Salatul al-Janazah

Praise be to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah.

How to Pray Salat al-Janazah

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) explained how to pray salat al-Janazah (funeral prayer). It is done as follows:

1. Say the first Takbir: “Allahu akbar.”

2. Seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan.

3. Say “Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim” and recite Surah al-Fatihah.

4. Say the second Takbir and send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), as one does at the end of the prayer.

5. Say the third Takbir and make du’a for the deceased.

6. Say the fourth Takbir and pause for a little while.

7. Then say one Taslim to the right, saying: “Assalamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah.”

The Best Du’a for the Deceased

Du’a for the Deceased [ Hisn al-Muslim 157]

اللهُـمِّ اغْفِـرْ لِحَيِّـنا وَمَيِّتِـنا، وَشـاهِدِنا وَغائِبِـنا ، وَصَغيـرِنا وَكَبيـرِنا ، وَذَكَـرِنا وَأُنْثـانا . اللهُـمِّ مَنْ أَحْيَيْـتَهُ مِنّا فَأَحْيِـهِ عَلى الإِسْلام ، وَمَنْ تَوَفَّـيْتَهُ مِنّا فَتَوَفَّـهُ عَلى الإِيـمان ، اللهُـمِّ لا تَحْـرِمْنـا أَجْـرَه ، وَلا تُضِـلَّنا بَعْـدَه

Du’a for the Deceased [ Hisn al-Muslim 157]

Allāhumma’ghfir liḥayyinā, wa mayyitinā, wa shāhidinā, wa ghā’ibinā, wa ṣaghīrinā wa kabīrinā, wa dhakarinā wa unthānā. Allāhumma man aḥyaytahu minnā fa aḥyihi ala ‘l-Islām, wa man tawaffaytahu minnā fatawaffahu alal-īmān, Allāhumma lā taḥrimnā ajrah wa lā tuḍillanā ba`dah.

Du’a for the Deceased [ Hisn al-Muslim 157]

O Allah forgive our living and our dead, those who are with us and those who are absent, our young and our old, our menfolk and our womenfolk. O Allah, whomever you give life from among us give him life in Islam, and whomever you take away from us take him away in Faith. O Allah, do not forbid us their reward and do not send us astray after them. Reference: Ibn Majah 1/480, Ahmad 2/368. See also Al-Albani, Sahih Ibn Majah 1/251

Du’a for the Deceased [ Riyad as-Salihin 935]

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَهُ وَارْحَمْهُ وَاعْفُ عَنْهُ وَعَافِهِ وَأَكْرِمْ نُزُلَهُ وَوَسِّعْ مُدْخَلَهُ وَاغْسِلْهُ بِمَاءٍ وَثَلْجٍ وَبَرَدٍ وَنَقِّهِ مِنَ الْخَطَايَا كَمَا يُنَقَّى الثَّوْبُ الأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الدَّنَسِ وَأَبْدِلْهُ دَارًا خَيْرًا مِنْ دَارِهِ وَأَهْلاً خَيْرًا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ وَزَوْجًا خَيْرًا مِنْ زَوْجِهِ وَقِهِ فِتْنَةَ الْقَبْرِ وَعَذَابَ النَّارِ

Du’a for the Deceased [ Riyad as-Salihin 935]

Abu ‘Abdur-Rahman ‘Auf bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) offered a funeral prayer and I memorized his supplication. He (ﷺ) prayed: “Allahummaghfir lahu, warhamhu, wa ‘afihi, wa’fu ‘anhu, wa akrim nuzulahu, wa wassi’ mudkhalahu, waghsilhu bil-ma’i wath-thalji wal-baradi, wa naqqihi minal-khataya, kama naqqaytath-thawbal-abyada minad-danasi, wa abdilhu daran khairan min darihi, wa ahlan khairan min ahlihi, wa zawjan khairan min zawjihi, wa adkhilhul-Jannata, wa a’idh-hu min ‘adhabil- qabri, wa min ‘adhabin-nar [if the dead person is a woman, one should change the ending of certain words in this supplication from hu to ha]

(O Allah! Forgive him, bestow mercy upon him, pardon him, accord him a noble provision and make his grave spacious, wash him with water, snow and hail, purify him from sins as You have purified the white garment from soiling, give him a better abode in place of his present one, and a better family in exchange of his present one, and a better spouse in place of his present wife; admit him to Jannah and protect from the trial in the grave and punishment in the Hell).” (After hearing this supplication of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), Abu’ Abdur-Rahman ‘Auf bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) said: I wished I had been that dead man. [Muslim].

Riyad as-Salihin 935 https://sunnah.com/riyadussalihin:935

Du’a for the Deceased

The following du’a was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):

Allahumma ighfir lihayyina wa mayyitina wa shahidina wa ghaibina wa saghirina wa kabirina wa dhakarina wa unthana. Allahumma man ahyaytahu minna fa ahyihi ‘ala’l-Islam wa man tawaffaytahu minna fa tawaffahu ‘ala’l-iman. Allahumma ighfir lahu warhamhu wa ‘afihi wa a’fu ‘anhu, wa akrim nuzulahu wa wassi’ madkhalahu waghsilhu bi’l-ma wa’l-thalj wa’l-barad, wa naqqihi min al-khataya kama yunaqqa al-thawb al-abyad min al-danas. Allahumma abdilhu daran khayran min darihi wa ahlan khayran min ahlihi. Allahumma adkhilhu al-jannah wa a’idhhu min ‘adhab il-qabri wa min ‘adhab il-nar wa afsah lahu fi qabrihi wa nawwir lahu fihi. Allahumma la tahrimna ajrahu wa la tadillana ba’dahu.

Meaning:

O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, those who are present among us and those who are absent, our young and our old, our males and our females. O Allah, whoever You keep alive, keep him alive in Islam, and whoever You cause to die, cause him to die with faith. O Allah, forgive him and have mercy on him, keep him safe and sound and forgive him, honour the place where he settles and make his entrance wide; wash him with water and snow and hail, and cleanse him of sin as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. O Allah, give him a house better than his house and a family better than his family. O Allah, admit him to Paradise and protect him from the torment of the grave and the torment of Hell-fire; make his grave spacious and fill it with light. O Allah, do not deprive us of the reward and do not cause us to go astray after this.

Another Permissible Du’a

If you make du’a with other words, this is also permissible. For example:

Allahumma in kana muhsinan fa zid fi ihsanihi wa in kana museean fa tajawaz ‘an sayiatihi. Allahumma ighfir lahu wa thabbit-hu bi’l-qawl il-thabit.

Meaning:

O Allah, if he was a doer of good, then increase his good deeds, and if he was a wrongdoer, then overlook his bad deeds. O Allah, forgive him and give him the strength to say the right thing.

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• https://sunnah.com/riyadussalihin:936
• https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:1024
• https://sunnah.com/hisn:157
• https://sunnah.com/muslim:963a
• https://sunnah.com/muslim:963d