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A woman in post-partum bleeding—although she attains the rank of martyrdom when she dies in that state—is still accorded the funeral prayer and therefore does not share the ruling of the battlefield martyr.
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Some scholars explain that the imam’s standing at the woman’s middle is meant to shield her more effectively from people’s gaze.
Benefit
For a man, the imam should stand at his head, as al-Tirmidhī relates and classifies as sound: “Anas offered the funeral prayer over a man and stood at his head; then he prayed over a woman and stood opposite the middle of the bier. Al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Ziyād asked, ‘Is this how you saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stand—at this place for a woman and at that place for a man?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’”
When several biers are present, one prayer suffices for all.
If the deceased are of a single category, the one nearest the imam should be the most eminent among them in knowledge, piety, or age. If both men and women are present, the men are placed closest to the imam and the women behind them.
The funeral prayer is an act of intercession by the worshippers for the deceased; therefore the supplication must be sincere and the heart attentive, in hope that Allah will pardon the departed and erase his sins as he leaves this world.
Chapter: The Prohibition of Resentment in Word or Deed
Hadith 1
From Abū (1) Mūsā—ʿAbd Allāh ibn Qays (may Allah be pleased with him): the Messenger of Allah ﷺ disavowed the ṣāliqa (the woman who wails aloud in calamity), the ḥāliqa (the one who shaves or plucks out her hair from grief), and the shāqqa (the one who tears her collar or garment in objection to Allah’s decree).
The author comments: the ṣāliqa is the woman who raises her voice when disaster strikes.
Hadith 2
From Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him): the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever slaps the cheeks, rends the collars, and calls with the cry of the Age of Ignorance is not one of us.”