This is a middle position, chosen by many of our contemporary and earlier scholars.

The third view is that the funeral prayer should not be offered for an absent deceased except one over whom no funeral prayer has been offered. Thus, even if he was eminent in knowledge, wealth, rank, or otherwise, the funeral prayer should not be offered for him. This was the view preferred by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him.

The evidence cited for this is that the funeral prayer is an act of worship, and acts of worship are legislated only on the basis of the Quran and the sunnah. It has not been established that the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, offered the funeral prayer for anyone absent other than the Negus, because he died among a polytheistic people who were not people of prayer. Even if one of them had embraced Islam, he would not have known anything about how to perform the prayer. The Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, informed his Companions of his death on the very day he died, while the Negus was in Abyssinia and the Messenger, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, was in Medina. He said: “A righteous servant of Allah has died.” In some narrations: “A brother of yours has died.” He then instructed them to go out to the prayer ground (1).

Therefore, it is not sound to use the Prophet’s funeral prayer for the Negus as evidence, since one cannot infer the general ruling from a specific case; rather, the specific may be inferred from the general, because a general expression encompasses all of its instances. The case of the Negus was a particular case, not a general statement.

His statement, “He instructed them to go out to the prayer ground,” may refer either to the funeral-prayer ground, since during the time of the Messenger, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, there was a designated place for funeral prayers, or to the Eid prayer ground. The hadith admits both interpretations, and some scholars have held each of the two views.