Others regard Quran recitation in the funeral prayer as a Sunnah practice, as do al-Shāfiʿī and Ahmad, on the basis of this hadith of Ibn ʿAbbās and other reports. Among these scholars, some hold that recitation is obligatory, as it is in the regular prayer. Others hold that it is a recommended Sunnah practice, not an obligation.

This is the most balanced of the three views, for the early generations followed both practices, and both were well known among them. They offered funeral prayers both with and without Quran recitation, just as they sometimes recited the basmalah aloud in prayer and sometimes did not; sometimes recited an opening supplication and sometimes omitted it; sometimes raised their hands at the three junctures and sometimes did not; sometimes concluded the prayer with two salutations of peace and sometimes with one; sometimes recited quietly behind the imam and sometimes did not recite; and sometimes pronounced four takbīrs in the funeral prayer, sometimes five, and sometimes seven. Some among them followed one practice, while others followed another. All of this is established from the Companions.

It is likewise established that some of them, when giving the adhān, repeated the two testimonies of faith aloud after first reciting them quietly, while others did not. Some pronounced the phrases of the iqāmah, the call to commence prayer, singly, while others pronounced them in pairs. Both forms are established from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.