Before your Death: Janaazah Workshop: Study Guide *Remember these main points for the exam* Attend to all obligations and promises, or advise people to do so on your behalf. Prepare your will Advise for family & friends to stick to the sunnah Our Attitudes towards death: Be happy with Allah azza wa jal Maintain a balance between fear and hope. Our relationship with Allah is similar to a bird. The bird s head is love, and its wings are fear and hope. If a bird s wings aren t even then the bird will just fly in a circle. If the bird doesn t have a head then it s dead. No matter how much it hurts, don t wish for death. Love to meet Allah. At the onset of Death: Prompt the person to say La ilaaha il Allah. Make sure they say it, and not just hear it. Pray for the dying person. Only say good things about the person. Don t tell people if they don t say la ilaaha il Allah. What to do immediately after death: Responsibilities of those who are present: Close eyes of the deceased. Make dua for them Cover their body Hasten the burial prep. Make burial arrangements Assign someone to take care of any debts the person had. Responsibilities of relatives: Patience Istirjaa Inna lilah, wa inna ilayhi rajioon Make Dua Announce the deah. Mourn for the deceased.
Impermissible Acts: Wailing Beating the chest, slapping the face (any self inflicted punishments) Don t yell Don t neglect your personal hygiene (some cultures males don t shave for 3 weeks as a sign of mourning). Don t conduct outlandish ceremonies. Washing and Shrouding Washing Sequence Carefully lay deceased on his back on a washing table, in a place covered from any inquisitive eyes. Need 4-5 sisters/brothers to transfer body to the table, sometimes it is already done by funeral home. Only those who wash body should be there, not those who say, I just want to see their face, no, you can t be there for a nano-second Cover the deceased s awrah with a large towel or sheet. Undress the deceased, cutting whatever is not easy to slide off. The deceased s awrah must always remain covered with the sheet. So if they person has clothes on, take close off from underneath. Slightly moved deceased s limbs to loosen the joints, if that is found necessary for the washing or shrouding. Only a slight pressure may be applied to the abdomen to expel any excrement that is close to exiting. Place deceased s hands to their sides. Sometimes a person s parts are there, not entire body, missing a limb, so at that point you just want to put everything in the best order you can see if the limbs are severed. No heaving pressure to abdomen. Thoroughly wash the deceased s private parts, removing all excrements. Cotton or cloth may be used to stop uncontrollable leaks. If any stools come out, wash it clean, take another towel and put the soil towel in a container/bin. Untie any tied or braided hair. Turning the deceased on his/her left side, use pure water (or directly into the soap water) to wash the right side, starting with the head, then arm, then foot, and then the rest of the right side. As much as possible, the water should reach all parts of the body. There are no hard fast rules, so the majority of the scholars say that before step 7 you do the wudu for the person; do the wudu like normal, but you don't have to open the mouth--you open the mouth slightly and wipe the teeth and nose etc (don't put water in the nostrils) Turned the deceased on his right side, wash his left side as you did for this right side in step 7. Repeat steps 7 and 8 one or more times if needed. For the second washing, use pure water to get rid of the soap and so on. Wash the body with the water lotus or water soap mix, as in step 7 and 8.
If needed, wash body with pure water as in steps 7 and 8 to remove the soap. Conclude with final wash using the water-camphor mixture and follow the order of steps 7 and 8, total number of washes should be odd in number. Comb the hair, if long; divide it into 3 braids, sides in the center, place hair behind the head. Use towel to dry body, keeping the awrah covered. Replace the wet sheet covering awrah with the dry one. Some of sisters/brothers hold a dry sheet above the awrah, and then someone pulls wet sheet from the feet side and then the others lower the dry one. The body is now ready for shrouding. Shrouding Shroud must cover the entire body. If unable to cover the entire body, cover head first and then the rest of the body, cover the feet with plants grass, etc, or another cloth. Shaheed is buried in the clothes they die in. A Muhrim (person who is in ihram) is also buried in their clothes and their head must not be covered. It is preferable for the kafan/shroud to be white, scented, and in three layers (for both men and women) however, for the women if you want to have 5 that is also possible. The way the 5 would be is: a khimar and shirt on top (long sheet folded in half with whole cut for the head), third sheet for the bottom- navel down and that should be wrapped in 2 sheets (total of 5). If you don t have white, it can be another color (even striped) but white is preferred. Do not be extravagant. Ok to use more than 3 sheets for women Folding sequence is from the right to left, right-left-right-left. (ie, each layer, fold the right side first then the left side) Carrying the Janaazah Janaazah = the deceased body, Jenaazah = bier, or the stretcher used to carry the body. Guidelines for carrying the body: It s important to accompany the janaazah Follow the procession. Don t weep loudly. No torches or fire displays No loud sounds (music, 21 gun salute etc ) No loud dhikr chanting Proceed quickly to the place of janaazah prayer.
Salaatul Janaazah Women can participate in the salah The more people, the better At least three rows of 2 people each. If only 2 people, the person stands behind the Imam Mass funeral s are fine Better to have the salah outside It s ok to pray in the Masjid No prayer in the graveyard Imam stands at the head of the man, and he stands at the middle section of the lady 4-9 takbeers Lift hands with each takbeer 1 st Takbeer Surah Fatihah; 2 nd Takbeer Salat upon the Prophet and Ibrahim; 3 rd Takbeer Make dua for the deceased; 4-9 th Takbeer Duar One salaam to the right shoulder. The salaam should be said lightly, not in a loud voice. Can t pray salatul janazah during sunrise, high noon (zenith) or sunset. You can pray in absentia if no one else has prayed over the Muslim. Ruling overview of the Salatul Janazah and the Deceased Muslim Deceased: Ruling: Muslim Adult Obligatory Communal Obligation Sinful Muslim Adult Obligatory Communal Obligation Shaheed Recommended Kid (before puberty) Optional Miscarriage (less than 4 months) Prohibited Miscarriage (more than 4 months) Optional Muslim who didn t have a janazah prayer Janazah in Absentia Non Muslim Prohibited - Haram General guidelines for Burial Everyone should be buried Muslims should be separated from non-muslim graves Shaheed is buried where he is killed Can t be buried at Sunrise, high noon (zenith) or sunset Two types of graves, Shaq or Al-Lahd. Only men should lower the body into the grave Relatives and Guardians should lower the body. The husband is allowed to bury his wife alone. No one who was intimate the night before may enter the grave. There are specific dua from the Authentic Sunnah that may be said; anything else can become bid ah. People should gently throw three handfuls of dirt into the grave near the head.
Raise the ground by at most a hands height to notify passerby s that it s a grave. Can put a small identifier that it s a grave (i.e brick/stone). Should have minimal information. Once in a while you may remind people what happens after someone s buried. You may not pre-dig your own grave. Guidelines for Condolences: Encourage them to be patient Console them by what will comfort them. There is no time limit for when you may give your condolences. Sooner is better. We may not say that someone is in Hell. Make food for the family of the deceased. It should not be the other way around. No Quran Khani s Pat the head of an orphan and be generous to them. The deceased may benefit from these things after death: Dua; people fasting on their behalf, taking care of their debts, good deeds of the children of the deceased, any knowledge that they have left behind. Graveyard Etiquettes: Visit the graveyard to remind yourself of the hereafter. It s permissible for women to visit the grave, but not a lot. (If passing by) ** 2 nd opinion: Some scholars say it s not permissible at all. It s permissible to visit a non-muslims grave. (If passing by) There are dua s you may make for visiting the grave. It s not allowed to read Quran at the grave. You should face the qiblah when making dua, not the grave. You may raise your hands in this dua. No need to place flowers or other decorative items at the grave.