Salat-ul-Janáza.—Prayers at a Funeral. When a person is about to die, the attendants should place him on his right side with his face Qibla-wards. In that position he should repeat the "Kalima-i-Shahádat," the creed of testimony: "I confess that God is one, without a partner; that truly Muhammad is His servant and His Apostle." After death has taken place, the corpse is laid out, incense is burnt, and the shroud is perfumed an odd number of times. A tradition states that an odd number is fixed upon, because the number one which represents the unity of God is odd and not even. The lesser lustration (wazú) is then made. The head and beard are washed with a decoction made of some flowers, after which the greater lustration (ghusl) is made. The members of the body used when making sijda (prostration) i.e., forehead, nose, hands, knees, feet, are then rubbed with camphor.
To recite the Salat-ul-Janáza is a duty called Farz-i-kifáya, that is, if some few persons in the assembly say it, all need not do so; whilst if no one repeats it all will be guilty of sin. To prove that this Namáz is farz the following verse is quoted: "Take alms of their substance, that thou mayest cleanse and purify them thereby, and pray for them; for thy prayers shall assure their minds: and God heareth, knoweth." (Súra ix. 104.) The proof that it is not Farz-i-'ain (i.e., incumbent on all), but Farz-i-kifáya is drawn from an account given in a Hadís, to the effect that the Prophet one day did not recite the Namáz over one of his deceased followers. Now, if the Namáz had been Farz-i-'ain even the Prophet could not have omitted it. His Sunnat, or practice, has decided the nature of the farz command contained in the verse of the Qurán just quoted.
The Namáz can only be said when the corpse is present. It is recited in the open space in front of the Mosque, or in some neighbouring spot: never in the graveyard.
When all are assembled the Imám or leader says: "Here begins the Namáz for the dead."
The company present then stand up in rows with faces turned in the direction of Mecca. The Imám stands a little in front, near the head or waist of the corpse according as it is that of a male or female. Then all assume the Qíám, or standing position, and recite the Niyyat as follows:—
"I recite Namáz for the sake of God, and offer prayers (Du'á) for this deceased person, and I follow the Imám (who is about to officiate.)"
Then all at the first Takbír put the hands to the lobe of the ears and say: "God is Great!"
Then they say the Saná (Ante, p. 195.):—
"Holiness to Thee O God! And to Thee be praise! Great is Thy Name! Great is Thy greatness! Great is Thy praise! There is no God but Thee!"
Then follows the second Takbír: "God is Great!"
Then all say the Darud-i-Ibráhím:—
"O God! have mercy on Muhammad and upon his descendants, as Thou didst bestow mercy, and peace, and blessing, and compassion, and great kindness upon Abraham and upon his descendants." "Thou art praised, and Thou art Great!" "O God, bless Muhammad and his descendants as Thou didst bless, and didst have compassion and great kindness upon Abraham and upon his descendants."
Then follows the third Takbír: "God is Great!"
The Du'á is then repeated:—
"O God, forgive our living and our dead, and those o£ us who are present, and those who are absent, and our children and our full grown persons, our men and our women. O God, those whom Thou dost keep alive amongst us, keep alive in Islám, and those whom Thou causest to die, let them die in the Faith."
Then follows the fourth Takbír: "God is Great!"
Then all say:—
"O God, give us good in this world and in the next, and save us by Thy mercy from the troubles of the grave and of hell."
Then each one in a low voice says the Salám, as in an ordinary Namáz. (Ante, p. 197.)
The Namáz is now over and the people make another Du'á thus:—
"'O our Lord! suffer not our hearts to go astray after that Thou hast once guided us; and give us mercy from before Thee; for verily Thou art He who giveth.' (Súra iii. 6.) O God, Thou art his Master, and Thou createdst him, and Thou didst nourish him, and didst guide him toward Islám, and Thou hast taken his life, and Thou knowest well his inner and outer life. Provide intercessors for us. Forgive him, for Thou art the Forgiver, the most Merciful."
Then going towards the head of the corpse, they say:—
"No doubt is there about this Book (Qurán.) It is a guidance to the God-fearing, who believe in the unseen, who observe prayer (Salat), and out of what we have bestowed on them, expend (for God), and who believe in that which hath been sent down to thee (Muhammad), and in what hath been sent down before thee; and full faith have they in the life to come: these are guided by their Lord; and with these it shall be well." (Súra ii. 1-4).
Then coming towards the feet of the corpse, they say:—
"The Apostle believeth in that which hath been sent down from his Lord, as do the faithful also. Each believeth in God, and His angels, and His Books and His Apostles: we make no distinction between any of His Apostles.And they say: 'We have heard and we obey. (We implore) Thy mercy, Lord; for unto Thee must we return.' God will not burden any soul beyond its power. It shall enjoy the good which it hath acquired, and shall bear the evil for the acquirement of which it laboured. O our Lord! punish us not if we forget, or fall into sin; O our Lord! and lay not on us a load like that which Thou hast laid on those who have been before us; O our Lord! and lay not on us that for which we have no strength: but blot out our sins and forgive us, and have pity on us. Thou art our protector; give us victory therefore over the infidel nations." (Súra ii. 285, 286).
The chief mourner then gives the Izn-i-'Ámm, that is, he says:—
"All have permission to depart."
Some then proceed homewards, others go with the corpse to the graveyard. When the bier is lifted up, or when it is placed down near the grave, the people say:—
"We commit thee to earth in the name of God and in the religion of the Prophet."
If the ground is very hard, a recess (lahad) is dug out in the side of the grave. This must be high enough to allow the corpse to sit up when Munkir and Nakír come to interrogate it. If the ground is soft a small grave is excavated at the bottom of the larger one. The corpse is then placed in the lower one. The idea in both cases is that the corpse must be in such a position that it can have free movement. The body is placed with the face towards Mecca. When the bands of the shroud have been loosened the people say:—
"O God deprive us not of the heavenly reward of the deceased, place us not in trouble."
Each person then takes seven clods of earth, and over each clod says; "Bismilláh" (in the name of God), and the Súrat-ul-Iklás (Súra cxii) and then places each clod by the head of the corpse. Unburnt bricks, bamboos or boards having then been placed over the smaller grave, the persons present with both hands throw clods of earth three times into the grave. The first time they say: "From it (earth) We created you"; the second time, "and into it will We return you;" the third time, "and out of it will We bring you a second time." (Súra xx. 57).
Then they say this Du'á: "O God I beseech Thee for the sake of Muhammad not to trouble the deceased."
When the attendants are filling up the grave they say:—
"O God, defend the deceased from Shaitan (devil) and from the torments of the grave."
When the grave is completely filled up, one man pours water three, or five, or seven times over it and then plants a green branch on it.
One of the mourners then draws near the middle of the grave and recites the Talqín (instruction):—
"O servant of God, and child of a female servant of God.
O son of (such an one),remember the faith you professed on earth to the very last; that is, your witness that there is no God but God, and that certainly Muhammad is His Apostle, and that Paradise and Hell and the Resurrection from the dead are real; that there will be a day of judgment, and say: 'I confess that God is my Lord, Islám my religion, Muhammad (on whom be the mercy and peace of God) my Prophet, the Qurán my guide, the K'aba my Qibla, and that Muslims are my brethren.' O God, keep him (the deceased) firm in this faith, and widen his grave, and make his examination (by Munkir and Nakír) easy, and exalt him and have mercy on him, O Thou most Merciful."
The other persons present then offer a Fátiha.
After this, they may, if they like to do so, read the Súrat-ul-Yá Sín (xxxvi) and the Súrat-ul-Mulk (lxvii.) It is not common to do so. Then retiring forty paces from the grave they again offer a Fátiha, for by this time the examination of the deceased has commenced. The first night is one of great trouble to the deceased, so alms should be given liberally that night in his name. In order to relieve him as much as possible, two nafl rak'ats of a Namáz should be said. After the Fátiha in each rak'at the worshipper should repeat the Áyat-ul-Kursí (Throne-verse) three times; then the Súrat-ut-Takísur (102) eleven times; then the Súrat-ul-Iklás (112) three times.
After the Salám and the Darúd the worshipper lifts up both hands, and with great humility prays that the reward of the service just concluded may be bestowed on the deceased.