Read an Excerpt
Episode 1 – The Janāzah
You entered this world with the call to prayer (adhān) being recited over you, but
without any prayer (ṣalāh). When you depart from this world, there will be a
prayer read over you, but there will be no call to prayer. The contrast between
these two epic events has much significance. It is as if to say that the fleeting life
which you experience in this world is as short as the duration between the call to
prayer and the prayer itself.
While you were still inside the womb of your mother, an angel was appointed to
register the duration of your life and the exact date of your death. This
paradoxically implies that the moment you enter this world, you are actually
already in one sense on your way to exit from it. All of these stark realities
constitute a powerful reminder that we should consistently perform our prayers
before we are prayed upon. This is because this life is far shorter than we may
initially think. Upon their death, every Muslim is entitled to have the funeral prayer
(ṣalāh al-janāzah) performed upon them by their fellow believers. Not only is it a
religious act of worship, but it is also a way to bid farewell to our loved ones.
Furthermore, it constitutes a sobering reminder that we too will one day follow
them on the same path. The wise person is the one who always visualises the
fateful day when the funeral prayer is offered over their dead body, and allows that
thought to shape their life trajectory. The Prophet taught us how to perform the
funeral prayer in elaborate detail. The prayer is unique in both its form and order,
as it consists of four successive takbīrs. After the first takbīr we are required to
recite Surah al-Fātiḥah. After the second, one should send prayers (ṣalawāt) upon
the Prophet , preferably through a full reading of the al-Ṣalāh al-Ibrāhīmiyyah,
which we are already accustomed to reciting during our regular prayers. After
finishing it, one then reads the third takbīr, which should be followed with a duʿā’
for the deceased. There are a number of confirmed supplications which have all
been transmitted from the Prophet . Among them is the following:
اللهم اغفر لحينا وميتنا، وشاهدنا وغائبنا، وصغيرنا وكبيرنا، وذكرنا وأنثانا، اللهم من أحييته منا فأحيه على
الإسلام، ومن توفيته منا فت وفه على الإيما ن
“O Allah, forgive our living ones, deceased ones, present ones, absent ones, our
little youngsters, elderly folk, our males, and our females. O Allah, whoever You
have decreed to live amongst us, then let them live upon Islam. And whoever You
decree to die, then have them die with full faith.”
We make this duʿā’ for the deceased – which was taught to us by the Prophet –
in a sincere and heartfelt manner during this short and special prayer.
After the fourth takbīr, you should make duʿā’ for yourself and all members of the
Ummah. If you wish, you may also further supplicate for the deceased. Some of
the scholars have recommended the following supplication at this point:
اللهم لا تحرمنا أجره ولا تضلنا بعد ه
“O Allah, do not deprive us of his reward, and do not allow us to go astray after
him.”
