offering the funeral Salah at the deceased and his burial

[ابوالوليد المسلم]

offering the funeral Salah at the deceased and his burial

‘Abdullah bin Hamoud al-Furaih


offering the funeral Salah at the deceased and his burial



vA short description of the prayer upon the deceased

Where does the Imam stand in relation to the deceased during the Janaza prayer?
The Sunnah is that the Imam stands at the head of the man and at the middle of a woman.
Proof to that:
A. The Hadith of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): I prayed for the funeral of a man with Anas ibn Malik that he stood parallel to his head. Then they came with the body of a woman from the Quraish. They said: 'O Abu Hamzah perform the prayer for her.' So he stood parallel to her waist. Al-Ala ibn Ziyad said to him: 'Is this how you saw the Messenger of Allah standing in the place for the funeral as you did for her, and for a place that you stood for the man?' He said: 'Yes.'".[1]


B. The Hadith of Samrah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: "I offered the funeral prayer behind the Prophet (peace be upon him) for a woman who had died during childbirth and he stood up by the middle of the coffin".[2]


Sheikh Ibn Baaz (may Allah be pleased with him) said about the Hadith of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): "his chain of narration has a good chain of narration and it is an argument that is established on (could have) discrepancy.”[3]


Meaning: discrepancy between men and women; the child who follows (prays) stands at the head of a man and the female servant stands at the middle of a woman.


• Four Takbeer (saying “Allahu Akbar” –Allah is the Greatest) are given. He reads after it in the first (Takbeer) (Surat) Al Fatiha after seeking refuge (from Shaytan) and saying Bismillah.


Proof to the ordained four Takbeer:
The Hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: "The Prophet (peace be upon him) informed his companions about the death of An-Najashi and then he went ahead (to lead the prayer) and the people lined up behind him in rows and he said four Takbeer.[4] Also narrated was the Hadith of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) in the two Sahih[5]. These four Takbeer are obligatory by the consensus of the Imams.


• Then he seeks refuge (of Allah from Shaytan), says Bismillah and silently recites Al Fatiha.
Proof to that:
A. The Hadith of Abu Umamah Sahl (may Allah be pleased with her) who said: "the Sunnah in the Janaza prayer: to humbly read in the first Takbeer the mother of the Qur'an, then make three Takbeer and make Salaam at the end".[6]


B. The Hadith of Talha ibn Abdullah (peace be upon him) who said: "I offered the funeral prayer behind Ibn `Abbas and he recited Al-Fatiha and said, "You should know that it (i.e. recitation of Al-Fatiha) is the tradition of the Prophet (peace be upon him) Muhammad When he finished I took him by his hand and asked him (about the prayer) so he said it is a Sunnah and a right". [7] Meaning of "Sunnah" i.e.: a way taken from the Prophet (peace be upon him). That does not mean that it is preferred but he wanted to teach that to those after him.


• Then he makes the second Takbeer and prays upon the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Ibn Hubaira (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the consensus of the ruling of the prayer upon the Prophet (peace be upon him) after the second Takbeer.[8]


• Then he makes Takbeer a third time and prays for the deceased.
Ibn Hubaira (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the consensus on that.[9]


• It is important to be sincere with supplications for the deceased.
Proof to that: the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "When you pray over the dead, make a sincere supplication for him"[10] In this (proof), Mohammed ibn Ishaq regards it Mudallis (a fabricated Hadith) and it is doubtful but it does no harm because from another point of view, it is declared in the narration of Hadith with Ibn Hibban.


What is meant by sincerity in supplication for him: to supplicate specifically for the deceased because the purpose of the prayer is to benefit this deceased (person) with supplication. Sincerity in supplication for him is also is to supplicate for him with a conscious heart: because it is a situation where it is hoped that the supplication would be accepted.

Note: it is preferred to take care of the pronouns during the supplications. If there were two (or more) deceased in front of him then it is said: "Oh Allah forgive them..." If there is a woman in front of him he says: “Oh Allah forgive her…” If there is a man in front of him he says: “Oh Allah forgive him…” and so on.


• Then he makes the fourth Takbeer and makes Salaam on his right side once.
Ibn Hubaira (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the consensus of the fourth Takbeer and the Salaam after it is once on the right. [11]
The Sunnah for whoever prays at a Janaza is to raise his hands at each Takbeer.


Firstly: Takeer Al Ihram (starting).
Raising the hands during Takbeer Al Ihram has been agreed upon in its ruling.
Ibn Al Munthir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "the people of knowledge have gathered that the one who is praying at the Janaza raises their hands with the first Takbeer". [12]


Secondly: The remaining Takbeer
Of two opinions: the Hanbali and Shafi'i: it is ordained to raise the hands according to them and with the Hanafi. Maliki: it is not preferred.
What is clear, and Allah knows best: the ruling of raising (the hands) with each Takbeer.


Proof to that:
A. The Hadith of Ibn Omar (may Allah be pleased with them) that the Prophet (peace be upon him): "Used to raise his hands with every Takbeer. If he finished he said Salaam". Narrated by Al Darqatani in his I’lal.[13] It was raised by Omar ibn Shibba and he is trustworthy. Al Darqatani and Ibn Hibban[14] authenticised him, but it contradicts the authenticity of the chain of narrators who narrated before.


The narration was authenticated by Sheikh Ibn Baz (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: “What is clear: to not refer to this ila (weak Hadith) because the Omar mentioned was trustworthy so raising the Hadith is acceptable because that is a level above trustworthy. It is accepted among the scholars of Hadith.[15]


B. It is authentic of Ibn Omar (may Allah be pleased with them): "The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to raise his hands with every Takbeer at a Janaza"[16]. This action has clear proof because of what is known about Ibn Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) about his strict following of the Sunnah. (Something) like this does not come by intellect and Ibn Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) did not do it except that it was done by the Prophet (peace be upon him).


C. The raising of hands came with each Takbeer regarding all of the companions such as Ibn Abbas, Anas ibn Malik and Zaid ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with them)[17] and all of the first generation of followers such as Ataa, Omar ibn Abdul Aziz, Al Zuhri, Sa`id ibn Al Museeb and A'rwa ibn Al Zubair (may Allah be pleased with them).[18]


• Benefit: our Sheikh Ibn Al Uthaimeen (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "the order between the pillars of the Janaza prayer is obligatory. It starts with Al Fatiha, then the prayer upon the Prophet (peace be upon him) and then supplication as one cannot come before the other. Likewise completing the four Takbeer. If he completes the Salaam twice then he completes (the prayer) from near and repeats for the far.[19]


• After that you are carried at the necks of people to be placed in a pit where the sun will set.

[1] Narrated by Ahmad number (13114). Narrated by Abu Dawud number (3194). Narrated by At-Tirmidhy number (1034). Narrated by Ibn Majah number (1494). It is said that it is an authentic Hadith.

[2] Narrated byAl Bukhari number (1331). Narrated by Muslim number (964)

[3] Look at: his reference to Al Fatah (4/201)

[4] Narrated by Al Bukhari number (1318). Narrated by Muslim number (941)

[5] Narrated by Al Bukhari number (3879). Narrated by Muslim number (952)

[6] Narrated by An-Nasa'y number (1990). Al Nawawi authenticated it in (Al Khalasa 2/975) and in (Al Majmu’ 5/233). He said: “An-Nasa'y narrated it with a good chain of narrations based on the condition of two Sheikhs. This Abu Umamah was a companion (of the Prophet PBUH). The Hafiz Ibn Hajar authenticated him in (Al Fatah 3/204).

[7] Narrated by Al Bukhari number (1335). In the words of An-Nasa'y number (1989)

[8] Look at: Al Ifsah (1/190)

[9] Look at: Al Ifsah (1/190)

[10] Narrated by Abu Dawud number (3199)

[11] Look at: Al Ifsah (1/190)

[12] Look at: Al Ijma' (page 46)

[13] Look at: Nasb Al Raya (2/285)

[14] Look at: Al Thiqat (8/446)

[15] Look at: the connection with Fatah Al Bari (3/190). Look at: Fatawa Ibn Baz (13 /148)

[16] Narrated by Al Bukhari, referring to his Sahih: the Sunnah of the Janaza prayer number 56. Ibn Abu Shaiba connected to it (2/491), Abdul Razzaq (3/470) and Al Baihaqi (4/44)

[17] Look at: Musnaf bin Abu Shaiba (3/296) and Sunan of Al Baihaqi (4/44)

[18] Look at: Jami’ At-Tirmidhy (3/388), Musnaf Ibn Abu Shaiba (3/296), Sunan Al Baihaqi (4/44) and Fatawa Ibn Baz (13/148)

[19] Look at: Al Mumti' (5/342)