71 FUNERAL PRAYER

Islam is concerned with the dignity of the believer in his life as well as his death.

Let us listen to what our Mighty God said:

" Walaqad karramna bany Adama wa hamalnahum fi al-barri wa al-bahri, wa razaqnahum min Athayyibat wa fadhdhalnahum 'ala katsirin mimman khalaqna tafsila".

To honour a dead Muslim, Islam decreed that the deceased should be thouroughly washed by Muslims, wrapped in a coffin, carried on the shoulders, prayed upon and buried. By his burial, the relationship between him and the world of the alive ends to meet the gracious God to account for his deeds snd to recieve mercy and forgiveness for great sins from his Lord.

The Funeral Prayer is performed as follow:

Worshippers should line up preferably in three row with the Imam in the lead: glorify God 4 times, after the first glorification: recite the opening Chapter (fatiha), in the second, invoke God to bestow blessings on the Prophet similar to that type of blessings they usually utter on the last Tashahud. After the third glorification they utter this call (du'a):

"O Mighty God, forgive us all, alive and dead, Those who are present, and those who are absent, mates and females. Grant us all young and old decent life on the moral of Islam and sunna and so let our end be. Our Lord ! blotout his sins, award him forgiveness and have mercy on him, let his room be wide, have his body washed with water, ice and hail, have his sins and errors wiped out as a white cloth cleaned from all dirts, give him a better home than his, better relatives, and a better wifw, admit him in your garden, excuse him from punishment at his grave and from the torment of fire".

At the glorification hey greet to end the prayer.

If dead is a miror, the worshippers will utter (The some previous Du'a adding after the phrase "and so let our end be') the following : Our Lord make this child a provision for his parrents, a big credit, and acceptable re deemer for them, a heavy weight when measuring their good deeds so that they may recieve greater reward, enlist him in the ranks of pioneer Believers under Ibrahim's hail, and protect him under Your Mercy from torment of fire".

Finally, the woeshippers end the Funeral Prayer by one salutation only (salam) on the right hand side.