The Ruling on Performing the Prayer for the Absent over a Deceased Person in Muslim Lands
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
A man had a relative who passed away in Jeddah, and they washed him and prayed over him. He is about (250 km) away from the area, and his maternal uncle did not attend, so they performed the prayer for the absent over the deceased, while many people died and they did not pray over them.Do we disapprove of him and say: Is it obligatory? So, is his action valid based on the evidence of the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) over the Negus?
We say to him gently: Do you have evidence for this? If he says, "I have evidence, and it is the prayer over the Negus,"We say: The Negus was a king in Abyssinia, a leader who died in a non-Muslim land. It was not known that he had been prayed over, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed over him. But did not many people die during the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in places other than Madinah, and he did not pray over them?He will say: Yes,Therefore: How do you pray over these people? Moreover, praying over your uncle or your relative in the gathering of the people without the permission of the one in authority is a mistake. Pray over him in your home with your family as you wish, but imposing this on the Muslims behind you is not correct. Some of them may dislike your uncle and not see any merit in him such that they would pray over him as an absent person.So we say: The prayer for the absent is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor from the Companions, and it did not occur except in one specific case, which is the prayer over the Negus. And the Negus, as I told you, had a distinction that was not for anyone else. Then he was in a land of disbelief, meaning Abyssinia at that time had not embraced Islam.So whoever says: That he had been prayed over, and that after that he prayed over him as an absent person.
If Allah guides this man through this, then that is what is sought.Or else, we say to him: Write a letter to the Department of Ifta and ask them for a ruling on that.
The questioner: Does this person benefit from the prayer for the absent?Answer: If it becomes prescribed, he benefits from it. If it is not prescribed, he does not benefit from it.
We say to him gently: Do you have evidence for this? If he says, "I have evidence, and it is the prayer over the Negus,"We say: The Negus was a king in Abyssinia, a leader who died in a non-Muslim land. It was not known that he had been prayed over, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed over him. But did not many people die during the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in places other than Madinah, and he did not pray over them?He will say: Yes,Therefore: How do you pray over these people? Moreover, praying over your uncle or your relative in the gathering of the people without the permission of the one in authority is a mistake. Pray over him in your home with your family as you wish, but imposing this on the Muslims behind you is not correct. Some of them may dislike your uncle and not see any merit in him such that they would pray over him as an absent person.So we say: The prayer for the absent is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor from the Companions, and it did not occur except in one specific case, which is the prayer over the Negus. And the Negus, as I told you, had a distinction that was not for anyone else. Then he was in a land of disbelief, meaning Abyssinia at that time had not embraced Islam.So whoever says: That he had been prayed over, and that after that he prayed over him as an absent person.
If Allah guides this man through this, then that is what is sought.Or else, we say to him: Write a letter to the Department of Ifta and ask them for a ruling on that.
The questioner: Does this person benefit from the prayer for the absent?Answer: If it becomes prescribed, he benefits from it. If it is not prescribed, he does not benefit from it.