Thus the phrase “part of the sunnah” may be applied to a ruling that is obligatory, and it may likewise be applied to one that is merely recommended; in this ḥadith it points to what is recommended.

As for Ibn ʿAbbās’s statement regarding the recitation of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah in the funeral prayer—“so that they may know that it is sunnah”—there it signifies an obligation.

In the terminology of the uṣūl scholars, however, sunnah is distinguished from what is obligatory: it is any act for which the doer is rewarded while the one who omits it is not punished.

Scholarly disagreement:

The scholars are unanimous that the deceased may be lowered into the grave in any manner available; they disagreed only over which manner is best:

• The Shāfiʿīs and Ḥanbalīs hold that the practice mentioned in this ḥadith is superior: the deceased’s head is introduced from the side where his feet will rest, after which the body is gently slid in, relying on the previously cited report.

• In another opinion related from al-Shāfiʿī, the reverse is preferred: the body is slid in from the head-side of the grave.

• Abū Ḥanīfah maintained that the body should be slid in crosswise from the qiblah side, as that is the easiest method.