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:

Kindly quote authentic hadith or the fatwa of ulamas, whether it is allowed to show the face of the dead afer the salat al-janazah, and after the dead body is placed in the Qabar.... 

(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:

See face after burial prayer

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The fact that there is no specific guidance in the authentic and established Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) which prohibits the believers from seeing the face of their deceased loved one before/after their funeral prayer is proof enough that to see the face of the deceased is a permissible and lawful act in Shariah.

If anyone says that it is not permissible or lawful to see the face of the deceased before/after the funeral prayer, it is they who would be asked to provide the evidence for their prohibition….for in Shariah, every act (other than the rites of worship) is permissible unless and until one finds guidance in the Quran or the Sunnah regarding its prohibition….and we absolutely assure you that there is absolutely no prohibition in the Glorious Quran or in the authentic and established Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) in seeing the face of the deceased, regardless of whether it is before or after their funeral prayer.

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan