of the previous mentioned
things
 to make sure trusts
 are
 return
to their proper owners.
It is permitted to write a will concerning one third or less. Some of the scholars said it is
pref
erable for it to be less than one
-third, and the will does not apply to any of the heirs,
because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said
: “There is no will
for  the  heirs.”
 (Narrated
  by  al-Tirmidhi,
al-Wasaayaa
,
2047
;  classed  as  saheeh  
by  al
-
Albaani in
Saheeh Sunan al-
Tirmidhi
, no
. 1722
).
Family members of the dying person and his most pious friends should be informed and
should be present at his side to help him turn his thoughts to Allah, encourage him very
gently to repent, remind him about all the good deeds that he did, about Allah’s mercy,
and Allah’s forgiveness so that he may anticipate Allah’s mercy and Allah’s favors.
They should prompt him every now and then to say the Shahada
“Prompt your dying ones to say “La ilaha il lallah
.” Whoever has his last speech be “La
ilaha il lallah” will enter paradise, regardless of what happens to prior to that
. [Muslim
and others]
AFTER DEATH
Closing
 the eyes of the deceased
Umm Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: Allah's messenger (Peace and
Blessings  be  upon  him)  entered  upon  Abu  Salamah  [i.e.,  his  dead  b
ody],  whose  eyes  
were  wide  open.  The  Prophet  (Peace  and  Blessings  be  upon  him)  closed  the  lids  and  
then said, 'When the ruh is taken out, the eyesight follows it.’ [Muslim & Ahmed]  
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 Making
 du
’a for the deceased
  ‘Pray  for  forgiveness  for  your  brother  a
nd ask for him to be made steadfast, for now he
is
being  questioned.’”  (
Narrated by Abu Dawood,
al-Janaa’iz
,
2804; classed as saheeh
by al
-Albaani in
Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood
, 2758).   
They should cover all his body completely with a clean sheet
A’   isha repo
rted that:
"Muslims covered the body of Prophet Muhammad
(Peace and
Blessings be upon him)
 when he died"
(Al
-Bukhari
 & Muslim).
Hastening
 to prepare the body for washing, shrouding and burial.
Prophet Muhammad
(Peace and Blessings be upon him)
said:
“ Hasten w
ith the burial of
your
dead”
 (Al
-Bukhari
 & Muslim)
The
Deceased S
hould
Be Buried in
the land of their death
Ibn Qudaamah
 said:  
The deceased should not be moved from
the
 land
of his death
to another land unless
that is for a valid reason. This is the view of
 al-Awzaa’i and Ibn al
-Mundhir...and
because it is easier and it avoids any delay that may cause the corpse to start decaying
before burial. But if there is a valid reason for doing so, then it is permissible.
Al-Mughni
,
2/193
-194
The Standing Committee
 sa
id concerning this issue:
The Sunnah at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah
 be upon him) and
the time of the Sahaabah was to bury the deceased in the graveyard of the land or city
in  which  he  died,  and  to  bury  the  martyrs  where  they  died
.  It  is  not  proven  in  any  
hadeeth  or  report  that  any  of  the  Sahaabah  was  moved  to  a  place  other  than  the  
graveyard of the land or city in which he died, or to another place nearby.  
Because of that, the majority of fuqaha’ said: it is not permissible to mo
ve the deceased
before  burial  to  a  land  other  than  the  one  in  which  he  died,  unless  that  is  for  a  valid  
reason such as the fear that his grave may be violated if he is buried where he died, or
that it may be mistreated, in which case he must be moved to a place where his grave
will be safe.
For  example,  moving  him  to  his  homeland  so  that  his  family  will  feel  better  and  will  be  
able to visit his grave is permissible.  
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But  in  such  cases  that  is  subject  to  the  condition  that  there  is  no  fear  that  the  corpse  
may  start  to  decay  because  of  the  delay  in  burial,  and  that  his  sanctity  will  not  be
violated. If there is no need to move him and these conditions are not met, then it is not
permissible to move him.
The Committee believes that every deceased person shoul
d be buried in the graveyard
of  the  city  in  which  he  dies,  and  that  they  should  not  be  moved  to  another  city  unless  
that is for a valid reason, in accordance with the Sunnah and the practice of the salaf or
early generations of this ummah, so as to avoid transgressing the rules of sharee’ah, to
bury  the  deceased  quickly  as  encouraged  in  sharee’ah,  to  protect  the  deceased  from  
the  procedures  that  may  be  done  to  his  body  to  prevent  decay,  and  to  avoid  the  
extravagance of spending large amounts of money unnecessarily and for which there is
no  legitimate  shar’i  need,  as  well  as  protecting  the  rights  of  the  heirs  and  saving  this  
money so that it may be spent in the proper ways.
This is the fatwa signed by the Committee. May
Allah send blessings upon our Prophet
Muhammad and upon his family and companions
.  
Fataawa Islamiyyah
, 2/31
, 32
There is
no
  authentic  proof  for  reciting  Al-Fatiha  over  the  deceased
  nor  is  t
here
any
authentic  proof  for  reading  
Surah
Yasin  after  the  death  of  
a  Muslim  or  at  the  grave  of  
the  de
ceased.  All  the  hadiths  mentioning  reciting  Yasin  are  weak  and  if  they  were  
authentic  then  the  understanding  would  be  to  read  Yasin  to  dying  Muslims  on  
their
deathbeds
  similar  to  the  hadith  that  says  
“Prompt  your  dying  ones  to  say  “La  ilaha  il  
lallah.”
So likewise it is not from the sunnah to prompt the deceased to say La ilaha il
lallah after his burial after he has died.
WASHING THE DEAD MUSLIM (
AL-GHUSUL
)
Two or three persons may be needed for the washing. They should are be trustworthy,
religious and k
nowledgeable about how to perform the washing.
The reward
Abu Rafi reported that the Prophet
(Peace and Blessings be upon him) said: “
He  who  
washes a Muslim and conceals what he sees (bad smell, appearance, etc.) Allah grants
him forgiveness forty times. A
nd he who digs for him (a grave) and buries him would be
granted a reward similar to providing for him a dwelling until the Day of Resurrection.
And he who shrouds him, Allah will clothe him on the Day of Resurrection from the silk
garments of jannah
. (Al
-Bayhaqi and others)
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How to wash the dead
First  make  sure  the  awrah  of  the  deceased  is  completely  covered  with  a  large  sheet.  
Then remove his/her clothing.  
The  first  aspect  of  Ghusl  is  to  perform  the  istinja.  Slowly  lift  him  forward  so  that  any  
waste that
 is likely to be released from his body is released.  
For  washing,  you  may  use  a  piece  of  cloth  or  gloves.  Wash  private  parts  and  untie  
braids and plaits. It may again be braided in three braids and place behind the back.
Start
with  perform  wudu  on  the  de
ceased
  then wash
the
right  side  of  body  completely  
while  positioning  the  body  on  the  left  side  to  insure  the  water  reaches  its  intended  
places then wash the left side while positioning the body on its right side.  
Then  wash  again  with  water  mixed  with  grou
nded  lotus  leaves  or  soap  if  there  is  no  
grounded lotus leaves. Wash three times, but if the body needs more cleaning, continue
washing five or seven times,
but in it must be odd numbers
.  
In the last wash, the washer may use camphor, or some perfume with
the water.  
After that the body should be dried with clean towel
.
(The  One  who  washed  the  body)  performing  a
  ghusl  after  washing  the  deceased  is  
mustahabb, but not obligatory.
This  is  the  view  of  Ibn  ‘Abbaas,  Ibn  ‘Umar,  ‘Aa’ishah,  al
-Hasan al-Basri,  Ibraaheem  al
-
Nakha’i,  a
sh-Shaafa’i,  Ahmad,  Ishaaq,  Abu  Thawr,  Ibn  al
-Mundhir  and  others,  and  it  is  
also  the  view  regarded  as  most  correct  by  Ibn  Qudaamah.  
See  Sunan  al
-Tirmidhi,
3/318; al-Mughni,
1/134  
Shaykh  al-Albaani
  (may  
Allah
  have  mercy  on  him)  said:
 It   is  mustahabb  for  the  one  
who  washes  the  deceased  to  do  ghusl,  because  the  Prophet  (peace  and  blessings  of  
Allah
  be  upon  him)  said
:  “Whoever  washes  the  dead,  let  him  do  ghusl,  and  whoever  
carries him, let him do wudoo’.”
Only males should wash the male deceased. Only females should wash the female
deceased.
For a married person, the spouse may perform the washing.
A’ishah said:
“If we could go back and change anything, no one would have washed the
Messenger of Allah
 (peace and blessings of Allah
 be upon him) but his wives.”
(Narrated by Abu Dawood).  
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Abu Bakr al
-Siddeeq (may Allah
 be pleased with him) left instructions in his will that he
should be washed by his wife Asmaa’ bint Umays, and she did that.  
Abu Moosa was washed by his wife Umm ‘Abd
-Allah
.  
It is also permissible for a man to wash his wife when she dies, according to the correct
scholarly view, because it was narrated by Ibn al-Mundhir that ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may
Allah
 be pleased with him) washed Faatimah (may Allah
 be pleased with her) after
she
died. That was well known among the Sahaabah (may
Allah be pleased with them) and
no one denounced him for that, thus there was consensus on  
Washing the body of someone body is burn, cut or autopsy performed on it
Ibn  Qudaamah
 (may
Allah
  have  mercy  o
n  him)  said:  
The one who has been crushed
by a falling wall, burned
or has drowned should be washed if possible.  But
 if there is the
fear that washing may cause the body to disintegrate
, then water should be poured over
them  without  touching  them.  If  there  is  the  fear  that  water  may  cause  the  body  to  
disintegrate, then they should not be washed, but tayammum should be done for them if
possible,  as  in  the  case  of  a  living  person  who  may  be  harmed  by  water.  If  it  is  not  
possible  to  wash  the  deceased  because  t
here  is  no  water  available,  then  tayammum  
should be done, and if it is possible to wash some parts and not others, then those parts
that can be washed should be washed, and tayammum should be done for the rest, as
is the case of the living.
From al
-Mughni.
 2/209
.  
Shaykh  Ibn  Baaz
 (may
Allah
  have  mercy  on  him)  was  asked:
 How  should  ghusl  be  
done  for  a  person  who  died  in  an  accident  and  his  body  is  disfigured  and  some  parts  
may have been cut off?
He replied:
 It is obligatory to wash him, just like anyone el
se, if that is possible. If it is not
possible then tayammum should be done for him, because tayammum takes the place
of  washing  with  water  when  that  is  not  possible.
Majmoo’  Fataawa  wa  Maqaalaat  
Mutanawwi
’ah, 13/123

 A brief treatise discussing the rulings of Janazah.