The Ruling of Competitions and Other Rulings

The Ruling of Competitions Permissible whether with compensation or without: Horse and camel racing, and archery due to the saying of the Prophet ﷺ :”There should be no prices for competitions except in archery, camel racing, and horse racing” (Abu Dawood, Authentic).

Prohibited: Nard (similar to backgammon), chess, and similar games. It is permissible without compensation, while it is not permissible with compensation: This includes all the competitions except racing.

Preparing The Dead Body, Praying, And The Burial

First: It is recommended for those present to remind the person dying to say “La ilaha ilaa Allah”; due to the saying of the Prophet ﷺ :”Instruct those dying to say La ilaha ilaa Allah” . The meaning of the Hadith is to remind those upon whom the signs of death are apparent.

Second : Once death is confirmed, the eyes should be closed and the beard tightened, as indicated in the Sunnah.

Third : It is obligatory to wash the dead Muslim body, except the martyr who died in the battlefield; such as are not washed nor are they prayed upon, rather they are buried with their clothes on since the Prophet ﷺ did not wash the martyrs of Uhud nor did he pray on them.

Fourth : Description of washing the dead body: The private parts are covered. Then s/he is slightly raised and the stomach squeezed gently. The one washing the body wraps a cloth to his own hand and washes the body with it. Then he makes wudoo for the dead person similar to the wudu of the prayer. Then his head and beard is washed with water and sidr or something similar to it. Then he washes his right side and then the left side three times; every time he passes his hand by his stomach. If anything comes out, he washes it.

Then one blocks the passage with a piece of cotton or something similar. If it does not stop excrement from coming out, then with earth mixed with water or the contemporary clinical materials used such as plasters etc. Then he repeats his Wudu . If washing the body parts three times is not sufficient, he can wash them five or seven times each. Then the body is dried with a cloth. Scent is applied to the armpits, the bottom part of the thighs, and the parts one prostrates on. It is better if scent is applied to the entire body. Incense should also be applied to the shrouds. If the mustache and the nails are long, they could be shortened or left alone. The hair should not be let loose, around the private parts should not be shaved, nor should one be circumcised due to the lack of evidence to support that. The women’s hair should be braided into three parts and should hang down behind her. Fifth : Shrouding the dead person: The best is to shroud the man in three pieces of white cloth; no shirt nor head turban, a s the Prophet ﷺ was clothed. He should be wrapped on it gradually. It is fine if one is buried on a shirt, pants, and a sheet. The women should be shrouded in five pieces of cloth; a long shirt, head cover, a waist wrapper, and two pieces of cloth that are wrapped around her. A small boy is shrouded in one to three piece of cloth and a small girl is shrouded in one long shirt and two pieces of cloth. The obligation for everyone is one piece of cloth that covers the entire body.

However, if the deceased is in the state of Ihram , then he should be washed with water and sidr. He should be shrouded with the two pieces of cloth he has on or other than his. His head and face should not be covered, nor should scent be applied to him, si nce they will surely be resurrected on the Day of Judgment saying the Talbiyah ; this has been narrated authentically from the Prophet ﷺ . If the one in the state of Ihram is a woman is shrouded like others; however, scent should not be applied to her, her face should not be covered with the face veil, nor her hands with gloves. However, her face and hands should be covered with the shroud she is wrapped with as is described previously how to prepare the deceased women.

Sixth : The most deserving of washing it, leading the prayer, and burying it: The one the deceased has appointed in the will, then the father, then the grandfather, then his closest relatives. This is regarding a man. The most deserving of washing the woman: The one she has appointed in her will, then the mother, the grandmother, then the closest female relatives. The spouses may wash one another; since the wife of Abu Bakr had washed him and Faatimah was washed by Ali –may Allah be pleased with them -.

How to pray on the deceased person?

Say ” Allahu Akbar ” and read Surah Al Faatihah. If one reads another Surah, verse, or two verses then that is acceptable due to the authentic Hadith narrated by Ibn Abbaas. Say ” Allahu Akbar ” the second time and supplicate for the Prophet ﷺ similar to the supplication on Tashahud . Then say ” Allahu Akbar ” and say: “O Allah forgive our living and our dead, those present and those absent, our males and our females. O Allah, whoever you allow to live from us, keep them alive as Muslims, and whoever You cause to die, allow them to die upon Emaan. O Allah, forgive him, have mercy on him, excuse him, pardon him, make his reception honorable, and expand his entry. Cleanse him with water, snow, and ice. Purify him of sin as a white robe is purified of filth. Exchange his home for a better home, his family for a better fami ly, his spouse for a better spouse, admit him into the Garden, protect him from the punishment of the grave and the torment of the Fire. Make his grave spacious and bright. O Allah do not prevent us from his reward and do not misguide us after him” . Then one says “Allahu Akbar ” for the fourth time and gives one salaam to the right side. It is recommended to raise the hands every time one says ” Allahu Akbar “. If the deceased is a female, the pronoun in the supplication is changed to a feminine pronoun “O Allah forgive her…”. If it is two, the dual form is used. If many, the plural form is used. If it is a child, instead of asking for forgiveness, we say “O Allah, make him a forerunner and a treasure for his parents and an accepted intercessor. O Allah, mak e their scales of good deeds heavy through him and magnify their reward. Make him join the righteous of the believers. Place him under the care of Ibrahim –may Allah praise and send him peace – and save him by Your mercy from the torment of Hell”.

It is from the Sunnah for the Imam to stand by the head of the body if it is a man, and in the middle if it is a woman. If there is more than one deceased person, the Imam should stand right behind the man and the woman should be closer to the Qiblah . If there is also children with the both of them, the boy should be before the woman and the girl after her. The head of the boy should be straight with the man’s head, the girls head should be at the same level as the woman’s head, and the woman’s waist should be by the ma n’s head. The people praying should all be behind the Imam ; unless one person cannot find a place behind the Imam, then he can stand on his right side. Eighth : How to bury the deceased? The Sunnah is to dig the grave until the waist of the man, to have another opening inside the grave on the direction of the Qiblah , to put the deceased in this opening on the right side, and to untie the knots and leave them there. The face should not be exposed whether it is a male or a female. T hen bricks should be put behind him to protect the body from the earth. If bricks cannot be found, anything else which will prevent the earth hitting the body directly such as stones, plates, or wood. It is recommended to say “Bismi -lah,wa ‘alaa milati rra suli-lah / In the Name of Allah and according to the way of the Messenger of Allah”. The earth above the grave should be one hand span, small pebbles should be put on top of it, and it should be watered if possible.

It is also recommended for those following the funeral to stand at the grave and supplicate for the dead person since the Prophet ﷺ used to stand at the grave after burying the deceased and say: “Ask forgiveness for your brother and ask for him to remain f irm, since now he will be questioned”. Ninth : It is also allowed for the one who did not pray on it to pray on it after burying it since the Prophet ﷺ did that. That is if the period between the burial and the prayer is less than a month; otherwise, it is not allowed. The Prophet ﷺ did not pray for anyone after a month had passed by. Tenth : It is not allowed for the family of the deceased to make food for the people due to the saying of the noble companion Jareer ibn Abdilah Al Bajalee: “We would consider gathering at the deceased’s family and making food after the burial from the prohibited mourning”. As for making food for them or for their guests, then that is allowed. It is allowed for the relatives and the neighbors to make food for them since when the Prophet ﷺ heard about the death of Ja’far ibn Abee Taalib in Shaam, ordered his family to make food for the family of Ja’far and said: ” It has come to them that which will keep them busy”. It is acceptable for the family of the deceased to invite their neighbors or other than them to eat from the food that has been gifted to them. There is no specific time specified in the Islamic sources.

Eleventh : It is not allowed for the woman to mourn the deceased more than three days except for her husband; it is a must upon her to mourn him four months and ten days. However, if she is pregnant, then until she gives birth due to this being established authenti cally from the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ .The man is not allowed to mourn any of his relatives or other than them. Twelfth : It is recommended for the men to visit the graveyard once in a while to supplicate for them, ask mercy for them, and to remember dea th and what comes after it due to the saying of the Prophet ﷺ” :Visit the graveyard as it will remind you the next life “. He used to teach his noble companions to say when visiting the graves: ” Peace be upon you o inhabitants of the graves from the Believers and the Muslims. We will surely join you. We ask Allah to excuse us and you. May Allah have mercy upon the first to come here and the later ones “. It is not befitting for the women to visit the graves since the Prophet ﷺ “cursed the women that fr equently visit the graves”. Moreover, it is feared that visiting the graves will be difficult upon them to remain patient. Likewise, it is not allowed for them to follow the funeral to the graveyard, since the Prophet ﷺ ordered them not to do that. As for the prayer in the Masjid or the prayer place, then it is Islamically correct for both men and women. This is the end; May Allah praise and send peace to our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and companions.

Rulings on Visiting Graves Visit

which involves Shirk If one intends supplicating to the dead people. Visit that is Innovation Going to the graveyard to make supplications for themselves. Islamic Visiting To intend remembering the Next Life, to supplicate for the dead with that which has been narrated, without traveling for their sake nor doing anything which opposes the Islamic teachings.