Losing a loved one is one of the heaviest blows we can feel upon hearing their death. We still saw each other yesterday! In fact, we had a meeting today! Our minds race with emotions, grief, shock, and even confusion. As Muslims, one of the first responses we’re taught is to turn to Allah with a dua. To say the recommended dua for the deceased after hearing his death. But what exactly should we say?
In Islam, we are never left without guidance. Our Prophet ﷺ taught us a lot of Islamic Dua for the deceased at the very moment we hear that someone has passed away. Each dua for the deceased upon hearing his death serves as a means of seeking Allah’s mercy and forgiveness for the deceased, cleansing him from sins, and making him comfortable in the grave.
The most annoying and disappointing part is that most Muslims today don’t know any Islamic dua for the deceased at all, except the Western adopted phrases like “rest in peace” or “be in the blossom of the Lord”. No, we are Muslim and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has taught us everything we need to know in Islam, even the dua for the deceased after hearing his death. Let’s learn the dua below…
The first Dua for the deceased after hearing his death
This is the first Islamic dua for the deceased upon hearing his death that we are recommended we say.
Arabic: إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ
Transliteration: Inna Lillāhi wa Inna Ilayhi Rājiʿūn
English Translation: “Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed, to Him we shall return.”
This Dua is a direct command from Allah in the Qur’an that we should say upon being afflicted with anything. Reciting this dua for the deceased upon hearing his death is a declaration that we understand who owns our soul, Allah. The One who controls life and death. And the One to whom all of us will return. Saying this Islamic dua for the deceased doesn’t just bring comfort, but it also brings a reward.
To anyone who says this particular dua for the deceased upon hearing his death, will have the following reward from Allah, as He says..
“They are those on whom are the Salawat (blessings) from their Lord and [His] mercy. And it is they who are the rightly guided.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:157)
The second Dua for the deceased after hearing his death
This second Dua stands out as the most comprehensive and longer version of the first Islamic dua for the deceased we mentioned above. This is the same one the Prophet ﷺ taught Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها) when she lost her husband.
Arabic: “إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ، اللَّهُمَّ أْجُرْنِي فِي مُصِيبَتِي، وَاخْلُفْ لِي خَيْرًا مِنْهَا”
Transliteration: Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un. Allahumma ajurni fi musibati, wakhluf li khayran minha
English Translation: “Surely we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. O Allah, reward me in my affliction and give me something better in return” (Muslim)
Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها) later testified that Allah did indeed replace her loss with something better. Allah gave her another husband better than her husband. She got married to the Prophet ﷺ. (Sahih Muslim 918). It is a good Islamic dua for the deceased, recommended to say and ask Allah to replace the deceased’s loss with someone better.
This dua for the deceased after hearing his death is not only a prayer for the deceased only, but a reminder that everything, including our lives, our loved ones, and all that we possess, belongs to Allah. He gave, and He has the right to take back.
Another authentic Dua for the deceased upon hearing his death
When we hear the death of someone, our heart aches and we feel like doing something meaningful for them. One of the good things you can offer for the deceased as a Muslim is a sincere Islamic dua for the deceased. This particular dua for the deceased upon hearing his death is among the most complete, rich du’a found in the Sunnah, containing prayers that will benefit the death and us too.
Arabic: اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَهُ وَارْفَعْ دَرَجَتَهُ فِي الْمَهْدِيِّينَ، وَاخْلُفْهُ فِي عَقِبِهِ فِي الْغَابِرِينَ، وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلَهُ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَافْسَحْ لَهُ فِي قَبْرِهِ، وَنَوِّرْ لَهُ فِيهِ
Transliteration: Allāhumma-ghfir lahu warfa’ darajatahu fil-mahdiyyīn, wakhlufhu fī ‘aqibihi fil-ghābirīn, waghfir lanā wa lahu yā Rabbal-‘ālamīn, wafsah lahu fī qabrihi, wa nawwir lahu fīhi
English Translation: “O Allah, forgive him, raise his degree among those who are rightly guided, grant him a successor in his descendants who remain. Forgive us and him, O Lord of the Universe, and make his grave spacious, and grant him light in it.” (Sahih Muslim 920a)
The above dua for the deceased upon hearing his death is the one that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did for Abu Salama when he died. Abu Salama’s eyes were fixedly open. He closed them, and then said: When the soul is taken away, the sight follows it. Some of the people in his family wept and wailed. So the Prophet ﷺ said…
Do not supplicate for yourselves anything but good, for angels say” Amen” to what you say. He then recited the above dua for the deceased after hearing his death. Other duas we can do for the deceased are the recommended dua during Janazah.
This world is like a dream, when death comes, the sleeper awakens to the true reality. The wise are those who prepare before that awakening. There’s an adage in the Yoruba culture which says, “Death that is killing those that are close to us, is indirectly telling us to keep preparing for our own too”.
As Muslims, when we hear the news of the death of our fellow Muslim, the best thing to do is to respond firstly with a sincere dua for the deceased after hearing his death. This is a beautiful Sunnah and a means of asking Allah’s forgiveness and mercy over the deceased.
We ask Allah to forgive our deceased ones, grant them the highest ranks in Jannah, and make our own ending righteous too. May Allah grant us all a good ending, forgive our shortcomings, and reunite us with our loved ones in Jannah. May He reunite us all in the company of the Prophets, the truthful, and the martyrs. Aameen.
