Prompting the Deceased

Question: One of the customs that is well-known and widespread in our region is to prompt the deceased after he has been placed in his grave and the soil has been poured over him. We notice that most scholars follow this practice, while some of the scholars in our country pay no attention to it. Those who uphold it argue that it is established that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ lost his son Ibrāhīm, he ﷺ stood at the grave and prompted him. One of the Companions then said, “O Messenger of Allah, you are the best of creation; after your death who will prompt us?” He replied by reciting, “Allah keeps firm those who believe with the firm word” (Ibrāhīm 14:27). The question, therefore, is: How authentic is this report from the Chosen One ﷺ? If prompting is legislated, what wording and procedure should be followed? We request that you support the answer with convincing proofs as far as possible. May Allah reward you with goodness.

Answer: The legislated form of prompting (talqīn) is to prompt the dying person, as his soul is departing, to say Lā ilāha illā Allāh (There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah). This is based on the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: “Prompt your dying ones to say Lā ilāha illā Allāh,” so that this magnificent phrase will be the last thing he utters in this world, enabling him to meet Allah with it and to have his end sealed upon it. Therefore, while he is in the throes of death, this phrase is to be said to him gently and softly. If he pronounces it, it should not be repeated to him unless he subsequently speaks about something else; in that case it is repeated to him, again with gentleness and softness, so that he may utter it and it may be his final statement. This is the legislated prompting.

Once the soul has departed and the appointed term has ended, however, the deceased is not to be prompted, whether before burial or after it, and, to the best of our knowledge, no sound Sunnah from the Prophet ﷺ supports such a practice.