Is it essential to be present at the moment a person dies, and what should those who are present do?
Question When my father was dying in hospital I was with him all the time. But in moment od death I couldn’t be with him.I left his hospital-room and I’ve never came back.I couldn’t see him.Why ? maybe I was scared.Now couple years after that I feel gilty, every day more and more.I said myself…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
If you are present at the death of one of your parents or
relatives, or others, then it is Sunnah for those who are present to remind
him to say the Shahaadah. When he has died and his soul has departed, they
should close his eyes, because when the soul departs the gaze follows it. At
that point it is not permissible to panic and wail and so on.
If a person is unable to stay with the one who is dying,
because he is afraid and is not used to seeing such things, there is no sin
on him, but he should try to get used to such things because it will help
him spiritually. It may be an individual obligation (fard ‘ayn) upon
a person if there is no one else available, in which case he will be sinning
if he does not do it.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Kareem al-Khudayr.
If there is no one else available to close the eyes of the
dead Muslim, then cover him, then wash and shroud him, apart from one
Muslim, then it becomes obligatory for him to stay with his deceased brother
in order to fulfil the obligations towards him. But if there are Muslims
available who can do these things, the other Muslims are absolved of
responsibility.
It is prescribed for those who are present when a Muslim is
dying to recite Soorah Yaa-Seen for him, for that makes it easier for the
soul to depart and makes the dying person more steadfast, as it did in the
case of some of the Sahaabah to whom it was read.
After the person has died and his soul has departed, it is
not prescribed to read Qur’aan over him; rather it is prescribed to make
du’aa’ for him and pray for forgiveness and mercy for him and for him to be made steadfast when being questioned in the grave.
And Allaah knows best.
