Question: How was the funeral prayer of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) performed? And why was there no Imam while offering the funeral prayer?
Answer:
Alhamdulillah:
It is established in authentic narrations that the Sahabah (Companions), may Allah be pleased with them, offered the funeral prayer for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) individually, not in congregation.
Thus, Abu Usayb or Abu ‘Usaym (may Allah be pleased with him) says that: (He was present for the funeral prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and the Sahabah said: ‘How should we offer the funeral prayer for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)?’
The answer was given: ‘You should enter [the chamber in] small groups.’
So the Sahabah would enter through one door, offer his funeral prayer, and then exit through the other door.)
This narration is reported by Imam Ahmad in Musnad Ahmad [Taba’ Mu’assasat al-Risalah] (34/365). The researchers of this edition of Musnad Ahmad say:
“The chain of narration (isnad) of this hadith is Sahih (authentic). Its narrators are those of [Sahih] Bukhari and Muslim, except for Hammad bin Salamah.”
Regarding the funeral prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), a hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) is found in Ibn Majah, that:
When the Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) intended to dig the grave for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), they sent for Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who used to dig box-shaped (shiq) graves like the people of Makkah. They also sent for Abu Talha (may Allah be pleased with him), who used to dig a lahd (grave with a side niche) like the people of Madinah. The Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) sent messengers to both of them and prayed, ‘O Allah! Choose what is best for Your Messenger.’ Eventually, Abu Talha (may Allah be pleased with him) was found and brought, while Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) was not found. Therefore, a lahd-style grave was dug for the Prophet (peace be upon him). Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) says that when the people finished his preparation and enshrouding on Tuesday, he was placed on his bed in his house. People began to enter in successive groups (arsalan) and pray the funeral prayer over him. When all the men had finished, the women began to enter. When the women had finished, the children began to enter. And no one led the funeral prayer for him (as an Imam). Then the people differed as to where his grave should be dug. Some said he should be buried in the mosque. Some said he should be buried with his companions in the Baqi’ cemetery. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: “No Prophet was ever buried except in the place where he died.”‘ Upon hearing this hadith, the Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) lifted the bed on which he had passed away. The people dug the grave for him, and then he was buried in the middle of the night on Wednesday. Ali bin Abi Talib, Fadl bin Abbas, his brother Quthm bin Abbas, and Shuqran, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) (may Allah be pleased with them), descended into his grave. Abu Layla Aws bin Khawlah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him): ‘I adjure you by Allah and by our companionship with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), (let me also descend into the grave).’ So Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: ‘Descend.’ And Shuqran, his freed slave, took a sheet that he (the Prophet) used to wear and buried it in the grave with him, saying: ‘By Allah! No one shall wear this sheet after you.’ Thus, it was also buried with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith No. 1628)
But this narration is Da’if (weak).
In its chain, Husayn bin Abdullah is Matruk (abandoned/rejected).
Similarly, the hadith of Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) is mentioned by Imam al-Bayhaqi in Dala’il al-Nubuwwah (7/250), but that narration is also weak.”
However, Imam Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) declared the part of this Ibn Majah hadith concerning the funeral prayer to be authentic.
[عن ابن عباس:]
فلما فرغوا من جهازِه صلَّى اللهُ عليْهِ وسلَّمَ يومَ الثلاثاءِ، وُضِعَ على سريرِه في بيتِه، ثمَّ دخل الناسُ على رسولِ اللهِ صلَّى اللهُ عليْهِ وسلَّمَ أرسالًا يُصلُّون عليه، حتى إذا فرغوا أدخلوا النساءَ، حتى إذا فرغْنَ أدخلوا الصبيانَ، ولم يُؤَمَّ الناسُ على رسولِ اللهِ صلَّى اللهُ عليْهِ وسلَّمَ أحدٌ
Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) says that when people finished his preparation and enshrouding on Tuesday, he was placed on his bed in his house. Then people started coming in successive groups (arsalan) to pray over the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). When they finished, they let the women in. When they finished, they let the children in. And no one led the people in prayer over the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
القرطبي المفسر (٦٧١ هـ)،
(تفسير القرطبي ٥/٣٤5 • إسناده حسن بل صحيح
Ibn Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
“All scholars of Seerah (biography) and transmitters of narrations are agreed that the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) funeral prayer was offered in groups. They have no disagreement on this matter.” End quote.
” Al-Tamhid ” (24/397)
Anyone who wishes to see all the narrations related to this issue should study the following books:
Secondly, the scholars have mentioned multiple reasons for the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) funeral prayer being offered individually in different groups without an Imam, which are as follows:
First Reason:
Some scholars say that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) himself instructed the Sahabah to offer the funeral prayer without a congregation. However, this has not been proven with an authentic chain of narration; it is mentioned in weak hadiths.
Thus, al-Suhayli (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
“Offering the funeral prayer without a congregation was specific to him (peace be upon him), and such an action is not possible without evidence. Similarly, it is also narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself willed for his funeral prayer to be offered this way. This has been stated by al-Tabari with its chain.
Its fiqhi (jurisprudential) explanation is that Allah Ta’ala made it obligatory to send Salawat (Durood) upon the Prophet (peace be upon him), saying: ( صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيماً ) ‘Send your Salawat on him and greet him with a worthy salutation.’ [Al-Ahzab: 56]. The command to send Salawat in this verse requires that there be no Imam in doing so, but rather it be done individually. And offering Salah [i.e., Janazah] upon him at the time of his passing is also included in the words of this verse, meaning the verse includes all forms of Salah [Durood and funeral prayer].” Abridged quote completed.
” Al-Rawd al-Unuf ” (7/594-595)
Second Reason:
Leading the funeral prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was no less than a great virtue. Everyone would have tried to attain this virtue because all the Sahabah loved him intensely. This love demanded that no one give another the opportunity to attain this virtue, as this was the last stage of worldly life with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and everyone desired this opportunity for themselves. Furthermore, the desire for this was even greater at that time because the issue of the Caliphate and leadership after the Prophet (peace be upon him) had not yet been decided. Keeping this in mind, the funeral prayer was offered without a congregation to maintain an atmosphere of unity and agreement among the Muslims. There was also an expectation that one person would be appointed as Caliph so that the prayer could be offered in his congregation, as the congregational prayer is led by the Caliph.
Imam Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
“People offered the funeral prayer for the Messenger of Allah individually; no one led them as an Imam. This is because being the Imam for the funeral prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was a momentous matter. Furthermore, the Sahabah desired that no one should stand between them and the Prophet (peace be upon him) as an Imam during the offering of the funeral prayer.” End quote.
” Al-Umm ” (1/314)
Similarly, Imam al-Ramli (may Allah have mercy on him), after quoting the above words of Imam Shafi’i, says:
“Because at that time, a Caliph had not been appointed to lead the people. Therefore, if any person had stepped forward to lead the funeral prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), he would have been forward in every matter and would have become the Caliph.” End quote.
” Nihayat al-Muhtaj ” (2/482)
Third Reason:
It was the inclination of the Sahabah that they wanted to pray over the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in a personal capacity to receive blessings, rather than having someone lead and the rest follow; because no one would accept that someone should become an intermediary (as an Imam) in obtaining blessings by standing between them and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) during the prayer.
Regarding this, Imam Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
“The goal of the Sahabah was that every person should individually attain the blessing of offering the funeral prayer over the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) without being subordinate to anyone.” End quote.
” Al-Jami’ li-Ahkam al-Qur’an ” (4/225)
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
“The Sahabah offered the funeral prayer of the Prophet (peace be upon him) without congregation because the Sahabah did not like anyone to step forward and lead the funeral prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Therefore, the Sahabah would come in groups and pray the funeral prayer individually. First the men offered it, then the women.” End quote.
Fourth Reason:
Respect and reverence for the Prophet (peace be upon him) was a barrier. There was an awe in their hearts about leading the funeral prayer of the Prophet (peace be upon him), because he (peace be upon him) was the Imam, leader, and guide of the people. So, no one had the courage to stand in the place of his Imamat (leadership) and become the Imam after his passing without his permission. As you can see, this reason contradicts the second and third reasons.
Allamah al-Bahuti (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
“Offering the funeral prayer for the deceased in congregation is a Sunnah, because the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and the Sahabah led and offered funeral prayers in congregation, and people have continued to offer funeral prayers in congregation. The only exception was the funeral prayer of the Prophet (peace be upon him), because, out of respect for him, his funeral prayer was not offered in congregation.” End quote.
Sharh Muntaha al-Iradat” (1/357)
So, these are the reasons that scholars have mentioned for the funeral prayer not being held in congregation. There is no single reason among them that any scholar has stated with certainty and definitive words to be the only reason why the congregational prayer was not held. Therefore, it is possible that all or some of these reasons were taken into consideration, which is why the Sahabah did not offer the funeral prayer in congregation. It is also possible that there was some other reason besides the ones we have mentioned above. And Allah Ta’ala knows best about this matter.
(And Allah Ta’ala knows best what is correct.)
Reference: https://alfurqan.info/problems/727
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