The Funeral Prayer

 

Inna lillaahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un
  - To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return

THE PROCEDURES OF THE FUNERAL PRAYER

The deceased Muslim is placed horizontally in front of the Iaam, who stands, according to the Sunnah, at the shoulder of the deceased if he is male, and at the waist if she is female. The rest of the believers stand behind the Imam. There is no Ruku or Sujud in the prayer. The prayer is conducted in an upright standing position, Qiyam, and contains four Takbeers:

FIRST TAKBEER
Intellectual Copyright (c) 2003 Mutmainaa. All rights reserved. Please refrain from reproducing without prior permission. www.oocities.org/mutmainaa. The Imam says Allahu Akbar, raising his hands to his ears and placing them between the chest and the navel. The followers do the same. The Imam recites Du'ahul Istiftah, the opening supplication. This is followed by al-Fatihah.


SECOND TAKBEER

The Imam says Allahu Akbar without raising his hands. He invokes Allah's blessings upon the Prophet by reciting the second part of Tashahud, Salatu 'Alan Nabi.


THIRD TAKBEER

After the third takbeer, the Imam prays for the deceased, by saying the following:

Allahumma ighfir lihayyi na	O Allah, forgive those of us who are
wa mayyitina wa shahidina	still living and those who are dead,
wa gha ibina wa sagheerina	those of us who are present and those
wa kabeerina wa dhakarina	who are absent, our minors and our
wa unthaanaa;	elders;
Allahumma man ahya'tahu	O Allah, let the one whom thou keep-
minaa fa ahyiyi 'alal Islam,	est alive from among us live according
Wa man 'awaffaitahu mina	to Islam and the one whom thou
fa tawaffahu 'alal Iman.	causes to die from among us, die as a
	believer.

FOURTH TAKBEER

The Imam again stays Allahu Akbar and proceeds with:

Allahumma laa tahrimna	O Allah, do not deny us reward which
ajrahu, wagh fir lana wa lahu.	is due him, do not expose us to temp-
	tation after his death. Forgive us and
	him.

The Imam concludes the prayer with:

As-Salamu 'Alaikum warah	Peace and mercy of Allah be upon you
matullahi,	(turning the face to the right side).
As-Salaamu 'Alaikum warah	Peace and mercy of Allah be upon you
matullahi.	(turning te face to the left side).

If the deceased is a minor, the following invocation is added to the Du'a in the third takbeer:

Allahumma ij'alhu lana fara-	O Allah, cause him to become a means
tan waj'alhu lana ajran wa	of salvation for us and cause his loss
dhukhran waj'alhu lanaa shaa-	to become a means of reward and
fi'an waj'alhu lana shfee'an.	recompense for us and make him for