Aslam

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Chapter X: Remembrance of Death

He said, O Prophet of God, who will wash you? He said : The close relations of my family and the more close of them. He said : With what coffin will you be shrouded? He said : With this garment of mine which I am wearing, with the gown of Yemen and with the white cloth of Egypt. He asked : how shall we pray your Janaza? We then wept and he also wept. Then he said : Stop, may God forgive you and may He grant you good from your Prophet. When you will wash me fully and clothe me with coffin and place me on my bier in my room which will be the top portion of my grave, then go away for sometime from me, because the first who will recite Darud on me, will be the Almighty and His angels. Then He will order the angels to pray for me. He who will come first to pray Janaza on me among the creation of God will be Gebrail, then Michael, then Israfil and then the angel of death with his numerous hordes and then all the angels. Then you will pray in batches. Don'ts inflict trouble on me by raising waitings and cries. One of you will be Imam, then the near ones of my family and then the boys will stand. He asked: Who will put you into your grave? He said : The nearest ones of my family with many angels whom you will not see but who will see you. Now rise and go away from me . Convey my message to the people after me on my behalf.

Abdullah-bin-Jama'a said : On the first Rabiul Awal, Bilal sought permission as to who will lead prayer. He said to him : Tell Abu Bakr to lead the prayer for the people. I came out and saw nobody except Omar. I said : O Omar, rise up and lead the prayer. Then Omar rose up and as soon as he uttered Takbir, the Prophet asked : Where is Abu Bakr? God and the Muslims will not agree. He said thrice : Tell Abu Bakr to lead the prayer. Hazrat Ayesha said : O Messenger of God, Abu Bakr is softhearted. When he will stand in your place, his tears will not stop. The Prophet said : You are the companion of Joseph. Tell Abu Bakr to lead the prayer. After Omar had prayed, Abu Bakr led the prayer.

Then Hazrat Omar told Abdullah-bin-Jama'a: Woe to you! What treatment have you meted out to me? By God, I thought that the Messenger of God ordered you to ask me to lead the prayer. Abdullah said : I found nobody better than you for this affair. Hazrat Ayesha said : The reason why I raised objection on behalf of Abu Bakr is that he is a man who raised objection on

398 DEATH AND SUBSEQUENT EVENTS Vol-IV

behalf of Abu Bakr is that he is a man who renunciated the world and there is a great upheaval and turmoil in administration but he is safe whom God saves. 1 feared that during the life time of the Prophet the masses won't like that somebody should lead the prayer except what God wills otherwise. If Abu Bakr would lead the prayer, they would deny him and rise up against him and speak ill of him. If God wills, He will save him in this world and in the affairs of religion.

Source: Imam Al-Ghazali, Ihya Ulum al-Din (Revival of the Islamic Sciences)
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