to remain patient until Allah granted relief. If his master wronged him to the point that he did this—for example, by stinting on his upkeep, overworking him, striking him unjustly, seeking to commit an indecent act with him, or the like—then his master bears sin in proportion to the wrongdoing attributable to him.

“The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not offer the funeral prayer for someone who had killed himself. He said to his Companions, ‘Offer the funeral prayer for him.’”

Thus, people in general may offer the funeral prayer for him. As for religious leaders whose example is followed, if they refrain from offering the funeral prayer for him to deter others, following the Prophet’s example, then this is right. Allah knows best.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

A man claiming to be a spiritual master saw a serpent. One of those present rose to kill it, but he prevented him and took hold of it with his own hand as a display of a miraculous gift granted to him. The serpent bit him, and he died. Is it permissible to offer the funeral prayer for him or not?

He answered:

Praise be to Allah, Lord of all worlds. People of knowledge and religious devotion should refrain from offering the funeral prayer for this man and others like him, although people in general may offer it for him, just as “the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, refrained from offering the funeral prayer for someone who had killed himself and for