Loud Dhikr with a Funeral Procession: Analysis of 2 Weak Narrations
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 1, Kitāb al-Janā’iz, Page 521
❖ Question
Is there any Sharʿī evidence or practice from the Ṣaḥābah regarding loud dhikr behind a funeral procession? Are there any authentic or weak narrations on this matter? Please provide an evidence-based explanation to help clarify the issue for people.
This should also be published in the al-Ḥadīth magazine.
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
✦ Ruling on Loud Dhikr Behind Janāzah
Raising one’s voice in dhikr while walking behind a funeral procession is not proven from the Prophet ﷺ or the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn.
❖ ① First Fabricated Narration
📖 A narration mentions:
“When the Prophet ﷺ would walk with the funeral, nothing was heard from him except ‘Lā ilāha illallāh’.”
📚 Al-Kāmil fī Ḍuʿafāʾ by Ibn ʿAdī 1/269, 4/1207–1208; Naṣb al-Rāyah 3/293; Jāʾ al-Ḥaqq by Muftī Aḥmad Yār Naʿīmī (Old print) Vol. 3, p. 404
Chain Analysis:
This narration contains the narrator Ibrāhīm ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm, also known as Ibn Abī Ḥumayd al-Ḥarrānī al-Ḍarīr, who was a known liar.
✔ Scholars said:
“كَانَ يَضَعُ الْحَدِيث” – “He used to fabricate ḥadīths.”
📚 Al-Kāmil by Ibn ʿAdī 1/269; Lisān al-Mīzān 1/28
✅ Conclusion:
The chain is fabricated (موضوع) and completely unreliable.
❖ ② Second Fabricated Narration
📖 Another narration states:
“Say ‘Lā ilāha illallāh’ abundantly during the funeral procession.”
📚 Al-Daylamī 1/32; Referenced in Silsilat al-Ḍaʿīfah wa al-Mawḍūʿah by al-Albānī, Vol. 6, p. 414, Ḥadīth 2881
Chain Analysis:
This narration contains the following unknown narrators:
✖ ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Wahb
✖ Yaḥyā ibn Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ
✖ Khālid ibn Muslim al-Qurashī
✅ Conclusion:
The chain is fabricated (موضوع) and without foundation.
❖ Summary & Sharʿī Position
✔ There is no authentic evidence for raising one’s voice in dhikr during a funeral procession.
✔ On the contrary, the Sunnah established from the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions indicates silence and contemplation during such occasions.
✘ It is impermissible to act upon fabricated or weak narrations in matters of worship and ritual.
❖ Closing Note
“Wa mā ʿalaynā illa al-balāgh”
(Our duty is only to convey)
🗓 12 Rajab 1426 AH
📚 Published in: al-Ḥadīth Magazine, Issue 18
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
