Islamic Manual

The funeral prayer: ruling and conditions

Why the funeral prayer (salat al-janazah) is fard kifayah, its conditions, who has the right to lead it, and when it may not be prayed.

The funeral prayer, salat al-janazah, is a special prayer we say for a Muslim who has died. It is not like the five daily prayers; there is no bowing or kneeling down, and everyone just stands the whole time.

Farḍmust do

The funeral prayer is farḍ kifāyah, a duty on the whole community. If enough people come and pray it, everyone else is not blamed. If nobody prays it at all, that is a serious failing.

What has to be true for the prayer to count

  1. Whoever is praying must have wudu (or tayammum, if there truly isn't time to make wudu before the body has to be buried), be dressed properly, and be facing the qiblah, just like for other prayers.
  2. The person who died must be a Muslim.
  3. Their body must have already been washed and wrapped in a clean shroud.
  4. The body must actually be there in front of everyone, placed on the ground (or on something resting on the ground) in front of the person leading the prayer.
  5. The person leading the prayer (the imam) must be a grown-up, not a child.
The funeral prayer, arranged in rows, for seven worshippersAn overhead schematic with no human figures. A rectangle at the front represents the bier, with an arrow labelled qiblah showing the direction everyone faces. A single mark level with the middle of the bier represents the imam standing alone. Behind the imam, three rows of evenly spaced marks represent the worshippers standing shoulder to shoulder: three in the first row, two in the second, one in the third, matching an example of seven people present.qiblahbierimam, alonerow 1 (3)row 2 (2)row 3 (1)Abstract marks only: no depiction of people.
How everyone stands for the funeral prayer.

Salat al-janazah has no rukūʿ (bowing) or sujūd (prostration); it consists of four takbirs said while standing. It is farḍ kifāyah, and carries two sets of conditions: one set concerning the person praying, and one concerning the deceased.

Farḍmust do

The funeral prayer is farḍ kifāyah, a communal obligation: fulfilled if enough people offer it, and left unfulfilled by the whole community if no one does.

The two sets of conditions
Conditions on... What is required
The one praying The same conditions as other prayers: purity, covering the ʿawrah, facing the qiblah, and having the intention. Unlike other prayers, there is no time-window condition, and tayammum is permitted if there is a fear the funeral will be over before wudu can be made.
The deceased Must be Muslim. Body and shroud must be pure. The body must be present, and placed on the ground (or on something resting on the ground) in front of the imam. The imam must be an adult.
Farḍmust do

The prayer has two farḍ elements: saying "Allāhu Akbar" four times, and standing throughout.

Sunnahthe Prophet’s way

Three elements are sunnah within it: reciting praise of Allah (thanāʾ), sending blessings on the Prophet ﷺ (durūd), and making duʿāʾ for the deceased.

The funeral prayer, arranged in rows, for seven worshippersAn overhead schematic with no human figures. A rectangle at the front represents the bier, with an arrow labelled qiblah showing the direction everyone faces. A single mark level with the middle of the bier represents the imam standing alone. Behind the imam, three rows of evenly spaced marks represent the worshippers standing shoulder to shoulder: three in the first row, two in the second, one in the third, matching an example of seven people present.qiblahbierimam, alonerow 1 (3)row 2 (2)row 3 (1)Abstract marks only: no depiction of people.
Mustaḥabbgood to do

It is recommended to arrange those praying into three rows, even with as few as seven people present: three in the first row, two in the second, and one in the third, behind the imam.

The right to lead the funeral prayer belongs, in order: to the ruler, then the city's governor, then the judge, then the deputy judge; failing all of these, to the local imam, unless a family member of the deceased is more qualified, in which case that family member (or someone they authorise) leads. Where several relatives are equally close, the elder is given preference. For a woman, her family has priority to lead; if none is present, her husband has the right. If someone else leads without the rightful person's permission, the rightful person may decide whether the prayer should be repeated, but once the rightful person has led it, the family may not demand it be repeated.

Timing and priority with other prayers
Situation What is done
Sunrise, sunset, or exact midday The funeral prayer is not performed at these three times; any other time is fine.
A funeral arrives during a farḍ prayer's time, congregation ready Better to pray the farḍ prayer first, then the funeral prayer, unless there is a risk the body will deteriorate, in which case the funeral prayer may be prayed first.
A funeral arrives during the time for Eid prayer The Eid prayer is prayed first, then the funeral prayer; the Eid sermon comes after both.
A funeral arrives during a solar or lunar eclipse The funeral prayer is prayed first, then the eclipse prayer.
Special situations affecting the body
Situation What is done
Buried without the prayer, no soil added yet The body is removed and the prayer is performed.
Buried without the prayer, soil already added The prayer may be performed at the grave, as long as there is no fear the body has begun to deteriorate.
Only part of the body is present The prayer is performed if more than half the body, or the half including the head, is present; otherwise it is not performed.
A child who dies immediately after birth No funeral prayer is performed. The child is washed, wrapped in a clean cloth, and buried.
Farḍmust do

The funeral prayer cannot be performed over a body that has not been given ghusl or, where water was unavailable, tayammum. Once this is done, the prayer can be offered at the grave even after burial.

Farḍmust do

The funeral prayer is offered for every Muslim, even one who was openly sinful, though a Muslim ruler may forbid the funeral prayer for a notorious sinner, as a lesson to deter others from similar sin.

Three accounts of the ruling and conditions of the janāzah prayer appear across this manual (the main funeral chapter, the Supplement, and the chapter on prayer), and they agree closely. Two points of wording differ between them; both are kept and flagged below rather than silently resolved.

Farḍmust do

The funeral prayer is farḍ kifāyah: discharged by sufficient performance on the part of some of the community, and left unfulfilled by the community as a whole if no one performs it.

The two sets of conditions
Conditions on... What is required
The one praying (muṣallī) Purity, covering the ʿawrah, facing the qiblah, and the intention: the same as other prayers, except that there is no time-window condition for this prayer, and tayammum is permitted where there is a fear the funeral will conclude before wuḍūʾ can be completed.
The deceased Muslim; body and shroud pure; the body physically present, placed on the ground (or on a support resting on the ground) in front of the imam; the imam an adult. The main account states the covering condition generally, as "the private parts being covered"; the Supplement and the prayer chapter instead specify "the body should be covered if female" / "the body of a woman must be properly covered"; both readings are kept, see the review note below.
Farḍmust do

The prayer's farḍ elements are two: the four takbirs, and standing throughout; there is no rukūʿ or sujūd anywhere in this prayer.

Sunnahthe Prophet’s way

Three sunnah elements accompany the farḍ: thanāʾ (praise of Allah), durūd (blessings on the Prophet ﷺ), and duʿāʾ for the deceased.

Invalidators and points of difference from other prayers
Point As stated
General invalidators The same acts that invalidate other prayers (talking, or anything that breaks a prayer) invalidate this one.
Laughing (qahqaha) Unlike in the daily prayers, laughing during the funeral prayer does not break wudu.
Standing next to a woman Unlike in the daily prayers, this does not invalidate the funeral prayer.
Sitting or riding Not permissible without a genuine excuse.
Inside a mosque Not performed inside a mosque used for the daily congregational prayers, except for a valid excuse such as heavy rain.
The funeral prayer, arranged in rows, for seven worshippersAn overhead schematic with no human figures. A rectangle at the front represents the bier, with an arrow labelled qiblah showing the direction everyone faces. A single mark level with the middle of the bier represents the imam standing alone. Behind the imam, three rows of evenly spaced marks represent the worshippers standing shoulder to shoulder: three in the first row, two in the second, one in the third, matching an example of seven people present.qiblahbierimam, alonerow 1 (3)row 2 (2)row 3 (1)Abstract marks only: no depiction of people.
Mustaḥabbgood to do

Arranging those praying into three rows is recommended, even where only seven people are present: three in the first row, two in the second, one in the third.

Precedence in leading the prayer: the ruler; then the city's governor; then the judge; then the deputy judge; then, in the absence of all these, the local imam, unless a member of the deceased's family is more qualified, in which case that relative (or someone they authorise) leads. Among equally close relatives, the elder takes precedence. For a woman, her family has priority; her husband leads if no family member is present. Where an unauthorised person leads without the rightful leader's permission, the rightful person may decide whether to repeat the prayer; once the rightful person has led it, the family has no further claim to have it repeated.

Farḍmust do

The funeral prayer cannot be performed over a body that has not been given ghusl or, failing available water, tayammum. It may still be offered at the grave after burial once this condition is met.

Timing and priority with other prayers
Situation What is done
Sunrise, sunset, exact midday Prohibited at these three times; permitted at any other time.
A farḍ prayer's time has come and the congregation is ready Better to pray the farḍ prayer first, then the funeral prayer, unless the body risks deteriorating first, in which case the funeral prayer may be prayed first.
The time for Eid prayer Eid prayer first, then the funeral prayer; the Eid sermon follows both.
A solar or lunar eclipse The funeral prayer first, then the eclipse prayer.
Multiple funerals prayed together
Point As stated
Preferred default A separate prayer for each deceased is preferred; one combined prayer for all is nonetheless valid.
Best arrangement Bodies placed one after another (chests aligned with the imam, heads on the same side, facing the qiblah); the imam stands level with the most senior or distinguished deceased if this arrangement is not used.
Order when the deceased are of mixed categories Men closest to the imam, then boys, then (per the prayer chapter's account) khunthā, intersex persons, then adult women, then young girls.
Special situations affecting the body
Situation What is done
Buried without the prayer, no soil added yet The body is exhumed and the prayer performed.
Buried without the prayer, soil already added The prayer may be offered at the grave, provided there is no fear the body has begun to deteriorate. The prayer chapter's account adds that some scholars place this risk at roughly three days.
Only part of the body present Performed if more than half the body, or the half including the head, is present; otherwise not performed.
A child who dies immediately after birth or stillborn No funeral prayer is performed; the child is washed, wrapped in a clean cloth, and buried. (One passage of the kafan chapter states the opposite for this same case: see the review note in the shroud section of this topic.)
Farḍmust do

The funeral prayer is due on every Muslim, however openly sinful their life, provided they died in Islam, though the ruler retains the authority to withhold the prayer from a notorious sinner as a public deterrent.

Terms on this page

janazah

Related