#198: Recommended Prayers for the Dead

QUESTION

SOME RECOMMENDED PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD

“Please what is the recommended prayers for our dead family members”

ANSWER:

Alhamdulillaah!

Foremost, we apologise for answering your question late. It was unnoticed most times. Pls forgive us for that, may Allaah forgive your sins too.

As for the prayers (du’a) for the dead, there are three classifications:

1. Immediately after the death and during the Janaazah prayers. Many Ahaadith, strong and weak alike, have been transmitted concerning this.
Some of them are:

اللهم اغفر له وارحمه، وعافه واعف عنه، وأكرم نزله، ووسع مدخله، واغسله بالماء والثلج والبرد، ونقه من الخطايا كما نقيت الثوب الأبيض من الدنس، وأبدله دارا خيرا من داره وأهلا خيرا من أهله وزوجا خيرا من زوجه، وأدخله الجنة وأعذه من عذاب القبر ومن عذاب النار

“O Allah! Forgive him and be merciful to him; overlook his errors and grant him soundness from all sins; make honourable his abode and expand for him his grave; purify him with water, ice and snow and cleanse him from sins the way you have cleansed the white cloth from stain; and exchange for him a home that is better than his home, a family that is better than his family and a wife that is better than his wife. And enter him into Jannah and grant him refuge from the torments of the grave and the punishment of the Naar.”

That is found in Sahih Muslim from the Companion Awf bn Maalik – radiyallaahu ‘anhu

اللهم أنت ربها، وأنت خلقتها، وأنت هديتها للإسلام، وأنت قبضت روحها، وأنت أعلم بسرها وعلانيتها، جئناك شفعاء له فاغفر له

“O Allaah! You are her Lord and You created her and guided her to Islam and You are responsible for taking her life; and You know better what is hidden and apparent of her. We have come to You as intercessors for him, forgive him (O Allah)”

The above is from Abu Hurayrah – radiyallaahu ‘anhu – and transmitted by Imaam Abu Daawud in his Sunan.

اللهم إن فلان بن فلان في ذمتك وحبل جوارك، فقه فتنة القبر وعذاب النار، وأنت أهل الوفاء والحمد، اللهم فاغفر له وارحمه إنك أنت الغفور الرحيم

“O Allah! So and so the son of so and so is under your care and in the fold of your hospitality; protect him from the trials of the grave and the punishment of the Naar. You are the One who fulfills pledges and most deserving of Praise. O Allaah! Forgive him and be merciful to him; You are indeed the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful”

This is from the Companion Wa’ilah bn Al-Asqa’a and recorded by Abu Daawud in his sunan.

As for the pronouns ‘he/her’, ‘him/she’, ‘it’, they should be used in accordance with the sex of the dead. This is what the Ulamaa such as Imaam Ibn Abi Zayd Al-Qayrawaani Al-Maaliki – rahimahullaah – mentioned in the Risaala. If, for instance, you come to pray over a dead that you do not know its sex, you use the feminine pronoun ‘she/her’ and imply the corpse without regard to its sex.

2. Much after the death:

In this case, there has not come any specific way to make du’a for the dead other than to say ‘yarhamuhullah’ (may Allaah be merciful to him). There is no harm making du’a for the dead in this situation with the du’a mentioned above and with any other du’a that one can make, as long as it does not contain wordings that are kufr, haraam or makruh.

3. By the grave of the dead either just after the burial or very much after it.

If it is just after the burial, the du’a is like what we have mentioned above. If it is much after, then the du’a is that made whenever we visit the graves.

Some of them are:

السلام عليكم أهل الديار من المسلمين والمسلمات وإنا إن شاء الله بكم لاحقون، ويغفر الله للمستقدمين منا والمستأخرين، أسأل الله لنا ولكم العافية

“Peace be upon you O people of the homes among the Muslims men and women ; and we will – Allaah willing – join you soon. May Allaah forgive the foremost and the later of us. I ask Allah for us and for you soundness and freeness from ills”

And:

(ﺍﻟﺴﻼﻡ ﻋﻠﻴﻜﻢ ﺩﺍﺭ ﻗﻮﻡ ﻣﺆﻣﻨﻴﻦ ، ﻭﺃﺗﺎﻛﻢ ﻣﺎ ﺗﻮﻋﺪﻭﻥ ، ﻏﺪﺍً ﻣﺆﺟﻠﻮﻥ ، ﻭﺇﻧﺎ ﺇﻥ ﺷﺎﺀ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﺑﻜﻢ ﻻﺣﻘﻮﻥ ، ﺍﻟﻠﻬﻢ ﺍﻏﻔﺮ ﻷﻫﻞ ﺑﻘﻴﻊ ﺍﻟﻐﺮﻗﺪ)(ﺍﻟﺴﻼﻡ ﻋﻠﻴﻜﻢ ﻳﺎ ﺃﻫﻞ ﺍﻟﻘﺒﻮﺭ، ﻳﻐﻔﺮ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﻟﻨﺎ ﻭﻟﻜﻢ، ﺃﻧﺘﻢ ﺳﻠﻔﻨﺎ ﻭﻧﺤﻦ ﺑﺎﻷﺛﺮ.)

“Assalaamu ‘alaykum home of the believing people, and the promise that was made to you has come to you, and tomorrow
you shall be rewarded. We, Allaah willing, will catch upp with you soon. O Allaah! Forgive the people of Baqi’i and the People of Al-Gharqad”

“Assalamu ‘alaykum‏ ‏O People of the graves! May Allaah forgive us and you! You are our predecessors and we follow in your behind”

And there are others with similar wordings.

Allaahu a’alam!

📨@IslamNode📤