AFTER THE DEATH

Duties of the relatives:

# Close the eyes after the soul has departed the Muslim's body. Hazrat Umm Salama (RAA) reported that Allah's Messenger (SAW) came to Abu Salama (after his death), when his eyes were fixedly open. Closing them, he said:

"When the soul is taken, the sight follows it(Muslim)

# Straighten the arms and legs of the deceased.

# To ensure that the jaw will not fall open, tie a broad strip of cloth, taking it from under the chin and knotting it on the top of the head.

# Put the legs together and loosely tie the two toes with another strip of cloth; the strips can be removed at the time of washing the body

# Cover the body with a clean sheet. It is related by Hazrat 'Aisha, that when the Prophet (SAW) died, he was covered with a striped Yemeni garment.(Sahih Bukhari)

For the sake of the deceased

# It is natural for the close relatives of the deceased to be grief-stricken and cry over the separation, but weeping, wailing and lamenting loudly is strictly forbidden; instead of this, one should supplicate for the deceased. On the death of Abu Salama some of his family started wailing loudly. The Prophet (SAW) told them:

"Pray for only that thing which may be good for yourselves, for the angels say Amen."

Then he prayed and said:

________Arabic____________________

Translation; "0 Allah! Forgive Abu Salama and enhance his position among those who are properly guided and make some of his successors to succeed him. 0 Lord of the Worlds forgive him and all of us and make his grave spacious enough for him and illumine it for him." (Muslim)

(When supplicating for the deceased, the name can be substituted in place of Abu Salama's name in the hadith)

Talking about the deceased's good qualities:

# The Prophet (SAW) said:

"Mention the good qualities of your dead and refrain from mentioning their bad ones. (Abu Dawood)

# {{ Allah will have mercy on the Muslim for whom two or more people give a good testimony i.e praise him for being a good person who loved Allah and His Messenger (SAW) (Sahih Bukhari)}} or [[" If two or more persons testify to the piety of Muslim, Allah will grant him Paradise" (Bukhari)]]

In another hadith it is narrated that the Prophet (SAW) said: " If any Muslim dies and four of his closest neighbours witness that he was pious , Allah says: 'I approve what you know about him and forgive him (what you do not know)'"(Musnad Imam Ahmad)

To kiss the deceased:

# Kissing the deceased is permitted. Hazrat Aisha (RAA) relates that the Prophet (SAW) kissed Hazrat Uthman Bin Maz'un when he was dead, and the Prophet (SAW) wept so much that his tears flowed over Uthman's face.(Abu Dawood and Tirmizi) After the Prophet's (SAW) death, Hazrat Abu Bakr (RAA) went to the Prophet (SAW)
who was covered with a marked blanket. Abu BakrfRAA) uncovered his face. He knelt down and kissed him and then started weeping. (Reference Sahih Bukhari)

Giving the news of death:

It is important to inform the relatives and friends of the deceased, so that they can attend his funeral. However, doing it in the from of a formal announcement or proclamation made in different locations is not permitted, as it falls within the scope of no. 'ee. (in the Days of Ignorance, people were employed to go to various localities and wail and lament while
announcing the death.)

The companion of the Prophet, Hazrat Huzaifa Bin Yaman(RAA) was so careful in this regard that whenever one of his relatives passed away, he would say: "Do not inform anyone, I am afraid that this might get included in na 'ee, because the Prophet(SAW) used to forbid the announcing of death." (Musnad Imam Ahmad)

The news of the death can be imparted to others in a civilised manner; at the same time, the person giving this news can request them to supplicate for the deceased .The Prophet (SAW) informed them (i.e his companions) of the death of Negus, the king of Ethiopia the very day on which the latter died and said:

"Ask Allah's forgiveness for your brother."(Musnad Imam Ahmad)

   In addition to news o^eath of^Negus,nrheTr6phet (SAW) also informed the Muslims of the martyrdom ofZayed (RAA), Ja'afar (RAA) and Abdullah Bin Rawah. (Bukhari)

What is to be said on hearing the news of death?

On hearing of someone's death, a person should say:

__________(Arabic) _________(Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 156)

Translation: " Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return." In a hadith, we have also been told to say these same words. Umm Salama (RAA) relates that she heard the Prophet (SAW) say:

"When    a   person    suffers    from    some   misfortune    and    supplicates thus:_____________Arabic_____

Translation: "To Allah we belong and to him shall we return. Oh Allah! make good the loss of misfortune (grant me recompense) and grant me something better than that which I have lost", Allah them compensates him for his loss in his misfortune and gives him a better substitute than the one he has lost." (Muslim)