In the funeral prayer the last row is the most virtuous

Question

The noble jurists have declared standing in the very last row in the funeral prayer to be the most virtuous. Zayd says that distance from the deceased is what makes it more virtuous, yet he does not acknowledge this as qiyas (analogy); in that case the imam ought to stand behind everyone.

Answer

That the imam stands in front of the followers is established by text (mansus), and reasoning from a cause (ta‘lil) in opposition to the text is prohibited. The basis on which the jurists declared the back row to be the most virtuous in the funeral prayer is not the one the questioner has proposed and from which he has set about drawing an analogy.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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