A true story from a mosque in Yemen — and everyone who heard it burst into laughter.
Sheikh Abu Imad narrates:
A man passed away in our neighborhood, and after the funeral, the bier used to carry him was left outside the mosque overnight. Around 3:30 a.m., someone came to pray but found the mosque locked. It was freezing, so when he saw the bier covered with a blanket, he climbed inside, took the mattress, and fell asleep inside the bier.
Half an hour later, the mosque caretaker arrived, saw the bier, and assumed a body had been brought for a funeral prayer. When people came for Fajr, they helped place the bier near the mihrab, and everyone lined up for prayer, half-asleep.
In the second rak‘ah, the bier suddenly began to move. Shock spread through the rows as the man inside woke up, lifted the cover, and calmly asked:
“Did you already pray?!”
Chaos exploded. People ran out barefoot, someone fell into the ablution pool, some hit the wall in panic, and the imam even fainted. The mosque emptied in seconds.
Even the man from the bier ran outside with them, shouting, “What happened? Is it the Day of Judgment?”
And when people saw him running behind them, they sprinted even faster.
He kept yelling, “Why didn’t you wake me for Fajr?!” without realizing he was the reason everyone fled.