The Prophet’s Funeral Prayer

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat answers a question about the number of people who attended the Prophet’s funeral prayer, blessings and peace be upon him.

Question:

Assalam alaykum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh.

Who is the only wife of Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, who attended his funeral prayer?

Answer:

Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh.

I pray you are well.

I could not find any reference to only one of the wives of the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, attending his funeral prayer. Rather, the earlier, later, and contemporary experts on the Sira, such as Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Salihi, and Muhammad Ali al-Sallabi, all say that first the male companions went in groups and prayed over him individually without an imam. They were then followed by the female companions, then children, and then the slaves.

The outward purport of this is that all of the wives of the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, would have been there. There was no one to prevent them, and the prayer was not conducted in the mosque.

(Al-Sallabi, al-Sira al-Nabawiyya; al-Salihi, Subul al-Huda wa al-Rashad; Samira al Zayid, al-Sira al-Nabawiyya).

I hope that clarifies matters. May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.

Abdul-Rahim

Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.