Ibn Shihāb continued, “I conveyed Abū Umāmah’s account to Muḥammad ibn Suwayd al-Fihrī, who said, ‘I myself heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Qays relate from Ḥabīb ibn Maslamah concerning the funeral prayer the very same report that Abū Umāmah has transmitted to you.’

Issue Three: The Salutation (taslīm) at the Close of the Funeral Prayer

The jurists differed over whether one or two salutations are to be given. The majority hold that a single taslīm is sufficient. Another group—among them Abū Ḥanīfah—maintain that two salutations are required. This was also the choice of al-Muzanī from among the Shāfiʿī school, and it represents one of the two opinions narrated from al-Shāfiʿī himself.

The root of their disagreement lies in their divergence over the taslīm in the obligatory prayers and whether the funeral prayer should be analogized to them. Whoever is of the view that the prescribed prayer is concluded with one salutation and then extends that ruling to the funeral prayer will likewise suffice with one. Conversely, whoever believes that the obligatory prayer ends with two salutations—and regards that practice as Sunnah, or even as obligatory—will require the same for the funeral prayer.

They also differ as to whether the salutation in the funeral prayer should be pronounced aloud or silently.

Issue Four: Where the Imām Stands in Relation to the Bier

A number of scholars say that the imām should stand at the midpoint of the corpse, whether the deceased is male or female. Others hold that he stands at the middle when the deceased is a woman and at the head when the deceased is a man. A third opinion states that he stands at the chest of both male and female; this is the view of Ibn al-Qāsim and of Abū Ḥanīfah, while Mālik and al-Shāfiʿī set no fixed position. Still others say that the imām may stand wherever he wishes.

The reason for these divergent views is the variety of textual reports on the matter. Al-Bukhārī and Muslim transmit, on the authority of Samurah ibn Jundub:

“I prayed behind the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—over Umm Kaʿb, who had died in childbirth, and the Messenger of Allah stood at the middle of her bier.”

Abū Dāwūd records, through the narration of Hammām ibn Ghālib:

“I prayed with Anas ibn Mālik over the bier of a man, and he stood at the level of the man’s head. Then a woman’s bier was brought, and they said, ‘Abū Ḥamzah, lead the prayer over her.’ He stood at the middle of the bier. Al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Ziyād said, ‘That is exactly how I saw the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—perform the funeral prayer: he uttered four takbīrs, stood where you are standing for the woman, and where you are standing for the man.’ Anas replied, ‘Yes.’”

People have therefore differed in their understanding of these varied actions. Some inferred that the Prophet’s—peace and blessings be upon him—different standing positions indicate permissibility and an absence of fixed prescription, while others regarded