« Inna lillahih wa inna ilayhi raaji uun » is an expression often heard when a Muslim passes away. What does it mean? At what moment should this formula, whose value is not always fully understood, be pronounced? That is what we will see here.
Meaning of inna lillahi wa inna ilahi raaji uun
The circumstances of life are many, but not only happy ones. The Muslim knows that he was created for a life of struggle by the Creator of all things, but certain unavoidable passages, such as the loss of our loved ones, are difficult to bear. Except through the remembrance of our origin and our purpose on Earth: We were created from clay by the One who holds the Kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth, and it is in His worship that we spend our fleeting stay among our fellow beings, before meeting Him whether we want to or not, whether we have prepared for His Encounter or not; it is to Him that we shall all return on the Day of Resurrection.
It is in remembering that our loved ones are trusts that the Lord may take back at any moment that those who fear Him find comfort. So what does this expression mean?
Translation into English: To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return.
This phrase full of meaning contains far more than mere condolences pronounced to comfort the family of the deceased. It is also in the Holy Quran that the verse containing the formula is found, and Allah mentions to us by whom it is meant to be pronounced and, of course, in His All-Encompassing Mercy He gives us its merits in the following verses.
Surah Al-Baqara (The Cow) verses 155, 156, 157
155 Most certainly, We will test you with a bit of fear, hunger, and loss of wealth, lives, and fruits. And give good tidings to those who are patient,
156 who say, when a misfortune strikes them: « Indeed we belong to Allah, and it is to Him that we shall return.
157 Those receive blessings from their Lord, as well as mercy; and those are the well-guided.
Pronunciation and spellings of inna lilahi wa inna ilayhi rajioun
There are several ways to transcribe this Islamic expression and all of them, as long as they do not hinder the meaning of the words, have the same value. It can thus be written as « inna lilahi wa inna ilayhi rajiun » as well as « inna liLlahi wa inna ilayhi raaji uun ».
What is important to remember is the meaning of the formula and the occasions on which to pronounce it.
What are the moments to pronounce inna lillahi wa ilayhi raaji uun?
Death, the loss of a loved one, is felt as a misfortune among all the misfortunes that humans encounter on earth. Allah clearly mentioned it in the Holy Quran among the trials that the faithful must face during their life.
Imam Ibn Kathir in his exegesis explains the verse cited above: « God informs His Servants that He tests them sometimes with happiness, sometimes with the misfortune of fear or hunger, as He shows in this verse: (God then made its inhabitants taste the severity of hunger and fear) Quran XVI, 112. For upon both the frightened and the hungry, the traces of fear and hunger appear on them. This verse refers to a little fear, hunger, slight losses of wealth, of souls such as the death of loved ones, friends and beloved ones, of crops, then He gives the good news to those who are patient ». (page 213-214 Tafsir Ibn Kathir).
The definition of a trial is summed up in what our Lord described in His Sacred Word and what the scholars deduced from it. For the believer, it is at once an expiation and a purification of sins for every painful affliction.
According to Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: « Allah raises the rank of the believer and removes a sin from him every time a thorn pricks him or he suffers a harder affliction ».
This is why the Muslim hastens to say inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raajiuun when a person in his circle dies, but also during a serious problem that affects him such as a divorce, an accident, a discord, a fire or, may Allah preserve us from all the serious evils of this Earth, during a natural disaster.
What is expected of the believer is endurance. Remembering that he will meet Allah allows him to control himself in his emotions but also in his behavior.
The invocation to say after inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji uun
According to Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), the Prophet (may the prayer of Allah and His peace be upon him) said: « There is no servant who is struck by a misfortune and says: - Indeed we belong to Allah and indeed it is to Him that we shall return. O Allah! Reward me for this misfortune and replace it for me with something better - without Allah rewarding him for his misfortune and replacing it for him with something better ».
Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: When Abu Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) died, I said the thing the Prophet (may the prayer of Allah and His peace be upon him) ordered me to say, and Allah replaced him for me with someone better than him, with the Prophet (may the prayer of Allah and His peace be upon him).
Reported by Muslim
The effects and merits of saying inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raaji uun
Allah cites the merits of patience for the Muslim man and woman in the face of misfortune in the verses of Surah Al-Baqara: the blessings of their Lord and a mercy;
Learning to put this divine recommendation into practice during affliction moves the servant from the state of the enduring to that of the well-guided, and what a goal for every believer to reach this level of excellence, of servitude and self-control in the search for the Face of the Most High. It is to recognize death as being part of our destiny and to hope for Paradise through our gratitude towards Allah, even in times of mourning.
May Allah grant it to us all and may He fill with a beautiful patience our brothers and sisters who throughout the world suffer trial after trial.