Funeral reading
Salat al-Janazah — the Islamic funeral prayer
Traditional
“Salat al-Janazah — the Islamic funeral prayer” by Traditional is a prayer read at a funeral or memorial service. It takes about 5 minutes read aloud, usually by the officiant. It is still in copyright, so the words are not reprinted here — the reader brings a printed copy.
Why the words are not printed here
Not ours to set out. The funeral prayer is led by a Muslim, ordinarily an imam, and the rites around it — the washing, the shrouding, the burial timing — are the community’s. Contact the family’s mosque or an Islamic funeral service first; they will take the service.
Pieces still in copyright are listed by title and author only — we name them and tell you where to get them, but we do not reproduce the words. Public-domain text is printed in your script in full.
What it is about
Led by an imam. Your job here is to put the family in touch, not to lead.
Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: Janazah · Islamic burial · an imam leads · defer.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Salat al-Janazah — the Islamic funeral prayer” take to read aloud?
“Salat al-Janazah — the Islamic funeral prayer” takes about 5 minutes read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “Salat al-Janazah — the Islamic funeral prayer”?
Usually the officiant rather than a guest reader. “Salat al-Janazah — the Islamic funeral prayer” runs about 5 minutes, which sits inside the part of the service the officiant is already leading, and keeping it there means it is carried by the person who has rehearsed it.
Can “Salat al-Janazah — the Islamic funeral prayer” be printed in a ceremony script?
Not by us. It is still in copyright, so we name it and point you at a copy rather than reprinting the words. Not ours to set out. The funeral prayer is led by a Muslim, ordinarily an imam, and the rites around it — the washing, the shrouding, the burial timing — are the community’s. Contact the family’s mosque or an Islamic funeral service first; they will take the service.
Can a friend or family member lead “Salat al-Janazah — the Islamic funeral prayer”?
A lay non-Muslim officiant does not lead this. If the family are Muslim and want the Islamic rites, your role is to help them reach a mosque or an Islamic funeral service, not to build a service around it. You may still be asked to speak at a separate gathering afterwards.
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the life, the remembrances, the committal — and knowing what comes next. Answer some questions about them and get the whole service, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- El Malei Rachamima minute and a halfTraditional memorial prayer
- Mourner's Kaddisha minute and a halfTraditional, Aramaic
- The Lord's Prayer40 secondsMatthew 6, King James Bible
- Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace50 secondsAttributed to St Francis of Assisi
- Words of Committal (Book of Common Prayer, 1662) — short form20 secondsBook of Common Prayer
- In the Midst of Life (Book of Common Prayer, 1662)30 secondsBook of Common Prayer