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Fiqh-us-Sunnah - 4.53
Hadith 4.53.1
Offering Funeral Prayer in a Mosque
There is no harm in offering funeral prayer in a mosque, if there is no danger of it becoming unclean. This is based on a narration of Muslim from 'Aishah who said: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, offered a funeral prayer for Suhail ibn Baida in the mosque, and the Companions likewise offered funeral prayer for Abu Bakr and 'Umar in the mosque, and no one objected to it, because the funeral prayer is similar to other (formal) prayer. ' Abu Hanifah and Malik do not approve of it, citing a hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him, to the effect that whoever offers a funeral prayer in the mosque would have nothing (i .e. no reward) . This statement not only contradicts the practice of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his Companions, but is also a weak hadith due to other reasons. Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: "This is a weak hadith, and is reported through a single transmitter, Salih, the freed slave of Al-Tawamah, and he is an unreliable narrator. Some scholars, however, hold that this hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him, is sound, and the words, reported by Abu Daw'ud, "Whoever offers a funeral prayer in a mosque would have nothing," mean such a person would not incur any burden (of sin). Ibn AlQayyim said: 'It was not the usual practice of the Prophet, peace be upon him, to offer a funeral prayer in the mosque. Rather he would usually offer funeral prayers outside the mosque except when for some reason he had to offer it in the mosque. In certain cases he did offer funeral prayer in the mosque, as in the case of Ibn Baida, which shows that funeral prayer may be offered either inside or outside the mosque, but to do so outside the mosque is preferable."
Hadith 4.53.A
Funeral Prayer in the Graveyard
A majority of jurists disapprove of offering funeral prayer in a graveyard. This is the view of 'Ali, Abd-Allah ibn 'Amr, and Ibn 'Abbas, and also of 'Ata, An-Nakh'i, Ash-Shafi'i, Ishaq, and Ibn Al- Mundhir, and they cite the Prophet's hadith: "The entire earth is a mosque except for a graveyard and a bathroom."
In a report from Ahmad it is said: "There is no harm in offering a funeral prayer (as distinct from formal salah) in a graveyard as the Prophet, peace be upon him, himself offered a funeral prayer over a deceased while he was buried in his grave. Abu Hurairah also offered a funeral prayer over the grave of 'Aishah in the middle of the cemetery of Al-Baqi', which was attended by Ibn 'Umar.
And 'Umar ibn Abd al-'Aziz did likewise."
Hadith 4.53.B
Women are Permitted to Offer Funeral Prayers
A woman, like a man, may offer a funeral prayer, singly or in a congregation. In fact, once when Umm 'Abdallah offered funeral prayer for 'Utbah, 'Umar waited until she finished. 'Aishah ordered the body of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas to be brought to her so that she could offer a funeral prayer over him.
An-Nawawi said: "Women may offer (funeral) prayer in congregation just as they are permitted to perform other sunnah prayers. Al-Hasan ibn Saleh, Sufiyan Al-Thawri, Ahmad, and the Hanafi school also hold the same view.
Malik, however, is of the opinion that women should offer the funeral prayer individually.
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