بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله رب العالمين والعاقبة للمتقين والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الأنبياء والمرسلين نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين و بعد
My respected religious brothers! We are mentioning here some innovations related to funeral, grave, and condolence because many people are caught in them due to ignorance and blind imitation. I found it appropriate to fulfill the duty of advice as a religious brother. I have tried to mention only the well-known innovations in this booklet.
➊ Being heedless of death, not remembering death, whereas death is a reminder.
➋ Many people do not make any arrangement to write a will, and if they want to write a will, people say that death is still far away. Why worry about dying now, etc. However, in this regard, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) clearly said that if a Muslim lives for two nights and has something to bequeath, he should write his will and keep it under his pillow. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said that since I heard this from the Prophet (peace be upon him), I have written my will and kept it.
➌ After burying the deceased, people immediately rush to condolences and invitations, neglecting the will of the deceased and paying off his debts. Do they not know that because of debt, the soul of a believer remains suspended? This is a great mistake; they are running towards innovations leaving the obligatory.
➍ Some people call the Angel of Death by the name Azrael, which has no basis.
➎ Reciting the Quran from the death of the deceased until his preparation and shrouding, or completing Surah Yaseen at the time of soul departure, and hiring reciters for this purpose.
➏ Placing the Mushaf on the chest or pillow of the dying or deceased.
➐ Lamenting, shouting, tearing clothes, scratching the face, and objecting to Allah’s decree by saying that so-and-so did not deserve this calamity, or so-and-so should not have died yet, or saying, “O Lord! What have I done that You are giving me this calamity?” When such people are advised to be patient, they say: We have been very patient; how much more patience should we have? Whereas such people should recite انالله وانا اليه راجعون at the death of the deceased and be content with Allah’s decree and thank Him.
➑ Holding the belief that spouses cannot wash each other, whereas it is proven from some companions that they washed their wives.
➒ When taking the deceased to the cemetery, covering the funeral with a cloth on which Ayat al-Kursi or some verse is written. This is also a mistake.
➓ Performing prayers at prohibited times (sunrise, zenith, and sunset); one should wait fifteen minutes at sunrise and sunset and seven minutes at zenith.
⓫ Performing obligatory prayers in the cemetery, whereas there is a clear hadith from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that the whole earth has been made a mosque for me except the cemetery and the bathroom. In another hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Do not pray facing the graves. Because praying, supplicating, or reciting Quran facing graves are among the means of shirk (polytheism). However, the funeral prayer can be performed in the cemetery.
⓬ Delaying the funeral prayer: Some people delay the funeral waiting for close relatives or the completion of the Quran, whereas the Sunnah is to hasten the funeral prayer, and when relatives arrive, they can perform the funeral prayer at the grave.
⓭ In some places, the family of the deceased stands on the right side of the Imam to pray the funeral prayer, whereas the relatives of the deceased should line up behind the Imam like other followers and perform the prayer.
⓮ Performing the funeral prayer for a non-practicing Muslim is not correct; it is a deception and betrayal. Therefore, when a non-practicing Muslim dies, neither should he be washed, nor should the funeral prayer be performed for him, nor should he be buried in the Muslim cemetery.
⓯ Being heedless of the method of performing the funeral prayer.
⓰ Not performing the funeral prayer for a miscarriage after four months because the soul is breathed into the fetus at this time. Therefore, when a four-month-old fetus miscarries, it is better to wash it, perform the funeral prayer, and bury it in the Muslim cemetery. However, before four months, there is no funeral prayer.
⓱ Holding the belief that the body of a righteous person is light, which has no basis.
⓲ Taking the funeral procession slowly and at a slow pace, whereas the Sunnah is to take the funeral procession quickly, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Hurry in taking the funeral.
⓳ Saying loudly “Allahu Akbar” or “La ilaha illallah” or saying “O heedless, remember Allah, send blessings on the Prophet,” etc., while taking the funeral procession.
⓴ Raising hands and making collective supplication after the funeral prayer.
21 Being heedless of the funeral and not caring about its reward and merit, whereas the hadith says: Whoever attends the funeral and prays for it will have one qirat, and whoever stays until burial will have two qirats. It was asked, what are two qirats? The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Like two huge mountains.
22 Holding the belief that attending a funeral cures eye diseases is ignorance.
23 In some places, when someone dies, all his bedding and eating utensils, even his cot, are removed from the house, believing that their use is not permissible. This is also ignorance.
Innovations related to the grave:
➊ Not burying at night, although the correct view is that burial at night can be done if necessary.
➋ One innovation regarding the grave is that some people have their preferred grave dug in advance and make their will accordingly.
➌ One of the major mistakes related to graves is that people go to the cemetery and instead of silently contemplating the Hereafter, they start making noise.
➍ Saying the call to prayer (Adhan) or Iqamah when placing the deceased in the grave, or sending blessings and salutations upon the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, has no basis. The only established practice in this regard is to say بسم الله وعلي ملة رسول الله يا بسم الله وعلي سنه رسول الله when lowering the deceased into the grave.
➎ Some people say after burial that the deceased has been taken to their final resting place. This is incorrect because the final resting place is Paradise or Hell, not the grave. Similarly, some say that the grave is a very narrow place, which is also incorrect because the grave is narrow for the disbeliever, but for the believer, it will be expanded as far as the eye can see.
➏ Saying منها خلقناكم وفيها نعيدكم ومنهانخرجكم تارة اخري while throwing soil on the deceased after burial is also not established.
➐ Making the grave higher than one pillow.
➑ Standing and addressing the deceased after burial and saying, “O so-and-so, son of so-and-so, now remember what you took from this world.”
➒ Not supplicating for forgiveness and the Thaat Qadami prayer for the deceased after burial.
➓ Placing a tombstone on the grave.
⓫ Slaughtering an animal when taking the deceased from the house or lowering them into the grave, called ‘Aqra’ in some places, which is clarified in Hadith that there is no ‘Aqra’ in Islam.
⓬ Not respecting the dead, which has two forms: sitting on the grave, walking on the grave with shoes or slippers, urinating or defecating in the cemetery, littering and throwing garbage in the cemetery, decorating graves with lights and lamps, considering the grave of elders or saints as sacred, and believing that trees are a sign of the deceased’s good fortune and that cutting these trees will bring calamity. In reality, all these acts are disrespect to the grave and the dead.
⓭ Visiting graves with polytheistic intentions, traveling to the grave owner to request prayers, asking for needs, circumambulating their graves, making vows in their name—these are all clear polytheism and great misguidance. These acts erase a person’s good deeds, cause humiliation and disgrace, and lead to Hell. Similarly, traveling to graves with the intention of performing prayer, reading the Quran there, or using their status as an intermediary are all innovations. Innovation is the gateway to disbelief; whenever an innovation appears, a Sunnah is abandoned.
⓮ Traveling to visit graves, even the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ’s grave, is an innovation because the command is to travel to the Prophet’s mosque for prayer, not for visiting the grave. However, if someone reaches there, they may visit the Prophet’s grave and send blessings and salutations upon him.
⓯ Visiting graves specifically on Fridays and the two Eid days.
⓰ Placing hands on the grave or putting stones or similar objects on it during visitation.
⓱ Sending salutations on the deceased’s mother by name on the grave.
⓲ Sprinkling water on the grave during visitation.
⓳ Reciting the Quran on the grave.
⓴ Holding the belief that if the Prophet’s ﷺ grave were not in the Prophet’s Mosque, there would be no radiance there; similarly, going to his grave to ask for forgiveness or seeking intercession through him—these are all superstitions and errors of the Sufis. Also, believing that one who performs Hajj without visiting the Prophet’s ﷺ grave has not completed Hajj, kissing the lattice of his grave, touching it and rubbing it on one’s body, and considering it a cure are innovations. Some fabricated hadiths are used to support these, such as:
* Whoever performs Hajj and does not visit me has done injustice.
* Whoever visits my grave, my intercession becomes obligatory for him.
* Whoever comes to Medina intending to visit my grave, my intercession becomes obligatory for him.
* When you face a problem, seek help from the people of the grave.
* If you were not present, I would not have created the heavens and the earth.
* I was a Prophet when Adam was between water and mud. Seek intercession through my status because my rank is very high.
* O Jabir! Allah created the light of your Prophet before creating everything.
* When Adam asked for the Prophet’s intercession, Allah said: If Muhammad were not, I would not have created you.
All these are fabricated and false statements falsely attributed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Similarly, some people hold the belief about the famous poet Burda (Bussiri), which involves shirk, that when he fell ill, the Prophet ﷺ gifted him his cloak, after which he was cured.
21 Presenting a fabricated narration that the place between my grave and pulpit is a piece of Paradise, whereas the hadith mentions the word “house,” meaning the place between my house and pulpit is a piece of Paradise, because at that time the grave did not exist.
Innovations in Condolences:
➊ Holding condolence gatherings in a hostile manner and blocking roads, causing inconvenience to people.
➋ Arranging feasts by the deceased’s family similar to weddings, although it is established that relatives or neighbors of the deceased should prepare food for the deceased’s family, but nowadays the opposite happens; people sit and eat at the deceased’s house after attending the funeral as if they are at a wedding invitation.
➌ Distributing Quranic verses in condolence gatherings and having Quran recitations.
➍ Holding the belief that condolences can only be offered after burial, whereas condolences can be offered at any time after death.
➎ Reciting Fatiha for the soul of the deceased and saying that its reward goes to so-and-so.
➏ When women go to someone’s house for condolences, they start crying loudly first; this is also an innovation.
➐ Calling the deceased “forgiven” and “late” and saying that their soul has gone to the highest heaven, whereas all these are unseen matters known only to Allah.
