The Final Journey Introduction
The Final Journey
And
Respect
Of The
Deceased
Muhammad ‘Abd Al-Mannan
BISMILLA HIR RAHMAA NIR RAHEEM
ALLAH (THE EXALTED)’S NAME I START WITH, THE MOST BENEFICENT AND MERCIFUL
PREFACE
On the 14th February 2004, we held a talk in the local Mosque on death and a practical demonstration of Bathing a body (Ghusl), Shrouding (Kafan) and the Funeral Prayer (Salaat-ul-Janazah). The Elderly, young brothers, Mothers and young sisters attended the session and found it very interesting and beneficial. A Translation by Muhammad Salim Ghisa from the Urdu book of ‘Qanoon-e-Shariat’ by Shaykh Shamsud-deen was edited and used as lecture notes to be taken away and studied.
Only few days after this session on Tuesday 17th February 2004 a close friend’s child (Muhammad Hudhayfa) left this temporary world at the age of one with Meningitis. After the bathing, funeral prayer and burial it made me take the work further and put it a form of a book for the younger generation who are not aware of the method of bathing a dead body and the funeral prayer etc. and including literature regarding the remembrance of death.
The text here presented is parts of the last of Imam al-Ghazali’s work in the Ihya’ ulum al-din, which lays particular claim to our attention for it is the principal work on the matter of death to have issued from the pen of the most celebrated theologian of Islam, Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali. The Imam designed it to be the final flourish to his forty-‘book’ Revival of the Religious Sciences. The complete translation of the section on death has been translated (with an introduction and notes) and a tremendous piece of work by T.J.Winter published by the Islamic Text society. May Allah reward all who had hand it this work.
The chapter Six of this book ‘The Respect of the Deceased’ is a translation by Muhammad Salim Ghisa from the ‘Rules of Islamic Law’. The original work is from ‘Qanoon-e-Shariat’ by Shaykh Shamsud-deen Amjad. I also used the Hanafi Fiqh manual, ‘Bahar-e-Shariat’ in Urdu by Shaykh Amjad Ali to refer to other rules.
Quranic material, for which I have drawn from is by Professor Shah Faridul Haque’s English translation of Kanzul Imaan Urdu translation by Shaykh Ahmad Raza Khan Qadri.
As well as completely revising parts of both books into one and having rearranged the order and headings of most chapters. I felt these works needed to be in one book which people could refer to a specific topic if need be.
I thank Allah most of all, for giving me this opportunity to publish this book. “You alone do we worship and from you alone do we seek help”.
Muhammad Abd al-Mannan 3 www.GardensOfSunnah.co.uk
INTRODUCTION
The Qur’an warns man that before long the Last Blast would sound, leading in a Day of Judgement which will turn children’s hair to grey. On that day, mankind shall issue for the scattered groups to be shown their actions. Man’s actions shall be weighted in Scales and a final consignment to Heaven or Hell shall be verdict, and they shall not be wronged in aught. The pleasures or punishments which await them are portrayed vividly in the Qur’an.
This picture becomes further expanded when we turn to the Traditions (Ahadith, Singular. Hadith) of the Prophet. We are told that man undergoes a period of gloomy life in the grave, which, as ‘either a garden of Heaven or a deep hole of Hell,’ predicts his ultimate fate. To the landscape of the Day of Judgement we find added a ‘pool’ (The Hawd), where the Ummah gathers around the Prophet Muhammad (upon him peace) and a ‘Bridge’ (Sirat), which is a ‘a bridge suspended over the bay of Hell, sharper than a sword and finer than a hair’, which must be crossed as part of the material manifestation of the Judgement. The Hadith material also presents a concept of intercession (Shafa’a) exercised by the Prophet on behalf of their various Ummahs.
‘Shaytan will do everything to distract you from reading this booklet, however, you should fight him and read it to the end, Insha-Allah you will benefit from this!’