Gardens of the Righteous — Page 176
176. GARDENS OF THE RIGHTEOUS 156. . On the Contents of Funeral Prayers 939. Abu Abdur Rahman Auf ibn Malik relates: The Holy Prophet led the funeral prayer over a deceased person and I preserved his prayer in my memory. He supplicated: Allah, do forgive him and have mercy on him and make him secure and overlook his shortcomings, and bestow upon him an honoured place in Paradise, and make his place of entry spacious, and wash him clean with water and snow and ice, and cleanse him of all wrong as Thou dost cleanse a piece of white cloth of dirt, and bestow upon him a home better than his home and a family better than his family and a spouse better than his spouse, and admit him into Paradise, and shield him from the torment of the grave and the torment of the Fire. Hearing him I wished I had been that corpse (Muslim). 940. Abu Hurairaḥ and Abu Qatadah and Abu Ibrahim Ash'ari on the authority of his father relate that the Holy Prophet supplicated over a funeral in the following terms: Allah, do forgive our living and our dead and our young ones and old ones and our males and our females and those of us who are present and those of us who are absent. Allah, he whom Thou dost grant life from among us let him live in accordance with Islam and he whom Thou dost cause to die from among us cause him to die in the faith. Allah, do not deprive us of the reward of one who has died and do not put us to trial after him (Abu Daud and Tirmidhi). 941. Abu Hurairah relates that he heard the Holy Prophet say: When you pray over a dead body do it with the utmost sincerity (Abu Daud). 942. Abu Hurairah relates that the Holy Prophet supplicated in a funeral Prayer: Allah, Thou art his Lord, and Thou didst create him and guide him to Islam, and Thou hast taken possession of his soul, and Thou knowest well his secret and overt acts. We have approached Thee interceding for him. . Do Thou forgive him (Abu Daud). 943. Wathilah ibn Asqa'a relates: The Holy Prophet conducted the funeral prayer of a deceased Muslim when we were also of the company, and I heard him supplicate: Allah, So and So, son of So and So is under Thy protection and is a follower of Thy commandments, do Thou shield him from the torment of the grave and the torment of the Fire, Thou dost keep faith and art worthy of all praise. Allah, do forgive him and have mercy on him. Indeed. Thou art the Most Forgiving, the Ever Merciful (Abu Daud). 944. Of Abdullah ibn Aufa it is related that in conducting the funeral prayer of his daughter he called four takbirs and after the fourth takbir he continued standing for the space of time between two takbirs seeking forgiveness for her and praying for her. When he finished he said: The Holy. Prophet used to do like this. Another version is: He called four takbirs and remained standing in prayer for a while till I imagined he would call a fifth takbir. Then he saluted to the right and the left. When he came away we asked