Permission to Walk in Front of or Behind the Funeral
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❖ It is Permissible to Walk Either in Front of or Behind the Funeral
Islam allows flexibility in walking either in front of, behind, or alongside the funeral procession. This practice is established through multiple authentic narrations.
◈ Prophetic and Companion Practices:
➊ It is narrated from Anas رضي الله عنه:
أن رسول الله وأبا بكر وعمر كانوا يمشون أمام الجنازة وخلفها
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Abū Bakr, and ʿUmar used to walk in front of the funeral at times, and behind it at times.”
📚 [Ṣaḥīḥ: Ahkām al-Janā’iz: p. 95, Ibn Mājah: 1483; Kitāb Mā Jāʾa fī al-Janā’iz: Bāb Mā Jāʾa fī al-Mashyi Amāma al-Janāzah]
➋ It is narrated from Mughīrah bin Shuʿbah رضي الله عنه that the Prophet ﷺ said:
والماشي يمشى خلفها وأمامها وعن يمينها وعن يسارها قريبا منها
“The one walking on foot may walk behind it, in front of it, to its right, or to its left — close to it.”
📚 [Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 2723, Ibn Mājah: 1481, 1507, Abū Dāwūd: 3180, Aḥmad: 4/247, Nasā’ī: 4/58, Ibn Ḥibbān: 769, Ḥākim: 1/355]
➌ Narrated by Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:
يمشون أمام الجنازة
“They used to walk in front of the funeral.”
📚 [Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 2722, Abū Dāwūd: 3179, Tirmidhī: 1007, Nasā’ī: 4/56, Ibn Mājah: 1482, Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār: 1/479, Dāraquṭnī: 2/70, Bayhaqī: 4/23, Ibn Abī Shaybah: 3/277, Aḥmad: 2/8]
❖ Scholarly Opinions on What is Preferable:
There is difference of opinion regarding whether walking in front of the funeral is more virtuous or walking behind it.
◈ View: Walking in Front is Preferable
Held by:
Majority of Scholars including Imams Aḥmad, Mālik, Shāfiʿī, and practiced by:
Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, Ibn ʿUmar, Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنهم
📘 [Al-Ḥāwī: 3/41, Al-Umm: 1/455, Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ: 1/309, Al-Mabsūṭ: 2/56, Al-Hidāyah: 1/93, Al-Ikhtiyār: 1/96, Ḥāshiyah al-Dusūqī: 1/421, Al-Mughnī: 3/397, Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/18]
◈ View: Walking Behind is Preferable
Held by:
Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله, and supported by ʿAlī رضي الله عنه
◈ View: Walking Anywhere is Allowed, But Behind is Preferred
Held by:
Ibn Ḥazm رحمه الله
📘 [Al-Muḥallā bil-Āthār: 3/393]
◈ View: Equal Preference for Front or Behind
Held by:
Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān, Shāh Walīullāh رحمهما الله
📘 [Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 1/432, Ḥujjatullāh al-Bālighah: 2/37]
◈ Mixed Preference Based on Mode of Travel
Shawkānī رحمه الله said:
A mounted person should walk behind the funeral, while a person on foot may walk ahead.
📘 [Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/18]
◈ View: Walking Behind is Preferable
Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله argued that walking behind the funeral is more virtuous based on the Hadith:
واتبعوا الجنائز
“Follow the funerals.”
📘 [Ahkām al-Janā’iz: p. 96]
✅ Conclusion
✔ It is permissible to walk in front of, behind, or beside the funeral bier.
✔ There is no sin or restriction in any of these positions.
✔ Scholars have differed on what is preferable, but all agree on the permissibility of any position.
✔ Walking behind may reflect closer adherence to the wording of “follow the funeral”, while walking in front was commonly practiced by the Prophet ﷺ and his companions.
