The statement of the Imam (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding saying “Pray for the man” or “Pray for the woman” during the funeral prayer
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: When intending to pray over a funeral, is it prescribed for the Imam to say “Pray for the man” or “Pray for the woman,” and to clarify whether they are males or females?
The Shaykh:
There is no harm in that. If he says “the deceased is a woman,” “the deceased is a man,” or “the deceased are more than one,” there is nothing wrong with it. This is because for a man one says “O Allah, forgive him,” and for a woman one says “O Allah, forgive her and have mercy on her.”
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success.
The Shaykh:
For a group, one says “O Allah, forgive them,” and for a single person, one says “O Allah, forgive him.” This is so that they know for whom they are praying, so that their supplication corresponds to the deceased.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: When intending to pray over a funeral, is it prescribed for the Imam to say “Pray for the man” or “Pray for the woman,” and to clarify whether they are males or females?
The Shaykh:
There is no harm in that. If he says “the deceased is a woman,” “the deceased is a man,” or “the deceased are more than one,” there is nothing wrong with it. This is because for a man one says “O Allah, forgive him,” and for a woman one says “O Allah, forgive her and have mercy on her.”
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success.
The Shaykh:
For a group, one says “O Allah, forgive them,” and for a single person, one says “O Allah, forgive him.” This is so that they know for whom they are praying, so that their supplication corresponds to the deceased.
Source
المنتقى من أخبار سيد المرسلين 29-01-1436هـ — alfawzan.live (43:17)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.