✿ Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
◈ The Imam Should Stand at the Head of a Man and the Middle of a Woman
➊ Narration of Anas ibn Mālik (رضي الله عنه)
It is narrated from Anas ibn Mālik (رضي الله عنه) that he once led the funeral prayer of a man:
فَقامَ عِندَ رَأسِه
“He stood near his head.”
When the body was lifted, a woman’s funeral was brought. He led her prayer as well:
فَقامَ وَسَطَها
“He stood near her middle.”
Then someone asked,
“Is this how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to stand—at the head of the man and the middle of the woman?”
He replied:
“Yes.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd: 2735; Abū Dāwūd: 3194; al-Tirmidhī: 1034; Ibn Mājah: 1494]
➋ Narration of Samurah ibn Jundub (رضي الله عنه)
It is narrated from Samurah ibn Jundub (رضي الله عنه):
“I offered the funeral prayer behind the Prophet (ﷺ) for a woman who had died in the state of postnatal bleeding.”
فَقامَ وَسَطَها
“He stood near her middle.”
[Bukhārī: 1331–1332; Muslim: 964; Abū Dāwūd: 3195; al-Tirmidhī: 1035; al-Nasāʾī: 1979; Ibn Mājah: 1493; Aḥmad: 5/19]
✔ Scholarly Opinion
- This practice is upheld by the majority (Jumhūr), including Imām Aḥmad (رحمه الله) and Imām al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله), as cited by Imām al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله).
- The same opinion is also reported from Imām Abū Yūsuf (رحمه الله) and, in one narration, even from Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمه الله).
❖ Ḥanafī View:
- According to the Ḥanafī school, the imam should stand at the chest level (i.e., the heart) for both male and female deceased.
- However, this view is based purely on analogical reasoning (qiyās) and is in contradiction to explicit ḥadīth evidence.
[References: al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuh 2/491; al-Majmūʿ 5/224; Nayl al-Awṭār 4/66; al-Hidāyah 1/462]
❖ Opinion of Imām al-Albānī (رحمه الله):
“The Imam should stand at the head of a man and in the middle of a woman.”
[Aḥkām al-Janāʾiz, p. 138]
Summary:
✔ For a male deceased: The Imam should stand at the head.
✔ For a female deceased: The Imam should stand at the middle.
This is based on authentic narrations and is the opinion of the majority of scholars.
