Dua for Burial
Dua 1: When Laying the Deceased in the Grave
It is narrated from Ibn Umar I that when the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ placed the deceased into the grave, he would say:
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى سُنَّةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ❁
Bismi Llāhi wa-ʿalā sunnati rasūli Llāhi ṣallā Llāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam.
In the name of Allah, and upon the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah send prayers and peace upon him.
| Reference | Abu Dawud (3213) |
Dua 2: A Comprehensive Supplication for the Deceased
Among the comprehensive supplications for the deceased is one cited by Imam al-Shafi’i in the Mukhtasar of al-Muzani. He recommended that those placing the deceased in the grave supplicate for Allah’s mercy and protection for the deceased, and for His care over those left behind.
اللَّهُمَّ أَسْلَمَهُ إِلَيْكَ الْأَشِحَّاءُ مِنْ أَهْلِهِ وَوَلَدِهِ وَقَرَابَتِهِ وَإِخْوَانِهِ ❁ وَفَارَقَ مَنْ كَانَ يُحِبُّ قُرْبَهُ ❁ وَخَرَجَ مِنْ سَعَةِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْحَيَاةِ إِلَى ظُلْمَةِ الْقَبْرِ وَضِيقِهِ ❁ وَنَزَلَ بِكَ وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ مَنْزُولٍ بِهِ ❁ إِنْ عَاقَبْتَهُ فَبِذَنْبٍ ❁ وَإِنْ عَفَوْتَ عَنْهُ فَأَنْتَ أَهْلُ الْعَفْوِ ❁ أَنْتَ غَنِيٌّ عَنْ عَذَابِهِ وَهُوَ فَقِيرٌ إِلَى رَحْمَتِكَ ❁ اللَّهُمَّ اشْكُرْ حَسَنَتَهُ ❁ وَاغْفِرْ سَيِّئَتَهُ ❁ وَأَعِذْهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ ❁ وَاجْمَعْ لَهُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ الْأَمْنَ مِنْ عَذَابِكَ ❁ وَاكْفِهِ كُلَّ هَوْلٍ دُونَ الْجَنَّةِ ❁ اللَّهُمَّ اخْلُفْهُ فِي تَرِكَتِهِ فِي الْغَابِرِينَ ❁ وَارْفَعْهُ فِي عِلِّيِّينَ ❁ وَعُدْ عَلَيْهِ بِفَضْلِ رَحْمَتِكَ ❁ يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ ❁
Allāhumma aslamahu ilayka l-ashiḥḥā'u min ahlihi wa-waladihi wa-qarābatihi wa-ikhwānihi, wa-fāraqa man kāna yuḥibbu qurbahu, wa-kharaja min saʿati d-dunyā wa-l-ḥayāti ilā ẓulmati l-qabri wa-ḍīqihi, wa-nazala bika wa-anta Khayru manzūlin bihi, in ʿāqabtahu fa-bi-dhanbin, wa-in ʿafawta ʿanhu fa-anta Ahlu l-ʿafwi, anta Ghaniyyun ʿan ʿadhābihi wa-huwa faqīrun ilā raḥmatika. Allāhumma shkur ḥasanatahu, wa-ghfir sayyi'atahu, wa-aʿidhhu min ʿadhābi l-qabri, wa-jmaʿ lahu bi-raḥmatika l-amna min ʿadhābika, wa-kfihi kulla hawlin dūna l-jannati. Allāhumma khlufhu fī tarikatihi fī l-ghābirīna, wa-rfaʿhu fī ʿIlliyyīna, wa-ʿud ʿalayhi bi-faḍli raḥmatika, yā Arḥama r-Rāḥimīn.
O Allah, his family, children, relatives, and brothers, though reluctant to part with him, have surrendered him to You. He has parted from those whose closeness he loved, and has left the expanse of this world and its life for the darkness and constriction of the grave. He has come to You, and You are the best One to Whom he could come. If You punish him, it is for a sin, and if You pardon him, then You are the One worthy of granting pardon. You have no need to punish him, while he is in need of Your mercy. O Allah, reward his good deed, forgive his bad deed, protect him from the punishment of the grave, and through Your mercy grant him safety from Your punishment. Spare him every terror that stands between him and Paradise. O Allah, take his place in caring for those he has left behind among the living, raise him among those in Illiyyin, and bestow upon him once more the bounty of Your mercy, O Most Merciful of the merciful.
| Reference | Mukhtasar al-Muzani |
Dua 3: Words Said When Scattering Earth into the Grave
It is Sunnah to cast three handfuls of earth into the grave using both hands, from the head end. A number of Shafi’i scholars recommend saying with the first handful: “From the earth We created you,” with the second: “And into it We will return you,” and with the third: “And from it We will bring you back again.”
﴿مِنْهَا خَلَقْنَـٰكُمْ...وَفِيهَا نُعِيدُكُمْ...وَمِنْهَا نُخْرِجُكُمْ تَارَةً أُخْرَىٰ ❁﴾
Minhā khalaqnākum...wa-fīhā nuʿīdukum...wa-minhā nukhrijukum tāratan ukhrā.
"From the earth We created you...and into it We will return you...and from it We will bring you back again."
| Reference | Qur’an 20:55, Kitab al-Adhkar |
Dua 4: Talqin Recited After Burial
Talqin is the act of prompting or reminding a person of words of faith. A number of Shafi’i scholars recommend that after the burial has been completed, a person stand at the head of the grave and recite the following. This wording is mentioned by Shaykh Abu al-Fath Nasr al-Maqdisi in al-Tahdhib. Al-Nawawi states that this talqin is not recited for children who died before reaching puberty.
يَا فُلَانُ بْنَ فُلَانٍ اُذْكُرِ الْعَهْدَ الَّذِي خَرَجْتَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا: شَهَادَةَ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ ❁ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ ❁ وَأَنَّ السَّاعَةَ آتِيَةٌ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهَا ❁ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ مَنْ فِي الْقُبُورِ ❁ قُلْ: رَضِيتُ بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا ❁ وَبِالْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا ❁ وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نَبِيًّا ❁ وَبِالْكَعْبَةِ قِبْلَةً ❁ وَبِالْقُرْآنِ إِمَامًا ❁ وَبِالْمُسْلِمِينَ إِخْوَانًا ❁ رَبِّيَ اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ❁ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ ❁
Yā (name) ibna (father’s name), udhkuri l-ʿahda lladhī kharajta ʿalayhi mina d-dunyā, shahādata an lā ilāha illā Llāhu waḥdahu lā sharīka lahu, wa-anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhu wa-rasūluhu, wa-anna s-sāʿata ātiyatun lā rayba fīhā, wa-anna Llāha yabʿathu man fī l-qubūri. Qul: raḍītu bi-Llāhi Rabban, wa-bi-l-Islāmi dīnan, wa-bi-Muḥammadin ṣallā Llāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama nabiyyan, wa-bi-l-Kaʿbati qiblatan, wa-bi-l-Qur'āni imāman, wa-bi-l-muslimīna ikhwānan. Rabbiya Llāhu lā ilāha illā huwa, wa-huwa Rabbu l-ʿarshi l-ʿaẓīm.
O so-and-so, son of so-and-so, remember the covenant upon which you departed from this world: the testimony that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner; that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger; that the Hour is surely coming, with no doubt in it; and that Allah will resurrect those who are in the graves. Say: I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, with Islam as my religion, with Muhammad, may Allah send prayers and peace upon him, as my Prophet, with the Ka'bah as my direction of prayer, with the Qur'an as my guide, and with the Muslims as my brothers. My Lord is Allah. There is no god but Him, and He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne.
| Reference | Kitab al-Adhkar, Al-Tahdhib |
