Episode 1 - The Janazah You entered this world with the call to prayer (adhan) being recited over you, but without any prayer (alah). When you depart from this world, there will be a prayer read over you, but there will be no call to prayer. The contrast between these two epic events has much significance. It is as if to say that the fleeting life which you experience in this world is as short as the duration between the call to prayer and the prayer itself. While you were still inside the womb of your mother, an angel was appointed to register the duration of your life and the exact date of your death. This paradoxically implies that the moment you enter this world, you are actually already in one sense on your way to exit from it. All of these stark realities constitute a powerful reminder that we should consistently perform our prayers before we are prayed upon. This is because this life is far shorter than we may initially think.

Upon their death, every Muslim is entitled to have the funeral prayer (alah al-janazah) performed upon them by their fellow believers. Not only is it a religious act of worship, but it is also a way to bid farewell to our loved ones. Furthermore, it constitutes a sobering reminder that we too will one day follow them on the same path. The wise person is the one who always visualises the fateful day when the funeral prayer is offered over their dead body, and allows that thought to shape their life trajectory. The Prophet taught us how to perform the funeral prayer in elaborate detail. The prayer is unique in both its form and order, as it consists of four successive takbirs. After the first takbir we are required to recite Surah al-Fatiah. After the second, one should send prayers (alawat) upon the Prophet , preferably through a full reading of the al-alah al-Ibrahimiyyah, which we are already accustomed to reciting during our regular prayers.

After finishing it, one then reads the third takbir, which should be followed with a dua'' for the deceased. There are a number of confirmed supplications which have all been transmitted from the Prophet . Among them is the following: "O Allah, forgive our living ones, deceased ones, present ones, absent ones, our little youngsters, elderly folk, our males, and our females. O Allah, whoever You have decreed to live amongst us, then let them live upon Islam. And whoever You decree to die, then have them die with full faith." We make this dua'' for the deceased - which was taught to us by the Prophet - in a sincere and heartfelt manner during this short and special prayer. After the fourth takbir, you should make dua'' for yourself and all members of the Ummah. If you wish, you may also further supplicate for the deceased.

Some of the scholars have recommended the following supplication at this point: "O Allah, do not deprive us of his reward, and do not allow us to go astray after him.".