كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ
"Every soul will taste death." — Qur'an 3:185. Four takbirs, no ruku', no sujud — and a mountain of mercy for the one who has left us.
Janazah is fardh kifayah — a duty on the community, lifted once some fulfil it. It is not for the dead alone: the Prophet ﷺ said, "When you pray over the deceased, make your du'a for him sincere." We stand, we remember Allah, we ask forgiveness for our brother or sister, and we are reminded that our own turn is coming.
— Sunan Abi Dawud 3199
No adhan, no iqamah, no bowing, no prostration. You stand, you say four takbirs, and between them you recite, send salawat and make du'a. That is the whole salah.
Make niyyah to pray Janazah behind the imam, raise the hands, say Allahu Akbar, then recite Surah al-Fatihah. Ibn 'Abbas recited it aloud so the people would know it is Sunnah — Sahih al-Bukhari 1335.
Say Allahu Akbar (hands not raised again), then send salawat on the Prophet ﷺ — the same Salatul-Ibrahimiyyah you recite in tashahhud.
Say Allahu Akbar, then make du'a for the one who has passed. This is the heart of the prayer — see the du'as below for a man, a woman and a child.
Say Allahu Akbar, pause briefly with a short du'a, then give salam once, turning your face to the right: as-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah. One salam is what the Sunnah reports — al-Bayhaqi, graded hasan.
4 takbirs, all standing
no ruku' · no sujud · about 3-5 minutes
1 salam to the right, and the prayer is complete
Choose one. The pronoun changes with the deceased — masculine for a man, feminine for a woman, and a special du'a for a child.
For a man
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَهُ وَارْحَمْهُ وَعَافِهِ وَاعْفُ عَنْهُ وَأَكْرِمْ نُزُلَهُ وَوَسِّعْ مُدْخَلَهُ وَاغْسِلْهُ بِالْمَاءِ وَالثَّلْجِ وَالْبَرَدِ وَنَقِّهِ مِنَ الْخَطَايَا كَمَا نَقَّيْتَ الثَّوْبَ الْأَبْيَضَ مِنَ الدَّنَسِ
Allahummaghfir lahu warhamhu, wa 'afihi wa'fu 'anhu, wa akrim nuzulahu, wa wassi' mudkhalahu, waghsilhu bil-ma'i wath-thalji wal-barad, wa naqqihi minal-khataya kama naqqaytath-thawbal-abyada minad-danas
"O Allah, forgive him and have mercy on him, grant him well-being and pardon him, honour his reception and make his entrance wide, wash him with water and snow and hail, and cleanse him of sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt."
— Sahih Muslim 963 (the du'a of 'Awf ibn Malik)
For a woman
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَهَا وَارْحَمْهَا وَعَافِهَا وَاعْفُ عَنْهَا وَأَكْرِمْ نُزُلَهَا وَوَسِّعْ مُدْخَلَهَا وَاغْسِلْهَا بِالْمَاءِ وَالثَّلْجِ وَالْبَرَدِ وَنَقِّهَا مِنَ الْخَطَايَا كَمَا نَقَّيْتَ الثَّوْبَ الْأَبْيَضَ مِنَ الدَّنَسِ
Allahummaghfir laha warhamha, wa 'afiha wa'fu 'anha, wa akrim nuzulaha, wa wassi' mudkhalaha, waghsilha bil-ma'i wath-thalji wal-barad, wa naqqiha minal-khataya kama naqqaytath-thawbal-abyada minad-danas
The same du'a with the feminine pronouns — "forgive her, have mercy on her, honour her reception…"
— Sahih Muslim 963, in the feminine form
For a child
اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْهُ فَرَطًا لِأَبَوَيْهِ وَسَلَفًا وَذُخْرًا وَعِظَةً وَاعْتِبَارًا وَشَفِيعًا وَثَقِّلْ بِهِ مَوَازِينَهُمَا وَأَفْرِغِ الصَّبْرَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمَا وَلَا تَفْتِنْهُمَا بَعْدَهُ وَلَا تَحْرِمْهُمَا أَجْرَهُ
Allahummaj'alhu faratan li-abawayhi, wa salafan wa dhukhran, wa 'izatan wa i'tibaran, wa shafi'an, wa thaqqil bihi mawazinahuma, wa afrighis-sabra 'ala qulubihima, wa la taftinhuma ba'dahu, wa la tahrimhuma ajrahu
"O Allah, make him a forerunner for his parents, a reward stored up, a lesson and a reminder, and an intercessor. Make his scales heavy, pour patience into their hearts, do not trial them after him, and do not deprive them of his reward."
— al-Bukhari, al-Adab al-Mufrad 274, graded sahih by al-Albani
At the head of a man, and at the middle of a woman. The Prophet ﷺ did both, and the sahabah followed him.
— Sunan Abi Dawud 3194, Sunan at-Tirmidhi 1034
"Whoever prays the Janazah and does not go with it has one qirat, and whoever prays and follows until the burial has two qirats." Asked how large, he ﷺ said: "Like two great mountains."
— Sahih Muslim 945
Stay a moment and make du'a at the grave: "Ask Allah to forgive your brother and make him firm — he is being questioned now." Then go and comfort the family, and feed them.
— Sunan Abi Dawud 3221
Every step, every du'a and every pronoun change on this page comes from the wording of the hadith in Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud and al-Adab al-Mufrad. The order of the four takbirs is agreed upon by the scholars. Where they differ — one salam or two, hands raised or not — both positions are respected, and your masjid's imam will guide you.
Death comes fast. Save this page now, keep the number of your local imam close, and remember the three things the family needs: ghusl and kafan, the Janazah prayer, and people who sit with them. If you can only do one, do the last.
Open the Du'as for the BereavedRead it once while it is calm, and you will know what to do when it is not.
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