What is the ruling for one who missed the funeral prayer (*Salat al-Janazah*)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Funerals
Primary text
One who missed the funeral prayer may perform it until the deceased is buried. After burial, the prayer can be offered over the grave for up to one month. This is the position held by the majority of scholars among the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and others, as narrated from Abu Musa, Ibn Umar, and Aisha (may Allah be pleased with them). Al-Awza'i and Al-Shafi'i adopted this view. The evidence supporting this is the narration that the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned a man who died, asked to be shown his grave, and prayed over it. This hadith is agreed upon (*Muttafaq 'alayh*). Furthermore, Ahmad stated that there are six sound narrations from the Prophet (peace be upon him) concerning praying over the grave, and since the person is eligible for prayer, it is recommended for them to pray over the grave, similar to the guardian (*wali*).
Supporting text
Al-Nakh'i, Al-Thawri, Malik, and Abu Hanifa hold that the funeral prayer cannot be repeated except for the guardian (*wali*) when the deceased was buried in his absence. Likewise, praying over the grave is only permitted under such circumstances. They argue that if general post-burial prayer were permitted, the grave of the Prophet (peace be upon him) would be prayed over in all eras. The Prophet's grave is excluded because prayer over a grave is not performed after one month.