Ahmad stated both of these, saying: "There is no harm in that; several of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) have done it." In the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas, he said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to a fresh grave, so they lined up behind him and he recited four takbirs." Agreed upon (9).

Section: It is permissible to perform the funeral prayer for the absent [deceased] in another land by intention. One faces the qiblah and performs the prayer over him just as one would for someone present. It is the same whether the deceased is in the direction of the qiblah or not, and whether the distance between the two lands is a distance of shortening prayer or not. Al-Shafi'i held this view. Malik and Abu Hanifah said: It is not permissible. Ibn Abi Musa narrated from Ahmad another report consistent with their view, because a condition of the funeral prayer is the presence of the deceased, evidenced by the fact that if the deceased were in the same city, prayer would not be permissible for him while he is absent from it. Our response is based on what was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), that he announced the death of al-Najashi (the Negus), the ruler of Abyssinia, on the day he died, and led them in prayer at the musalla (prayer ground), where he recited four takbirs over him. Agreed upon (10). If it is said: It is possible that the earth was folded for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) so that he could see the funeral, we say: This has not been transmitted, and if it were the case, he would have informed [the people] of it. It is our [duty] to follow the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as long as it is not proven that something was specific to him, and because, in the case of distance, prayer is not permissible for the deceased even if he is seen. Furthermore, if the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had seen him, the prayer would have been specific to him [as a miracle], but the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) formed rows and led them in prayer. If it is said: There was no one in Abyssinia to pray over him, we say: This is not your school of thought, for you do not permit prayer over one who has drowned, a captive, or one who died in the wilderness even if no one has prayed over him. Furthermore, this is unlikely because al-Najashi was the King of Abyssinia, and he had embraced Islam and his Islam was manifest (11), so it is unlikely that there was no one to pray over him.

Section: If the deceased is in one side of the city, one who is in the other side should not pray over him.