How to Pray Janazah Prayer: Step by Step with Duas

How to Pray Janazah Prayer: Step by Step with Duas

The Janazah prayer, or Salat al Janazah, is the last service a Muslim can offer to a brother or sister who has passed away. Every family will need it one day, often suddenly, and many people stand in the rows unsure of what to recite. Unlike regular Salah, the Janazah prayer has no ruku or sujood; it is prayed standing, with four takbirs. In this guide you will learn how to pray the Janazah prayer step by step, with the authentic duas for the deceased, in Arabic with their meanings.

The Ruling and Reward of the Janazah Prayer

The Janazah prayer is fard kifayah, a collective obligation: if some Muslims perform it, the rest are relieved of the duty, but if no one performs it, the whole community is sinful.

Its reward is immense. The Messenger of Allah, Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ, said: whoever attends the funeral until the prayer is offered will have one qirat of reward, and whoever stays until the burial will have two qirats. He was asked what two qirats are, and he said: like two great mountains (Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith 1325; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 945).

How to Pray the Janazah Prayer Step by Step

This is the method commonly followed in the Hanafi school, with notes on other schools.

Step 1: Intention

Stand facing the qiblah behind the imam and make the intention in your heart: “I am praying the Janazah prayer for Allah, and a dua for this deceased, following this imam.”

Step 2: First Takbir

Raise your hands and say “Allahu Akbar”, then fold your hands. Recite the Thana:

سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ، وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ، وَتَعَالَىٰ جَدُّكَ، وَجَلَّ ثَنَاؤُكَ، وَلَا إِلَٰهَ غَيْرُكَ

In the Shafi’i and Hanbali schools, Surah Al Fatihah is recited after the first takbir instead. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) recited it in a funeral prayer and said: so that you know it is a Sunnah (Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith 1335).

Step 3: Second Takbir

Say “Allahu Akbar” (in the Hanafi school, without raising the hands) and recite Durood Ibrahim, the same durood recited in every prayer.

Step 4: Third Takbir

Say “Allahu Akbar” and make dua for the deceased. The duas are given below.

Step 5: Fourth Takbir and Salam

Say “Allahu Akbar”, then end the prayer with salam to the right and to the left: “As salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah”.

Dua for an Adult (Man or Woman)

This comprehensive dua is narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) (Jami at Tirmidhi, Hadith 1024; Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 3201):

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِحَيِّنَا وَمَيِّتِنَا، وَشَاهِدِنَا وَغَائِبِنَا، وَصَغِيرِنَا وَكَبِيرِنَا، وَذَكَرِنَا وَأُنْثَانَا، اللَّهُمَّ مَنْ أَحْيَيْتَهُ مِنَّا فَأَحْيِهِ عَلَى الْإِسْلَامِ، وَمَنْ تَوَفَّيْتَهُ مِنَّا فَتَوَفَّهُ عَلَى الْإِيمَانِ

Meaning: O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, those present and those absent, our young and our old, our men and our women. O Allah, whoever of us You keep alive, keep him alive upon Islam, and whoever of us You take, take him upon faith.

Another beautiful dua, narrated by Awf ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 963):

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَهُ وَارْحَمْهُ، وَعَافِهِ وَاعْفُ عَنْهُ، وَأَكْرِمْ نُزُلَهُ، وَوَسِّعْ مُدْخَلَهُ، وَاغْسِلْهُ بِالْمَاءِ وَالثَّلْجِ وَالْبَرَدِ، وَنَقِّهِ مِنَ الْخَطَايَا كَمَا نَقَّيْتَ الثَّوْبَ الْأَبْيَضَ مِنَ الدَّنَسِ، وَأَبْدِلْهُ دَارًا خَيْرًا مِنْ دَارِهِ، وَأَهْلًا خَيْرًا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ، وَأَدْخِلْهُ الْجَنَّةَ، وَأَعِذْهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ وَمِنْ عَذَابِ النَّارِ

Meaning: O Allah, forgive him and have mercy on him, give him wellbeing and pardon him, honour his arrival and widen his entrance. Wash him with water, snow and hail, and cleanse him of sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. Give him a home better than his home and a family better than his family. Admit him into Paradise and protect him from the punishment of the grave and the punishment of the Fire.

For a woman, the pronouns change from “hu” to “ha” (for example, “ighfir laha warhamha”).

Dua for a Child

For a boy, the following dua is commonly recited in the Hanafi school, and a similar dua is reported from Hasan al Basri in Sahih al Bukhari:

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْهُ لَنَا فَرَطًا، وَاجْعَلْهُ لَنَا أَجْرًا وَذُخْرًا، وَاجْعَلْهُ لَنَا شَافِعًا وَمُشَفَّعًا

Meaning: O Allah, make him one who goes ahead of us to prepare for us, make him a reward and a treasure for us, and make him an intercessor for us whose intercession is accepted.

For a girl:

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْهَا لَنَا فَرَطًا، وَاجْعَلْهَا لَنَا أَجْرًا وَذُخْرًا، وَاجْعَلْهَا لَنَا شَافِعَةً وَمُشَفَّعَةً

If You Do Not Know the Duas

If you have not memorised these duas, do not stay away from the Janazah prayer. You may make any sincere dua for the deceased in the third takbir, such as “Allahummaghfir lahu warhamhu” (O Allah, forgive him and have mercy on him), until you learn the full duas.

Other Points to Know

• No ruku or sujood: the whole prayer is performed standing.
• Rows: it is recommended to form rows behind the imam, and many scholars prefer an odd number of rows.
• Women: women may join the Janazah prayer. Following the funeral procession to the graveyard is discouraged for women, as Umm Atiyyah said that women were discouraged from following funerals, though it was not made strictly forbidden (Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith 1278).
• Funeral prayer in absence: the Prophet prayed the funeral prayer for the Negus (Najashi) in his absence (Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith 1245). The Shafi’i and Hanbali schools allow praying for an absent deceased, while the Hanafi and Maliki schools generally do not.

A Final Word

The Janazah prayer is a final gift of love to someone who has left this world, and a powerful reminder of the journey we all will take. Learn its steps and duas now, so that when the moment comes, you can stand in the rows with full understanding, praying sincerely for your brother or sister, and earning a reward as large as mountains.