Question

Asalamualaikum Sheikh How should muslim react to those who we are unsure or there are dispute if they died muslim or not example are akbar the great of mughal empire and napoleon bonaparte. Should we view them as muslims or do janazah for them

Answer

Generally if a person passes away and people are unsure whether they passed away as a Muslim or not, then they should look out for signs that indicate the faith of that person. If they find some indication that the individual was a Muslim then they should consider them a Muslim and perform the janazah salat. If however, there is no indication, then one will look at the location in which they passed away. If they passed away in Muslim land then janazah prayer will be performed over them. If they passed away in non-Muslim lands and there were no other indications of them being Muslim then janazah prayer will not be performed for them.

As for individuals who have already passed away and have been buried, one can no longer perform janazah prayer over them. As for what to consider them, unless there is credible information which informs us of their belief there isn’t much we can do. If they were Muslim, they will be included in general du’as we make such as “O Allah, forgive all the Muslims that have passed away”, etc.

الدر المختار وحاشية ابن عابدين (رد المحتار) (2/ 200)
لو لم يدر أمسلم أم كافر، ولا علامة فإن في دارنا غسل وصلي عليه وإلا لا

قوله فإن في دارنا إلخ) أفاد بذكر التفصيل في المكان بعد انتفاء العلامة أن العلامة مقدمة وعند فقدها يعتبر المكان في الصحيح لأنه يحصل به غلبة الظن كما في النهر عن البدائع. وفيها أن علامة المسلمين أربعة الختان والخضاب ولبس السواد وحلق العانة اهـ قلت: في زماننا لبس السواد لم يبق علامة للمسلمين

Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow

Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel