As death approaches
What to do for a Muslim who is dying: facing the qiblah, helping them say the kalimah, and reciting Surah Ya-Sin.
When someone we love is dying, there are a few gentle things we can do for them. None of these need to be hard or complicated: they are simple, kind acts to help the person at the hardest moment of their life.
What to do for someone who is dying
- If you can, lay them on their back with their face turned towards the qiblah, the direction of the Kaaba.If moving them would hurt or upset them, it is fine to leave them exactly as they are.
- Say the kalimah, 'Lā ilāha illa'llāh' (there is no god but Allah), out loud near them, gently, so they can say it too if they are able.Even if they cannot speak, it is believed that hearing it reaches the heart.
- Recite Surah Ya-Sin near their head. It is a recommended practice that is believed to make this difficult moment easier for them.
A few recommended practices are observed for a Muslim who is close to death (qareeb al-mawt). None of them are complicated, and none should be forced on a dying person: they are acts of gentleness at a difficult time.
It is recommended to lay the dying person on their back, turning their face towards the qiblah. If this causes difficulty or distress, they should simply be left in whatever position they are in.
A loved one should recite the kalimah aloud near the dying person, to help them say it too. If they can no longer speak, it is believed to still reach and affect the heart. They should not be pressured to repeat it, and should not be asked about worldly matters at this time.
It is a recommended practice to recite Surah Ya-Sin at the head of a dying person, to ease the hardship of death for them.
The manual sets out three mustaḥabb practices around the moment of death (qareeb al-mawt): orienting the dying person towards the qiblah, talqīn of the kalimah, and the recitation of Sūrat Yā-Sīn. None is stated as farḍ or wājib; all three are recommended, and the first is explicitly conditioned on there being no hardship in carrying it out.
It is recommended to lay the dying person on their back with the face turned towards the qiblah. If this causes difficulty, they are left in whatever position they are already in; the facing is not pursued at the cost of the dying person's comfort.
Talqīn, a loved one reciting the kalimah aloud during the agony of death (naz') so the dying person may repeat it, is recommended. Where speech is no longer possible, the recitation is held to still affect the heart. The text is explicit that the dying person should not be pressured to recite, nor questioned about worldly affairs at this time.
Reciting Sūrat Yā-Sīn at the head of the dying person is a recommended practice, understood to ease the hardship (takhfīf) of the pangs of death.
Related
- Immediately after death The first practical things to do for the body right after death, before the ghusl: positioning, closing the eyes, and what to avoid.
- Washing the body (ghusl of the deceased) Who washes the body, the method used, and the water and materials, the full sunnah way of giving ghusl to a deceased Muslim.
- Miscellaneous rules of death and burial Seeing the deceased's face, a spouse's rights, handling a non-Muslim relative's body, visiting graves, and how long mourning lasts.
- The grave and burial How a grave is dug and shaped, how the body is lowered facing the qiblah, who may enter the grave, and what is said while filling it.