It has been said that they offered the funeral prayers for him from after the sun had passed its zenith on Monday until the same time on Tuesday.
Another report maintains that they continued for three full days, praying over him, as will be detailed shortly. Allah knows best.
As for the manner in which they prayed—each person entering singly with no one acting as imam—this is unanimously attested and undisputed. The scholars have differed only over the reason for it. Had the ḥadīth we cited from Ibn Masʿūd been sound, it would have provided explicit evidence, placing the matter among those devotional acts whose rationale lies beyond human comprehension. No one may claim that the absence of an imam was because none was available, for we have already noted that they did not begin the Prophet’s preparation—Allah bless him and grant him peace—until after Abū Bakr’s pledge of allegiance had been completed, may Allah be pleased with him.
Some scholars explained that no leader was appointed so that every individual could personally face the Prophet and offer his prayer directly, thereby multiplying the Muslims’ prayers for him—men and women, adults and children, even slaves and bond-servants—each repeating it in turn.
Al-Suhaylī (1) summarized the matter thus: Allah has informed us that He and His angels send blessings upon him, and He has commanded every believer to do likewise; therefore every person was obliged to perform the prayer for him directly, and the prayer offered after his death is of this nature. He added: the angels, for us, are the imams in that act. Allah knows best.
Later Shāfiʿī scholars differed over whether it is prescribed for anyone other than the Companions to perform the funeral prayer at his grave.
One opinion says, “Yes,” because his body—Allah bless him and grant him peace—remains fresh in the grave; Allah has forbidden the earth to consume the bodies of the prophets, as related in the Sunan and elsewhere (3). Accordingly, he is as one newly deceased today.
Another opinion says, “No,” because the generations immediately after the Companions never did so; had the practice been legislated, they would have hastened to it and adhered to it. Allah knows best.
The manner of his burial—Allah bless him and grant him peace—the location of his grave, and the issue of whether he was buried by night or by day (4)
Imām Aḥmad (5) said: ʿAbd al-Raz̤z̤āq narrated to us, Ibn Jurayj related to us, and my father—ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Jurayj—informed me that the Companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) did not know where they should bury the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) until Abū Bakr said, “I heard…"