Ibn (1) and al-Aṣbahānī—both transmitting from Murrah, from Ibn Masʿūd—relate that, in the Prophet’s bequest, he instructed that the men of his household should wash him. He also said, “Shroud me in these clothes of mine, or in Yemeni cloth(2) or in the white cloth of Egypt. When you have wrapped me, place me on the edge of my grave, then withdraw so that the angels may perform the prayer over me. After that, let the men of my household enter and pray over me, and then the people, one by one.” … This ḥadīth in full has an authenticity that remains subject to review, as noted earlier; Allah knows best.
Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq(3) said: al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās narrated to me, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: “When the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) passed away, the men were admitted and prayed over him without an imam, each group praying separately until they had finished. Then the women were admitted and prayed over him, then the children prayed over him, and finally the slaves prayed over him, each group individually—no one led them in prayer over the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace).”
Al-Wāqidī(4) said: ʿUbayy ibn ʿAbbās ibn Sahl ibn Saʿd narrated to me, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: “When the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) had been wrapped in his shrouds, he was placed on his bier and then set at the brink of his grave. People entered to him in small groups, one after another, and no one served as imam over them.”
Al-Wāqidī further said: Mūsā ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to me: “I found a document(7) in my father’s handwriting stating that when the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) had been shrouded and set upon his bier, Abū Bakr and ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with them—entered, accompanied by a number of the Emigrants and Helpers equal to the space of the room. They said, ‘Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy and blessings of Allah.’ The Muhājirūn and Anṣār offered the greeting just as Abū Bakr and ʿUmar had done.(8) They then formed rows, with no one acting as imam. Abū Bakr and ʿUmar—standing in the first row opposite the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace)—said:
‘O Allah, we bear witness that he has conveyed what was revealed to him, given sincere counsel to his community, and striven in Your path until You exalted Your religion and perfected Your word. We believe in You alone, without partner. So make us, our God, among those who follow the message sent down with him, and gather us together with him until You cause him to know us and us to know him,(9) for he was compassionate and merciful to the believers. We seek no substitute for faith in him, nor would we ever barter it for any price.’
The people then said, ‘Āmīn, Āmīn,’ and they withdrew while others entered, continuing in this manner until the men had prayed, then the women, and finally the children.