Ruling 617*

The following are recommended acts of burial:

1. 1. the depth of the grave should be equal to the height of an average person or be at the level of an average person’s shoulders;
   2. the corpse should be buried in the nearest graveyard unless a further graveyard is better for some reason; for example, righteous people are buried there, or because people visit there more often to recite Sūrat al-Fātiḥah etc. for those buried there;
   3. the corpse should be placed on the ground at a short distance from the grave and be taken slowly towards the grave in three stages; and at each stage, the corpse should be placed on the ground and then lifted; and the fourth time the corpse is put down should be when it is lowered into the grave;
   4. if the deceased is male, then on the third time that the corpse is put down, it should be placed on the ground in a way that the head is at the feet end of the grave; and on the fourth time, it should be lowered into the grave head-first. If the deceased is female, then on the third time that the corpse is put down, it should be placed at the side of the grave facing qibla and then lowered into the grave sideways; and a cloth should be held over the grave while it is being lowered into the grave;
   5. the corpse should be taken out of the coffin and lowered into the grave gently;
   6. the recommended duʿāʾs should be recited before and during the burial;
   7. after the corpse has been placed in a niche in the side of the grave [as is done in some countries], the ties of the kafan should be unfastened. It is better that first the tie of the kafan at the head of the corpse be opened and the face of the corpse be placed on soil. An earthen headrest should be formed and placed under its head;
   8. unbaked bricks or clods of earth should be placed behind the back of the corpse so that it does not come to lie flat on its back;
   9. before the niche is covered, a person should hold the right shoulder of the corpse with his right hand, firmly take its left shoulder with his left hand, place his mouth near the ear of the corpse, vigorously shake the corpse, and say three times:⁷²

      
      اِسْمَعْ اِفْـهَمْ (اِسْمَعِيْ اِفْـهَمِيْ) يَا ___ ٱبْنَ (بِنْتَ) ___

ismaʿ ifham (ismaʿī ifhamī) yā ____ ibna (binta) ____

Listen and understand, O ____ son (daughter) of ____.

In the blank spaces, one should say the name of the deceased person and the name of his father. For example, if his name is Muḥammad and his father’s name is ʿAlī, he should say three times:

اِسْمَعْ اِفْـهَمْ یَا مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ عَلِـيٍّ

ismaʿ ifham yā muḥammadab na ʿalī

Listen and understand, O Muḥammad son of ʿAlī.

Then, he should say:

هَلْ أَنْتَ (أَنْتِ) عَلَى الْعَهْدِ الَّذِي فَارَقْـتَنَا (فَارَقْتِنَا) عَلَيْهِ مِنْ شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهُ، وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَیْهِ وَآلِهِ عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُوْلُهُ وَسَيِّدُ النَّبِيِّيْنَ وَخَاتَمُ الْمُرْسَلِيْنَ، وَأَنَّ عَلِيًّا أَمِيْرُ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ وَسَيِّدُ الْوَصِيِّيْنَ وَإِمَامٌ افْـتَـرَضَ اللهُ طَاعَتَهُ عَلَى الْعَالَمِيْنَ، وَأَنَّ الْحَسَنَ وَالْحُسَيْنَ، وَعَلِيَّ بْنَ الْحُسَيْنِ، وَمُحَمَّدَ بْنَ عَلِـيٍّ، وَجَعْفَرَ بْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ، وَمُوْسَى بْنَ جَعْفَرٍ، وَعَلِيَّ بْنَ مُوْسَىٰ، وَمُحَمَّدَ بْنَ عَلِيٍّ، وَعَلِيَّ بْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ، وَالْحَسَنَ بْنَ عَلِيٍّ، وَالْقَائِمَ الْحُجَّةَ الْمَهْدِيَّ، صَلَوَاتُ اللهِ عَلَيْهِمْ أَئِمَّةُ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ، وَحُجَجُ اللهِ عَلَى الْخَلْقِ أَجْمَعِيْنَ، وَأَئِمَّتُكَ (اَئِمَّتُكِ) أَئِمَّةُ هُدىً بِكَ (بِكِ) أَبْـرَارٌ يَا ___

hal anta (anti) ʿalal ʿahdil ladhī fāraqtanā (fāraqtinā) ʿalayhi min shahādati an lā ilāha illal lāhu waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, wa anna muḥammadan ṣallal lāhu ʿalayhi wa ālihi ʿabduhu wa rasūluhu wa sayyidun nabiyyīna wa khātamul mursalīn, wa anna ʿaliyyan amīrul muʾminīna wa sayyidul waṣiyyīna wa imāmunif taraḍal lāhu ṭāʿatahu ʿalal ʿālamīn, wa annal ḥasana wal ḥusayn, wa ʿaliyyabnal ḥusayn, wa muḥammadabna ʿalī, wa jaʿfarabna muḥammad, wa mūsabna jaʿfar, wa ʿaliyyabna mūsā, wa muḥammadabna ʿalī, wa ʿaliyyabna muḥammad, wal ḥasanabna ʿalī, wal qāʾimal ḥujjatal mahdī, ṣalawātullāhi ʿalayhim aʾimmatul muʾminīn, wa ḥujajul lāhi ʿalal khalqi ajmaʿīn, wa aʾimmatuka (aʾimmatuki) aʾimmatu hudan bika (biki) abrārun yā ____

Do you hold true to the covenant to which you held when you parted from us? Whereby you testify that there is no god but Allah, He alone, for whom there is no partner; that Muḥammad – may Allah bless him and his progeny – is His servant and His messenger and the foremost of all the Prophets and the seal of all the Messengers; that ʿAlī is the Commander of the Faithful and the master of all the successors and an Imam whose obedience Allah has made obligatory for the worlds; that al‑Ḥasan,and al‑Ḥusayn, and ʿAlī son of al‑Ḥusayn, and Muḥammad son of ʿAlī, and Jaʿfar son of Muḥammad, and Mūsā son of Jaʿfar, and ʿAlī son of Mūsā, and Muḥammad son of ʿAlī, and ʿAlī son of Muḥammad, and al‑Ḥasan son of ʿAlī, and the Upriser, the Proof, al‑Mahdī – may Allah’s blessings be upon them all – are Imams of the faithful and Allah’s proofs over the whole of creation, and your Imams are Imams of guidance for you and are pious, O ____.

 

In the blank space, he should say the name of the deceased person and the name of his father. Then, he should say:

إِذَا أَتَاكَ (أَتَاكِ) الْمَلَكَانِ الْمُقَرَّبَانِ رَسُوْلَيْنِ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللهِ تَـبَارَكَ وَتَـعَالَىٰ، وَسَئَلاَكَ (سَئَلاَكِ) عَنْ رَّبِّكَ (رَّبِّكِ)، وَعَنْ نَبِيِّكَ (نَبِيِّكِ)، وَعَنْ دِيْـنِكَ (دِيْـنِكِ)، وَعَنْ كِتَابِكَ (كِتَابِكِ)، وَعَنْ قِبْلَتِكَ (قِبْلَتِكِ)، وَعَنْ أَئِمَّتِكَ (أَئِمَّتِكِ)، فَلاَ تَخَفْ (تَخَافِيْ) وَلاَ تَحْزَنْ (تَحْزَنِيْ)، وَقُلْ (قُوْلِيْ) فِيْ جَوَابِهِمَا اللهُ رَبِّيْ، وَمُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّی اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمْ نَبِيِّيْ، وَالْإِسْلاَمُ دِيْنِيْ، وَالْقُرْآنُ كِتَابِيْ، وَالْكَعْبَةُ قِبْلَتِيْ، وَأَمِيْرُ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ عَلِيُّ ٱبْنُ أَبِيْ طَالِبٍ إِمَامِيْ، وَالْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الْمُجْتَبَىٰ إِمَامِيْ، وَالْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الشَّهِيْدُ بِكَرْبَلاَءَ إِمَامِيْ، وَعَلِيٌّ زَيْنُ الْعَابِدِيْنَ إِمَامِيْ، وَمُحَمَّدٌ الْبَاقِرُ إِمَامِيْ، وَجَعْفَرٌ الصَّادِقُ إِمَامِيْ، وَمُوْسَى الْكَاظِمُ إِمَامِيْ، وَعَلِيٌّ الرِّضَا إِمَامِيْ، وَمُحَمَّدٌ الْجَوَادُ إِمَامِيْ، وَعَلِيٌّ الْهَادِيْ إِمَامِيْ، وَالْحَسَنُ الْعَسْكَرِيُّ إِمَامِيْ، وَالْحُجَّةُ الْمُنْـتَظَرُ إِمَامِيْ، هٰؤُلآءِ صَلَوٰتُ اللهِ عَلَيْهِمْ اَئِمَّتِيْ وَسَادَتِيْ وَقَادَتِيْ وَشُفَعَائِـيْ، بِهِمْ أَتَـوَلَّىٰ وَمِنْ أَعْدَائِهِمْ أَتَـبَـرَّأُ فِي الدُّنْـيَا وَالْأَخِرَةِ، ثُمَّ ٱعْلَمْ (ٱعْلَمِيْ) يَا ___

idhā atākal (atākil) malakānil muqarrabāni rasūlayni min ʿindillāhi tabāraka wa taʿālā, wa saʾalāka (saʾalāki) ʿan rabbika (rabbiki), wa ʿan nabiyyika (nabiyyiki), wa ʿan dīnika (dīniki), wa ʿan kitābika (kitābiki), wa ʿan qiblatika (qiblatiki), wa ʿan aʾimmatika (aʾimmatiki), falā takhaf (takhāfī) wa lā taḥzan (taḥzanī), wa qul (qūlī) fī jawābihimal lāhu rabbī, wa muḥammadun ṣallal lāhu ʿalayhi wa ālihi wa sallam nabiyyī, wal islāmu dīnī, wal qurʾānu kitābī, wal kaʿbatu qiblatī, wa amīrul muʾminīna ʿaliyyubnu abī ṭālib imāmī, wal ḥasanubnu ʿaliyyinil mujtabā imāmī, wal ḥusaynubnu ʿaliyyinish shahīdu bikarbalāʾa imāmī, wa ʿalliyyun zaynul ʿābidīna imāmī, wa muḥammadunil bāqiru imāmī, wa jaʿfaruniṣ ṣādiqu imāmī, wa mūsal kāẓimu imāmī, wa ʿaliyyunir riḍā imāmī, wa muḥammadunil jawādu imāmī, wa ʿaliyyunil hādī imāmī, wal ḥasanul ʿaskariyyu imāmī, wal ḥujjatul muntaẓaru imāmī, hāʾulāʾi ṣalawātul lāhi ʿalayhim aʾimmatī wa sādatī wa qādatī wa shufaʿāʾī, bihim atawallā wa min aʿdāʾihim atabarraʾu fīd dunyā wal ākhirah, thummaʿ lam (lamī) yā ____

When the two angels who are close [to Allah], come to you as messengers from Allah – the Blessed, the Exalted – and ask you about your Lord, your Prophet, your religion, your book, your qibla, and your Imams, then do not fear nor grieve, but say in response to them: Allah is my Lord, Muḥammad – may Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him and his progeny – is my Prophet, Islam is my religion, the Qur’an is my book, and the Kaʿbah is my qibla. The Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib is my Imam, al‑Ḥasan al‑Mujtabā is my Imam, al‑Ḥusayn the Martyr of Karbala is my Imam, ʿAlī Zayn al‑ʿ bidīn is my Imam, Muḥammad al‑Bāqir is my Imam, Jaʿfar al‑Ṣādiq is my Imam, Mūsā al‑Kāẓim is my Imam, ʿAlī al‑Riḍā is my Imam, Muḥammad al‑Jawād is my Imam, ʿAlī al‑Hādī is my Imam, al‑Ḥasan al‑ʿAskarī is my Imam, and al‑Ḥujjah al‑Muntaẓar is my Imam. All of them – may Allah’s blessings be upon them – are my Imams, my masters, my leaders, and my intercessors. I befriend only them and I have hatred only for their enemies in this world and the Hereafter. Then know, O ____.

 

In the blank space, he should say the name of the deceased person and the name of his father. Then, he should say:

أَنَّ اللهَ تَـبَارَكَ وَتَـعَالَىٰ نِعْمَ الرَّبُّ، وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ نِعْمَ الرَّسُوْلُ، وَأَنَّ عَلِيَّ ٱبْنَ أَبِـيْ طَالِبٍ وَأَوْلاَدَهُ الْمَعْصُومِيْنَ الْأَئِمَّةَ الإِثْنَيْ عَشَرَ نِعْمَ الْأَئِمَّةُ، وَأَنَّ مَا جَآءَ بِهِ مُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ حَقٌّ، وَأَنَّ الْمَوْتَ حَقٌّ، وَسُؤَالَ مُنْكَرٍ وَنَكِيْرٍ فِي الْقَبْرِ حَقٌّ، وَالْبَعْثَ حَقٌّ، وَالنُّشُوْرَ حَقٌّ، وَالصِّرَاطَ حَقٌّ، وَالْمِيْزَانَ حَقٌّ، وَتَطَايُرَ الْكُتُبِ حَقٌّ، وَأَنَّ الْجَنَّةَ حَقٌّ، وَالنَّارَ حَقٌّ، وَأَنَّ السَّاعَةَ آتِيَةٌ لَا رَيْبَ فِيْهَا، وَأَنَّ اللهَ يَبْعَثُ مَنْ فِي الْقُبُوْرِ

annal lāha tabāraka wa taʿālā niʿmar rabb, wa anna muḥammadan ṣallal lāhu ʿalayhi wa ālihi wa sallama niʿmar rasūl, wa anna ʿaliyyabna abī ṭālib wa awlādahul maʿsūmīnal aʾimmatal ithnay ʿashara niʿmal aʿimmah, wa anna mā jāʾa bihi muḥammadun ṣallal lāhu ʿalayhi wa ālihi wa sallama haqq, wa annal mawta haqq, wa suʾāla munkarin wa nakīrin fil qabri haqq, wal baʿtha haqq, wan nushūra haqq, waṣ ṣirāṭa haqq, wal mīzāna haqq, wa taṭāʾural kutubi haqq, wa annal jannata haqq, wan nāra haqq, wa annas sāʿata ātiyatun lā rayba fīhā, wa annal lāha yabʿathu man fīl qubūr

Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, is the best Lord, and Muḥammad – may Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him and his progeny – is the best messenger, and ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and his infallible descendants, [together being] the twelve Imams, are the best Imams. What Muḥammad – may Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him and his progeny – brought is true; death is real; the questioning of Munkar and Nakīr in the grave is real; the raising [from the graves] is real; the resurrection is real; the Path is real, the Scale is real; the disclosure of the book of deeds is real; Paradise is real; the Fire is real; the Hour is coming, there is no doubt about it; and Allah will raise those who are in the graves.

Then, he should say:

أَفَهِمْتَ (أَفَهِمْتِ) يَا ___

afahimta (afahimti) yā ____

Do you understand, O ____?

 

In the blank space, he should mention the name of the deceased. Then, he should say:

ثَـبَّـتَكَ (ثَـبَّـتَكِ) اللهُ بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ، وَهَدَاكَ (هَدَاكِ) اللهُ إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيْمٍ، عَرَّفَ اللهُ بَيْنَكَ (بَيْنَكِ) وَبَيْنَ أَوْلِيَائِكَ (أَوْلِيَائِكِ) فِيْ مُسْتَـقَرٍّ مِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ

thabbatakal (thabbatikil) lāhu bilqawlith thābit, wa hadākal (hadākil) lāhu ilā ṣirāṭin mustaqīm, ʿarrafal lāhu baynaka (baynaki) wa bayna awliyāʾika (awliyāʾiki) fī mustaqarrin min raḥmatih

May Allah keep you steadfast with the firm beliefs and may he guide you on the right path. May Allah foster acquaintance between you and your guardians in the abode of His mercy.

 

Then, he should say:

اَللّٰهُمَّ جَافِ الْأَرْضَ عَنْ جَنْـبَـيْهِ (جَنْـبَـيْـهَا)، وَٱصْعَدْ بِرُوْحِهِ (بِرُوْحِهَا) إِلَيْكَ، وَلَقِّهِ (لَقِّهَا) مِنْكَ بُـرْهَانًا، اَللّٰهُمَّ عَفْوَكَ عَفْوَكَ

allāhumma jāfil arḍa ʿan jambayh (jambayhā), waṣʿad birūḥihi (birūḥihā) ilayk, wa laqqihi (laqqihā) minka burhāna, allāhumma ʿafwaka ʿafwak

O Allah! Make the ground spacious for him (her) on both of his (her) sides, and elevate his (her) soul to You, and direct Your proof to him (her). O Allah! Bestow Your pardon! Bestow Your pardon!

⁷² In the following text, the words inside parentheses do not appear in the original work. They have been added here to facilitate the speaker when the deceased is female.

• Commentary

  This ruling changed in March 2022. The beginning portion of the previous version read as follows:

  “The following are recommended acts of burial:

  1. 1. the depth of the grave should be equal to the height of an average person;
     2. the corpse should be buried in the nearest graveyard unless a further graveyard is better for some reason; for example, righteous people are buried there, or because people visit there more often to recite Sūrat al-Fātiḥah etc. for those buried there;
     3. the corpse should be placed on the ground at a short distance from the grave and be taken slowly towards the grave in three stages; and at each stage, the corpse should be placed on the ground and then lifted up; and the fourth time the corpse is put down should be when it is lowered into the grave;
     4. if the deceased is male, then on the third time that the corpse is put down, it should be placed on the ground in a way that the head is at the feet end of the grave; and on the fourth time, it should be lowered into the grave head-first. If the deceased is female, then on the third time that the corpse is put down, it should be placed at the side of the grave facing qibla and then lowered into the grave sideways; and a cloth should be held over the grave while it is being lowered into the grave;
     5. the corpse should be taken out of the coffin and lowered into the grave gently;
     6. the recommended duʿāʾs should be recited before and during the burial;
     7. after the corpse has been placed in a niche in the side of the grave [as is done in some countries], the ties of the kafan should be unfastened, and the face of the corpse should be placed on soil, and an earthen headrest should be formed and placed under its head;
     8. unbaked bricks or clods of earth should be placed behind the back of the corpse so that it does not come to lie flat on its back;
     9. before the niche is covered, a person should hold the right shoulder of the corpse with his right hand, and firmly take its left shoulder with his left hand, and place his mouth near the ear of the corpse, and vigorously shake the corpse, and say three times:”