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Appendix 1
Shafa’a—Prayer for the Dead
“In the following prayer recited in contemporary Egypt on the occasion of a child’s death one finds a summary of the best Islamic thought concerning hope for the little one as well as comfort for those who must face the ordeal of loss.”1
O God, he is Thy servant and the son of Thy servant. Thou didst create him and sustain him and bring him to death and thou wilt give him life. O God make him for his parents an anticipation, riches sent before, a reward, which precedes, and through him make heavy the balance (of their good works) and increase their rewards. Let neither us nor them be seduced by temptation after his departure. O God cause him to overtake the believers who preceded him, in the guardianship of Abraham, and give him in exchange (for his earthly home) a better dwelling place and a family better than his family, and keep him sound from the temptation of the tomb and the Fire of Gehenna.2
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Appendix 2
Bedside Prayers
DU’A—INTERCESSION FOR THE LIVING
Merciful and Compassionate God we bow before you, in full submission. The weakness in body, mind, and spirit is filling … [name]* with dread. You have planned our days before we were born. You are the only God. Beside you there is no other God. In your mercy look upon … [name] in his/her present condition. There is pain and other anxieties. The days of his/her life seem numbered. We bring… [name] before you that you might exercise your great compassion on him/her. Ease her pain. Give him/her strength for each day’s need. We ask this so that his/her mind will not be filled with problems of his/her body but will be concentrated upon you.
May his/her thoughts be focused upon you as one who is in Islam. Keep him/her obedient to your will at all times so that on the Day … [name] will walk in the Garden. In the name of God— “Bishmi’lah.”
All Wise, All-Knowing, Eternal God, You understand and know all that… [name] is experiencing in these days of illness. His/her mind is so troubled that he/she may have displeased you. Look favorably upon him/her in this hour of illness and pain. We pray that
*The use of the patient’s name in the prayer personalizes the petition and brings greater comfort to the patient.
you will relieve … [name] of pain and stress. Fill… [name] with the calmness that your peace can give to a person’s spirit. All-knowing God, we beseech you to forgive and bless him/her as he/she lies here committing his/her life into your control. Forgive, restore your peace and grant… [name] a safe passage across the bridge on the Day of Resurrection. In the name of God and according to your will—Insha’llah.
SABR—PRAYER FOR PATIENCE
You are the All-Powerful, Benevolent God. We come before you not with confidence in ourselves but with full trust in you. You are the All-Wise One who created… [name], who is before us in pain of body, distress of mind, and fearful in spirit. His/her illness is taking its toll upon him/her. We ask, Oh! Holy One, that you will be pleased to give him/her patience to endure the pain in thankfulness to you. May strength to cope with each day’s burdens be granted him/her. We ask this not for ourselves but that his/her faith in you and submission to your will may not falter. Grant that faith will be sufficient unto the day when you summon all before the Judgment. On that Day may he/she be granted entry to Paradise.
Insha’llah—In the will of God.
BEDSIDE PRAYER FOR THE DYING
There is no God but Allah, the Forbearing, the Generous.
There is no God but Allah, the High, the Grand.
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Seven Heavens and the
Seven Earths and what is in them, between them, and
beneath them. And the Lord of the great Throne, and praise
belongs to God, the Lord of the Universe.
When death is imminent, the dying person should be made to lie facing the Qiblah (Mecca) and should recite the following prayer:
O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me and unite me with the Most High Companion.
The patient should also recite:
None is worthy of praise beside Allah. Surely death has many hardships and difficulties.
The patient’s prayer should continue:
O Allah, help me in overcoming the throes and difficulties of death.
When the patient has breathed his or her last breath, the people present should close their eyes and recite the following prayer:
O Allah, forgive… (name of deceased); and raise his/her status (in Jannah—the Garden) among the rightly guided people; and be his/her representative among his/her people whom he/she has left behind; and forgive us and him/her. O Sustainer of the worlds. And (O Allah) make his grave vast and accommodating and fill it with light (noor).
Contributed by the Islamic Council of NSW
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Notes
Chapter 1
1. Armstrong, Karen. History of God (Ventura: London) 1999, p. 297.
2. Smith, Jane I. and Y.Y. Haddad, The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection (Albany: State University of New York Press) 1981, p. 68.
3. Haneef, Suzanne. What Everybody Should Know About Islam and Muslims (Chicago: Kazi) 1979, p. 184.
4. Ibid.
Chapter 2
1. Haneef, Suzanne. What Everybody Should Know About Islam and Muslims (Chicago: Kazi) 1979, p. 3.
2. Often translated “Allah—the Greatest.” This may be interpreted by English readers as “Allah is the greatest among many Gods.” This concept is contrary to the Islamic Creed, hence “Allah the Almighty One” is preferred here. The Boxer, Mohammed Ali, claiming to be “the greatest” supports this.
3. Khan, Qamaruddin. “The Qu’ran and the Signs of God” in Rabetat al–Al—al Islam, Vol. 5, No. 10, 1978, p.10.
4. Maudidi Abu A’la. Toward Understanding Islam (Beirut: Holy Koran Publishing House) 1980, pp. 86–103.
5. Haneef, What Everybody Should Know, p. 5.
6. Ibid., p. 87.
7. Ibid., p. 65.
8. Smith, Jane I. and Y.Y. Haddad. The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection (Albany: State University of New York Press) 1981, p. 49.
9. Ansari, F.R. Philosophy of Worship in Islam (Karachi: World Federation of Islamic Missions) 1964, pp. 13–14.
Chapter 3
1. Haneef, Suzanne. What Everybody Should Know About Islam and Muslims (Chicago: Kazi) 1979, pp. 36–37.
2. Ibid., p. 106.
3. Fisher, Mary Pat. Living Religions (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall) 1994, p. 312.
4. Ibid., p. 316.
5. McKane, William. Al-Ghazali’s Book of Fear and Hope (Leiden: Brill E.J.) 1962, pp. 1–65.
6. Ibid....
