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Abu Huraira radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu
he narrates that that a man after his death
would be experiencing elevation
in his rank with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
and as he is elevating, he asks
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la "Ai Rabbi, Aiyu Shai'in Hazi?"
Oh my Lord, what is this?
Where is this coming from?
Why am I elevating?
And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala answers,
and says to him, "Waladulaka Astaghfirulak",
that your son sought forgiveness for you.
(music playing)
Can you imagine Subhanllah,
on how beautiful of a connection that is?
That, that person's soul is ascending through the ranks
of Aljannah.
Because of your du'aa, because of your supplication.
And they know that it's because of your supplication.
Now here's the interesting thing,
the man did not ask for elevation.
He was asking for forgiveness for his father, Istighfar.
And I want this to be a rule that you think about
when you are thinking about the du'as
that are necessary for the dead.
Istighfar, it starts with everything.
Allahummaghfir lahu
Oh Allah, forgive him.
Oh Allah, forgive her.
It is at the beginning of almost every
dua that the prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
makes for the deceased,
is first and foremost, istighfar.
He might be thinking, you know.
Well, and I've actually heard this.
You know, that person was like an angel.
That person didn't do anything. Masha'Allah.
He was this, Masha'Allah.
She was that.
First and foremost, you don't know all
of the shortcomings of a person.
And while we assume well of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la,
we don't presume what that person's ultimate standing
with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is.
How do we balance that with having
Husnu'l Z'ann in Allah
with having a good expectation of Allah?
Well, I mean, look at Subhan Allah,
even Kitab Al-Janaiz, the
Book of Janaiz, the funeral prayers in
Al-Imam al-Bukhari's Sah'i
The first hadith he actually puts is the
hadith of Abu Dharr RadiAllahu ta'ala Anhu
that the prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said that,
whoever says "la illaha illAllah"
will enter Jannah, will enter into paradise.
And Abu Dharr says, even if he committed adultery and stole
and the prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam says,
even if he committed adultery and stole,
that does not belittle, the
the sin, the crime of adultery and theft.
That is the Husnu Z'hann of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
the good expectation of Allah.
That eventually, that person will enter into Jannah.
And that's the wisdom of Imam al-Bukhari starting
off with that hadith.
But still, you don't know what shortcomings
the person actually had.
On top of that,
what's the connection between istighfar,
and elevation, seeking forgiveness
and a person being elevated in their rank.
Not all istighfar is because of a sin that
you recognize even of yourself.
What's the first thing we do after we pray?
AstaghfiruAllah, AstaghfiruAllah, AstaghfiruAllah
So every istighfar, is either a form of expiation,
or a form of elevation.
It is either a form of wiping out sins
or a form of increasing in your good.
And so istighfar is very prominent and very powerful.
And I also want to say something that
that I think is really important for us
when we buried a person.
The most desperate times in our own lives are
when our du'as are most sincere.
I'm talking about on an individual level.
Think about how desperate and how vulnerable that person is
now that they've gone to the grave,
and they're awaiting those angels to come ask them.
And this is going to be a very important moment for them.
And, and what happens afterwards is no less important.
And they can't make du'a for themselves.
They can't seek forgiveness for themselves.
They're depending on you to make those sincere
du'as for them.
SubhanAllah, I mean, so think about that role
and that responsibility that you have.
It's priority over mentioning the good things.
It's priority over you know,
saying that we're gonna to be okay.
Saying that everything is going to move on.
It's priority to make du'a for that person,
particularly to seek forgiveness for that person.
And so a few of these du'as,
the most famous one is from Awf ibn Malik radiAllahu
ta'ala Anhu
where he said that I heard the prophet
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam say,
at the occasion of the death of one of the companions
'Allahummaghfir lahu warhamhu wa 'afihi wa a'fu 'anhu
wa akrim nuzulahu wa wassi' madkhalahu waghsilhu bil-ma'i
wath-thalji wal-baradi wa naqqihi min al-khataya kama
ynaqqath-thawb al-abyad min ad-danas.
This is the dua that you're most likely to hear
when you go to the graveyard.
It is the most famous dua of the prophet
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasalam
and one that you can make in the Janazah
after the third Takbir,
and one that you can make at the graveyard
and one that you can continue to make afterwards,
especially in the immediate term after death.
Allahummaghfir lahu warhamhu
Oh Allah, forgive him or her, and have mercy on him.
wa 'afihi wa a'fu 'anhu
And grant them safety, and forgive them.
Pardon them once again.
wa akrim nuzulah
And honor the place that they are now settling.
Honor the place that they are now settling.
wa wassi' madkhalah
And expand the entrance.
waghsilhu bil-ma'i wath-thalji wal-barad
and wash them with water and snow and hail
wa naqqihi min al-khataya kama ynaqqath-thawb al-abyad
min ad-danas
and purify that person of sin.
The way that a white garment is purified of dirt.
In some of the other du'as of the prophet
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
you'll even see what is prominent in our own du'as
that you mentioned the mercy of
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
and invoke the mercy of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
which is something that has to be done in our du'as
to mention Allah's attributes.
And Subhanallah, one of the most powerful du'as
that I could think about there, and one of my favorite ones
at the occasion of death is where the prophet
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said
Allahuma abduka wabnu amatik
Oh Allah, this servant of yours
the son of a servant of yours
iHtaja ila rahmatik
is now in need of your mercy, is in need of your mercy.
Wa anta Ghaniyun 'an 'izabih
And you are not in need of punishing that person.
SubhanAllah look at the next part of the du'a
In kaana muhsinan fazid fi Hasanaatihi
wa in kana museeann fatajawaz 'anh
If that person was righteous,
was good as we assume of that person,
then increase them in their good.
And if that person was falling short,
then overlook their shortcomings.
Ya Rabbal 'Alameen
This is a beautiful and comprehensive and short du'a.
And the last one that I'll mention is one
that I actually mentioned in the Angel series
and talking about Abu Salamah raadiAllahu ta'ala Anhu
When the prophet sallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam closed his eyes,
and said that do not make du'a for anything
except that it will be beneficial
because the angels are going to say "Ameen"
to what you are going to say.
So be careful with the words that you are about to say.
Abu Salamah radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu
has passed away and the prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
said Allahumaghfirli Abi Salamah
First and foremost, oh Allah forgive Abu Salamah.
Warfa'u darajatahu fil mahdiyeen
It starts off with a du'a for his hereafter.
And elevate his ranks.
Warfa'u darajatahu fil mahdiyeen
elevate his ranks amongst those who are rightly guided.
And then he mentions, "wafsah lahu fi qabrihi"
and make his grave spacious.
"wa nauwir lahu fih"
and put light in his grave.
So it starts off with the hereafter,
then it goes to the barzakh
and then the prophet sallAllahu Alaihi wasallam says,
"Wakhlufu fi 'aqibahi fil ghabireen"
to take care of his descendants, to grant him succession
in his descendants who have been left behind.
So again, subhanallah, if you start to even break
down this hadith, there's a sequence that is present.
Making du'a, first and foremost,
for his ultimate destination, his ultimate destination.
Remember what a person is about to experience in the barzakh
is only a station of the ultimate destination, right?
So first and foremost, Warfa'u darajatahu fil mahdiyeen
raise his ranks amongst the rightly guided.
Then make his grave spacious and light it up.
Oh, Allah. Then take care of his descendants.
So, you know, the last thing that I'll mention here
when you're praying for your loved ones,
don't always stick to the script.
And what I mean by that is there's a sequence.
There are attributes of our du'a.
There is the hamd and the salawaat
that we have present, even in our Janazah,
the praise and the prayers on the prophet
salAllahu Alaihi wasallam
There's the starting off with forgiveness, but make
du'a from your heart in your own language
in a way that you would, if you were desperate yourself
as that person is desperate and in need of your du'as
especially in those initial moments.