Does the deceased person see the one who washes and buries him?

The Answer

Dear Brother / Sister,

According to narrations from Imam Ahmad, Tabarani, Ibn Abi Dunya, Marwizi, and Ibn Manda, as well as Abu Said al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him),

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

"The deceased person recognizes the one who washes, carries, shrouds, and extends him/her in the grave."

According to what Abul-Hasan bin Barra narrates with a weak chain of narrators from Ibn Abbas,

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

"Every deceased person recognizes their washer. If he is promised Paradise, he will beg those carrying him to hasten, saying, 'Take me quickly.' If he is promised Hell, he will ask them not to hasten."

Ibn Abi Dunya narrated the following from Mujahid:

"When a person dies, an angel takes his spirit, and the deceased sees everything until he is placed in the grave: the one who washes and carries him, and everything else."

Abu Nuaym narrated the following from Amr bin Dinar:

"The spirit of every deceased person remains with the angel. He witnesses everything: how his body is washed, shrouded, and taken to the grave."

Ibn Abi Dunya narrated the following from Amr bin Dinar:

"Every deceased person knows what will happen to his family after him. While his family washes and shrouds him, the deceased person watches them."

Muslim and Bukhari narrated the following from Anas (ra): The Prophet (peace be upon him) stood beside the dead of Badr. He called out to them:

"O son of so-and-so! Have you found what your Lord promised you to be true? For I have found what my Lord promised me to be true."

When Umar asked, "O Messenger of Allah! How do you speak to lifeless bodies?" the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,  

"You do not hear more than them; however, they cannot respond to me."

According to what Abu Sheikh narrates from Abid bin Marzuq, in Medina, there was a woman who took care of the mosque; when she died, the Prophet (pbuh) was unaware. Passing by her grave, he asked, "Whose grave is this?"

They said, "It's Umm Mihjan's grave."

The Prophet (pbuh) asked, "The woman who took care of the mosque?"

- They said, Yes.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) immediately straightened the rows, led the funeral prayer and asked the deceased, "Which deed of you did you find better?" The companions asked, "Would she hear you, O Messenger of Allah?" the Prophet (pbuh) replied, "You do not hear more than she does."

According to what Bukhari and Muslim narrate from Abu Said al-Khudri (ra), the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

"When the dead body is placed in the coffin and carried towards the grave, if the person was righteous, he would say, 'Take me.' If not, he would say, 'Woe to me! Where are you taking me?' Everything except humans hears his voice. If people could hear it, they would die."

According to what Bukhari and Muslim narrate from Abu Hurayra (ra), the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

"Hurry with the funeral. If the deceased was righteous, you are taking him to goodness. If not, it is an evil to be dismissed."

See: Imam Jalaluddin as-Suyuti, Kabir Alemi, Kahraman Yayınları: 171-176.

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