Surah 9. Al-Tawba, Ayah 84

I.e., unless he has repented before his death. It is reported that when the life-long opponent of the Prophet and leader of the hypocrites of Medina,'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy was dying, he sent his son to the Prophet with the request that the latter give him his (the Prophet's) shirt, so that he might be buried in it, and that the Prophet should pray over him after his death. The Prophet took this request as a sign of Ibn Ubayy's repentance, and gave him his shirt and later led the funeral prayers over his body. When 'Umar ibn al-Khattab vehemently protested against this clemency towards the man whom all the believers had regarded as "God's enemy", the Prophet answered, "God has granted me a choice in this matter [a reference to verse {80} of this surah, "whether thou dost pray that they be forgiven or dost not pray...", etc.], and so I shall pray [for him] more than seventy times." Several variants of this Tradition are to be found in Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i, Ibn Hanbal. on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas; Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Ibn 'Umar; Muslim, on the authority of Jabir ibn'Abd Allah; and in various other hadith compilations. Since 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy died some time after the Prophet's return from Tabuk, while verse {84} - like most of this surah - was revealed during the campaign, it is clear that the prohibition expressed in this verse relates only (as the sequence shows) to those who "were bent on denying God and His Apostle, and [who] died in this their iniquity" - that is, to unrepentant sinners.

Lit., "while they were iniquitous".

On the death of a Muslim, it is the pious duty of every neighbouring Muslim who can, to assist in the simple funeral ceremonies,-the prayer for mercy before the body is consigned to the grave, and the consignment of the body to the grave, by a simple, solemn, and dignified ritual. For those who have shown hostility to Islam, this would not be seemly and is forbidden.