Ibn Majah

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
يَغْبِطُهُمْ:
If it is from the triliteral root (thulathi mujarrad), then the meaning will be that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) considered performing the prayer on time as good. And if it is from the augmented triliteral (thulathi mazeed fihi), then the meaning will be: he regarded their action as worthy of envy.

Benefits and Issues:
If the regular imam (imam ratib) is delayed for some reason and his arrival is not known, then another person can be appointed to lead the prayer in his place. Since one rak‘ah of the Fajr prayer had already been performed, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) did not move forward to lead the prayer, and he forbade al-Mughirah (radi Allahu anhu) from pulling ‘Abdur-Rahman (radi Allahu anhu) back. And since Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) had just begun the prayer, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) moved forward through the rows and led the prayer when Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) stepped back.

Explanation:
1:
Najashi was the title of the king of Abyssinia, just as the title of the king of Rome was Caesar and the title of the king of Persia was Kisra. Najashi’s personal name was Ashamah ibn Abjar. It was during the reign of this king that the Muslims migrated from Mecca to Abyssinia. At the end of 6 AH or in Muharram of 7 AH, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam invited Najashi to accept Islam through Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri. Najashi kissed the blessed letter, placed it upon his eyes, descended from his royal throne, and accepted Islam at the hand of Ja’far ibn Abi Talib radi Allahu anhu. He wrote all these details to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. After the Battle of Tabuk, in the month of Rajab, 9 AH, he passed away.

2:
Some people have deduced from this the permissibility of the absentee funeral prayer (salat al-janazah ghā’iban). Regarding the absentee funeral prayer, the appropriate position is that if the funeral prayer has not been performed for the deceased, then it should be performed; and if it has already been performed, then the communal obligation (fard kifayah) has been fulfilled on behalf of the Muslims—except in the case of a respected and righteous personality, in which case it is better to perform it. This is the view of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, and Ibn Qayyim rahimahullah. The absentee funeral prayer for ordinary Muslims is not established from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, nor is it the practice of the Ummah.

1948. Commentary: The intention of the Imam is that performing the funeral prayer (janazah) is a communal obligation (fard kifayah), meaning that every (Muslim) deceased must have a funeral prayer performed for them—whether a few people perform it or many—otherwise, all will be sinful. From this hadith, by implication, the permissibility of the absentee funeral prayer (janazah ghā’ib) is also established. Imam Shafi’i and Imam Ahmad rahimahullah are of this opinion, whereas the Hanafi and Maliki scholars do not hold this view. The correct position is that performing the absentee funeral prayer is permissible, and the aforementioned hadith is its evidence.

1977. Commentary: "Just as it is done for the deceased"—that is, forming rows in the funeral prayer is a well-known and undisputed matter. Moreover, the use of the word "prayer" (salah) for the funeral indicates that, apart from the specific rulings of the funeral prayer, all the general rulings of prayer apply to it as well, such as: facing the qiblah, performing ablution (wudu), straightening the rows, reciting al-Fatihah, and so on.