It is also related from him—may Allah be pleased with him—that he said: “Place it before you and keep it ever in your sight, for it is an admonition, a reminder, and a lesson.”
It is likewise narrated from Ibn Masʿūd that he used to say: “We asked the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—about walking with the funeral, and he said:
‘The funeral is to be followed; it does not follow. No one should go ahead of it.’”
There is also the report of al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—who said:
“The rider goes in front of the bier, while the walker may be behind it, in front of it, on its right, or on its left, provided he stays close to it.”
And in another report Abū Hurayrah said:
“Walk behind the funeral.”
These are the traditions upon which the people of Kūfah relied; they regard them as sound, whereas others judge them weak.
Most scholars hold that standing up for a passing funeral has been abrogated, citing what Mālik narrated from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib:
“The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—used to stand for funerals, then he sat.”
Some scholars, however, maintained that standing is still obligatory, basing themselves on the Prophet’s command, such as the ḥadīth of ʿĀmir ibn Rabīʿah: The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said,
“When you see funeral processions, stand for them until they pass you or are set down.”
Those who deemed the ruling abrogated differed over whether standing by the grave during burial falls under the prohibition. Some said it does not, while others said it does, taking the wording at face value. Those who excluded it argued from ʿAlī’s own practice: though he reported the abrogation, he nonetheless stood at the grave of Ibn al-Mukaffaf. When someone said to him, “Commander of the Faithful, will you not sit?” he replied, “Our standing here at our brother’s grave is but a small courtesy.”
Chapter Five
The Funeral Prayer
Section One
The Manner of the Funeral Prayer
Chapter Five discusses the funeral prayer. Once its obligation is established, several issues arise:
- How the funeral prayer is to be performed;
- For whom it is offered, and who has the most right to lead it.