Death and Funerals: SeekersGuidance Reader

The Ultimate Islamic Guide to Dealing with Death and Funerals

SeekersGuidance Readers provide the seeker with a purposely curated list of articles, answers, podcasts and courses from SeekersGuidance, on a particular topic. These guides serve as a gateway to knowledge and guidance.

“Every soul will taste death. It is on the Day of Judgement that you shall be paid your rewards in full. So, whoever has been kept away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has really succeeded. The worldly life is nothing but an illusionary enjoyment.” 

(Holy Qur’an, 3:185)

This is the ultimate Islamic guide to Death and Funerals – featuring commonly asked questions about overcoming the fear of death and the funeral prayer. Our trained and reliable scholars at SeekersGuidance provide clarity and guidance on this crucial topic.

Questions and Answers Relating to Death 

1. Last Words of the Dying

In a Hadith narrated by Muʿadh ibn Jabal, “Whoever’s last words are ‘There is no god but Allah’ will enter the garden.” (Abu Dawud). We are encouraged to say these words just before death, and to encourage those dying in our presence to do the same. According to Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat, it is taken as a good indication for the person who is blessed with the ability to say it, that they will enter the Garden without punishment. This is the hope we have for ourselves and all of the believers, because we simply do not know where we will end up. All believers will enter Paradise eventually, but we want to be of those who enter it without any sort of difficulty or punishment on the Day of Judgement.

1. Advice to a Young Cancer Patient 
2. Are Non-Muslims Who Lived Good Lives Condemned to Hell? 
3. Burial Amongst Muslims, and a Directive for Proper Burial/Estate Division
4. Can the Dead Hear Us? 
5. Can We Pray for Non-Muslims Who Passed Away?
6. Dealing With a Terminal Illness and Impending Death
7. Donating Reward to the Dead: A Detailed Answer 
8. Has Attending a Catholic Funeral Made Me a Disbeliever?
9. How to Deal With a Non-Muslim Relative’s Death
10. How Do We Deal With the Death of a Loved One?
11. How To Benefit from Remembering Death?
12. How to Divide Inheritance After a Parent’s Death?
13. How To Make Expiatory Payments (Fidya) To Compensate For the Missed Fasts and Prayers of a Deceased?
14. How To Overcome My Fear of Death‏?
15. Is It Permissible to Complete the Qur’an Forty Days After Someone’s Death?
16. Is There Hope of Forgiveness for a Muslim Who Has Never Prayed?
17. Past Debts, Preparation of Will and Funeral
18. Sickness and Expiation (Fidya) for Missed Prayers
19. Supplicating for Death in Madina & Burial in Baqi
20. What Is the Proper Etiquette in Giving Condolences to the Family of a Deceased Who Is Non-Muslim?
21. What Can We Do about Missed Prayers of a Deceased?
22. What Should We Read for Forgiveness of the Deceased?

Questions and Answers Relating to Funerals

1. Where is the Soul During the Funeral Prayer and Burial?

Abu Sa`id al-Khudri heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) say, “The dead man recognizes his washer and those that carry him and lower him into his grave.” [Hakim] Thus when asked about the soul in between one’s demise and their burial, Ustadh Tabraze Azam responded that there are many narrations that indicate the soul is in fact present at the burial. 

1. Performing the Funeral Prayer for Someone Who Committed Suicide 
2. Is the Funeral Prayer On One Who Is Absent (Janazat ul-Ghaib) Valid?
3. How Many Salaams Should I Perform at the End of the Funeral Prayer?
4. Is the Supplication at the End of the Funeral Prayer Obligatory?
5. Is It Permissible to Fly the Dead Body of a Recently Deceased Family Member for Burial Overseas?
6. What Is the Proper Conduct of a Muslim Woman During the Entire Funeral Process?
7. Standing for a Funeral Procession
8. The Prophet’s Funeral Prayer
9. The Bathing, Funeral Prayer and Burial of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace)
10. Is It Permissible to Perform the Funeral Prayer (Janaza) Within a Mosque?
11. Can We Delay the Burial of Someone To Avoid Dispute?

Articles Relating to Death and Funerals

1. What is Death? – Shaykh Hamza Karamali

In this article, Shaykh Hamza Karamali explains that death is a transition; a movement from this worldly life into an eternal life. The Beloved Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) has said that the eternal life will last forever and it is where we will be called to account for our belief and deeds in the worldly life, and that our purpose now is to prepare ourselves for that everlasting life.

1. As He Breathed His Last – Imam al-Ghazali’s Last Poem
2. Is There a Reward for Losing a Loved One?
3. Imam Khalid Latif on “Losing Someone Close To You”
4. Lessons from a Medina Graveyard with Photos – Fahad Faruqui – HuffingtonPost
5. On Death and Dying, by Ustadh Salman Younas
6. The Journey of Death and Life, by Shaykh Faid Mohammed Said
7. The Realities of Death and Dying – SeekersGuidance Toronto’s Seminar with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, Shaykh Ramzey Ajem, and Habib Hussein al Saqqaf
8. The Soul’s Journey after Death and The Day of Judgement – Shaykh Ibrahim Osi-Efa
9. True Hope by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Videos and Podcasts Relating to Death 

1. Learn A Comprehensive Dua For The Deceased (30 Deeds, 30 Days), by Shaykh Walead Mosaad

In this podcast, Shaykh Walead Mosaad teaches a beautiful supplication to be made to Allah Most High for our deceased family and friends.

1. 01 – What is Death? – separation of soul from body
2. What You Need to Know About the Fiqh of Burial, by Imam Tahir Anwar
3. Daily Quran Reflections: (17) Reality of Death, Mercy to Creation, Religion is Deep Respect
4. The End – A Talk by Shaykh Yahya Rhodus on death and its inevitability
5. Remembering Death and the Afterlife

Courses from SeekersGuidance on Preparing for Death Throughout Life 

1. Preparing For The End of Life: Death and Dying Spiritual and Practical Advice Prepare for the End of Life. 

This course provides an important contribution to Islam’s answer to the big and existential questions of the purpose of life and the meaning of death. Based on lectures by three prominent scholars, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, Shaykh Ramzy Ajem, and Habib Hussein al-Saqqaf, the course material covers a systematic study of death, dying and the afterlife. The course also focuses on how remembering death and acting on this remembrance can draw one closer to Allah Most High. 

1. A Reflective Reading of Said Nursi’s Treatise: A Message for the Sick
2. Quduri’s Mukhtasar: On Worship (Purification, Prayer, Fasting, Zakat and Hajj)
3. Prophetic Hadith: Mukhtasar Sahih al-Bukhari

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