Majlis: Can u offer a dua for a friend who died and was just buried in holy Makkah - same cemetery as Khadijah?

Scholars present: Imam al-Ghazālī, Ibn Taymiyyah

You: Can u offer a dua for a friend who died and was just buried in holy Makkah - same cemetery as Khadijah?

🕌 Imam al-Ghazālī: Bismillāh. My dear student, your friend has been granted a most luminous ending, resting in al-Muʿallā alongside our Mother Khadījah (may Allah be pleased with her). This is a sign of ḥusn al-khātimah (a good end), yet do not let this comfort keep you from the essential duʿā’. The outward proximity to the righteous is a blessing, but the inward state depends on Allah’s raḥmah (mercy).

Let us pray:

Allāhumma, forgive him and have mercy upon him. Expand his grave and illuminate it with the light of maʿrifah (gnosis). O Allah, he is now Your guest, and You are the most Generous of hosts. As You have buried his body near the beloved of Your Prophet ﷺ, bury his soul in the company of the Siddīqīn (truthful).

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah, surely you would agree that while the land is holy, it is the īmān (faith) within the heart that truly elevates the soul. Let us ask Allah to grant this deceased firm speech (al-qawl al-thābit) during the questioning of the grave.

⚔️ Ibn Taymiyyah: —

Ibn Taymiyyah:

You speak truly regarding the īmān of the heart, Imam al-Ghazālī. As the Salaf taught, it is not the land that sanctifies the man, but his deeds (al-ʿamal). Yet, to die in the Ḥaram and be buried near the companions of the Prophet ﷺ is a great favor from Allāh.

My student, know that the Sunnah teaches us to be firm and direct. When the Prophet ﷺ buried a companion, he would stand and say: “Ask for forgiveness for your brother and ask for steadfastness for him, for he is being questioned now.”

O Allāh, forgive him and grant him mercy (Allāhumma-ghfir lahu warḥamhu). Make his grave a garden from the gardens of Paradise and do not make it a pit from the pits of Fire. O Allāh, grant him ath-thabāt (steadfastness) when the angels ask him. He has returned to the city where the Revelation began; O Allāh, let his record be righted by Your Grace. We do not sanctify anyone above Allāh, but we hope for the best for the believers.

From The Majlis on Sirah