Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Please could you tell me if it is permissible for a person to attend the funeral of a non Muslim parent? if you have maintained strong ties with your parents and have always had a good relationship with them, what is the best thing to do when they pass away, especially if you don’t want to sever ties with other family members?
Walaikum assalam,
Yes, you would be allowed to attend the funeral of a non-Muslim parent.
It is mentioned in al-Bahr al-Ra’iq, by Zain al-Din Ibn al-Nujaym, the great Egyptian Hanafi faqih’s 7 volume commentary (the 8th volume was authored by another scholar after the former’s death) on Imam al-Nasafi’s Kanz al-Daqa’iq,a commentary considered one of the very best in the school and used very extensively by Ibn Abidin in his works:
“And one may follow their [i.e. a kafir’s] funeral from afar…” (al-Bahr al-Ra’iq, 2.205, Dar al-Kitab al-Islami)
The very same is mentioned by Imam Kamal ibn al-Humam, the Hanafi mujtahid who was a teacher of al-Suyuti and others, in his Fath al-Qadir (2.132, Dar al-Fikr ed.)
Imam al-Kasani mentioned in his Bada’i` al-Sana’i`:
“If a non-Muslim close relative dies, there is nothing wrong with a Muslim to… follow his funeral and bury him, because children were… ordered to keep their company with excellence, for Allah Most High said, “Keep their company in this life with excellence,” and from righteousness is to wash him, bury him, and shroud him [f: if no non-Muslim is found to do so, and to follow his funeral in general].” [1.302-303, Ilmiyya ed.]
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani.