Sunan Ibn Majah

“Abu Musa Ash’ari left instructions, when he was dying, saying: ‘Do not follow me with a censer.’* They said to him: ‘Did you hear something concerning that?’ He said: ‘Yes, from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).’”

“Whoever has the funeral prayer offered for him by one hundred Muslims, he will be forgiven.”

“A son of ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas died, and he said to me: ‘O Kuraib! Get up and see if anyone has assembled (to pray) for my son.’ I said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Woe to you, how many do you see? Forty?’ I said: ‘No, rather there are more.’ He said: ‘Take my son out, for I bear witness that I hear the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: “No (group of) forty believers intercede for a believer, but Allah will accept their intercession.”

“If a funeral procession was brought and the number of people who followed it was considered to be small, they would be organized into three rows, then the funeral prayer would be offered.” He said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘No three rows of Muslims offer the funeral prayer for one who has died, but he will be guaranteed (Paradise).’”

“A funeral (procession) passed by the Prophet (ﷺ) and they praised (the deceased) and spoke well of him. He said: ‘(Paradise is) guaranteed for him.’ Then another funeral passed by and they spoke badly of him, and he (the Prophet (ﷺ)) said: ‘(Hell is) guaranteed for him.’ It was said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, you said that (Paradise was) guaranteed for this one and that (Hell was) guaranteed for the other one.’ He said: ‘It is the testimony of the people, and the believers are the witnesses of Allah on earth.’”

“A funeral passed by the Prophet (ﷺ) and they praised (the deceased) and spoke well of him and mentioned his good characteristics. He said: ‘(Paradise is) guaranteed for him.’ Then another funeral passed by and they spoke badly of him and mentioned his bad characteristics, and he the Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘(Hell is) guaranteed for him. You are the witnesses of Allah on earth.’”

It was narrated from Samurah bin Jundab Al-Fazari that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) offered the funeral prayer for a woman who had died in nifas* and he stood level with her middle (i.e. her waist).” *The postnatal bleeding period.

“I saw Anas bin Malik offering the funeral prayer for a man, and he stood level with his head. Then another funeral was brought, that of a woman, and they said: ‘O Abu Hamzah! Offer the funeral prayer for her.’ So he stood level with the middle of the bed (the body was upon). ‘Ala’ bin Ziyad said to him: ‘O Abu Hamzah! Is this how you saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) standing in relation to the body of a man and a woman as you have stood?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ Then he turned to us and said: ‘Remember this.’”

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the Prophet (ﷺ) recited the Opening of the Book (Al-Fatihah) in the funeral prayer.

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commanded us to recite the Opening of the Book (Al-Fatihah) in the funeral prayer.”

“I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘When you offer the prayer for the deceased, supplicate sincerely for him.’”

“When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) offered the funeral prayer he would say: ‘Allahummaghfir lihayyina wa mayyitina, wa shahidina wa gha’ibina, wa saghirina wa kabirina, wa dhakarina wa unthana. Allahumma man ahyaitahu minna fa'ahyihi ‘alal-Islam, wa man tawaffaytahu minna fa tawaffahu ‘alal- iman. Allahumma la tahrimna ajrahu wa la tudillana ba’dah. [O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, those who are present and those who are absent, our young and our old, our males and our females. O Allah, whomever of us You cause to live, let him live in Islam, and whomever of us You cause to die, let him die in (a state of) faith. O Allah, do not deprive us of his reward, and do not let us go astray after him].’”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) offered the funeral prayer for a man among the Muslims and I heard him say: ‘O Allah, so-and-so the son of so-and-so is in Your case and under Your protection. Protect him from the trial of the grave and the torment of the Fire, for You are the One Who keeps the promise and You are the Truth. Forgive him and have mercy on him, for You are the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

“I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) offering the funeral prayer for a man among the Ansar, and I heard him say: ‘Allahumma salli ‘alayhi waghfirlahu warhamhu, wa ‘afihi wa’fu ‘anhu, waghsilhu bi ma’in wa thaljin wa baradin, wa naqqihi min adh-dhunubi wal-khataya kama yunaqqath-thawbul-abyadu minad-danas, wa abdilhu bi darihi daran khayran min darihi, wa ahlan khayran min ahlili, wa qihi fitnatal-qabri wa ‘adhaban-nar. (O Allah, send blessing upon him, forgive him, have mercy on him, keep him safe and sound, and pardon him; wash him with water and snow and hail, and cleanse him of sins just as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. Give him in exchange for his house that is better than his house, and a family that is better than his family. Protect him from the trial of the grave and the torment of the Fire).’”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), Abu Bakr and ‘Umar did not give us so much leeway in anything as they did with regard to the prayer for the deceased,” meaning that there was nothing affixed.

It was narrated from ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan that the Prophet (ﷺ) offered the funeral prayer for ‘Uthman bin Maz’un, and he said four Takbir over him.

“I prayed with ‘Abdullah bin Abi Awfa Al-Aslami, the Companion of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), offering the funeral prayer for a daughter of his. He said Takbir over her four times, and he paused for a while after the fourth. I heard the people saying Subhan- Allah to him throughout the rows. Then he said the Salam and said: ‘Did you think that I was going to say a fifth Takbir?’ They said: ‘We were afraid of that.’ He said: ‘I was not going to do that, but the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to say four Takbir, then pause for a while, and he would say whatever Allah willed he should say, then he would say the Salam.’”

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the Prophet (ﷺ) said Takbir four times.

“Zaid bin Arqan used to say the Takbir four times in the funeral prayer, and he said the Takbir five times for one funeral. I asked him (about that) and he said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to do that.’”

It was narrated from Kathir bin ‘Abdullah, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said the Takbir five times.