Islamic Funeral

We received a sad news of the death of an ex-classmate's husband recently. There are plans to collect money for the family, as well as attending the commonly practised "Tahlil" events.

So, what's the Islamic way of handling a death? Here's the procedure of the Islamic funeral, summarized as follows:

1. (Immediately after the death, gently close the eyes, tie the jaw, tie the legs, and cover the body). Wash the body, preferably done by the spouse or other same-sex close relatives (children, siblings)
2. Shroud the body in white sheets, preferably topped with the deceased own prayer clothes
3. Perform the funeral prayer
4. Bury the dead, reciting “Bismi Allah, wa `ala millat rasuli Allah salla Allahu `alaihi wa sallam. Minha khalaqnakum wa fihah nu`idukum wa minha nukhrijikum taratan ukhra.” In the name of Allah, and in accordance with the way of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). “From the earth We have created you and unto the earth We shall return you and from it, again, We will resurrect you once again!” (Taha: 55)
5. Say prayers invoking Allah's mercy on the deceased. Make farewell with “Greetings of peace to you all. Allah-willing, we will also join you. May Allah forgive you and all of us!”

• Make funeral arrangement without delay
• Extended family and friends prepare food for the bereaved family (not the other way round) for 3 days
• Wailing is prohibited
  

Afterwards, what we can do to the deceased? We can:

• Pay their outstanding debts
  
• Constantly make du'aa for the deceased parents
• Perform Umrah/Hajj on their behalf, after we have done so ourselves

But we may NOT conduct that on specific days (3rd, 7th, 40th). This is not Islamic, in fact it could actually originate from Hinduism (known as kriya/shraddha). So be careful.

And we must remember that the Prophet said: “It is not permissible for a person believing in Allah and in the Last Day to mourn a dead person for more than three days except in the case of a woman mourning her dead husband, in which case she should wait four months and ten days of mourning.”

Sure we would like to benefit the dead, not to burden the dead with things contradictory to Islam in the first place.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clearly warned us against all sorts of innovations in worship when he said, “Leave it as I have left it. Remember the nations before you perished because of their excessive questioning and their departure from the ways of their prophets.”

More details here Gathering to Recite the Qur’an on Behalf of the Dead

And while we're still alive, why not do good deeds ourselves, sincerely for Allah, in the ways prescribed by Him exemplified by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) the Last Messenger.

May Allah guide us all. Amin!

Faith vs Weakness

Here's an interesting short article at IslamOnline.

Submission vs Passivity
Devotion vs Isolation
Humility vs Weakness

Ideas and concepts I sometimes get confused myself

"iman (faith) has always been the source of strength and might, high morals, and strong personality"

Du'aa

Sahih Muslim
Menara Polo

Today's lesson is about the dead.

"Verily we are from Allah and unto Him we return. Ya Allah take me out of my plight and bring to me after it something better."

When we lose someone (or something), be patient and make du'aa that Allah will replace that with a better one.

Everything is in Allah's hand. It is He who controls our hearts. What we can do is
1) Work for what we want, make the effort
2) Make du'aa (pray) to Allah
3) Be patient

Allah will answer our du'aa, sooner or later. If not in this life, then in the afterlife. Do not give up on Allah's Mercy.

A reminder especially to yours truly.

Get the Terms Right, please!

The London attack was unfortunate and disgraceful. I hope London will get back to normal ASAP.

But I'm annoyed when Muslims are quick to declare themselves "moderate Muslims", and please do not associate themselves with the "extreme Muslims". First of all, who says those who kill civillians are "extreme Muslims"?

Extreme means "existing in a very high degree (extreme poverty)", "most advanced or thoroughgoing".

Moderate means "avoiding extremes of behavior or expression : observing reasonable limits (moderate drinker)", "limited in scope or effect".

Such adjectives are contradictory, as they have negative connotation.. as if Islam is something bad. Come on!

Secondly, why do they have to label the bombers "Islamist terrorist"? They are just "terrorists". This came from the British Prime Minister, and a former minister of Spain, among many others. What kind of leaders are that? Aren't they supposed to be educated enough to see the difference, and not to give such blatantly ignorant, bigoted remark?

And the most crappy one was the comments from one of the evil US neo-cons who said that this is because of their freedom! Hello?? Surely they refuse to look at the root of the terrorist problem. Attacking civilians is wrong, but it's the only venue seen by some people with distorted minds. Pretending that it's the freedom of US and UK and Spain etc that creates those distorted minds is also wrong.

In the Hardtalk Extra on BBC just now, someone from Iran even sent his comment that Muslim leaders are silent about this attack. Excuse me, there are many clerics who denounced the attack! Some are here Muslim Scholars, Countries Condemn London Bombings, Muslims Condemn London Attack. Is the Iranian selective in his news gathering, or the BBC is just too happy to receive and broadcast such remark from a Muslim?

All right-minded people condemn these killings of innocent civillians, whether terrorist bombings or "carpet-bombings".

"O ye who believe! stand out firmly for Allah, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to piety: and fear Allah. For Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do." (Al-Maidah/5:8)

But we are not behind this attack, so we do not have to be apologetic about the doings of those terrorists.

Fridays

Fridays are special days in Islam. Sometimes we get excited to do additional good deeds on Fridays, but it's still only 24 hours, and seemed insufficient especially when we don't have Friday weekends*. So which are the best deeds to prioritize?

There are a few acts recommended by the Prophet (pbuh):

Take a Bath

Sa'id al-Khudri reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Taking a bath on Friday is essential for every adult person. (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim)

Narrated Samurah: If any one of you performs ablution (on Friday) that is all right; and if any of you takes a bath, that is better. (Sunan Abu Dawud)

"Every Muslim should have a ghusl on Friday and wear his best clothing, and if he has perfume, he should use it.” (Ahmad, Al-Bukhari, and Muslim)

Go Early to the Masjid

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: When it is Friday, the angels stand at every door of the mosque and record the people in the order of their arrival, and when the Imam sits (on the pulpit for delivering the sermon) they fold up their sheets (manuscripts of the Qur'an) and listen to the mention (of Allah). And he who comes early is like one who offers a she-camel as a sacrifice, the next like one who offers a cow, the next a ram, the next a hen, the next an egg. (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim)

"O you who believe (Muslims)! When the call is proclaimed for the Salât (prayer) on Friday (Jumu‘ah prayer), come to the remembrance of Allâh [Jumu‘ah religious talk (Khutbah) and Salât (prayer)] and leave off business (and every other thing). That is better for you if you did but know!" (Al-Jumu'ah/62:9)

Keep Silence during the Khutbah

Abu-Huraira reported Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) as saying: He who took a bath and then came for Jumu'a prayer and then prayed what was fixed for him, then kept silence till the Imam finished the sermon, and then prayed along with him, his sins between that time and the next Friday would be forgiven, and even of three days wore. (Sahih Muslim)

Make Lots of Prayer and Du'aa especially after Asr

“On this day there is an hour when no Muslim slave stands and prays and asks Allah for something, but Allah will give it to him,” and he gestured with his hand to indicate that whatever he asks for, is as nothing to Allah. (Reported by Al-Bukhari)

"Seek the hour in which prayers are likely to be answered, on Friday after `Asr (mid-afternoon) prayer, until the sun goes down." (Reported by At-Tirmidhi)”

Recite Surah Al-Kahf

Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) quoted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying: “Whoever reads surat Al-Kahf on the day of Jumu`ah (Friday), a light will shine for him from beneath his feet to the clouds of the sky, which will shine for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will be forgiven (his sins) between the two Fridays.”

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(A Bukhari collection of some ahadith on this subject is available here)

Nonetheless, small amount of deeds but done steadfastly is better than big ones in few. And good deeds are best done ASAP so don't wait til next Friday to load all your good deeds! :-)

* Think why we should not have Friday weekends instead of Sunday weekends..
“We (Muslims) are the last (of the nations) but (we will be) the foremost on the Day of Resurrection, although the former nations were given their scriptures before us and we were given ours after them. And this (Friday) is the day concerning which they disputed. So Allah guided us (to it), tomorrow (i.e., Saturday) is for the Jews and the day after (i.e., Sunday) is for the Christians.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari)