🕌 Investigative Review of the Hadith on the Virtue of Carrying a Janāzah for Forty Steps
📚 Taken from: Fatāwā ad-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Vol. 1, p. 199
❖ Question:
A question was raised regarding a Hadith mentioned by the author of Baḥr ar-Rā’iq, which states:
“Whoever carries a funeral (janāzah) for forty steps, forty major sins will be forgiven for him.”
(Questioner: ʿAbd al-Mālik Akākhail Khūrī, dated Sunday 29 Dhū al-Qaʿdah 1414 AH)
❖ Answer:
Wa ʿalaykum as-Salām wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh!
Alḥamdulillāh, peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
✿ The Mention of a Weak Hadith
Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh.
The aforementioned Hadith is very weak. It was cited by the author of Baḥr ar-Rā’iq (2/207–208), referencing Badā’iʿ. Similarly:
In Sharḥ Munyah, Abū Bakr al-Bukhārī also quoted this Hadith, as recorded in Ḥāshiyah (1/833).
Some jurists have also quoted this type of narration without referencing any original Hadith source.
✿ Reasons for the Weakness of the Hadith
- The narrator ʿAlī ibn Sārah is weak.
- The Hadith has also been labeled “munkar” (rejected), as mentioned by al-Dhahabī.
- It is referenced in Aḥkām al-Janāʾiz and its footnotes (p. 249).
- In Ḍaʿīf al-Jāmiʿ (No. 5566, 802), the Hadith has been classified as very weak.
- It is also recorded in as-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah (4/365, No. 1891), where it is again labeled “munkar”.
In those works, the statements of the scholars about ʿAlī ibn Sārah have been detailed. The wording may vary slightly, but the meaning is consistent—he is unreliable.
✿ Trend of Weak Narrations in Fiqh Books
This reflects a common issue in some jurisprudential texts, which often contain both authentic and weak narrations (ghuth wa samīn).
This is a result of rigid adherence to traditional legal schools without rigorous scrutiny of sources.
✿ A Reliable Hadith on the Virtue of Ghusl for the Deceased
There is, however, an authentic narration about the virtue of performing ghusl (ritual washing) for the deceased:
Narrated by Abū Rāfiʿ رضي الله عنه:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
❝Whoever gives ghusl to a Muslim and conceals what he sees, Allāh will forgive him forty times.
Whoever digs a grave and conceals him in it, a reward will be written for him until the Day of Judgment as though he gave him a home.
And whoever shrouds him, Allāh will clothe him with the garments of Paradise on the Day of Judgment.❞
✿ Authentication and Source References
- Al-Ḥākim: Mustadrak (1/354–362)
- Al-Bayhaqī: As-Sunan al-Kubrā (3/395)
- Al-Haythamī: Majmaʿ az-Zawāʾid (3/21) – He states that the narrators are trustworthy.
- Ibn Ḥajar: Ad-Dirāyah (p. 140) – He classifies the chain as strong.
- Al-Mundhirī: At-Targhīb wa’t-Tarhīb (4/176) – Agrees with al-Haythamī.
- Aḥkām al-Janāʾiz (p. 51) – Contains this narration.
- Imām Ṭabarānī: Narrates it in al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr with the wording “arbaʿīn kabīrah” (forty major sins). The chain is authentic, per the conditions of Muslim.
✔ Conclusion:
The Hadith regarding carrying a janāzah for forty steps and earning forgiveness of forty major sins is very weak and unreliable.
It cannot be used as proof in Sharīʿah.
However, there are authentic narrations about washing, burying, and shrouding the deceased, which carry immense rewards and should be acted upon.
❖ Hādhā mā ʿindī, wallāhu aʿlam biṣ-ṣawāb.
