Talks for the grieving
Talks by scholars and teachers, chosen for families facing a death. Watch them here or on the speaker’s own site.
Each talk is the speaker’s own. Our guides are separate, and every ruling in them links to its source. Nothing loads from YouTube until you press Play.
Most of these talks are from For Those Left Behind, a 15-part series by Omar Suleiman for Yaqeen Institute (2021). Talks by other speakers are named on their cards.
- Plays here, on this page
- Opens the speaker’s own site
- Audio, on the speaker’s site
When you are grieving
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Episode 15
How do I move on?
For Those Left Behind · 5 min
On carrying grief and going on living after a loss.
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How Islam addresses grief
Dr. Altaf Husain · ISNA Convention 2019 · Yaqeen Institute · 16 min
Grief seen through the Prophet’s ﷺ tears at the death of his son Ibrāhīm.
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On grief and patience
Nouman Ali Khan · Bayyinah Institute · khutbah, 2017
Prophet Yaʿqūb’s grief for Yūsuf, and why grief is not impatience.
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Coping with grief and loss in the Muslim community
The Khalil Center · with NYC’s Office of Community Mental Health · 2022
The emotional side of grief, from a Muslim mental-health service.
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Questions about the one who died
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Episode 5
Where are they?
For Those Left Behind · 10 min
Where the soul is after death.
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Episode 6
Are they with each other now?
For Those Left Behind · 12 min
Whether those who have died meet one another.
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Episode 7
Do they hear me when I visit?
For Those Left Behind · 8 min
Visiting the grave, and whether the dead hear.
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Episode 8
Do they know what’s happening to me?
For Those Left Behind · 7 min
Whether the dead know what happens to their families.
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Episode 9
What if I dream about them?
For Those Left Behind · 10 min
Dreams of someone who has died.
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Episode 10
Are they considered shahīd?
For Those Left Behind · 8 min
Which deaths the sources count as martyrdom.
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For deeper study
Can the dead hear?
Yasir Qadhi · The Life in the Barzakh, episode 7 · 1 hr 3 min
A longer class on the same question, for those who want the detail.
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What you can do for them
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Episode 3
The best duʿāʾs for them
For Those Left Behind · 9 min
Duʿāʾs to make for the one who has died.
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Episode 4
The best deeds on their behalf
For Those Left Behind · 15 min
Charity and good deeds done for the one who has died.
The janazah and the burial
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Episode 1
The janazah prayer
For Those Left Behind · 9 min
The funeral prayer, step by step.
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Episode 14
Women praying janazah and visiting graves
For Those Left Behind · 7 min
Who may pray the janazah and visit graves, and where scholars differ.
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Demonstration
How to wash the dead (ghusl)
Mufti Abdur-Rahman Mangera and Maulana Zakkaria Sayed · ZamZam Academy · 44 min
A practical demonstration of the washing.
Particular losses
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Episode 11
Losing a child
For Those Left Behind · 9 min
For parents who have lost a child.
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Episode 12
Condolences (the ʿazāʾ)
For Those Left Behind · 9 min
How to console a family, and what to avoid.
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Episode 13
The widow and the ʿiddah
For Those Left Behind · 10 min
The widow’s waiting period and mourning.
Know a talk that helped your family? Tell us. Talks are chosen for families, not for scholarly debate; when a talk touches a ruling, the sourced guides give each school’s view.