Source: Extracted from Hudiyyat al-Muslimīn – Namāz ke Aham Masāʾil maʿ Maqmal Namāz al-Nabawiyyah ﷺ by Shaykh Zubair ʿAlī Zai رحمه الله
Evidence from the Ḥadīth
From Ṭalḥah bin ʿAbdullāh bin ʿAwf who said:
“I prayed behind ʿAbdullāh bin ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) over a funeral, and he recited Sūrat al-Fātiḥah (and a Sūrah) aloud and said: ‘I recited aloud so that you may know that it is Sunnah (and Ḥaqq)’.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1/178, Ḥadīth 1335]
- The first parenthetical statement in the translation is from al-Nasā’ī (1/281, Ḥadīth 1989).
- The second is from Muntaqā Ibn al-Jārūd (p. 188, Ḥadīth 534, 536).
- The last parenthetical phrase is from al-Nasā’ī and Ibn al-Jārūd.
Important Points Derived from the Ḥadīth
① Recitation of al-Fātiḥah in Funeral Prayer is Legislated
- This is supported by the general ḥadīth: “There is no prayer for the one who does not recite Sūrat al-Fātiḥah.” [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 756]
② Commonly practiced opening supplication — Subḥānaka Allāhumma wa bihamdika… wa jalla thanā’uka — and the commonly recited ṣalawāt form: Raḥmat wa Tarḥamat have no basis in Qur’ān and Sunnah.
③ If a Companion says “min al-sunnah” (from the Sunnah), it refers to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
- See Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2/785, Ḥadīth 5213; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1/472, Ḥadīth 461, etc.
- In Qafw al-Athar fī Ṣafw ʿUlūm al-Athar (p. 94), Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ḥanafī stated:
“As for the saying of a Companion ‘from the Sunnah’ — whether referring to a statement or an action — it is considered marfūʿ (attributed to the Prophet ﷺ) according to the majority, and this is the view of most of our early scholars and the choice of the author of Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ among the later scholars.”
④ Recitation in Funeral Prayer can be done aloud, as is apparent from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Sunan al-Nasā’ī, and it can also be done silently, as in the ḥadīth of Abū Umāmah (رضي الله عنه).
⑤ Raising of the hands (Rafʿ al-Yadayn) in the takbīrs of the funeral prayer is established from ʿAbdullāh bin ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) and others.
[Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 3/296, Ḥadīth 11380]
⑥ The ḥadīth of Abū Umāmah (رضي الله عنه):
“The Sunnah in the funeral prayer is that you say the takbīr, then recite the Mother of the Qur’ān (Sūrat al-Fātiḥah), then send ṣalawāt upon the Prophet ﷺ, then devote the duʿā’ specifically for the deceased, and you do not recite except in the first takbīr; then you give salām to yourself towards your right.”
[Muntaqā Ibn al-Jārūd p. 189, Ḥadīth 540; Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 3/488–489, Ḥadīth 6428]
- Its chain is ṣaḥīḥ. [Irwā’ al-Ghalīl: vol. 3, p. 181]
Summary of the Correct Method of Ṣalāt al-Janāzah
- First Takbīr: Raise hands and recite Sūrat al-Fātiḥah.
- Second Takbīr: Send ṣalawāt upon the Prophet ﷺ using the same form as in regular prayer (al-ṣalāt al-Ibrāhīmiyyah).
- Third Takbīr: Make duʿā’ specifically for the deceased.
- Fourth Takbīr: Pause briefly, then give salām to the right.
Note:
- Only the duʿā’ and ṣalawāt proven from the Prophet ﷺ should be used; self-constructed forms like Raḥmat wa Tarḥamat are not established.
- It is not authentically proven that funeral prayer without Sūrat al-Fātiḥah was ever performed by the Prophet ﷺ or his Companions.
