as a communal obligation, and it is not necessary to specify the deceased; if he does specify and makes a mistake, the prayer is invalid. If several deceased are present, he directs his intention to all of them.
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The second pillar is to pronounce four takbirs. If he makes them five, the prayer is not invalid according to the sound view; and if the imam makes them five, the follower, according to the sound view, does not follow him in the fifth but either gives the salām or waits and gives salām with him.
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The third pillar is the salām, just as in the other prayers.
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The fourth is the recitation of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah after the first takbir.
I say: al-Fātiḥah is sufficient even if it is recited after any takbir other than the first, and Allah knows best.
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The fifth is to invoke blessings upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ after the second takbir; and the sound position is that invoking blessings upon his family is not obligatory.
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The sixth is supplication for the deceased after the third takbir.
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The seventh is to perform the prayer standing, according to the school, if one is able. It is recommended to raise the hands with each takbir and to recite quietly; some say the recitation should be aloud at night. The sound view is that seeking refuge (taʿawwudh) is recommended, whereas the opening invocation (istiftāḥ) is not. After the third takbir he says: “O Allah, this is Your servant, the child of Your servants…” to the end, but he precedes it with: “O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, those present and those absent, our young and our old, our males and our females. O Allah, whomever You keep alive among us, keep him alive upon Islam, and whomever You take among us, take him upon faith.” For a child he adds, together with this second supplication: “O Allah, make him a forerunner for his parents, a predecessor, a treasure, an admonition and a lesson, an intercessor, and make him weigh heavily in their scale of deeds; and pour patience upon their hearts.” After the fourth takbir he says: “O Allah, do not deprive us of his reward and do not test us after him.”
If a follower lags behind without excuse and has not uttered the takbir before the imam utters the next one, his prayer is invalid. The latecomer (masbūq) utters the takbir and recites al-Fātiḥah even if the imam is engaged in something else. If the imam pronounces another takbir before he has begun al-Fātiḥah, he pronounces it with him and the recitation is waived. If the imam pronounces the takbir while he is in the midst of al-Fātiḥah, he abandons the remainder and follows him, according to the sound view. When the imam gives the salām, the latecomer makes up the remaining takbirs together with their prescribed remembrances; according to one opinion, the specific remembrances are not required, but it is a condition