Janazah Prayer: How to Pray Salat al-Janazah Step by Step

Salat al-Janazah is a prayer of intercession for a Muslim who has died, offered by the living before burial. It is a communal obligation (fard kifayah): Jordan's General Iftaa' Department describes it as a collective duty on the Muslim community, and Mathabah's explanation adds that when some members perform it, the others are released from the duty.

Sahih al-Bukhari 1240 lists following funeral processions among the rights a Muslim has on other Muslims. Sahih al-Bukhari 1325 describes a reward of one qirat for attending until the prayer and two for staying until burial, each likened to a huge mountain. Sahih Muslim 948 reports that when forty people who associate nothing with Allah pray over a Muslim, Allah accepts their intercession for that person.

Because it is a prayer, the usual conditions apply. Darul Ifta Birmingham lists purity from minor and major impurity, covering what must be covered, and facing the qibla, as for the obligatory prayers. The prayer itself is short, so arrive already in wudu rather than hurrying to make it while the rows are forming.

Sources: [24] [25] [2] [3] [4] [26]

The funeral prayer is performed standing throughout, with four takbirs and a closing salam, and it has no bowing, prostration or sitting. The body is placed in front of the imam, and the congregation forms rows behind him. Sahih al-Bukhari 1333 records the Prophet lining people up in rows and saying four takbirs. Sahih Muslim 957 reports that Zayd ibn Arqam once said five, attributing it to the Prophet, but four is the practice taught in the four schools.

Make the intention to pray over the deceased who is present, then follow the imam's takbirs, reciting quietly after each one what your school teaches. The recitations differ, but the general order below is shared. If you do not yet know the recitations, still stand in the row, follow the imam's takbirs and salam, and learn the wording from your teacher afterwards.

• Stand in a row behind the imam, in wudu and facing the qibla, and intend the funeral prayer.
• First takbir: praise of Allah (thana) in Hanafi teaching, or Al-Fatihah in Shafi'i and Hanbali teaching.
• Second takbir: blessings on the Prophet, as recited in the final sitting of salah.
• Third takbir: sincere supplication for the deceased.
• Fourth takbir: a brief supplication or pause according to your school, then the salam.

Sources: [5] [6] [25] [26] [28] [24] [29]

After the first takbir, Hanafi jurists give preference to praise of Allah (thana), while the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools recite Al-Fatihah; Sahih al-Bukhari 1335 records Ibn Abbas reciting it in a funeral prayer and saying that it is the Sunnah. In the Maliki school, according to Ibn Abi Zayd's Risala and Mathabah's summary, supplication is made after each of the four takbirs. After the second takbir, the other schools recite the blessings on the Prophet used in the final sitting of salah.

The supplication for the deceased is the heart of the prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 3199, graded hasan by al-Albani, says to make sincere supplication for the dead. Sahih Muslim 963a preserves a supplication asking Allah to forgive the person and have mercy on them, make their grave spacious, cleanse them of faults as a white garment is cleansed, and admit them to Paradise, protected from the punishment of the grave and the Fire. Sunan Abi Dawud 3201 preserves a supplication for the living and the dead, present and absent, young and old. Darul Ifta Birmingham notes that the wording differs for a child, so ask your imam to teach it.

Sources: [7] [8] [9] [10] [26] [25] [29] [24] [28]

The schools teach different positions, each drawing on transmitted reports. Sahih al-Bukhari 1332 records the Prophet standing at the middle of the bier of a woman who died in childbirth. Jami at-Tirmidhi 1034, graded hasan on sunnah.com, reports Anas standing level with a man's head and a woman's waist and confirming that he had seen the Prophet do so.

Hanafi teaching, as Darul Ifta Birmingham explains, places the imam level with the chest for both. The Jordanian Shafi'i fatwa gives the head of a man and the waist of a woman; an IslamWeb Hanbali summary gives the chest of a man and the waist of a woman; and Ibn Abi Zayd's Maliki Risala gives the middle of a man and the shoulders of a woman. Those praying behind simply stand in rows behind the imam.

Sources: [11] [12] [26] [24] [28] [29]

It depends on your school. Sahih al-Bukhari 1245 reports that the Prophet announced the death of the Negus, An-Najashi, on the day he died, went out to the prayer place, lined the people up and said four takbirs, although the Negus had died far from Madinah.

The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools accept a funeral prayer for someone absent: SeekersGuidance describes it as recommended in the Shafi'i school and permitted in the Hanbali school. The Hanafi school does not regard it as valid, and Mathabah's answer explains that the Hanafi and Maliki schools treat the prayer over the Negus as specific to the Prophet. Mathabah suggests that a Hanafi or Maliki who stands behind an imam holding the other view can do so with the intention of supplication for the deceased. Avoid turning the difference into a dispute.

Praying at the grave after burial is a related question. Sahih al-Bukhari 1337 reports that the Prophet prayed at the grave of a person who used to clean the mosque, whose death he had not been told about in time. Whether others may do this, and for how long after burial, is treated differently across the schools, so ask your imam.

Sources: [13] [30] [31] [14]

If you arrive after the prayer has begun, join the imam. In the Hanafi school, Darul Ifta Birmingham explains that a latecomer says the takbirs they missed after the imam's salam, without the recitations that would normally follow them, and then concludes. Other schools have their own method, so learn it from your teacher before the need arises.

Funeral prayers are often held in or beside mosques, sometimes straight after a congregational prayer. Sahih Muslim 973a reports Aisha reminding people that the Prophet prayed over Suhail ibn al-Bayda in the mosque. SeekersGuidance's Maliki answer explains that the Maliki school discourages the funeral prayer inside the mosque when it can be avoided, while allowing a Maliki to join where staying out would cause problems in the community.

Sources: [27] [15] [32]

Yes, if you are able. Sahih al-Bukhari 1325 gives a second qirat of reward to those who stay until the burial, and Sahih al-Bukhari 1315 urges hurrying with the bier. Walk calmly, help to carry the bier if asked, and follow the instructions of those managing the burial, which in many countries also involves cemetery rules and legal procedures.

After the burial, Sunan Abi Dawud 3221, graded sahih by al-Albani, reports that the Prophet stayed at the grave and told those present to seek forgiveness for their brother and to ask that he be made firm, because he was now being questioned. A short, sincere supplication at the graveside follows this example, and Qur'an 59:10 teaches believers to ask forgiveness for those who preceded them in faith.

Women's attendance at the procession and burial is discussed differently among scholars. Umm Atiyyah's report in Sahih al-Bukhari 1278 says that women were discouraged from following funeral processions, but not strictly. Local practice and school positions vary, so ask your community's imam about the arrangements.

Sources: [3] [16] [17] [18]

Offer brief, sincere words, practical help and supplication. Sahih al-Bukhari 1284 records the message the Prophet sent to his grieving daughter: whatever Allah takes and whatever He gives belongs to Him, everything with Him has a fixed term, so she should be patient and hope for reward. Qur'an 2:156 gives the words of the patient in affliction, commonly said as Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un, meaning we belong to Allah and to Him we return.

Grief is not a lack of faith. Sahih al-Bukhari 1303 describes the Prophet weeping at the death of his infant son Ibrahim and saying that the eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, yet only what pleases the Lord is said. What is condemned is wailing, slapping the cheeks and tearing clothes, as Sahih al-Bukhari 1294 states.

Practical care matters. Sunan Abi Dawud 3132, graded hasan by al-Albani, records the instruction to prepare food for the family of Ja'far because their loss occupied them. Sahih al-Bukhari 1280 limits a woman's formal mourning for a relative to three days, except for a widow, whose period is four months and ten days; ask a scholar about the details of that waiting period.

• Keep visits short and say a brief supplication for the deceased and the family.
• Offer specific help: a meal, transport, childcare or paperwork.
• Avoid speculating about the cause of death or the person's standing with Allah.
• Remember the family after the first days, when visitors have gone home.

Sources: [19] [1] [20] [21] [22] [23]

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