QUESTION:
As Salaamu Alaikum,
I have a question. I know when a person dies it is advisable to do the funeral immediately but, in a case, where one of the deceased children is out of the country and upon hearing the news wants to come back immediately and thus takes the next flight but that would cause the funeral to take place the next day?
ANSWER:
Wa Alaikum As Salaam,
The Ahadith (narrations of the Prophet S.A.W) about burying the dead, all indicate that one should not delay in the burial of the deceased. In this regard, the Prophet (S.A.W) is reported to have said, ‘Hasten to bury the dead, for if it is a good person, then it is good you are carrying it to, and if it is other than that, then it is a bad you are removing from your necks.
(Bukhari Hadith No 1315; Muslim Hadith No 944).
In another hadith, the Prophet (S.A.W) is reported to have said, ‘When one of you dies, do not withhold it, and hasten it to its grave’.
(Mujam Al Kabeer-Tabarani Hadith No 13613)
It is also narrated in a Hadith by Imam Abu Dawood from Husain bin Wahwah that the companion Talha bin Bara (R.A) became sick and the Prophet (S.A.W) went to visit him. The Prophet (S.A.W) then said, ‘I do not see Talha, except that death is close to him (that is, I see the signs of death on him). So, inform me if he dies, and hasten (in preparing him for Janazah and burial), for it is not befitting that the dead body of a Muslim be kept back amongst the family’.
(Sunan Abu Dawood Hadith No 3159)
Based on these narrations, all scholars from the past and present have stated that it is Sunnah/Mustahab to hasten to do the Janazah as soon as the body is shrouded and prepared for burial, and then bury the dead.
In this regard, it is stated in Al Mawsoo’ah Al Fiqhiyyah, ‘All the Fuqaha (Jurist experts) have fully agreed that when the death of a person is firmly confirmed, then one should be quick in preparing the deceased body for burial and should not delay. This is due to the statement of the Prophet (S.A.W) in which he said, ‘It is not appropriate (and befitting) for the dead body of a Muslim to be kept back amongst the family’. (Sunnah Abu Dawood Hadith No 3159; Al Mawsoo’ah Al Fiqhiyyah Vol. 16 page 7 Maktaba Uloom Al Islamiya)
Hafiz Ibn Hajar Asqalani and Allama Al Aini have both stated in their respective commentaries on Sahih Al Bukhari, ‘that from the Hadith, it is evident that it is Mustahab (commendable) to be quick in burying the deceased person after the death has been confirmed’.
(Umdah Al Qari Vol. 8 page. 165 Maktaba Rasheediiya; Fath Al Bari Vol. 3 page. 184)
Based on the above mentioned Ahadith, the scholars have also stated that it is disliked to dealy the burial of a person after the death has been confirmed and the body has been achieved.
In this regard, the Fuqaha have written, ‘It is Makrooh (disliked) to delay the Janazah Salah and the burial so that a large crowd will perform Salah upon the deceased.
(Shami 3/136 Zakariyah; Fatawa Hindiya 1/52; Kitab Al Masaa’il Vol. 2 page 77)
There is no harm in delaying for a short and reasonable time so that family members, friends and neighbors can get the information of the death and present themselves for the Janazah Salah and burial. In this regard, the scholars have mentioned, ‘And it is Mustahab (commendable) to inform neighbors and friends, so that they can fulfill his right by performing Janazah Salah and supplicating for him’. (Fatawa Hindiya 1/157; Shami 3/83; Al Mawsoo’ah Al Fiqhiyah Vol 16 page 6).
This delayal however, must not be long. It must be within a reasonable time where the family members and others can gather together to perform the Janazah Salah and do the burial.
As mentioned by the Fuqaha, one must not delay the Janazah Salah in order to have a large crowd/gathering.
In this regard, the Fuqaha (Jurist experts) have written, ‘It is Mustahab (commendable) to hasten in preparing the deceased for burial from the time of death. So, if the body was prepared for burial on a Friday morning, it would be Makrooh (dislike) to delay the Salah of Janazah upon it until the time for Jumu’ah Salah, in order to get a large crowd’.
(Al Mawsoo’ah Al Fiqhiyah Vol. 16 page.14).
Therefore, while a necessary delayal in burying the deceased is accepted and permissible (like that of waiting for the deceased body to be released from the hospital, or to get the death certificate, or to wait for a post morten to be done, when the authorities of the state have deemed it necessary due to suspicion in the cause of death), unnecessary delayal is totally disliked/detested (Makrooh).
Therefore, based on the explanations given above, it will be gravely disliked to keep back the body from Salah Al Janazah and burial, until the son/daughter arrives the next day. This delay is too long and it is unnecessary.
And Allah Knows best
Mufti Waseem Khan
24/10/2024