Question (Q-45)
A person mentioned that he wished for a certain personality to lead his Funeral Prayer (Salāt ul Janāzah). Is this wish to be taken into consideration according to the Sharī’ah? If the local Imām leads the Funeral Prayer (Salāt ul Janāzah), does the closest relative (Walī) have the right to perform the Janāzah a second time?
Answer:
If someone made a will for a specific person to lead his Funeral Prayer (Salāt ul Janāzah) then according to the strongest opinion, this is not a valid will. It is stated in Al Fatāwā Al Hindiyyah, Volume 1, Page 179,
الميت إذا أوصي بأن يصلي عليه فلان فالوصية باطلة و عليه الفتوي کذا في المضمرات
“When the deceased makes a will that so and so perform his Janāzah (Funeral Prayer), the will is invalid. The verdict (Fatwā) is on this position. This is what is stated in Al Mudhmarāt.”
If the Imām of Jumu’ah or the local Imām is more virtuous than the Walī (closest relative) then it is preferable for him to lead the Salāt ul Janāzah. This is stated in Al Bahr Ar Rāiq, Volume 2, Page 316 with the following words,
يستحب تقديم إمام مسجد حيه علي الولي إذا کان أفضل من الولي
The reason for this is that the local Imām has more right to lead the Salāh than the Walī (Closest relative).
It is stated within the same book that the Walī does not have the right to repeat Salāt ul Janāzah if it is performed by the local Imām.
لأنه أولي بالصلاة منه
“Because the local Imām has more right to perform Salāh than him.”
Nevertheless, if a person of lesser status than the Walī performs the Janāzah then the Walī has the right to perform Salāt ul Janāzah again. If the Walī himself leads the Salāt ul Janāzah then no one has the right to perform it again.
It is stated in Al Hidāyah,
و إن صلي الولي لم يجز لأحد أن يصلي بعده
“If the Walī performed the Janāzah, it is not permissible for anyone to perform it after him.”
The statement which asserts that the closest relative has the right to repeat Salāt ul Janāzah if the local Imām performs the Janāzah without obtaining his permission is a weak statement as is clarified in Al Bahr Ar Rāiq.
It is stated in Bahār e Sharī’at, Volume 4, Page 84, “A Walī has the right to permit someone to lead Salāt ul Janāzah.” This is when there is no one more qualified than the closest relative.
Al Imām Ahmad Razā (رضى الله عنه) wrote in relation to the Janāzah of a female,
هل يقدم إمام الحيّ في جنازة المرأة خصوصا المخدرات التي لا يأتين المساجد و قد نهين الاٰن عنها شرعاً؟ قضية التعليل ان لا، وليحرر
“Will the Imām of the district be given preference in the Janāzah of a woman especially the young veiled females who do not attend the Masājid and who have been prohibited from coming to the Masājid? Based upon them being veiled, it is necessitated that he should not be given preference. Note this down.” (Jadd ul Mumtār, Volume 2, Page 565)
Allah (تعالى) is Most Knowing.
Written by Muftī Shamsulhudā Khān Misbāhī (Allah preserve him)
