The Book of Funerals

The author, may Allah have mercy on him, discusses funerals in the Book of Prayer rather than in the sections on bequests and inheritance, because prayer is the most important act performed for the deceased and the most beneficial for him, since supplication is made for him in it.

The word “funerals” is the plural of janāzah, which may be pronounced with either a fatḥah or a kasrah on the letter jīm, with the same general meaning. It is also said that, with a fatḥah, it refers to the deceased person, while with a kasrah it refers to that upon which the deceased is carried. Thus, janāzah means a deceased person, whereas jināzah means a bier.

This is a subtle distinction: the fatḥah is suited to what is above, since the deceased lies above the bier, while the kasrah is suited to what is below, since the bier lies beneath the deceased.

A person should reflect on his condition and his end in this world. Yet this end is not truly the end; beyond it lies a far greater destination: the Hereafter. One should therefore always remember death—not merely as separation from loved ones and familiar things, for that is a narrow perspective, but as separation from deeds and from cultivating provision for the Hereafter. When he views it in this way, he prepares himself and increases his deeds for the Hereafter. But when he views it in the first way, he becomes sorrowful and distressed, as the poet said:

There is no sweetness in life so long as
Its pleasures are marred by recalling death and old age.

Thus, remembering death in this manner only increases one’s regret and distress. But if he remembers it in the first sense—that is, he remembers death in order to prepare for it and work for the Hereafter—then it does not increase him in sorrow; rather, it increases his turning