Chapter: What is to be recited in the funeral prayer

[Explanation]
He pronounces the takbīr four times. After the first takbīr he seeks refuge, then he recites Sūrat al-Fātiḥah. After the second takbīr he invokes blessings upon the Prophet, saying, “O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad,” and it is preferable to complete the formula with the words, “… just as You blessed Abraham … until the words, ‘You are indeed Praiseworthy, Glorious.’” He must not do what many laypeople do—namely, reciting only the verse, “Indeed Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet” [Q 33:56]—for if he restricts himself to that, his prayer is invalid.

Next he utters the third takbīr and supplicates for the deceased and for the Muslims with the supplications that will be mentioned in the ḥadīths, God willing. Then he pronounces the fourth takbīr and supplicates; among the best things to say at that point is: “O Allah, do not deprive us of his reward, do not test us after him, and forgive us and him.” The preferred view is that the supplication after the fourth takbīr be made lengthy, contrary to the practice of most people, because of the ḥadīth of Ibn Abī Awfā that we shall cite, God willing.

As for the transmitted supplications to be made after the third takbīr, they include:

935 – Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ʿAwf ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the funeral prayer over a deceased person, and I memorised part of his supplication. He was saying: “O Allah, forgive him, have mercy on him, grant him well-being and pardon him; honour his reception and make his entrance spacious; wash him with water, snow, and ice; cleanse him of sins as You cleanse a white garment of stains; replace his home with a better home, his family with a better family, and his spouse with a better spouse; admit him into Paradise and protect him from the punishment of the grave and the torment of the Fire”—until I wished that I were that deceased. Narrated by Muslim.

[Further Explanation]
The author, al-Nawawī (may Allah have mercy on him), said in his book Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn, in the chapter on what is to be supplicated for the deceased: “The funeral prayer consists of the recitation of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, then invoking blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, then supplication.” He begins with al-Fātiḥah because it is praise of Allah, then sends blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ—who is most deserving of precedence, even over oneself—after which comes the general supplication: “O Allah, forgive our living and our dead,” then