Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

As salaamu alai kum brother burhan,

I have read a hadith that if "40" true believers pray at the janazah then that person(the deceased) will be saved from the fire. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Jazakallahu khairan.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Janaza Prayers

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Reported by Hadrat Aishah (r.a.) who said: "The Prophet (saws) said, 'If a Muslim dies and his funeral prayer is attended by a group of a hundred Muslims, and they all sincerely pray for his forgiveness, he is forgiven'."

Related Ahmad, Muslim, and Tirmidhi.

Hadrat Ibn 'Abbas (r.a.) reported: "I heard the Prophet (saws) saying: 'If a Muslim dies and a group of forty people, who do not associate any one with Allah, pray for him, their prayer is accepted and he is forgiven' ."

Related by Ahmad, Muslim, and Abu Daw'ud.

There are indeed a few authentic hadiths which state that if a large gathering of believers (one says 40, and another says 100) pray for the forgiveness of the deceased believer, Allah Subhanah will accept their prayer.

The hadiths are indeed authentic; but they must be taken in its context and one must understand its wisdom and its spirit, whereby the Messenger of Allah (saws) encouraged the believers to attend and join the funeral prayers of their deceased believing brother in large numbers, so as to be in solidarity with their brothers in Islam in life and in death, and the Muslim Ummah at large. And when the believers beseech and supplicate their Merciful Lord for something, it is expected that Allah Subhanah will answer their prayers.

Regarding the deceased being forgiven, it is a condition that the deceased must have been a true believer in Islam and a doer of righteous good deeds. If the deceased was a disbeliever, or a polytheist, or a hypocrite…….even if the whole world prayed for him, Allah Subhanah would not forgive him!

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 80:Whether thou (O Prophet (saws)) ask for their forgiveness or not (their sin is unforgivable): if thou (O Prophet (saws)) ask seventy times for their forgiveness, Allah will not forgive them: because they have rejected Allah and His Messenger; and Allah guideth not those who are perversely rebellious.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 63 Surah Munafiqoon verse 6: It is equal to them (the Hypocrites) whether thou (O Prophet (saws)) pray for their forgiveness or not. Allah will not forgive them. Truly Allah guides not rebellious transgressors.

Thus, it is absolutely evident from the above Aayahs of the Glorious Quran, that even if the Prophet (saws) himself prayed for the forgiveness of the hypocrites, the sins committed by the hypocrites were such that Allah Subhanah has Decreed that He would never forgive them if they died in the state of hypocrisy!

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 61 Surah Saff verses 10-12:

10 O ye who believe! Shall I lead you to a bargain that will save you from a grievous Penalty?

11 That ye believe in Allah and His Messenger, and that ye strive (your utmost) in the Cause of Allah with your property and your persons: that will be best for you if ye but knew!

12 He will (then) forgive you your sins, and admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow and to beautiful mansions in Gardens of Eternity: that is indeed the supreme Achievement.

Thus it would be prudent to comprehend the wisdom and the spirit behind the authentic hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saws); whereby he encouraged the muslims to join in solidarity with their believing brothers in their lives and their deaths; and strive to attend the burials of one-another and sincerely be the well-wishers of one another in the Brotherhood of Islam, whether in life, or in death.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan