Section: The obligatory elements in the funeral prayer are the intention, the takbīrāt (takbīrs), standing, the recitation of the Fātiḥah, the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the minimal supplication for the deceased, and one taslīm. It is subject to the same conditions as the obligatory (prescribed) prayer, except for the time. Some of its obligatory acts are waived for one who has missed part of the prayer (the masbūq), as we will explain. It does not suffice to perform the funeral prayer while riding, because that would omit the obligatory standing. This is the view of Abu Hanifa, al-Shafi'i, and Abu Thawr, and I know of no disagreement regarding it.

Section: It is recommended to arrange three rows in the funeral prayer, based on what was narrated from Malik ibn Hubayrah, a Homsi who was a Companion, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever has three rows pray over him, has made it obligatory [for Paradise]." He said: Malik ibn Hubayrah, when he would encounter the people for the funeral, would divide them into three parts. This was narrated by al-Khallal with his chain of narration, and al-Tirmidhi said: "This is a hasan (good) hadith." Ahmad said: "I like it if they are few in number that he should arrange them into three rows." They asked: "If there are four people behind him, how should he arrange them?" He said: "He should make them two rows, with two men in each row." He disliked for there to be three rows if it resulted in having only one man in a row. Ibn Aqil mentioned that Ata ibn Abi Rabah narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed over a funeral when they were seven, so he made the first row three, the second two, and the third one. Ibn Aqil said: "This is a matter of casuistry (mu'aya), where it is asked: 'Where do you find a lone individual (fadh) whose isolation is superior?' But I do not consider this hadith authentic."