Does the Imam pray over a person who committed suicide by killing himself intentionally?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Funerals
Primary text
The Imam is not to pray over a person who intentionally killed himself, nor over one who commits embezzlement (ghaal). The rest of the people, however, are to pray over them. This distinction is explicitly stated by Ahmad. The justification for the Imam's abstention is based on the Prophet's action; when informed of a man who killed himself with arrows, the Prophet did not pray over him, as narrated by Muslim. Similarly, the Prophet refused to pray over the man from Jahina who embezzled spoils of war, stating, 'Pray over your companion,' while the community's faces changed, prompting the Prophet to explain the man's transgression (ghulool). This abstention by the Prophet is understood to apply specifically to the Imam, as he commanded others to pray over these individuals.
Supporting text
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz and al-Awza'i hold that no one, including the Imam, should pray over the self-murderer, equating the ruling to the martyr of the battlefield. Attah, al-Nakha'i, and al-Shafi'i assert that both the Imam and the rest of the community must pray over every Muslim based on the hadith, 'Pray over whoever says La ilaha illa Allah.'