Alḥamdulillāh… All praise and thanks are due to the Almighty Allāh. I send peace and blessings upon Habībī Muḥammad, his household, companions and all those who follow his guided path.
The most significant symbol of Islām is the ṣalāh. The best ṣalāh in rewards is that performed in a congregation. Every proper ṣālah requires adhān and iqāmah. Adhān is the call for the prayer. Iqāmah is the second call given immediately before the prayer begins.
When adhān is said, the devils run for their lives, and angels and the God-fearing respond to it in excitement. Prayer, thus, brings tranquility and sense of security to one hearts and minds of its performers. Additionally, we seek Allāh’s Forgiveness and Mercy through ṣalāh.
A valid ṣalāh is only performed after one has taken wuḍūʾ. Wuḍūʾ is translated as ‘ablution.’ But Shaykh Ḥamza Yūsuf translates it as illumination. I prefer the latter, because we illuminate our limbs with wuḍūʾ. We don’t just wash them.
When one illuminates his limbs with wuḍūʾ, he readies himself for a special communication with Allāh. During this communication, he praises Allāh with attributes that He has chosen to be praised with. He then asks for guidance to the path that He is satisfied with. He asks to be guided to the path of those upon whom Allāh has bestowed His Blessings. He also seeks refuge from following the path of those who earned His Anger, or those who have gone astray.
The blessed ones (who he wants to follow their path) are the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs, and the righteous.
When this supplication is accepted, a Muslim leads a life full of taqwā (God-consciousness) and ṣalāḥ (righteousness), outside the mosque or outside his prayer hall.
A Muslim who leads a life of taqwā and ṣalāḥ shall be pleased the day he meets Allah; the day of his death. On that day, angles of mercy will be his guests. They will prepare him for his departure to the next life. They will comfort him and give him good tidings about his destination in the next life.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّـهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَلَّا تَخَافُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَبْشِرُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ ﴿٣٠﴾ نَحْنُ أَوْلِيَاؤُكُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ، وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِي أَنفُسُكُمْ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ ﴿٣١﴾ نُزُلًا مِّنْ غَفُورٍ رَّحِيمٍ
It means, “As for those who affirm, “Our Lord is Allāh,” and then remain steadfast, the angels will descend on them, saying, “Have no fear and do not grieve. Rejoice in the [good news of the] Garden that you have been promised. “We are your companions in this life and in the Hereafter. Therein you shall have all that your souls desire, and therein you shall have all that you ask for as accommodation from the Most Forgiving and Most Merciful.” [Sūrah Fuṣṣilat, 41:30-32].
His soul will depart this world, leaving behind many good indications of his satisfaction with the good tidings granted for him. His face will be filled with smiles and brightness. He may, additionally, say his Shahādah or signal to it with his index finger.
After the departure of his soul, we then say: He is dead. After his death, we prepare him by bathing him the holy bath, similar to what we do for Janābah purification. Or should I say we illuminate his body with the holy bath? We perform ṣalāh al-Janāzah (funeral prayer) on his body, and then bid him a farewell.
A dead person can't perform that prayer on himself by himself. We will do that on him. The number of people who attend his (funeral) prayer depends on whom he was in his life. Those he has chosen by himself will be a good witness for him or against him. Thus, family members are not counted, for they are God’s gift to him. He didn't choose them. Did he?
He may have not chosen his janāzah congregation by extending personal invitations to each of them. But he really did; with his righteous deeds.
During ṣalāh al-janāzah, a (dead) good person assembles good people. The pious gathers people of piety. The professor gathers professors. The entrepreneur surrounds his janāzah with entrepreneurs. The banker will be followed by fellow bankers. A politician will bring together his admirers. The criminal gathers gangsters. The gay brings homosexuals. It all depends on the choices he made in his life.
There will be neither adhān for this prayer, nor will there be iqāmah. Oh yeah… His adhān and iqāmah were made for him, at birth.
In Islām, when a child is born, it’s sunnah to perform adhān on his right ear, and iqāmah on his left ear. Just as a child can’t perform this adhān and iqāmah for himself, the dead person shall not be performing ṣalāh al-janāzah for himself.
Parents, let’s help our children, when we perform the adhān and iqāmah for them. With that, inshā Allāh, they will help themselves to gather the righteous congregation for their janāzah.
The first step we take to help them requires that each one of us chooses for his kids a righteous mum or dad (our spouses). We also help them by ensuring the blood that forms into sperm for their conception come from Halāl sources. Let’s help them by providing for them from Halāl sources. Let’s help them by instilling in them knowledge about Allāh and love for Him.
If we do that, they will help themselves by gathering the right and righteous people for their funeral prayers. A child, who will be able to gather righteous people to his funeral prayer, will be a pride for his parents in the hereafter. In other words, he will hold your hands into the gardens of jannah.
We are weak creatures and birth. We are even weaker at death. Somehow, at birth, our needs can be understood and fulfilled, but no one can effectively fulfill our needs, at death, without the Mercy of Allāh.
Our parents did their best when they performed the adhān and iqāmah, for us. We should therefore do better than they did, to be the best Imāms for our janāzah prayers. Remember, although there will be an Imām during our janāzah, we will still lead our prayers; for all the congregation will have to stand behind us, when we are laid down, motionless for the prayer.
Whoever attends our janāzah will do so based on the invitation we extended to him. Thus, we have to make our invitation appealing enough, to attract them. This invitation can’t be extended by sending cards or making phone calls. Not even Facebook or WhatsApp will be helpful. This invitation is only sent spiritually, when we carry out righteous deeds in our lives. With righteous deeds, even people we never knew in our lives will pray on our dead bodies.
Some even send their invitations effectively enough (through their righteous deeds) that they get ṣalah al-ghāʾib done for them overseas or in geographically remote locations. Ṣalāh al-ghāʾib is ṣalāh al-janāzah performed for a dead person whose body is not found, or who was buried without janāzah been performed for him, or whom a group of people in a remote location or different country decides to pray for.
Your whole life is ṣalāh. Imagine your whole life in the period and duration it takes for any adhān, iqāmah and prayer to be perfomed. The miracle that occurs between adhān, iqāmah and the prayer is all that you do since the first adhān you heard, till the prayer you will be leading for the last time.
We know how obligatory prayers are performed. But how our own ṣalāh al-janāzah is going to be performed is a question each of us may have to answer in his moments of silence.
Different Imāms vary in the length of duration they spend leading prayers. Different Imāms focus differently during ṣalāh. Some Imāms are easily distracted during their ṣalāh. Some Imāms make lots of mistakes in their ṣalāh. Some Imāms are only Imāms when they are paid to be. Some Imāms go to the mosque only when they are on duty. Some Imāms… Some Imāms… What kind of Imām are you today? What kind of Imām are you going to be when you are laid down, to lead your final prayer?
Rectify your ṣalāh… Rectify your life…
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Allah knows best.
Allāhu Ḥāfiẓ 🙂
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