What is the ruling on delaying the funeral prayer on the pretext of using refrigeration methods to preserve the body until the people gather?

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The question, O Shaykh: When a person dies, for example, after Maghrib or before Maghrib, and they are unable to pray over him for 'Isha, some of them delay the prayer over him. They have made it a custom and said: Preservation methods are available, and refrigerators and transportation, and we wait for the people to gather, some of whom do not pray.

The Shaykh : What is the ruling on this?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Open it.

The questioner : Some delay it until the afternoon of the next day, some delay it until the afternoon of the next day, and some say: It is difficult for me to pray Fajr. Do you see the prayer if it is delayed after the prayer, for example, after 'Isha or something like that?

The Shaykh : I ask these simple people: If someone were to commit a wrong against their dead relative, would they allow them to do this? Answer me, people: They would not allow it. Delaying the dead person is a wrong against him, a wrong against the deceased, because it is disobedience to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), where he said: And the scholars said: One should hasten in preparing him, unless he dies suddenly and there is doubt about his death, in which case one waits until one is certain, otherwise one hastens in preparing him. So delaying that is disobedience to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). This is from one aspect. From another aspect, it is a wrong against the deceased. If the deceased was righteous, what does his soul say? It says: Because he witnessed at the time of death the bliss to which he will return and was given glad tidings of Paradise. How do you delay him? Have you seen if there were a table of the finest food, five hundred meters between you and it, and one of your relatives is longing for it, and you prevented him from it, saying: Wait? Would you have pressured him or not? Answer: You pressured him, there is no doubt in that. You prevented him from what is faster for him, so in this there is a wrong against the deceased and disobedience to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and a contradiction of the guidance of the righteous predecessors. The righteous predecessors hastened with the funeral, even in carrying it to the graveyard, they hastened greatly until their shoe straps almost broke from the haste. So why do we humiliate the poor deceased, who has been given glad tidings at the taking of his soul of a soul and fragrance and a Lord not angry? Why do we humiliate him? They say: So that his brother comes from London, from America, from such and such. We say: Praise be to Allah, if he comes, he can pray over his grave, the door is open, and let the deceased enjoy the bliss early. So I say: As you heard, this is disobedience to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), a wrong against the deceased, and a great error and foolishness. And what is the benefit of him staying among them? And there is a hadith, but it is weak: And the word means prohibition. And this one is detained so that his brother, or his cousin, or his father, or his son can attend. Is this a wedding ceremony so that they wait for the arrival of the absent one? So this is one of the greatest errors, and we did not know it except late. People used to, when a person died, an hour before the prayer, the washer and the shroud would be brought and he would be prepared in half an hour or an hour and a quarter, and he would be brought to the mosque. They say: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was delayed in burial. He died on Monday and was buried on the night of Wednesday, so Tuesday remained complete and the rest of Monday. We say: Yes, this is correct, but the Companions delayed his burial for a reason that does not exist in any other case, which is that they said: It is not possible to bury the Imam, who is the one in authority, before a successor is appointed for him. If he were buried before a successor was appointed, there would be conflict and discord. But keeping him until the successor after him is established is necessary. And you know that the matter is not light in the death of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). The Muhajireen and the Ansar gathered at the Saqifah and what happened happened until the matter settled, and praise be to Allah, by consensus that Abu Bakr is the Caliph. So the delay of the burial of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was for a necessary need, and no other case can be compared to it. Yes, if it were assumed that the delay is slight, a few hours, for the sake of increasing the congregation, as if it were assumed that the people do not gather much in the Zuhr prayer because everyone is at their job, and in the 'Asr prayer they gather more, this might be tolerated. But for him to remain for a day or two or three, this is an error. Yes, on the left.