Invoking Blessings Upon Allah’s Prophet

Prayer for peace and blessings upon the Prophet, peace be upon him, may be said in any form. If someone were to say: “O Allah, bless Muhammad,” it should suffice. It is better, however, to use the prayers transmitted through tradition, like the following:: Extravagance in Shrouding is Disliked. (Allahumma Salli ‘ala-Muhammad wa’ala ali Muhammad kama sallayta ‘ala Ibrahim wa ‘ala ali Ibrahim wa barik ‘ala Muhammad wa ‘ala ali Muhammad kama barakta’ ala Ibrahim wa ‘ala ali Ibrahim innaka hamidun Majid).” “O Allah! Grant peace to Muhammad and his family as you did to Ibrahim and his family. O Allah! Bless Muhammad and his family as you blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly You are Most Glorious and Most Praiseworthy.’ This should be said after the second takbir, as is obvious, though there is nothing specifically reported in this regard as to its precise place in the funeral prayer.

Supplication for the Deceased

 This is a basic element of funeral prayer according to the consensus of juristic opinion. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “When you offer a funeral prayer for a deceased person, pray sincerely for him to Allah.” This is reported by Abu Daw’ud, Al-Baihaqi and Ibn Hibban, who said it is a sound hadith.

 For this purpose any supplication, even a brief one, may be used. It is recommended, however, to use one of the following supplications reported from the Prophet, peace be upon him:

1. Abu Hurairah said: The Prophet, peace be upon him, prayed in one of the funeral prayers: Allahumma anta Rubbuha wa ant khalaqtaha wa anta razaqtaha wa ant hadaytaha lil lslam wa anta qabadata ruhaha wa anta alamu bisirriha wa ‘alaniyatiha. Ji’nashuf’ala-hafaghfir laha zanbaha “Oh Allah! You are her Sustainer, You are her Creator, You provided her with sustenance, guided her to Islam, caused her to die, and You best know her secret and public life. We plead to You on her behalf to forgive her sins.”
2. Wa’ilah ibn al-Asqa reported: “The Prophet, peace be upon him, led us in a funeral prayer for a man from among the Muslims. I heard him saying: (Allahumma inna fulana ibna fulan fi zhimatika wa habla jawaraka, fa-qihu min fitnatal qabri wa azhabin nar wa anta ahlal wafa’ wal haq, allahumma faghfirlahu war-rahmhufa innaka antal ghafurur Raheem). ‘O Allah! So-and-so, son of so-and-so, is under Your protection and mercy, so protect him from the trial of the grave and the torture of Hell Fire. You are the guardian of the truthful and the faithful. O Allah! Forgive him and be merciful to him, as You are the Most Merciful, Most Forgiving’.” Narrated by Ahmad and Abu Daw’ud.
3. ‘Awf ibn Malik reported: “I heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, while offering a funeral prayer, say: (Allahumma-ghfir lahu war-rhamhu wa’fu anhu wa ‘afahu wa akrim nuzulahu wa wassi’ mudkhalahu waghsilhu bi-ma’ ind wa thalj wa barad wa naqi minal khataya kama yunaqi athaubu danis minad danas wa abdilhu daran khairan min darihi wa ahlan khairan min ahlihi wa zaujan khairan min zaujihi wa qih fitnatal qabr wa azhaban nar). ‘O Allah! Forgive him, have mercy on him, pardon him, heal him, be generous to him, cause his entrance to be wide and comfortable, wash him with the most pure and clean water, and purify him from sins as a white garment is washed clean of dirt. Give him in exchange a home better than his home (on earth) and a family better than his family, and a wife better than his wife, and protect him from the trial of the grave and the torture of Hell Fire’.” This is narrated by Muslim.
4. It is reported from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet, peace be upon him, offered a funeral prayer and said: (Allahummaghfir lihayatina wa mayatina wa saghirina wa kahirina wa zhakirina wa unthana. Allahumma man ahyatahu minna fa-ahyahu ‘alal Islam wa man tawafthu minna fa-tawafthu ‘ala iman. Allahumma la tahrimna ajrahu wa la tudalana ba’dahu. )”O Allah! Forgive our living, our dead, our young, our old, our males and our females, those of us who are present, and those who are absent. O Allah! Whomsoever among us You keep to live, make him to live in Islam, and whomsoever You cause to die, let him die in faith. O Allah! Do not deprive us of our reward for (supplicating for) him, and cause us not to go astray after him.” This is narrated by Ahmad and the other Sunan books. (Authentic canonical collections of hadith).

 If the deceased is a child, then it is desirable to pray: Allahumma ‘ij’alhu lana salafan wa zhukhran. “O Allah! Make him our forerunner and make him (a means of) reward for us and a treasure.” Bukhari and Al-Baihaqi report it from Al-Hasan. Nawawi said: “If the deceased is a child, a boy or a girl, one should say what is reported in the hadith, namely, “O Allah! Forgive our living, our dead. . .” and add the words: Allahumma ‘ij’alhu faratan li-abwaihi wa salafan wa zhukhran wa izatan wa i’tibaran wa shafi’an wa thaqil bihi mawazlnahumma wa afrlghas sabra ‘ala qulubihima wa la taftinhumma ba’dahu wa la tuharim-humma ajrahu. “O Allah, make him (or her) for his parents a forerunner, a treasure and an admonition, an honor, an intercessor, and cause him (or her) to make their scales of good deeds heavier (on the Day of Judgment). O Allah! Grant them patience, and O Allah! Do not put them to trial after him (or her) nor deprive them of his (or her) reward.”

Timing of Supplications

Ash-Shawkani said: There are no fixed times for these prayers. One may use any of these after all the takbirs, or after the first or second or third takbir, or divide it between each two takbirs, or say any of these prayers in between each two takbirs in the light of the practice of the Prophet, peace be upon him. It is also said that supplications should be done in the words given in the above reported hadith for both male or female dead persons.

Supplications after the fourth takbir

 It is preferred to supplicate for the deceased after the fourth takbir, even though the supplicant may have done so after the third takbir. This is based on a narration by Ahmad on the authority of ‘ Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa who said that when his daughter died, at his funeral prayer for her he made four takbirs. After the fourth takbir, he stood supplicating for as much as he did in between the other takbirs. Then he said: “The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to do the same in a funeral prayer.” Ash-Shafi’i said: “After the fourth takbir one may say, Allahumma la tuharimna ajrahu wa la taftinna ba’dahu. ‘O Allah! Do not deprive us of reward for (supplicating for) him/her, nor put us to trial after him (or her)’.” Ibn Abu Hurairah said: “After the fourth takbir the elders used to say: Allahumma Rabbana atina fi ad-Dunya hasanatan wafi al-Akhirati hasanatan wa qina ‘azhab an-Nar. ‘O Allah! Grant us good in this life and good in the life to come, and save us from the torment of Hell Fire.”

To be continued