Muwatta Malik: Chapter 16

Yahya related to me from Malik from Jafar ibn Muhammad from his
father that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, was washed in a long shirt.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ayyub ibn Abi Tamima as-
Sakhtayani from Muhammad ibn Sirin that Umm Atiyya al-Ansariyya said,
"The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came
to us when his daughter died and said, 'Wash her three times, or five,
or more than that if you think it necessary, with water and lotus
leaves, and at the end put on some camphor, or a little camphor, and
when you have finished let me know.' When we finished we told him, and
he gave us his waist-wrapper and said, 'Shroud her with this.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr that
Asma bint Umays washed Abu Bakr as-Siddiq when he died. Then she went
out and asked some of the muhajirun who were there, "I am fasting and
this is an extremely cold day. Do I have to do ghusl?" They said,
"No."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard people of
knowledge say, "When a woman dies and there are no women with her to
wash her and no man who has the right by blood ties to take charge of
that for her and no husband to take charge of it for her, she should
be purified by tayammum ,that is, by wiping her face and hands with
earth."

Malik said, "When a man dies and there are only women
with him, they also should purify him with earth ."

Malik
said, "There is no particular way with us for washing the dead nor any
recognised way to do it. They are just washed and purified."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his
father from A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, was shrouded in three pure white cotton garments,
none of which was a long shirt or a turban.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said that he
had heard that when Abu Bakr as-Siddiq was ill he asked A'isha, "How
many shrouds did the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, have?" and she replied, "Three pure white cotton garments."
Abu Bakr said, "Take this garment (a garment he was wearing on which
red clay or saffron had fallen) and wash it. Then shroud me in it with
two other garments." A'isha said, "Why's that?", and Abu Bakr replied,
"The living have greater need of the new than the dead. This is only
for the body fluids that come out as the body decays."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Humayd ibn
Abdar-Rahman ibn Awf that Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As said, "A dead man
is clothed in a shirt and a waist-wrapper and then wrapped in a third,
and if he only has one garment he is shrouded in that."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that the Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and Abu Bakr and
Umar as well as the khalifas up until this time and Abdullah ibn Umar,
would walk in front of the bier.

Yahya related to me from Muhammad ibn alMunkadir that Rabia ibn
Abdullah ibn alHadir told him that he had seen Umar ibn al-Khattab
leading people in front of the bier at the funeral of Zaynab bint
Jahsh.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Hisham ibn Urwa said, "I only
ever saw my father in front of a funeral procession." He added, "Then
he would come to al-Baqi and sit down until the procession passed
him."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Ibn Shihab said, "Walking
behind the bier is in contradiction to the sunna."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that Asma
bint Abi Bakr said to her family, "Perfume my clothes with incense
when I die and then embalm me. Do not put any of the embalming
substance on my shroud, and do not follow me with a burning torch."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Said ibn Abi Said al-Maqburi
that Abu Hurayra forbade anyone to follow him with a burning torch
after his death.

Yahya said, "I heard Malik disapprove of
that."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al-
Musayyab from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, announced the death of an Najashi to everyone
on the day that he died, and went out with them to the place of
prayer, and then formed them into rows and said "Allah is greater"
four times.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Abu Umama ibn
Sahl ibn Hunayf told him that once a poor woman fell ill and the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was told
of her illness, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, used to visit poor people frequently and ask after
them. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
said, "Let me know if she dies." Her bier was brought out at night-
time and they did not want to wake up the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace. In the morning the Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was told what had
happened to her and he said, "Didn't I tell you to let me know if she
died?" They replied, "Messenger of Allah, we did not want to wake you
up and make you come out in the night." Then the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out and formed everyone
into rows by her grave and said "Allah is greater" four times.

Yahya related to me that Malik asked Ibn Shihab about a man who
caught some of the takbirs said over the corpse and missed the rest,
and Ibn Shihab said, "He completes what he has missed."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Said ibn Abi Said al-Maqburi
from his father that he had asked Abu Hurayra, "How do you pray over
the dead?" and Abu Hurayra replied, "By the Life of Allah, I will tell
you! I follow with the family and when the corpse is put down I say
'Allah is greater' and praise Allah and ask for blessings on His
Prophet. Then I say, 'O Allah, he is Your slave and the son of Your
male slave and Your female slave. He used to testify that there is no
god but You and that Muhammad is Your slave and Your Messenger, and
You know that best. O Allah, if he acted well, then increase for him
his good action, and if he acted wrongly, then overlook his wrong
actions. O Allah, do not deprive us of his reward, and do not try us
after him.'"

Allahumma inna huwa abduka wa'bnu abdika wa'bnu
amatika. Kana yash-hadu an la ilaha illa ant wa anna Muhammadan abduka
wa rasooluka, wa anta alamu bihi. Allahumma in kana muhsinan zid fi
ihsanihi, wa in kana musiyan fa tajawaz an sayatihi. Allahumma la
tahrimna ajrahu wa lataftina badahu.

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said that he
heard Said ibn al-Musayyab say, "I once prayed behind Abu Hurayra over
a child who had never done a wrong action and I heard him say, 'O
Allah, give him protection from the torment of the grave.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar
used not to recite when praying over a dead person.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Abi Harmala, the
mawla of Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Sufyan ibn Huwaytib, that Zaynab bint
Abi Salama died during the time that Tariq was amir of Madina and her
bier was brought out after subh and put in al-Baqi. He said that Tariq
used to pray subh right at the beginning of its time. He added, "I
heard Abdullah ibn Umar say to the family, 'You can either pray over
your dead now or you can wait until the sun comes up.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar
said, "The prayer for a dead person can be done after asr and subh if
these have been prayed at their times."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'n Nadr, the mawla of Umar
ibn Ubaydullah that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, ordered that the body of Sad ibn Abi Waqqas
be brought past her in the mosque so that she could make dua for him.
Some people disapproved of her doing that, and she said, "How hasty
people are! The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, only prayed over Suhayl ibn Bayda in the mosque."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar
said, "The prayer over Umar ibn al-Khattab was done in the mosque."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Uthman ibn
Affan and Abdullah ibn Umar and Abu Hurayra used to pray over the
dead, both men and women, in Madina. They would put the men nearer to
the imam and the women nearer to the qibla.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar,
when he prayed over the dead, would say, "Peace be upon you" loud
enough for whoever was near to him to hear.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar
used to say, "No-one should pray over a dead person unless he is in
wudu."

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "I have not seen
any person of knowledge disapproving of praying over either a child
born of adultery or its mother."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died on
Monday and was buried on Tuesday and people prayed over him
individually with no one leading them. Some people said that he would
be buried near the mimbar, and others said that he would be buried in
al-Baqi. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq came and said, "I heard the Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'No prophet was
ever buried except in the place where he died.' "So a grave was dug
for him there. When he was about to be washed they wished to take off
his shirt but they heard a voice saying "Don't take off his shirt," so
they did not take off his shirt and he was washed with it on, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that his
father said, "There were two men in Madina, one of whom dug graves
with a niche in the side wall for the body, and the other who did not,
and they said, 'Whichever one comes first can do the job,' and the one
who dug graves with a niche came first and dug the Messenger of
Allah's grave, may Allah bless him and grant him peace."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umm Salama,
the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used
to say, "I did not believe that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, had died until I heard the pickaxes
fall."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that A'isha,
the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
said, "I saw three moons fall into my room, and I related my vision to
Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. Then, when the Messenger of Allah died, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, and was buried in my house, Abu Bakr
said to me, 'This is one of your moons, and he is the best of them.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from more than one reliable source
that Sad ibn Abi Waqqas and Said ibn Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl died at
al-Aqiq and were carried to Madina and buried there.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that his
father said, "I would not want to be buried in al-Baqi. I would prefer
to be buried elsewhere. The one who is buried in al-Baqi is one of two
people. Either he is unjust (dhalim), and I would not like to be
buried with him, or he is salih, and I would not like his bones to be
disturbed for me."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Wafid ibn
Amr ibn Said ibn Muadh from Nafi ibn Jubayr ibn Mutim from Masud ibn
al-Hakam from AIi ibn Abi Talib that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, used to stand up when a funeral
procession passed by, and then sit down again afterwards.

ahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that AIi ibn Abi
Talib used to rest his head on graves and lie on them.

Malik
said, "As far as we can see ,it is only forbidden to sit on graves to
relieve oneself."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Bakr ibn Uthman ibn Sahl
ibn Hunayf that he had heard Abu Umama ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf say, "We
used to attend funeral processions, and the last of the people would
not sit until they had been given permission ."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abdullah ibn
Jabir ibn Atik that Atik ibn al-Harith, the grandfather of Abdullah
ibn Abdullah ibn Jabir on his mother's side, told him that Jabir ibn
Atik had told him that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, came to visit Abdullah ibn Thabit and found him in
his death-throes. He called to him but he did not reply. The Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "We belong to
Allah, and to Him we are returning," and added, "You are being taken
from us, Abu'r-Rabi.'' The women cried out and wept, and Jabir began
to silence them. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said, "Leave them, and when the necessary time comes, none
of the women should cry." They said, "Messenger of Allah, what is the
necessary time?", and he replied, "When he dies." The dying man's
daughter said, "By Allah, I hope that you will be a martyr, for you
have completed your preparations for battle," and the Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah has made
his reward fall according to his intention. What do you consider dying
a martyr to be?" They said, "Death in the way of Allah." The Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "There are
seven kinds of rnartyr other than those killed in the way of Allah.
Someone who is killed by the plague is a martyr, someone who drowns is
a martyr, someone who dies of pleurisy is a martyr, someone who dies
of a disease of the belly is a martyr, someone who dies by fire is a
martyr, someone who dies under a falling building is a martyr and a
woman who dies in childbirth is a martyr."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr from
his father that Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman told him that she had heard
A'isha, the umm al-muminin, say (when it was mentioned to her that
Abdullah ibn Umar used to say, "The dead are tormented by the weeping
of the living"), "May Allah forgive Abu Abd ar-Rahman. Of course he
has not lied, but he has forgotten, or made a mistake. The Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by a jewish
woman whose family were crying over her and he said, 'You are crying
over her, and she is being tormented in her grave. ' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al-
Musayyab from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said, "No muslim who has three children die
will be touched by the Fire except to fulfil Allah's oath."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr ibn Amr
ibn Hazm from his father from Abu'n-Nadr as-Salami that the Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If three of
a muslim's children die, and he remains content with that, they will
be a protection for him from the Fire." A woman who was with the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Or
two, Messengerof Allah?", and he said, "Or two."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard from Abu'l-Hubab
Said ibn Yasar from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, said, "The mumin continues to be struck
by misfortune in his children and close friends until he meets Allah
with no wrong actions."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim
ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said, "Let the misfortune that befalls me be
a comfort to the Muslims in their misfortunes."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman
from Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said, "If a misfortune befalls some one and he says, as
Allah has ordered, 'We belong to Allah and to Him we are returning. O
Allah, reward me in my misfortune and give me better than it
afterwards,' Allah will do that for him" (Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi
rajiun. Allahumma' jurniy fi musiybatiy, wa a qibhiy khayran minha,
illa faala 'llahu dhalika bihi.).

Umm Salama said, "When Abu
Salama died I said that, and then I said, 'Who is better than Abu
Salama?' " And then Allah left her the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, and he married her.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that al-Qasim
ibn Muhammad said, "One of my wives died and Muhammad ibn Kab al
Quradhi came to console me about her. He told me of one among the Bani
Israil who was a diligent, worshipping, knowing and understanding man
who had a wife that he admired and loved, and she died. He grieved
over her intensely and lamented her until he withdrew into a house and
locked himself in, hidden from everyone, and no-one visited him. A
woman heard about him and went to him, saying, 'I need him to give me
an opinion. Nothing will satisfy me except what he says about it.'
Everyone went away, but she stuck to his door and said, 'I must see
him.' Someone said to him, 'There is a woman who wishes to ask your
opinion about something,' and she insisted, 'I will only talk to him
about it.' When everyone had gone away, and she still had not left
his door, he said, 'Let her in.' So she went in and saw him and said,
'I have come to ask your opinion about something.' He said, 'What is
it?' She said, 'I borrowed a piece of jewellery from a neighbour of
mine, and I have worn it and used it for a long time. Then they sent
to me for it. Should I let them have it back?' He said, 'Yes, by
Allah.' She said, 'I have had it for a long time.' He said, 'It is
more correct for you to return it to them, since they have lent it to
you for such a long time.' She said, 'Yes. May Allah have mercy on
you. Do you then grieve over what Allah has lent you and then taken
from you, when He has a greater right to it than you?' Then he saw
the situation he was in, and Allah helped him by her words."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abu'r-Rijal Muhammad ibn Abd
ar-Rahman heard his mother Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman say, "The Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, cursed both men and
women who dug up," meaning those who dug up graves.

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that A'isha, the
wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to
say, "Breaking the bone of a muslim when he is dead is like breaking
it when he is alive." She meant if done in wrong action.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from Abbad
ibn Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, told him that she had heard the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say
before he died, while he was leaning on her breast and she was
listening to him, "O Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me and join
me with the highest company."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard that A'isha said,
"The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
said, 'No prophet dies until he is given the choice.' " She continued,
"I heard him say ,'O Allah, the highest company,' and I knew that he
was going."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar
said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said, "When you die, your place will be shown to you in the
morning and the evening. If you are one of the people of the Garden,
then you will be with the people of the Garden, and if you are one of
the people of the Fire, then you will be with the people of the Fire.
You will be told, 'This is your place of waiting until Allah raises
you on the day of rising.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from al-Araj from
Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said, "The earth eats all of the son of Adam except the
coccyx. He was created from it, and on it he is built."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Abd ar-Rahman
ibn Kab ibn Malik al-Ansari told him that his father, Kab ibn Malik,
used to relate that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, said, "The ruh of the mumin is a bird that sits in
the trees of the Garden until Allah returns it to his body on the day
He raises him ."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from al-Araj from
Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said, "Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, said, 'If My slave
longs to meet Me, I long to meet him, and if he is averse to meeting
Me, I am averse to meeting him.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from al-Araj from
Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said, "A man said to his family that he had never done a
good action, and that when he died they were to burn him and then
scatter half of him on the land and half of him on the sea, and by
Allah, if Allah destined it for him He would punish him with a
punishment which He had not punished anyone else with in all the
worlds. When the man died, they did as he had told them. Then Allah
told the land to collect everything that was in it, and told the sea
to collect everything that was in it, and then He said to the man,
'Why did you do this?' and he said, 'From fear of You, Lord, and You
know best.' "

Abu Hurayra added, "And He forgave him."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from al-Araj from
Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said, "Every child is born on the fitra and it is his
parents who make him a jew or a christian. Just as a camel is born
whole - do you perceive any defect?" They said, "Messenger of Allah,
what happens to people who die when they are (very) young?" He said,
"Allah knows best what they used to do."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from al-Araj from
Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said, "The Hour will not come until a man passes by the
grave of another and says, 'If only I were in his place.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad ibn Amr ibn
Halhalaad-Dili from Mabad ibn Kab ibn Malik that Abu Qatada ibn Ribi
used to relate that a funeral procession passed by the Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he said, "One is
relieved and another others are relieved from." They said, "Who is the
one relieved and the one from whom others are relieved?" He said, "A
slave who is mumin is the one who is relieved from the exhaustion and
suffering of this world to the mercy of Allah, and a wrong-acting
slave is the one from whom people, towns, trees and animals are
relieved."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abu'n Nadr, the mawla of Umar
ibn Ubaydullah, said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, said, when Uthman ibn Madhun's funeral procession
passed by him, "You have gone and you were not involved in any of it."

Malik related to me from AIqama ibn Abi Alqama that his mother
said that she had heard A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, say, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, rose one night and put on his clothes
and then went out. I ordered my slave-girl, Barira, to follow him, and
she followed him until he got to al-Baqi. He stood near it as long as
Allah willed and then he left. Barira arrived back before him and told
me and I did not say anything to him until morning, and then I
mentioned it to him and he explained, 'I was sent out to the people of
al-Baqi to pray for them.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abu Hurayra said,
"Make your funerals speedy, for it is only good that you are advancing
him towards, or evil that you are taking off your necks."