What is your opinion regarding those who follow funerals to pray over them in the washing places?

Question:
May Allah reward you. Some people of good intent say, “O Shaykh, they strive to follow the funerals of the obligatory prayer in more than one washing place for the deceased, so they pray over them after they are prepared inside the washing place. If they miss the prayer in the washing places, they follow them to the graveyards and ask about the funeral they did not pray over, and they then pray over it. Is this practice prescribed?”

Answer:
Praying over a deceased Muslim is a collective obligation (fard kifayah). If a sufficient number of people perform it, that is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, the requirement has been met. As for those who did not attend, they should make du'a for the deceased; making du'a for him is sufficient. As for the exaggerations and crowds that occur in some mosques now, this involves hardship, security risks, and also provides an opportunity for those who snatch items and steal from pockets. These are exaggerations. Undoubtedly, the deceased has a right over his Muslim brothers to pray over him, for those who are able to do so, and to make du'a for him and seek forgiveness for him, even if they did not pray over him. If there is crowding and hardship in this, there is no doubt that warding off harm takes precedence over bringing about benefit. If these funerals that gather in one mosque for washing were distributed among the mosques to reduce the pressure on people and allow those who want to pray over them to do so without hardship, that would be better. Or, branches for the washing places could be established in other large congregational mosques. Whoever wants to do good should open branches and not concentrate the washing in one place where people crowd around it.