Download PDF: [S] Janazah Salaah for a Munaafiq

Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – mentions that when the head of the Munaafiq, Abdullah ibn Abi Ubay, died, the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – was called to perform the Janazah Salaah. The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – then stood in front of the body and was going to read the Salaah.

 

Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – said that, “However, at that moment, I came in front and said to him, ‘O Prophet of Allah! Are you performing the Salaah of someone who is an enemy? Did this person not do certain certain thing on certain certain day? He used to also speak badly about us.’”

 

The eminent companion mentions that he kept mentioning the bad traits of this Munaafiq.

 

Finally, the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – asked him to move on one side and replied that he had been given the option to read or not to read. The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – then performed his Janazah and stood there till he was buried.

 

The eminent companion mentions that he had no idea where this bravery had got into him even though Allah and His beloved Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – knew better.

 

However, a few days later, the following verses of the Qur’an in Surah Taubah (9) was revealed. It is the 84th and 85th verses of this Surah.

 

وَلَا تُصَلِّ عَلٰۤی اَحَدٍ مِّنْہُمۡ مَّاتَ اَبَدًا وَّلَاتَقُمْ عَلٰی قَبْرِہٖ ؕ اِنَّہُمْ کَفَرُوۡا بِاللہِ وَرَسُوۡلِہٖ وَمَاتُوۡا وَہُمْ فٰسِقُوۡنَ ﴿۸۴﴾

وَلَا تُعْجِبْکَ اَمْوٰلُہُمْ وَ اَوْلٰدُہُمْ ؕ اِنَّمَا یُرِیۡدُ اللہُ اَنۡ یُّعَذِّبَہُمۡ بِہَا فِی الدُّنْیَا وَ تَزْہَقَ اَنۡفُسُہُمْ وَہُمْ کٰفِرُوۡنَ ﴿۸۵﴾

 

“And never offer funeral prayers for any of them who dies, nor stand by his grave; indeed they disbelieved in Allah and His Noble Messenger, and they died as sinners.  And do not be surprised at their wealth or their children; Allah only wills to torment them with it in this world, and that they die upon disbelief. “

 

After this, it became impermissible to perform the Janazah of any Munaafiq. Prior to this, there was no strict ruling, hence the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him –mentioned that he had been given the choice to read the Janaza or not. (Imam Ahmed, Bukhari, Tirmidhi)

 

In like manner, in the present time, the person who is a non-Sunni is indeed a clear and certified Munaafiq, therefore we are not allowed to perform the Janazah of this person or even join in the Janazah of this person. As for those who continue to do so, it means that they are clearly unsure of the correctness of the Sunni Aqaa’id, henceforth they feel free to perform the Janazah of a Munaafiq.

 

As for that Sunni who is certain of his beliefs, he will never perform or take part in the Janazah of a non-Sunni. His stance can be proven from the above two verses of the Qur’an. If someone approaches him and questions him, he can present both of these verses as proof and testimony for his stance.

 

After all, Abdullah ibn Abi Ubay was also someone who used to read Salaah, give Zakaah and perform all the other duties which Muslims performed, but in spite of this, he was considered a Munaafiq. This clearly proves that only performing all of these actions do not make you a Muslim. Your belief and Aqaa’id has to be correct.