saying: "Whoever has as his final speech (56) at the time of death [I bear witness that] (57) there is no god but Allah, alone, without partner, it will demolish what preceded it of errors and sins, so instruct your dying ones to say it." It was said: O Messenger of Allah, how is it for the living? He said: "It is more demolishing and more demolishing" (58). Ahmad said: And they should recite near the dying person when he is present, so that he may be alleviated by the recitation; he recites {Ya-Sin}, and he commanded the recitation of the Fatiha of the Book. Sa'id narrated, 'Hadathana Faraj ibn Fadala from Asad ibn Wada'a, who said (59): When death approached Ghudayf ibn Harith, his brothers were present with him. He said: Is there anyone among you who can recite Surah {Ya-Sin}? A man from the people said: Yes. He said: Recite, and chant it clearly, and keep silent. He recited, chanted it clearly, and let the people hear. When he reached: {So exalted is He in whose hand is the dominion of all things, and to Him you will be returned} (60), his soul departed. Asad ibn Wada'a said: Whoever among you is present with a dying person, and death is difficult for him, let him recite Surah {Ya-Sin} in his presence, for death will be alleviated for him.

330 - Issue; Abu al-Qasim said: (And when death is certain, he is to be turned towards the Qibla, his eyes are to be closed, his jaws are to be bound so that his chin does not slacken, and a mirror or something else is to be placed on his abdomen so that his abdomen does not swell.)

His saying: "When death is certain" (1) may imply that he meant the approach of death, because turning towards the Qibla is recommended to be done before death. 'Ata', al-Nakha'i, Malik, the people of Medina, al-Awza'i, the people of the Levant, and Ishaq considered it recommended. Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib disapproved of it; for when they wanted to turn him towards the Qibla, he said: What is the matter with you? They said: We are turning you towards the Qibla. He said: Have I not been upon the Qibla until this day of mine? The first [opinion] is more appropriate, because Hudhayfah said: "Turn me [towards the Qibla]." And because their action regarding Sa'id is proof that it was well-known among them, as all Muslims do it with their dying ones, and because the best of gatherings are those that face the Qibla. It is also possible that al-Khiraqi intended the certainty of the occurrence of death, because all that he mentioned is only done after death, such as closing the eyes of the deceased, for it is Sunnah immediately after death, as it was narrated from Umm Salamah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entered upon Abu Salamah when his eyes had fixed in his gaze (2), so he closed them, then said: "When the soul is taken, the eyesight follows it." The people of his family wailed, so he said: "Do not supplicate against yourselves except for good, for the angels say 'Amin' to what you say." Then he said: "O Allah, forgive Abu Salamah, raise his degree among the guided and the close ones, succeed him in his offspring among the survivors, forgive us and him, O Lord of the Worlds, make his grave spacious for him (3), and illuminate it for him." Narrated by Muslim (4). Shaddad ibn Aws narrated, he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "When you are present with your dying ones, close their eyes, for the eyesight follows the soul, and say good things, for 'Amin' is said to what the family of the deceased says." Narrated by Ahmad, in Al-Musnad (5). It is narrated that 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to his son when death approached him: "Come close to me, and when you see that my soul has reached my uvula, place your right palm on my forehead, and your left under my chin, and close my eyes."