The funeral prayer is performed with four takbīrs. After the first takbīr one recites al-Fātiḥah; after the second one invokes blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); after the third one supplicates for the deceased; after the fourth one pauses briefly, and then one ends with the salām.
Shaykh al-Islām said: “What is authentically reported in the Sunan from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is that, when a man from among his Companions was buried, he would stand at his grave and say, ‘Ask that he be granted firmness, for he is now being questioned.’ It is thus established that the buried person is indeed questioned and tested, and that the living are instructed to pray for him.”
Chapter: The Funeral Prayer for One Who Is Absent and at the Graveside ⦗1⦘
Hadith 1
Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) announced the death of the Negus on the very day he died, went out to the prayer ground, lined the people up, and pronounced four takbīrs over him.”
Hadith 2
Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) offered the funeral prayer for the Negus, and I was in the second or third row.”
Unfamiliar terms
• naʿā: to announce someone’s death; the noun naʿy means the announcement of death.
• al-Najāshī: commonly pronounced with an open nūn; al-Nihāyah states that the correct reading lightens the final yāʾ. His given name was Aṣḥamah. He died in Rajab, 9 AH.
Overall meaning
The Negus was the king of Abyssinia who generously received the Companions who emigrated to him when Quraysh tightened its oppression in Mecca and the people of Madinah had not yet embraced Islam. Guided by sincerity, his quest for truth, and his rejection of pride, he accepted Islam. He died in his own land without ever meeting the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Because of his kindness to the Muslims, his eminent status, and the fact that no one in his country could perform the funeral prayer for him, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)