Is it permissible to perform funeral prayer over those who hold severe deviant beliefs such as denying the Caliphate of 'Umar or condemning prominent companions?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Fighting Rebellious Groups
Primary text
Abu Bakr ibn 'Ayyash ruled that the funeral prayer is not performed for a Rafidi because he claimed that 'Umar was an unbeliever, nor for a Haruri because he claimed that 'Ali was an unbeliever. Al-Firyabi stated that whoever curses Abu Bakr is an unbeliever and should not have the funeral prayer performed over him. The justification for omitting the prayer for such individuals is that they declare mainstream Muslims to be disbelievers and do not offer prayer for them, thus they are treated as disbelievers, whether they are Dhimmi or otherwise. Alternatively, it is argued that they have defected from the religion, making them similar to apostates.
Supporting text
The scholars of our school, along with Al-Shafi'i and the Ashab al-Ra'y, do not differentiate between the Khawarij and others regarding the established rulings, which implies the application of the principles derived for deviation concerning funeral rites.