It was the evening of Saturday. Maghrib time. The Imam announced that there would be a funeral prayer after isha. A sister of age had passed away.
Competition in [worldly] increase diverts you
Until you visit the graves (i.e. till you die).
No! You are going to know.
Again, Nay! You shall come to know!
No! If you only knew with knowledge of certainty…
{Surat At-Takāthur 102 : 1 – 5 }
Quarter to ten. These verses were recited during the isha prayer. The imam then sat down facing us. He mentioned to us a hadith.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Whoever attends the funeral until the prayer has been offered will have one qiraat (of reward) and whoever attends until the deceased has been buried will have two qiraats.” It was said, “What are the two qiraats?” He said: “Like two great mountains.”
[Bukhari and Muslim]
“ … each of which is like (Mount) Uhud. ”
[Bukhari]
He advised us to wait, to earn the reward. The wait was long. People began arriving at the mosque. Relatives and friends and strangers. The lights went out at 10. Some of us inside the mosque and some outside, we waited in the dark street. Half an hour later a group of people appeared from the dark carrying the coffin. We all crowded behind them to enter the mosque.
There was the deceased being held up. No one calling her name. Unable to speak or move. Shrouded in white. Then the coffin was put down in front of the prayer place.
The imam began the prayer. Everyone stood before him in rows. Shoulder to shoulder, foot to foot.
Allah-u-Akbar
Verses praising Allah سبحانه و تعالى and asking him for guidance were recited. Followed by Surat Al-‘Ikhlāş.
Allah-u-Akbar
Salutations were sent upon the prophet ﷺ.
Allah-u-Akbar
O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, those who are present among us and those who are absent, our young and our old, our males and our females. O Allah, whoever You keep alive, keep him alive in Islam, and whoever You cause to die, cause him to die with faith. O Allah, forgive him and have mercy on him, keep him safe and sound and forgive him, honor the place where he settles and make his entrance wide; wash him with water and snow and hail, and cleanse him of sin as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. O Allah, give him a house better than his house and a family better than his family. O Allah, admit him to Paradise and protect him from the torment of the grave and the torment of Hell-fire; make his grave spacious and fill it with light. O Allah, do not deprive us of the reward and do not cause us to go astray after this.
Allah-u-Akbar
Assalamoalaykum wa Rahmtullah, Assalamoalaykum wa Rahmtullah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon you).
His voice was teary.
One thinks about how one day he will be lying there. Helpless. With only his deeds to accompany him. How will his end be? Will my Lord be pleased with me? Your papers have been submitted and there’s no way you can get them back, or make an improvement in them.
So as for he who transgressed And preferred the life of the world,
Verily, his abode will be Hell-fire;
But as for him who feared standing before his Lord, and restrained himself from impure evil desires, and lusts.
Verily, Paradise will be his abode.
{Surat An-Nāzi`āt 79 : 37 – 41}
They carried away the casket on the back of a semi-trailer tractor and turned left. Off to the cemetery they drove away in the pitch of the night. On the right, about 20 minutes drive away, there was the opening ceremony of a festival. In the main market of the city – we saw it earlier that evening – they were setting up stages, lights and speakers. A street band marched through the streets inviting people to the opening. Somewhere else you could hear the fireworks from a marriage celebration. While here, far away, someone was about to enter her grave, about to be questioned.
” … but before that day.
And before that great scene.
There is a moment in a which a person goes from the world of deceit to the World of Evil or the World of Happiness
… it would be the call of pleasure or a call to the Hell-Fire.
And I wish I felt that it was said to me,
“O reassured soul, Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him], …” ”– Sh. Mukhtar ash Shinqitee
Attending the funeral and visiting the grave does serve as a reminder. You also earn a reward in the process. It also softens your heart and reminds you of the reality of this temporary life.
Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion.
{Surat ‘Āl `Imrān 03 : 185}
LeTasjeel 