When a Muslim hears of a death, the words that come first are from the Quran — those who are patient are the ones "who, when disaster strikes them, say, 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.'"1
The funeral prayer (salat al-janazah) is the community's last act of care for the person who has died: a short prayer, said standing, asking God to forgive them and have mercy on them. It is a communal obligation — if enough of the community prays it, the duty is fulfilled for everyone.151617
Why it matters
For the one who has died, the prayers of others are a gift:
"If any Muslim dies and forty men who associate nothing with Allah stand over his prayer (they offer prayer over him), Allah will accept them as intercessors for him."
— Sahih Muslim 9483
A similar narration speaks of a hundred.4 And for those who attend:
"Whoever attends the funeral procession till he offers the funeral prayer for it, will get a reward equal to one Qirat, and whoever accompanies it till burial, will get a reward equal to two Qirats." It was asked, "What are two Qirats?" He replied, "Like two huge mountains."
— Sahih al-Bukhari 13252
The Prophet ﷺ also told his companions not to delay a funeral, so funerals are usually held soon after death.5
What makes it different
If you know the ordinary prayer, the funeral prayer is simpler:
- It is prayed standing throughout. There is no bowing and no prostration.
- It has four takbirs, with something short said after each — the Prophet ﷺ prayed it "with four Takbirs."6
- There is no adhan or iqama. The imam simply announces it, often straight after one of the daily prayers.151617
You need wudu and to face the qibla, as for any prayer. The deceased is placed in front of the imam, and the congregation stands in rows behind him. The imam stood by the middle of the body of a woman;7 Anas ibn Malik stood level with the head of a man and the waist of a woman, and said this was how he had seen the Prophet ﷺ do it.8 The schools differ on these details,151617 but they concern the imam; everyone else simply stands in rows and follows.
The prayer, step by step
Everything below is said quietly, to yourself. The imam says the takbirs aloud; say each one with him.
- 1
Stand and intend
Stand in the rows facing the qibla. Intend in your heart to pray the funeral prayer for this person, for the sake of God.
- 2
First takbir
Raise your hands and say Allahu Akbar, then fold them. What follows:
- 3
Second takbir
Say Allahu Akbar (raising the hands or not, as your school teaches) and send blessings on the Prophet ﷺ — the same salawat said at the end of every prayer.151617
Janazah · after the second takbir
The salawat (al-salat al-Ibrahimiyyah) 11
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ، وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ، اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ، وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ، وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ
Allāhumma ṣalli ʿalā Muḥammad wa ʿalā āli Muḥammad, kamā ṣallayta ʿalā Ibrāhīm wa ʿalā āli Ibrāhīm, innaka Ḥamīdun Majīd. Allāhumma bārik ʿalā Muḥammad wa ʿalā āli Muḥammad, kamā bārakta ʿalā Ibrāhīm wa ʿalā āli Ibrāhīm, innaka Ḥamīdun Majīd
O God, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Abraham and the family of Abraham; indeed, You are Praiseworthy, Glorious. O God, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You blessed Abraham and the family of Abraham; indeed, You are Praiseworthy, Glorious.
- 4
Third takbir
Say Allahu Akbar and pray for the person who has died. This is the heart of the funeral prayer. The Prophet ﷺ said these words over a funeral, and the companion who heard him said, "I earnestly desired that I were this dead body":12
Janazah · after the third takbir
For the one who has died 12
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَهُ وَارْحَمْهُ وَعَافِهِ وَاعْفُ عَنْهُ، وَأَكْرِمْ نُزُلَهُ، وَوَسِّعْ مُدْخَلَهُ، وَاغْسِلْهُ بِالْمَاءِ وَالثَّلْجِ وَالْبَرَدِ، وَنَقِّهِ مِنَ الْخَطَايَا كَمَا نَقَّيْتَ الثَّوْبَ الأَبْيَضَ مِنَ الدَّنَسِ، وَأَبْدِلْهُ دَارًا خَيْرًا مِنْ دَارِهِ، وَأَهْلاً خَيْرًا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ، وَزَوْجًا خَيْرًا مِنْ زَوْجِهِ، وَأَدْخِلْهُ الْجَنَّةَ، وَأَعِذْهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ أَوْ مِنْ عَذَابِ النَّارِ
Allāhumma-ghfir lahu wa-rḥamhu wa ʿāfihi wa-ʿfu ʿanhu, wa akrim nuzulahu, wa wassiʿ mudkhalahu, wa-ghsilhu bil-māʾi wa-th-thalji wal-barad, wa naqqihi mina-l-khaṭāyā kamā naqqayta-th-thawba-l-abyaḍa mina-d-danas, wa abdilhu dāran khayran min dārihi, wa ahlan khayran min ahlihi, wa zawjan khayran min zawjihi, wa adkhilhu-l-jannah, wa aʿidhhu min ʿadhābi-l-qabri aw min ʿadhābi-n-nār
O Allah, forgive him and have mercy on him, keep him safe and pardon him. Make his welcome honourable and his resting place wide. Wash him with water, snow and hail, and cleanse him of his faults as You cleanse a white garment of stains. Give him a home better than his home, a family better than his family, and a spouse better than his spouse. Admit him to Paradise, and protect him from the punishment of the grave — or, from the punishment of the Fire.
For a woman, the pronouns change from -hu to -hā (lahā, warḥamhā, ʿāfihā …). The narrator was unsure which of the two final phrases the Prophet ﷺ said, so the 'or' is his.
Abu Hurayrah reported this supplication too, for the whole community — the living and the dead:13
Janazah · after the third takbir
For the living and the dead 13
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِحَيِّنَا وَمَيِّتِنَا، وَصَغِيرِنَا وَكَبِيرِنَا، وَذَكَرِنَا وَأُنْثَانَا، وَشَاهِدِنَا وَغَائِبِنَا، اللَّهُمَّ مَنْ أَحْيَيْتَهُ مِنَّا فَأَحْيِهِ عَلَى الإِيمَانِ، وَمَنْ تَوَفَّيْتَهُ مِنَّا فَتَوَفَّهُ عَلَى الإِسْلاَمِ، اللَّهُمَّ لاَ تَحْرِمْنَا أَجْرَهُ وَلاَ تُضِلَّنَا بَعْدَهُ
Allāhumma-ghfir li-ḥayyinā wa mayyitinā, wa ṣaghīrinā wa kabīrinā, wa dhakarinā wa unthānā, wa shāhidinā wa ghāʾibinā. Allāhumma man aḥyaytahu minnā fa-aḥyihi ʿala-l-īmān, wa man tawaffaytahu minnā fa-tawaffahu ʿala-l-islām. Allāhumma lā taḥrimnā ajrahu wa lā tuḍillanā baʿdah
O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, our young and our old, our men and our women, those of us who are present and those who are absent. O Allah, whoever of us You keep alive, keep alive in faith, and whoever of us You take, take in Islam. O Allah, do not deprive us of the reward for him, and do not let us go astray after him.
If you don't yet know these, pray for the person sincerely in your own words and language.
- 5
Fourth takbir and the salam
Say Allahu Akbar, pause for a moment (a short supplication here is fine), then end the prayer:
The Sunnah, as one companion summed it up, is to recite quietly after the first takbir, "Then to say three (more) Takbir and to say the Taslim after the last one."10
The order of what is said after the second and third takbirs above is that of the Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools; the Maliki school makes supplication for the deceased after each takbir.151617
After the prayer
If you can, walk with the funeral to the graveyard and stay until the burial — that is the "two Qirats, like two huge mountains."2
If you could not be there
- Missed it? The Prophet ﷺ once learned that a person who used to clean the mosque had died and been buried without his being told. He asked to be shown the grave, went there, and prayed the funeral prayer at it.14
- Someone who died far away. When the Negus (al-Najashi), the ruler of Abyssinia, died, the Prophet ﷺ announced it the same day, lined the people up in rows, and prayed over him with four takbirs.6 The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools take this as permission to pray in absentia for anyone who died elsewhere; the Hanafi and Maliki schools regard it as particular to that case.151617
In short
The funeral prayer is said standing, behind an imam, with four takbirs: Al-Fatihah (or praise of God) after the first, blessings on the Prophet ﷺ after the second, supplication for the person who has died after the third, and the salam after the fourth. It takes a few minutes, it is a duty the community owes each of its members, and it is one of the most generous things one Muslim can do for another. For the other prayers of Muslim life, see Beyond the Five.