الحمد لله ربّ العالمين والصلوة والسلام على رسوله الأمين ، أما بعد :
Funeral Place and Funeral Prayer in the Mosque
It is established and not prohibited to perform the funeral prayer in three places:
➊ Funeral place
➋ Open ground, such as an open field, except for that land which is specifically prohibited by evidence, such as a filthy place, etc.
➌ Mosque
Among these three situations, it is preferable to perform the funeral prayer in the first mentioned (funeral place), because this was the usual practice of the Prophet ﷺ.
The evidences for the permissibility of funeral prayer in the mosque are as follows:
❀ It is narrated from Sayyida Aisha رضي الله عنها that
ما صلى رسول الله الله على سهيل ابن البيضاء إلا في المسجد.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed the funeral prayer for Suhail bin Al-Biḍā’ رضي الله عنه in the mosque itself.
❀ Sayyida Aisha رضي الله عنها ordered that the funeral prayer of Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه (died 55 AH) be performed in the mosque, but people objected to her. Etc.
The people referred to here as deniers are not the Companions but rather the ’’عامة جهال أو أعراب“ common ignorant or Bedouins.
These people were described as ’’ لا علم “ by Umm al-Mu’minin Sayyida Aisha (RA).
❀ The purified wives of the Prophet ﷺ led the funeral prayer of Sayyiduna Saad bin Abi Waqqas (RA) in the mosque.
❀ It is narrated from Sayyida Aisha (RA) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ led the funeral prayer of Suhail bin Al-Biḍā’ and his brother (Safwan or Suhail RA) in the mosque.
❀ Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (RA) led the funeral prayer of Sayyiduna Umar bin Al-Khattab (RA) in the mosque.
This funeral prayer was led by Sayyiduna Suhaib (RA).
And there is no evidence of any Companion objecting or denying this act, therefore it is understood that there is consensus among the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, on the permissibility of funeral prayer in the mosque.
❀ Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned the traditions of funeral prayer in the mosque through
and did not oppose it in any way.
This is evidence that Imam Malik considered funeral prayer in the mosque permissible.
Note: The narration opposing funeral prayer in the mosque from Imam Malik
is abrogated according to the classification of Muwatta Imam.
❀ Imam Shafi’i, may Allah have mercy on him, also supported funeral prayer in the mosque.
❀ Imam Abu Dawood, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
رأيت أحمد مالا أحصي يصلي على الجنائز في المسجد۔
I have seen many times that (Imam) Ahmad (ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him) used to lead funeral prayer in the mosque.
❀ Imam Bukhari indicated the permissibility of funeral prayer in the mosque through
.
❀ The permissibility of funeral prayer in the mosque is the position of the majority.
◈ Urwah bin Al-Zubair, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
The funeral prayer of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was performed in the mosque.
This narration is mursal (missing a link), but two things are evident from it:
1. Urwah, may Allah have mercy on him, considered the funeral prayer in the mosque to be permissible.
2. Urwah, may Allah have mercy on him, knew more about his grandfather Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) than others, and there is no authentic narration to the contrary that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr’s funeral prayer was performed outside the mosque. واللہ اعلم
However, due to this narration being mursal, it is weak, so I have not mentioned it in my arguments.
❀ Funeral prayers are offered in both Makkah Mukarramah (Kaaba) and Madinah Munawwarah (Masjid Nabawi, peace and blessings be upon him), which we have observed repeatedly, and pilgrims, Umrah performers, and ordinary Muslims in Makkah and Madinah also participate in these funeral prayers. In summary, the research shows that if there is a valid excuse or reason, offering funeral prayer in the mosque is permissible, whether the deceased is inside the mosque or outside; it is permissible in both cases and not disliked. Those who prohibit offering funeral prayer in the mosque and consider it either makruh tahrimi (prohibitively disliked) or makruh tanzihi (disliked) have their doubts answered as follows:
◈ It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the person who offers funeral prayer in the mosque ’’فلا شي له“ there is nothing (i.e., no sin) upon him.
In one narration ”فلا شئ علیہ‘‘ there is nothing (i.e., no sin or the like) upon him.
The chain of this narration is weak for two reasons:
First:
Saleh bin Nabhan, the freed slave of Al-Tawamah, is weak according to the majority of the hadith scholars.
Imam Abu Zur’ah Al-Razi, Abu Hatim Al-Razi, Al-Nasa’i, Ibn Al-Jarood, Al-Saji, Abu Al-Arab, and others have criticized him, and Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
’’صالح مولى التوأمة كذاب “
Saleh, the freed slave of Al-Tawamah, is a liar.
If someone says, “The criticism of Saleh mentioned is due to his confusion, so the narrations before his confusion are authentic or good, and this narration is from before Saleh Al-Tawamah’s confusion.”
The answer to this is that Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
و ابن أبي ذئب سمع منه أخيراً، يروي عنه مناكير
And Ibn Abi Dhi’b heard from him at the end (i.e., after the confusion), he used to narrate from him denials.
It was found that the scholars of Hadith differed on whether Ibn Abi Zaib’s narration from Salih Mawla al-Tawamah was before or after the mixing of narrations, hence the issue became doubtful. Probably this is why Hafiz Ibn Hibban said:
فاختلط حديثه الأخيـر بـحـديثه القديم و لم يتميز فاستحق الترك۔
So his later hadiths got mixed with the earlier ones and it became impossible to distinguish between them, therefore he deserved to be abandoned (along with his narrations).
Second:
The esteemed scholars of Hadith have specifically declared the narration of Salih Mawla al-Tawamah as weak. For example:
1: Imam Ibn al-Mundhir al-Nisaburi, may Allah have mercy on him (died 318 AH), said:
ولا يصح عن النبي ﷺ۔
And this narration from the Prophet ﷺ is not authentic (established).
❀ Hafiz Ibn Hibban said:
و هذا خبر باطل
And this narration is false.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Abdul Barr said:
عن أبي هريرة لا يثبت عنه.
This narration is not established from Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Abdul Barr narrated from Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him, (without any chain of narration) that the Hadith of Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه is not established. (Also)
❀ Hafiz Ibn al-Jawzi said:
’’هذا حديث لا يصح ‘‘
This Hadith is not authentic.
❀ Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal said:
’’حتى يثبت حديث صالح مولى التوامة “
Until the Hadith of Salih Mawla al-Taw’amah is established.
❀ Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Hanbal said:
كان عنده ليس يثبت أوليس صحيحا.
It was not established or authentic in your view.
❀ In the narration of Ahmad bin Sulayman (i.e., Ahmad bin Salman al-Najad) it is stated that
كـأنــه عـنـده ليــس يثبت أو ليس بصحيح.
It seems that it was not established or authentic in their view.
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him, said regarding the funeral prayer in the mosque:
”إليه أذهب وهو قول الشافعي “
This is my belief and this is also the statement of the Shafi’i.
❀ Nawawi has classified it among weak narrations.
And he said: There is consensus among the muhaddithin on its weakness.
❀ Hafiz Ibn ‘Adi mentioned this narration in the narrations of Salih ibn Nabhan Mawla al-Tawama (i.e., criticized narrations).
❀ ‘Ayni Hanafi said:
و رواه ابن عدي في الكامل بلفظ أبي داود و عده من منكرات صالح
Ibn ‘Adi narrated it in Al-Kamil like Abu Dawud’s wording and counted it among Salih’s rejected narrations.
❀ According to Imam Bukhari, this narration is rejected.
❀ Hafiz Dhahabi mentioned this narration and said:
” صالح واہ “
Salih is very weak.
Meaning, according to Hafiz Dhahabi, this narration is weak and rejected.
Ibn Hazm declared Salih Mawla al-Tawama unreliable and criticized this narration.
❀ Ibn Battal narrated from Qazi Ismail bin Ishaq without any chain of transmission that he declared this chain weak and unproven.
❀ Imam Hussain bin Masood Al-Baghawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said about this narration:
’’ و هذا ضعيف الإسناد “
And its chain is weak.
❀ Zailai Hanafi quoted from Nawawi’s book Al-Khulasa that Khattabi declared this narration weak.
In opposition to the majority’s criticism, it is wrong for some scholars to classify it as Hasan or Sahih.
Note:
The author of Al-Huroof, relying on some scholars’ statement in
and others: “Saleh Mawla Al-Tawamah narrated this narration before the mixing,” declared it ’’اسنادہ حسن “, which is incorrect due to the doubtful nature of the mentioned statement. Therefore, I openly retract my previous research and the truth is that this narration is weak and rejected.
❀ It is narrated from Saleh Mawla al-Tawamah that I saw those people who had met the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه, when they came for the funeral prayer and could not find any place other than the mosque, they would return and would not perform the funeral prayer in the mosque.
This narration is weak and rejected due to the weakness of Saleh Mawla al-Tawamah. Also see the weakness and background:
❀ It is narrated from Kathir bin Abbas رضي الله عنه that
لأعرفن ما صليت على جنازة في المسجد
I know well that the funeral prayer was not performed in the mosque.
This narration is weak for two reasons:
First:
Musannif Abdul Razzaq
names the student of Kathir bin Abbas as Muslim, and Al-Muhalli Ibn Hazm (163/5) names him Saeed bin Ayman, therefore this chain is weak due to inconsistency.
Second:
In Musannif Ibn Abi Shaybah, the narrator from Kathir bin Abbas is Saeed bin Samaan, from whom there is no proof of hearing from Kathir.
❀ In the book Wafaa al-Wafaa (531/2), there are two narrations without chains of transmission:
◈ Marwan ibn al-Hakam’s soldiers used to prevent people from performing the funeral prayer in the mosque.
◈ Umar ibn Abdul Aziz’s, may Allah have mercy on him, soldiers used to prevent people from performing the funeral prayer in the mosque.
Both of these narrations are rejected due to lack of chains of transmission.
❀ Some people say that if the deceased is inside the mosque, then the funeral prayer is disliked, and if outside, then it is permissible.
This statement of theirs is rejected due to lack of evidence.
❀ Some people present references from Hanafi jurisprudence books such as Hidayah, and opinions of Ibn Farqad (Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani), Tahawi, and others to prohibit the funeral prayer in the mosque. All these references and opinions are rejected because they contradict authentic hadiths, the practices of the Companions, the practices of the pious predecessors, Shafi’i jurisprudence, and Hanbali jurisprudence books.
❀ Some people say that the funeral prayer in the mosque is abrogated.
This statement is rejected for several reasons. For example:
◈ The funeral prayer of Sayyiduna Umar (RA) was performed in the mosque, and there is no authentic objection from any companion, therefore the claim of abrogation is false.
◈ Imam Ibn Shahin Al-Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy on him) (died 385 AH) said about the narration that the funeral prayer is not performed in the mosque:
فإن صـح حـديـث ابن أبي ذئب فهو منسوخ بحديث سهيل بن بيضاء
If the hadith of Ibn Abi Dhi’b was authentic, then it would be abrogated according to the hadith of Suhail bin Bayda’a (RA).
Meaning, not performing the funeral prayer in the mosque is abrogated, provided that the narration about not performing it is proven authentic.
Note:
It is not conclusively proven with an authentic chain from Imam Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him) that the funeral prayer should not be performed in the mosque, or that the funeral in the mosque is disliked.
The rejected references of Ibn Farqad and other unsupported statements have no standing in the scholarly field.
In conclusion, it is stated as a summary that the funeral prayer is permissible in the mosque. Whether the body of the deceased is inside the mosque or outside, but it is better to perform the funeral prayer outside the mosque in the cemetery or an open field.
و ما علينا إلا البلاغ
