Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The funeral prayer (salaat al-janaazah) is a communal obligation. It has been described in the answer to question no. 12363.
Secondly:
The opening du`a is a confirmed Sunnah in every prayer in which there is bowing and prostration, such as the obligatory and naafil prayers, Eid prayer, eclipse prayer, and so on.
With regard to a prayer in which there is no bowing or prostration, such as the prayer offered for the deceased, the scholars differed as to whether it is prescribed to recite the opening du`a in this prayer. There are two views:
1 – That the opening du`a is not prescribed in the funeral prayer. This is the view of the majority, the Maalikis, Shaafa’is and Hanbalis.
They quoted as evidence:
(i)The fact that there is no report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited the opening du`a in the funeral prayer.
(ii)They said that it is prescribed to make the funeral prayer brief, so it is appropriate to omit the opening du`a.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said (5/194): As for the opening du`a, there are two points of view. Our companions are agreed that it is mustahabb to omit it. End quote.
Al-Shaykh Ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: As for the opening du`a, there is nothing wrong with reciting it and there is nothing wrong with omitting it, but omitting it is preferable, following the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “Hasten with the funeral.” End quote.
Majmoo’ Fatawa Ibn Baz (13/141).
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Is it prescribed to say the opening du`a when offering the funeral prayer?
He replied: The scholars stated that it is not recommended, and they gave the reason for that as being that the funeral prayer is supposed to be kept short, so the opening du`a should not be recited. End quote.
Majmoo’ Fatawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (17/119).
2 – That the opening du`a is Sunnah in the funeral prayer. This is the view of the Hanafis.
They gave the reason as being that it is a prayer, so the opening du`a should be recited in it as in all other prayers.
Some of the Hanafis – such as al-Tahhaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) favoured the view that the opening du`a should not be recited in it.
See: Badaa’i’ al-Sanaa’i’ (1/314).
The view that is more likely to be correct is the view that it is not prescribed to recite the opening du`a in the funeral prayer, because there is no report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did that, and because it is supposed to be kept short, hence there is no bowing or prostrating in it and no Quran is recited apart from al-Faatihah.
And Allah knows best.
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