Dars e Imam-Prayer Funeral
“Bismillahir Rahmannir Raheem””Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen was Salaatu was- Salaamu ‘Alaa Sayidinaa Muhammadin wa Aalihi wa Asabihi Ajma ‘een (tauheed- risalat- ahkirat and islam-iman-ihsan)
It also allowed lesser-prominent companions, including women,
children and slaves who may not have always gotten a chance to be up front and
close, to have this special opportunity, emphasizing the importance of each
Muslim in his eyes, Allah bless him and grant him peace.
it was not befitting for anyone of his community to intend to be a leader
(imam) over him in his passing. This was the highest form of respect and
deference.
Ibn
Kathir, in al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, quotes from al-Bayhaqi and al-Bazzaar, that
Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Part of the last will and
testament of the Prophet ﷺ was that he be washed by the men of his
family, and that he said, ‘Shroud me in these pieces of cloth, or the Yemeni
ones, or the white Egyptian ones,’ and that when they had shrouded him, they
should place him on the edge of his grave and then leave him [in ‘Aisha’s
house] till the angels prayed on him, then the men of his family would pray on
him, and then the people, individually.”
Ibn Kathir indicated the need for investigation on the degree of authenticity
of this narration, but despite this, he considered it in his discussion on the
reasoning behind the funeal prayer. He mentions that, “had the report that we
have narrated from Ibn Mas’ud been rigorously authenticated, it would have been
an explicit, conclusive text on the question, and [the unique method of the
funeral prayer] would have been a divinely-ordained form of worship, the true
meaning of which the intellect would be unable to encompass [as with all
revealed forms of worship].”
Ibn Kathir continues, refuting the opinion that it had to do with leadership:
“And no one can say that [the reasoning behind praying individually] was due to
the absence of a leader (imam), because they only began to prepare his body ﷺ after the
completion of the oath of fealty to Abu Bakr [as the Caliph] and after his
approval (to begin praying the Janazah)…
And some scholars have said that there was no imam leading them only so each
person could have a direct prayer upon him ﷺ
, and so the prayers of the Muslims upon him would repeat time after time, from
one person to the next, from each of the Companions – each man, woman and child
amongst them – and even each of their bondsmen and bondswomen…
As for al-Suhayli, the gist
of what he said was that Allah has definitely informed us that He and His
angels send blessings upon him ﷺ [al-Qur’an, 33:56], and He
has commanded each Believer to send blessings upon him directly from
themselves, and the prayer upon him after his death is seen from this angle…
Also, that the angels are [like] imams for us in this. And Allah knows best.”
[Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah]
Imam al Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him) said regarding the
funeral prayer without an imam: “… and that was because of the greatness of the
station of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ – may my father and mother
be sacrificed for him!- and for the [companions] striving amidst each other [to
ensure] that no person be given the position of imam of the prayer upon him.”
[al-Shafi’i, Kitab al-Umm]
Imam al-Ramli says al-Shafi’i’s statement about the “striving” not to have an
Imam can be explained by the opinion that since the Prophet ﷺ did not specify an imam in his lifetime, the
Companions were keen to ensure that there would not be one appointed.
[al-Ramli, Nihayah al-Muhtaj ‘ala al-Minhaj]
The funeral prayer of the Prophet ﷺ was unlike any other,
because as Imam al-Suyuti mentions in
his work on the rulings and qualities which were unique to the Prophet ﷺ , his funeral prayer was prayed without an imam, and it did not
include the well-known supplication for the deceased, nor any of the verses of
Qur’an. [al-Suyuti, Khasa’is al-Kubra]
It cannot be said however, that what was prayed was not a funeral prayer, and rather only blessings (as many narrations outwardly seem to imply), because other narrations mention the opening invocations (takbirs) as well, which are only done in a formal prayer. Thus, what was done in the house of ‘Aisha by the Companions was indeed a funeral prayer, only it was in accordance with how it is applied to the Last Prophet ﷺ , even if it is different from the funeral prayers of the rest of the community.
Imam Nawawi is quoted as saying:“The matter was differed upon: was
he ﷺ prayed over? Some said, ‘No one prayed over
him in actuality, and the people simply entered in groups, supplicated, and
left.’ And those who claim this differed amongst themselves as to the reason
why: some said, ‘It was because of his supreme excellence, so he was free of
the need for a prayer to be read over him.’ However, that [line of reasoning]
breaks by the [fact that] he was also given a ritual bath [so why is one applied
and not the other, when he is not in need of either of the two?]…And some said,
‘Rather, because there was no Imam (so
there was no funeral prayer),’ but this is erroneous, because the Imamate for
the obligatory prayers (with Abu Bakr) was never cancelled, and the oath of
fealty to Abu Bakr (from the Ummah) was before the burial (so there was an Imam
present, if that was the requirement for Janazah)…” [Sharh Ibn Majah, al-Suyuti
and other commentators]
Imam al Qurtubi, in his tafsir of the Quranic ayah [3:144], also refutes those who deny that the funeral prayer took place by saying:“[Some of them claim that] each person only stood and made supplication, because he ﷺ was too noble to be prayed over.’ [Qadi Abu Bakr] Ibn al-’Arabi replied, ‘This claim is weak, because the Sunnah of sending blessings upon him is upheld by a funeral prayer just as it is upheld in a supplication, so [the one praying] says, “Oh Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad until the Day of Judgement.”, and
[doing so]
is actually a benefit for us (and thus does not take away from the
greatness of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace).” [al-Qurtubi,
al-Jami’ li-Ahkam al-Qur’an]
One famous scholar who held the minority position was Imam al-Baji, who according to al-Zurqani, said, “…(The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace) is better than every martyr (al-shahid), and the excellence of the martyr frees that martyr from need of a funeral prayer to be prayed upon him [so a fortiori, the Prophet ﷺ shouldn’t have needed a funeral prayer]…”
Al-Zurqani then responded by saying: “The objective behind the
funeral prayer upon him is actually an honor returning back upon the Muslims,
along with the fact that [, although he is not in need of our prayers, Allah
bless him and grant him peace] something that is perfect can accept an increase
in its perfection…
And [Qadi] ‘Iyad has said: ‘The correct
position that the majority of scholars are upon is that the funeral prayer upon
the Prophet ﷺ was an actual ritual
prayer, not just a supplication only.’” [al-Zurqani, Sharh Muwatta;
al-Kandahlawi, Awjaz al Masalik]
Imam al-Bukhari dedicates an entire chapter of his Sahih to describing the grave of the Prophet ﷺ .
As Imam al-Busiri, who
wrote the Poem of the Cloak or the “Burda”, said in his expression of love for
the Beloved ﷺ :“No perfume is as sweet as the ground that holds his bones –What
Paradise awaits the one who breathes its scent or brushes lips against its
soil!”
The Prophet ﷺ said, “If you are
afflicted by anything, then seek strength from my death, because you will not
be afflicted by anything that is worse than my death.” [Ibn Majah, Sunan]
Anas ibn Malik narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “I wish that I could
meet my brothers.” The Companions of the Prophet (Allah be well pleased with
them) asked, “Are we not your brothers?”
He replied: “You are my Companions, but my brothers are those who will believe
in me, without having seen me.” [Ahmad, Musnad]
Wali=closer to Allah
Moula =closest to Allah
Anbiya/angels are masoom/sinless.
Awliya are mafooz/protected from sins
When I want to talk to allah I say prayers and when I want that he talk to me I recite quran- Hazrath Ali(ra)
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