Are you ready and prepared to do the funeral pray when I die

Are you ready and prepared to do the funeral pray when I die

{In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful}

My dear son:
Are you ready and prepared to do the funeral pray when I die?

It's enough to know that our beloved prophet (PBUH) has said: «if a man dies: all of his work is terminated except three things: current sadaka (money paid for a good deed), science that is useful to people and a good son to pray for him» [Reported by Al-Nisa'ey & Classified as Sahheh By Al-Albany].

So be my son the god son of his parent, and be generous to him, because they are really hard moments, so could you send your parent then some light.

So please son, when my soul is struggling to exit my body, and my head is on your arms and chest, please don't panic, there's a very hard mission you have to accomplish, so don't be confused by what you see, and don't worry if you see me suffer and remember that if my last moments seems so painful, it was painful to the best man god ever created (our prophet). He said: «please god, help me to endure the pain of death» [Reported By Tirmizi].

So don't make that distract you and remind me of my god when I'm like that. As the prophet said: «repeat to your dying fellows that there is no god's but Allah» [Reported By Muslim].

So do that, so that to make these words my last words spoken, as the prophet said: «whoever said that there's no gods but Allah as his last words; goes to heaven» [Reported By Abu-Dawood & Classifed as Saheeh By Al-Albany].

So if my soul went out of my body; please son, don't panic and remember the prophet saying: «if something bad happened to any of you; just say: we're made by god and to him we return, oh god, I hold this disaster with you, so help me on it and switch it to what is better for me» [Reported By Muslim].

And remember god's presents to whom is patient:
Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow) [verses 155,156 and 1157].

155. {And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Sâbirin (the patient ones, etc.)}.

156. {Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: "Truly! To Allâh we belong and truly, to Him we shall return}

157. {They are those on whom are the Salawât (i.e. blessings, etc.) (i.e. who are blessed and will be forgiven) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided-ones}.

And be aware my son that patience is endured when you first hear about the disaster, so you have to shut whoever is screaming for me up when you hear about my death, because our prophet said: «the dead is suffering by his folks crying» [Reported By Al-Bukhary]. And said as well: «whoever his folks screamed for; would suffer by this screaming» [Reported By Al-Bukhary].

And said too: «wouldn't be one of us whoever exaggerates in expressing his sorrow by tearing his clothes or hitting his cheeks or wishes out loud what the Ignorant before Islam was wishing» [Reported By Ibn-Majah & Tirmizi and Classified as Saheeh By Al-Albany].

And hurry up my son closing my eyes and don't say then anything but the good things, because the prophet once entered abi-salama's house when he's dying and close his eyes, and when he did that the women screamed out so the prophet shut them up and said: «if the soul went out the eyes follow it, and the angels attend the moment of death and emphasize what his folks say». Then he said: «oh god, please raise abi-salama's degree higher and make others follow his foot steps and forgive us and him at doomsday» [Reported By Muslim].

My beloved son:
Your mission is not accomplished yet, so don't grieve and cry but you have to hurry to take my clothes off while the organs, elbows and knees are still flexible, so that you don't have to tear the clothes off of me if the limbs are stiffed.

So after you do that, cover me with a sheet that can cover all my body and face, waiting for the moment to wash me and put me in my coffin.

My dear son:
Do you know how to wash me? Because I don't want anybody else to do that job, although I know that it'd be so hard on you, but who else should do that critical job?, so you have to be trained prepared for that job, so first soften the joints if they're stiffed so that you can wash me, then lift my head a little bit like I'm sitting, then press gently with your hands on my stomach until what was about to come out from there comes out, and pour a lot of water on my genitals to wash out all the exits.

And remember to do all that keeping the cover on my genitals to prevent anybody to see them including you.

And don't be disgusted if something smelly came out of me because it'd not be my fault as I never wanted to hurt you by any mean.

Then you have to roll a piece of cloth on your hands to clean the genitals under the cover, that piece of cloth should be thick so that you can't feel the size of the genitals. If you're done doing that move to other parts of the body and start by the "wodo'a" and the right limb first, as the prophet said: "start with the right limbs and the places of "wodo'a" on it".

So start my son by "wodo'a" like I'm preparing myself to pray except that you don't put water into my mouth or nose, however you should wet a piece of cloth to wash my teeth and my nose.

Then move to the rest of the body and start with the right parts, so wash the right part of the neck then the whole right part of the body: chest, side, thigh, leg and foot. Then turn me on my left side and do what you did with the right part. Do that three times and make the third time with "kafour".

So if you're done washing me; dry me up before putting me in the coffin.

Do you know my son how to put me in my coffin?
You have to dress me 3 white clothes. because the prophet (PBUH) said: «be dressed in white, as it's the best of what you have, and coffin your dead people in it too» [Reported By Abu-Dawood & Classified as Saheeh By Al-Albany].

Another reason is that the prophet (PBUH) had been coffined in three white clothes.

So you should spread these three rolls of white cloth, and put it under my body, so that my body is in the centre of these sheets, and spread it from both sides while I'm laying on my back and my arms are close to my sides.

Then you should fold the left side of the sheet on my right side, and then fold the right side of the sheet on my left side. That's for the inner sheet, so do the same with the second and the third sheets.

Then collect the excess cloth at my head and at my feet, and tie it from the head and from the feet, and tie the centre of the coffin so that my body is tightly attached to the coffin (the sheets), and when you're done doing that call someone to help you lifting my body to where people can pray for my soul.

But be aware that if your mother, sisters and other women who came to console your mother wanted to pray for me, they should pray before lifting me, as they shouldn't follow the funeral march, and then carry my body to where people can do the prayer.

Do you know son what to do at the prayer?
You should gather the sincere Muslims who believe that Allah is the only god and whom their faith is true, gather 100 of them and exert your best effort to gather them, because god will forgive me thanks to them.

As the prophet said: «every dead man, woman or child that a group of (100) Muslims pray for him, god will forgive him thanks to them» [Reported By Ibn-Majah & Classified as Saheeh By Al-Albany].

Ibn-Abbas the great teacher of this nation once lost a son in a place called kadid or asfan, so he called some guy and told him to gather people, so the guy went out and managed to gather a number of people and told him that what he did, Ibn-Abbas asked him are they around 40 men? The guy said yes, so Ibn-Abbas said carry my son's dead body out now, as I heard the prophet (PBUH) saying: «every Muslim dies having 40 men-who don't believe in other gods but Allah-walking in his funeral; god will forgive him thanks to them» [Reported By Muslim].

And make sure to gather enough persons to form several rows behind me (not less than 3 rows) when they pray, as the prophet (PBUH) said: «whoever had 3 rows praying for his soul; he guaranteed heaven» [Reported By Al-Tirmizi & Classified as hasan By Al-Albany].

And be my son in the front of all these rows, stand against my chest, and say "Allah akbar" (which is a takbira) to start the funeral prayer which contains 4 takbira.

Make the first takbira then read (Surah Al-Fatihah).

 

Then make the second takbira and pray for the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) saying: "Allahum salli a'ala Muhammad, wa a'ala a'aly Muhammad, kama salleita a'ala Ibrahim, wa a'ala a'aly Ibrahim, ennaka hamidon majeed, Allahum barek a'ala Muhammad, wa a'ala a'aly Muhammad, kama barakta a'ala Ibrahim, wa a'ala a'aly Ibrahim, ennaka hamidon majeed".

*that's a prayer to god to bless the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) the way he blessed the prophet Ibrahim and to be generous to him as well.

Then make the third takbira and pray for the dead man, and say: "Allahum ighfer ly hayena wa mayetana, wa saghirana wa kabirana, wa zakarana wa onthana, wa shahedana wa gha'ebana, Allahum man ahyeaytaho menna fa'ahyehi a'ala al'eman, wa man tawafaytoho menna fatawafihi a'ala al'eslam, Allahum la tahrimna ajrahu wala tafotna ba'adaho"

*that's a prayer to god saying: "Oh god please forgive our living and dead ones, our young and old ones, our males and females, who with us now and who isn't, please god if one of us should live, so make him live with faith, and if one of us should die make him die on Islam, please god don't deprive us from this prayer compensation, and don't let us without guidance".

Then pray for me in your own words, and pray sincerely hoping that god would forgive me, and ask people to be sincere as well, as the prophet (PBUH) said: «if you pray the funeral prayer; be sincere praying for the dead»

Then make the fourth takbira and pray for the dead too.

Then carry me my son to my first house in the after life, to my grave, and don't you ever walk slowly as the prophet (PBUH) said: «make the funeral march fast, if the dead is a good person; it would be better to hurry him to his good compensation, and if he was a bad person; it would be better for you to move this burden away from your necks» [Reported By Al-Bukhary].

So if you arrive to my grave, you should put me inside my grave as it will be the last time you see my body, and don't forget to say while your putting my into the grave: "besmellah, wa bellah, wa a'ala mellati rasoolellah ".

*that's a prayer to god saying: "in the name of Allah, and by Allah power, and by the religion of the prophet"

And you should put me gently on the grave ground, and put my right side at the direction of el-kibla, then untie the threads you tied on my coffin before, and put my cheek on the dust hoping that god may forgive me.

Then close my grave and fill it with dust, and when you're done, stand my son in front of the grave and call people to stand with you and ask god to forgive me.

And don't you ever make a mourning ceremony because the prophet didn't do it, as it also distract people from standing in front of my grave and ask god to give me mercy and forgiveness.

When the prophet (PBUH) finishes burying the dead, he stood in front of his grave and said: «ask forgiveness for your brother, and ask persistency on the right things for him, he's now being asked» [Reported By Abu-Dawood & Classified as Saheeh By Al-Albany].

And this situation is the last one I deal with you, so stand as long as you wish and then leave me in the dust and turn that page behind you. And take a good care of this family which became apart from me because of death, so take a good care of your mother, brothers and sisters and be like a father to them all.

And don't forget my dear son when you're facing the world to pray and repeat: "please god, forgive my parents as they brought me well".

Written by
Sa'id Muhammad el-sawoah

God forgive him, his parents and all other Muslims