Was the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) over the Black woman who used to clean the mosque one of his specific attributes?
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The questioner : The questioner asks: Is the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) over the Black woman who used to clean the mosque, while she was in her grave, one of his specific attributes?
The Shaykh : No, nothing indicates that the Messenger (peace be upon him) was specifically distinguished by this prayer. Some may think that this prayer contradicts the prohibition of praying in graves or in cemeteries, but that is not a contradiction, because what is prohibited is different from what the Messenger (peace be upon him) himself did, who prohibited saying: "Pray your obligatory prayer, or pray over your funeral, between the graves," meaning placing it between the graves and standing to pray, or praying the obligatory prayer while facing a grave or between graves. This is not permissible in Islam. However, if a man or a person is buried after some of them have prayed over him, or if no one has prayed over him at all, and then some Muslims come to perform the duty of the funeral prayer for that Muslim, and they pray over him while he is in his grave, this is what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did. It is regrettable that this Sunnah is not known in Islamic countries today for two reasons: one is that most scholars have turned away from studying the Sunnah, and the other is that it is rare for a Muslim to be buried in his grave without having been prayed over. However, may Allah write for me that I revive this Sunnah when the French bombed the city of Damascus and burned a wide area there called al-Harika, which is still known by this name today. Many killed fell in a large square there known as al-Mardah Square when they were suddenly hit by bullets raining down from all sides. We later learned that among the killed was a man from our Salafi brothers there named 'Abd al-'Aziz Nas. We found his grave and stood to pray over him while he was in his grave, reviving this established Sunnah from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). To summarize: praying over a dead person in his grave is different from praying over a dead person in his coffin, and different from praying toward the grave. You pray to Allah, whether obligatory or voluntary. These forms, if I may express it so, are distinct or excluded. These are the types covered by his (peace be upon him) saying:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1050Sahih (Darussalam) and the hadith: These types are what is intended by these prohibitions. As for a man who is buried and is prayed over while he is in his grave, this is a Sunnah that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) performed, and his Companions prayed with him. That was clear evidence that it was not one of his specific attributes. If he had prayed alone, there would have been room to say that this was a specific attribute. How so, when some of the Companions prayed with him, and some of them had even prayed over her before she was buried in her grave.
The Shaykh : No, nothing indicates that the Messenger (peace be upon him) was specifically distinguished by this prayer. Some may think that this prayer contradicts the prohibition of praying in graves or in cemeteries, but that is not a contradiction, because what is prohibited is different from what the Messenger (peace be upon him) himself did, who prohibited saying: "Pray your obligatory prayer, or pray over your funeral, between the graves," meaning placing it between the graves and standing to pray, or praying the obligatory prayer while facing a grave or between graves. This is not permissible in Islam. However, if a man or a person is buried after some of them have prayed over him, or if no one has prayed over him at all, and then some Muslims come to perform the duty of the funeral prayer for that Muslim, and they pray over him while he is in his grave, this is what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did. It is regrettable that this Sunnah is not known in Islamic countries today for two reasons: one is that most scholars have turned away from studying the Sunnah, and the other is that it is rare for a Muslim to be buried in his grave without having been prayed over. However, may Allah write for me that I revive this Sunnah when the French bombed the city of Damascus and burned a wide area there called al-Harika, which is still known by this name today. Many killed fell in a large square there known as al-Mardah Square when they were suddenly hit by bullets raining down from all sides. We later learned that among the killed was a man from our Salafi brothers there named 'Abd al-'Aziz Nas. We found his grave and stood to pray over him while he was in his grave, reviving this established Sunnah from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). To summarize: praying over a dead person in his grave is different from praying over a dead person in his coffin, and different from praying toward the grave. You pray to Allah, whether obligatory or voluntary. These forms, if I may express it so, are distinct or excluded. These are the types covered by his (peace be upon him) saying: