Q142 :In some Muslim netmunities, when someone is
very sick or dying, people sit beside him and read some verses from the
Qur’an. Does this benefit the sick or dying person? May I also ask
whether crying loudly near a deceased person is bad for him [the
deceased]? A scholar in my netmunity says it must be avoided. Please
netment.
A142 : When someone is felt to be dying, it is
renetmended that his relatives or friends or other people sit nearby
and read the Qur’an, particularly surah 36, entitled Ya’Seen. He or she
should be prompted [ not coerced, lest some ungrateful words are
uttered] to say the sentence “La Ilaha Ila Allah”, which means “there
is no deity save Allah”. If he says it once, we should not urge him to
say it again, unless he says something else, then we try to make him
say that sentence again, so that it is the last thing he says in his
life. Reading the Qur’an helps the dying person by reminding him of
Allah and the hereafter. If he is conscious and can understand what is
being read, he finds it easier to go through the difficulty he is
facing. If he says the declaration of the Oneness of Allah as the last
thing he says in his life, then he has a great chance to find that his
sins are forgiven. It is strongly discouraged to cry loudly or wail
for a dying person. Needless to say, the dead person is not responsible
for what others do to express their grief. In other words, if his women
relatives wail after they realize that he has died, he is not punished
for what they do. It is they who bear the responsibility for their
action. Having said that, I must add that it is very important that a
Muslim accepts what Allah has willed with resignation and submission.
People are certainly grieved by the death of their close relatives, but
their grief can be expressed in silent crying, praising Allah and
declaring submission to his will, supplicating for the deceased to be
forgiven, praying that he is admitted into heaven. Wailing is not the
mark of submission to Allah’s will. If anything, it is more of a
protest and a Muslim does not protest against Allah’s will.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )