What a Muslim Does Upon the Death of His Relative Who Is a Mushrik

[Shehzad Sattar]

37- What a Muslim does with his close relative who is a Mushrik – And Abu Taalib died upon Shirk

161- The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said to ‘Ali bin Abu Taalib:

‘Go and bury your father.’

He [‘Ali] said;

‘No, I will not bury him, because he died as a Mushrik.’

The Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said to him:

‘Go and bury him, and do not speak to anyone until you come to me.’

I [‘Ali] came to him (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) and I had signs of dirt and dust upon me. He ordered me to wash, so I washed and he supplicated for me with supplications which would not please me to exchange anything for them on the face of this earth.

From the benefits of the hadeeth:

1. That it is permissible for a Muslim to take the responsibilities of burying his close Mushrik relative. This does not negate his hate for his relative’s shirk. Do you not see that ‘Ali refused to bury his father for the first time. Whereby, he said: ‘he died as a mushrik’ thinking that if he buried him then this would enter into being in alliance with his father which is prohibited.

Like the saying of Allah Ta’ala:

“Take not as friends the people who incurred the Wrath of Allah”

When the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) ordered him again to bury his father he hastened to fulfill the Messenger’s order. And he left that which seemed to be correct to him the first time. It is also from obedience, that a person leaves his own opinion for the command of his Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam).

It appears to me that the son burying his mushrik father or his mother is the last of what the son possesses of good companionship with his mushrik father in this world.As for after the burial then it is not allowed for him to pray for him, nor seek forgiveness for him.

This is due to the clear statement of Allah Ta’ala:

“It is not proper for the Prophet and those who believe to ask Allah’s Forgiveness for the Mushrikeen even though they be of kin”

So, if this is the case, what is the situation of the one who supplicates for mercy and forgiveness on the pages of newspapers and magazines for some of the kuffaar, announcing their deaths, for a small amount of dirhams!

The one who is concerned for his hereafter should fear Allah.

2- It is not legislated for him to wash the unbeliever, nor should he shroud him. And nor should he pray upon him even if he is a close relative, since, the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) did not order ‘Ali to do so. If this had been permissible, the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) would have mentioned it, since delaying the explanation of an order when there is a need for it, is not permissible. This is the Madhaab of the Hambalees and other than them.

3- It is not legislated for the relatives of that Mushrik to follow the funeral procession. Because the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) did not do this for his uncle. His uncle was the kindest and the most compassionate of the people to him. Even to the extent that the Prophet supplicated to Allah for him, whereby his uncle’s punishment will be the least in the Hellfire, as has been previously explained.

And in all of this there is a lesson for those people who have been deceived by their ancestry, but they do not do any thing for their hereafter with their Lord.

And Allah the Great spoke the truth when He said:

“There will be no kinship among them that Day, nor will they ask of one another.”

Source: The Ahadeeth of Tawheed from the Silsilah Ahadeeth As-Saheehah of Shaykh Al-Albaani – Chapters of Tawheed and the Shahadtayn Part 14 –

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It is not permissible for a Muslim to attend the funeral of a non-Muslim even if it is a relative, because attending a funeral is a right that one Muslim has over another and it is a kind of showing respect, honour and friendship that it is not permissible to show to a kaafir.

Abu Taalib, the paternal uncle of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) died, and he instructed ‘Ali to bury him, but the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) did not attend his funeral or his burial, even though Abu Taalib’s support and defense of the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) was well known, and even though the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) felt a great deal of compassion and mercy towards him. Nothing stopped him from doing that except the fact that Abu Taalib died in a state of kufr.

In fact the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

“I shall certainly pray for forgiveness for you so long as I am not forbidden to do so.”

Then the words were revealed (interpretation of the meaning):

“It is not (proper) for the Prophet and those who believe to ask Allah’s forgiveness for the Mushrikoon, even though they be of kin, after it has become clear to them that they are the dwellers of the Fire (because they died in a state of disbelief)”

[al-Tawbah 9:113]

and:

“Verily, you (O Muhammad) guide not whom you like”

[al-Qasas 28:56]

Abu Dawood (3214) and al-Nasaa’i (2006) narrated that ‘Ali said: I said to the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam): Your paternal uncle, the misguided old man, has died.

He said:

“Go and bury your father.”

Although Islam promotes upholding ties of kinship and treating relatives kindly, it forbids close friendship between the believer and the disbeliever, so whatever is one of the forms of close friendship is forbidden, but whatever is kindness that is less than close friendship is permitted.

Imaam Maalik (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“The Muslim should not wash his father if his father died as a disbeliever, or attend his funeral, or go down into his grave, unless he fears that he may be neglected, in which case he may bury him.”

End quote from al-Mudawwanah, 1/261

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It says in Sharh Muntaha al-Iraadaat (1/374):

The Muslim should not wash the kaafir because it is not allowed to form a strong bond with the kuffaar, and because that implies respecting him and purifying him; therefore it is not permissible, as is the case with offering the funeral prayer for him: “Do not shroud him or pray for him or attend his funeral,” because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Take not as friends the people who incurred the Wrath of Allah”

[al-Mumtahanah 60:13]

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It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (9/10):

What is the ruling on attending the funerals of disbelievers which has become a political custom and a tradition that all agreed upon?

Answer:

If there are some kuffaar present who can bury their dead, then the Muslims should not bury them or join the kuffar or help them with burying them, or seek to be kind to them by attending their funerals, acting in accordance with political customs. Such matters are not known to have been done by the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) or by the Rightly Guided Caliphs. Rather Allah forbade His Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) to stand over the grave of ‘Abd-Allah ibn Ubayy ibn Salool, and the reason given was that he was a disbeliever.

Allah said (interpretation of the meaning):

“And never (O Muhammad sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) pray (funeral prayer) for any of them (hypocrites) who dies, nor stand at his grave. Certainly they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, and died while they were Faasiqoon (rebellious, — disobedient to Allah and His Messenger sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam)”

[al-Tawbah 9:84]

But if there are none of them present who could bury him, then the Muslims should bury him as the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) did with the slain of Badr and his paternal uncle Abu Taalib when he died, and he said to ‘Ali:

“Go and bury him.”

From: The Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas: ‘Abd-Allah ibn Qa‘ood, ‘Abd-Allah ibn Ghadyaan, ‘Abd al-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allah ibn Baaz. End quote.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) issued a similar fatwa in Fataawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb