The Creed of Compassion-Islamic Teachings & Answering Doctrinal Misconceptions

Issue No.595- The prayer of Fear can be offered at any time on the first night after the burial of the dead body, but it is better to perform it in the early hours of the night after ‘ishā’ prayer.

Issue No.596- If the burial of a dead body is delayed owing to some reason, the Prayer of Fear should be deferred until the first night of its burial.

Issue No.599- Exhumation is not haram in the following cases:1- When the dead body has been buried in a usurped land and the owner of the land is not willing to let it remain there. Also when the shroud or any other thing buried with it is usurped and the owner does not allow this. Similarly, if anything belonging to the heirs (e.g., rings or valuable ornaments) has been buried along with the deceased and they do not agree to it, or agree but its being in the grave is regarded as waste, it should be brought out. However, if the dead person had made a will that, for example, a certain supplication or a ring be buried along with his dead body, the grave cannot be dug up to bring those objects out provided that his will does not exceed one-third of his estate or it is not considered as waste.2- When it is necessary to inspect the body of the dead person in order to establish a right.3- When the dead body of a Muslim has been buried in a place which is disrespectful to it, like if it has been buried in the graveyard of non-Muslims or in a dunghill.4- When it is for a legal purpose [according to the Islamic sharia] which is more important than exhumation. For example, when they want to bring out a living child from the womb of a buried woman (Obviously, the child may stay alive for a short while after the death of its mother).5- When it is feared that a wild animal will tear up the corpse or it will be exhumed by the enemy.6- When a part of the body of the dead person has not been buried with it and they want to bury it. However, the obligatory precaution is to bury that part in a way that the body is not revealed.

Issue No.603- As it was said earlier, it is obligatory to give bathe and shroud the dead body of a Muslim. However, two groups are exception to this rule:The first group: “The Martyrs in the way of Allah” i.e. those who have been killed in a battlefield in a holy war for the cause of Islam while accompanying the Prophet (pbuh) or the Infallible Imam (a.s.) or his special deputy. Also those who are killed while fighting the enemies of Islam during the occultation of Imam Mahdi, the Imam of Time (may our souls be sacrificed for him), bathing, shrouding and embalmment are not obligatory, irrespective of whether those who are killed are men or women, adult or child; they should be buried with their same dresses on after offering prayers for them.

Issue No.607- The second group: those people whose killing has become obligatory as retaliation or as an Islamic legal punishment. Thus, the Islamic judge orders them to perform ghusl of dead body by themselves when they are alive. They will perform three ghusls as per the instructions mentioned earlier. Then they wear two of the three parts of the shroud, i.e., the loincloth and the shirt. Then they camphorate themselves in the same manner as it is done on a dead body. After they are killed, the third piece is pulled over them whereupon the prayer for the dead individual is offered on them and they are buried in the same condition. It is not necessary to wash off the blood from their bodies or their shrouds. And it is not necessary to repeat the ghusl even if they have made themselves najis because of fear.

Issue No.621- If in the prayer time a person has water sufficient only for wuḍū or for ghusl, and he knows that if he throws it away he will not be able to get water again, it is haram to do so, and the obligatory precaution is that he should not throw it away even before the time for prayer sets in. Similarly, if it is reasonably likely that he would not get water, if he throws it away, he should keep the water, as an obligatory precaution. In all these circumstances, if he throws the water away, his prayer with tayammum will be correct yet one in such cases should not throw the water away.

Issue No.626- If a person has eye soreness and water is harmful for him, if it is possible to wash the eye’s surroundings, he must perform wuḍū, otherwise, he should perform tayammum.

Issue No.627- If someone performs tayammum because he is sure water will be harmful for him, but realises before prayer that it is not harmful, his tayammum is void, and if he has offered prayer with it, he should offer the prayer again, as an obligatory precaution. However, if he was sure that water was not harmful for him and performed wuḍū or ghusl, and then found out that water was harmful, his wuḍū is valid.

Issue No.629- If besides ṭāhir water, one also has enough najis water to fulfil his drinking need, he still cannot drink the najis water. Instead, he should leave the ṭāhir water for drinking and perform tayammum for prayer. However, there is no problem in giving the najis water to animals.

Issue No.630-If the body or clothes of a person are najis and he possesses only enough water to perform wuḍū or ghusl, he should make his body or clothes ṭāhir and offer his prayer after performing tayammum. However, if he does not possess anything on which tayammum is valid, he should use the water for ghusl or wuḍū and perform his prayer with a najis body or clothes.

Issue No.631- If a person has usurped water or the container containing it is usurped, or made of gold or silver, and he has no other water or container, he should perform tayammum instead of wuḍū or ghusl.

Issue No.633- If a person intentionally delays offering the prayer so much that no time is left for ghusl or wuḍū, he has committed a sin, but the prayer offered by him with tayammum will be valid, although the recommended precaution is to perform qaḍā of the prayer.