Section : Funeral Prayer, its Legal Status. There is a consensus among all the great Muslim jurists that a funeral prayer for a deceased person is a collective obligation or fard kifayah. The Prophet, peace be upon him, commanded the…
Section : Reward for Offering Funeral Prayer. Abu Hurairah narrates that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “Whoever follows a funeral procession and offers the prayer for the deceased, will get one kerat 68 of reward. And whoever follows…
Section : Requisite Conditions for Funeral Prayer. The prerequisites for a funeral prayer are the same as for the obligatory prayers. Anyone intending to offer funeral prayer must be in a state of purity, be free from all minor and…
Section : Main Requirements of the Funeral Prayer. Certain requirements must be met for a valid funeral prayer, and failure to meet any of these may invalidate the prayer. These requirements are given below: 1. Intention The real intention is…
Section : Raising of One’s Hands During the Takbirs. It is sunnah to raise one’s hands while uttering the first takbir. There is nothing related from the Prophet, peace be upon him, to show that he raised his hands in…
Section : Reciting “Al-Fatihah” and Salutations to the Prophet. (Abu Hanifah and Malik regard these as two essential requisites of funeral prayer) Ash-Shafi’i has in his Musnad narrated from Abu Umamah ibn Sahl that one of the Companions of the…
Section : Invoking Blessings Upon Allah’s Prophet. Prayer for peace and blessings upon the Prophet, peace be upon him, may be said in any form. If someone were to say: “O Allah, bless Muhammad,” it should suffice. It is better,…
Section : Supplication for the Deceased. This is a basic element of funeral prayer according to the consensus of juristic opinion. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “When you offer a funeral prayer for a deceased person, pray sincerely…
Section : Timing of Supplications. Ash-Shawkani said: There are no fixed times for these prayers. One may use any of these after all the takbirs, or after the first or second or third takbir, or divide it between each two…
Section : Supplications after the fourth takbir. It is preferred to supplicate for the deceased after the fourth takbir, even though the supplicant rnay have done so after the third takbir. This is based on a narration by Ahmad on…
Section : Salutations. All jurists with the exception of Abu Hanifah are in agreement that the two salutations (saying assalamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullah), one to the right and the other to the left, are obligatory. Abu Hanifah, however is of…
Section : Summary for Funeral Prayer. 1. Make sure that you meet all the requirements for a formal prayer (salah); 2. Stand up with the intention of supplicating for the deceased; 3. Raise both hands with a takbir (takbirat al…
Section : Imam’s Position in Funeral Prayer for a Male or a Female. It is sunnah for the imam to stand opposite the head of a male body, and opposite the middle of a female body. This is based on…
Section : Funeral Prayer for a Number of Dead Persons. If there are a number of bodies, including both male and female, they should be placed in separate rows, between the imam and the direction of the Ka’abah, with the…
Section : Three Rows for a Funeral Prayer are Commended. It is recommended that the people should make three rows (The minimum number of people for a row is two persons) while offering a funeral prayer, and that these rows…