Part 8

her hair should be plaited in three braids and placed to the back.

It is recommended to shroud the body in three white sheets that were scented with incense. They are spread out, one over the other. Some perfume is placed in between the different sheets. Then the deceased is laid, stretched out, upon the three sheets. Cotton is placed between the private parts and above it, a garment is tied, acting like short pants, to cover the private parts. That and the rest of the body is then to be perfumed. The uppermost sheet is then folded from the left top side over the right side and then the right side is folded over the left side. The same is then done for the next sheet and then the bottom sheet. The remainders should be tied above the person’s head lengthwise, and will be untied at the grave. A young child is shrouded in one garment, although it is also allowed to do so in three garments.

The woman is covered with a loin cloth and then a sleeveless body length shirt and then a headcovering and then two sheets. A young girl is shrouded in a long sleeveless shirt and two sheets.

It is sufficient [that is, not forbidden] to wash the deceased once, covering the whole body, regardless of whether it be a man or a woman. It is also sufficient to shroud the entire body with one garment, again regardless if it be a manor woman.

If a fetus reaches the age of at least four months and is then aborted and dies, it is to be washed and prayed over.

It is the sunnah for the Imam to stand level with the chest of the deceased if it is a male and level to the middle of

the body if it is a female. He makes four takbeers (statements of “Allaahu akbar’), raising the hands each time. After the first takbeer, he seeks refuge in Allah from Satan, he recites, “Bismilaahi-rrahmani-rraheem (In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful),” and then he recites surah alFaatihah. However, he does not make any opening supplication. After the second takbeer, he says,

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Allaahumma_ salli ala muhammadin wa ala aali muhammadin kama salaita ala ibraaheem wa ala aali ibraheem innaka hameedun majeed. Wa baarik ala muhammadin wa ala aali muhammadin kama barakta ala ibraaheema wa ala aali ibraaheema innaka hameedun majeed (O Allah, grace Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You graced Abraham and the family of Abraham, for verily You are praiseworthy, exalted. And bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You blessed Abraham and the family of Abraham, for verily You are praiseworthy, exalted).

Then he makes a_ third takbeer followed by this supplication:

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Allahumma-ghfir lihayyinaa wa mayyitinaa wa shaahidina wa ghaa-ibinaa wa sagheerina wa kabeerina wa dhakarinaa wa unthaanaa. Allahumma_ man ahyaitahu minna fa-ahyihi ala-l-islaam wa man tawaffaitahu minnaa fatawaffahu ala-l-eemaan. Allahumma-ghfir lahu wa-rhamhu wa-‘fu anhu wa aafihi wa akram nuzulahu wa wassi mudkhalahu waghsilhu bi-l-ma-i wa-l-thalji wa-l-baradi wa naggihu min al-khataayaa kamaa yunaqqathaubu-l-abyadhu mina-danas wa abdilhu daaran khairan min daarihi wa ahlan khairan min ahlihi wa zaujan khairan min zaujihi wagihi adhaaba-l-qabri wa adhaaba-naar. (O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, our present and our absent, our young and our old, our males and our females. O Allah, for the one You continue to give life among us, keep him alive in Islam. And for the one that You give death among us, let him die in faith.O Allah, forgive him, have mercy on him, pardon him and make him safe and make his

resting place an honorable one and make his entry way expansive. Clean him with the water, snow and hail and purify him from sins like a white garment is cleansed from dirt. Replace for him an abode which is better than his abode [here] and a family that is better than his family and'a spouse that is better than his spouse. Save him from the punishment of the grave and the punishment of the fire.)

If the deceased is a youngster, then after saying, “O Allah, for the one You continue to give life among us, keep him alive in Islam. And for the one that You give death among us, let him die in faith,” one should say,

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Allahumma-jalhu dhakhiran li-waalidaihi wa faratan wa shafeean mujaaban. Allahumma thaqqil bihi mawaazeenahuma wa adham bihi ujoorahumaa wa alhaqahu bisaalih salafi-lmumineen wajalhu fi kafaalah ibraaheem wagihu birahmatika adhaaba-l-jaheem (O Allah, make him a stored treasure for his parents and a predecessor and a responded to intercessor. O Allah, make their scales heavy because of him and make their rewards greater. Join him with the pious, preceding believers. And place him under the protection of Abraham and save him, by Your mercy, from the punishment of the Fire.)

Then the person makes the fourth takbeer, waits a little and then gives one salutation to his right.

The Virtue of Praying the Prayer Over the Deceased

The one who prays over the deceased will receive a qeeraat of reward and a geeraat is equivalent in size to the Mountain of Uhud. If the person then follows the funeral procession until the burial, he will receive two geeraats asa reward.

It is recommended for four people to carry the deceased. It is recommended to walk quickly to the burial ground. It is best for those walking accompanying the procession to walk in front of the deceased while those who are riding animals should be behind the procession.

Description of the Grave and Burial and What is Prohibited at the Gravesites

The grave must be dug deep. At the bottom of the grave, a section is dug out [horizontally] toward the giblah in which the deceased is going to be placed. This is known as lahad and is considered preferable to shag [wherein the body is simply laid at the bottom of the open trench and not in a side opening]. The one who is putting the body in the grave should say, “Bismilaahi ala millati rasoolilaah (In the name of Allah, upon the way of the messenger of Allah).” The body is placed into the insert upon its right side, facing the giblah. [The covering over the head should now be untied.] A layer of wood or big stones is then placed over the body. The body is then buried and the grave is raised only a handspan above the ground level. It is then sprinkled over with water.

It is forbidden to build anything upon the grave, plaster the grave, walk upon it, pray at it, take it as a mosque, seek blessings from it or wipe it for blessings, put candles upon it or circumambulate it.

It is recommended to prepare food for the family of the deceased and to take it to them. It is disliked for the family of the deceased to prepare food for the people.

It is recommended for the one visiting the graves to say, “Peace be upon you, abode of believers. Allah willing, we will be joining you. May Allah have mercy on the earlier and later ones among you. We ask Allah for ourselves and yourselves well-being. O Allah, do not forbid us from their reward and do not put us to trial after them. Forgive us and them.”

It is also encouraged to give condolences to those affected by the death, before or after the burial, up to three days and nights, unless someone is not present [in which case one may pay him condolences later].

The one who is afflicted with a calamity should say, “We belong to Allah and unto Allah we shall return. O Allah reward me for my hardship and leave one better than it for me.”

It is permissible to cry over somebody’s death. However, it is forbidden [to get so frantic and upset] that one tears one’s clothing, strikes one’s cheeks or wails and so on.

This chapter comprises an introduction and two subsections, one on the general rules of zakaat and the second on zakaat al-fitr.

The wisdom behind the legislation of zakaat includes the following:

(1) It purifies the souls of humans from the depravity of miserliness and stinginess and their evils.

(2) It comforts and assists the poor and helps the needy and destitute fulfill some of their needs.

(3) It establishes the general welfare upon which the life and well-being of the society rests.

(4) It limits the growth of wealth among the rich and in the hands of the merchants and professionals, such that wealth is not restricted to certain classes and such that wealth is not circulated only among the rich.

Zakaat (3\S 5) is the obligatory amount that one must give out, to its rightful recipients, of the wealth that has met a

specific minimum and special conditions. It is a cleansing of the person and a purification of his soul. Allah has said,

ee eed Hy hye ce feght sal oy “Of their goods take alms, so that you may purify and sanctify them” (al-Taubah 68).

It is one of the five pillars of Islam. It has been mentioned in connection with prayers in numerous places in the Book of Allah.

Zakaat is an obligation from Allah upon every Muslim who possesses the minimum amount of wealth given certain conditions. Allah has obligated it in His book and the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to take it from the people. He ordered that it be taken from whomever it was obligatory upon, whether old or young, male or female, healthy, ill or insane. Allah says,

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eared, and of the fruits of the earth which We have produced for you” (al-Bagarah 267). Again, Allah says,

BITS yT y SAS t yaad g “Establish the prayers and give the zakaat” (al-Muzzammil 20). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,

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“Islam is built upon five [pillars]: testifying that there is none

worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the

zakaat, making the pilgrimage to the House and fasting the month of Ramadhaan.” (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

The Types of Wealth Upon Which Zakaat is Obligatory

agricultural produce and merchandise goods. [Each category is discussed separately below.]

(1) The Zakaat on Monetary Assets: Gold, Silver and Currency

Zakaat of 2.5% is obligatory upon gold if the amount of gold one owns reaches twenty mithqaal.!

Zakaat of 2.5% is obligatory upon silver if the amount of silver one owns reaches two hundred dirhams.

Paper currency is considered according to its value. If the paper currency reaches the equivalent of the nisaab2 of either gold or silver, zakaat becomes obligatory upon it. Once again, the amount of zakaat will be 2.5%, given that the wealth was with the person for an entire year.

Note that it is forbidden for men to wear gold; however, they may wear a silver ring or have silver embroidery on the swords and so forth.

Zakaat is obligatory on camels, cattle and sheep/goats if they are tended to for a year or more, freely grazing in pastures or vacant, open lands. If their amounts reach the nisaab and are in one’s possession for a whole year, one pays zakaat on them if they were held for the purpose of milking and reproduction.

The following table shows the amounts to be paid in the case of sheep or goats [with forty being the minimum or nisaab below which one is not required to pay anything]:

' Each mithgaal is equivalent to about four grams. ? The nisaab is the minimum amount [of gold or silver] that requires one to pay zakaat.

The following table shows the amounts to be paid in the case of cattle [with thirty being the minimum or nisaab

below which one is not required to pay Sethi

30 to 39 A young bull or young cow, one year | old

40 to 59 A young cow, two years old

For an additional 30 | A young, one year old cow

For an additional 40 | A young, two year old cow