Seventh: His Passing

One of the signs of goodness for a righteous man, and of his acceptance among the Muslims, is the sense of loss they feel when he dies. For this reason, the early generations regarded a large turnout for the funeral prayer as an indication of a person’s virtue and acceptance. Imam Aḥmad therefore said,

“Tell the people of innovation: the matter between us and you will be decided on the day of funerals.”¹

That is, when the imams of the Sunnah die, people miss them and are the most numerous of mourners on the day of their passing—and reality bears this out. Nothing was ever heard of like the funerals of the two imams, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and Aḥmad ibn Taymiyyah, for the massive crowds that escorted each of them and performed the prayer over them. Indeed, the Muslims are Allah’s witnesses on His earth.

The Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—died while imprisoned in the Citadel of Damascus on the night of Monday, 20 Dhū al-Qaʿdah 728 AH. All the people of Damascus and its environs rushed to pray over him and accompany his bier, and every source that reports his death agrees that the multitude present at his funeral was extraordinarily large—beyond description.

May Allah have mercy on him and reward him with the best recompense on behalf of Islam and the Muslims.²