345 – Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Offer the funeral prayer for anyone who says lā ilāha illā Allah (there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah), and pray behind anyone who says lā ilāha illā Allah.” Al-Dāraqutnī related it with a weak chain of transmission. (1)

– Degree of authenticity –
Al-Hāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar stated in al-Talkhīṣ that the report has several routes:

1. Al-Bayhaqī transmitted it through ʿUthmān ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from ʿAṭāʾ, from Ibn ʿUmar; Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn declared ʿUthmān a liar.
2. He also transmitted it through Nāfiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar; in that isnād is Khālid ibn Ismāʿīl, who is abandoned.
3. He transmitted it through Abū al-Walīd al-Makhzūmī; he was followed by Abū al-Bakhtarī, who is a liar.
4. He transmitted it through Mujāhid, from Ibn ʿUmar; in it is Muḥammad ibn al-Faḍl, who is abandoned.
5. He transmitted it through ʿUthmān ibn ʿAbd Allah, from Mālik, from Nāfiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar; Ibn ʿAdī charged ʿUthmān with fabrication.
   Al-Bayhaqī (4/19) concluded: “All of its chains are weak—extremely weak.” Abū Ḥātim said, “This ḥadīth is munkar.” Ibn al-Mulqin added, “This ḥadīth, through all of its routes, is not established.”

– Points derived from the ḥadīth –

1. The report indicates that the leadership of prayer is valid for anyone who says lā ilāha illā Allah, for that phrase is proof of his Islam.
2. It likewise shows the obligation of performing the funeral prayer for a deceased person who died while saying lā ilāha illā —