The funeral prayer is a communal obligation for those present

Question

The funeral prayer is a communal obligation (fard kifaya). If someone is present [at the janaza], is it a communal obligation for him as well or not? (A certain scholar says that it becomes an individual obligation (fard ‘ayn) for him — is this correct or not?) Mawlana ‘Abd al-Hayy ﵀ wrote in the glosses (hashiya) on “Sharh al-Wiqaya” that it is a communal obligation with respect to them too, but he did not give a reference to a book.

Answer

[ar]وهي فرض كفاية، أي الصلاة عليه، لقوله عليه الصلاة والسلام: صلوا على صاحبكم، والأمر للوجوب، ولو كانت فرض عين لصلى عليه النبي ﷺ، ولأن المقصود يحصل بإقامة البعض فتكون فرض كفاية، وكذا تكفينه فرض على الكفاية، ولهذا يقدم على الدين الواجب عليه، ويجب على من تجب نفقته، وكذا غسله ودفنه فرض على الكفاية[/ar] “It — that is, the prayer over him — is a communal obligation, because of his…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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