373 - Issue: He said: (And the funeral prayer is not to be performed over a grave after a month has passed).

Some of the companions of al-Shafi'i held this opinion, while others said: It may be prayed over forever, an opinion chosen by Ibn 'Aqil, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed over the martyrs of Uhud after eight years. This is a sound (sahih) hadith [agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim]. Others said: It is prayed over as long as the body has not decayed. Abu Hanifa said: The guardian (wali) may pray over it up to three days, and no one else may ever pray over it. Ishaq said: The absent (person) may pray over it up to a month, and those present up to three days. Our evidence is what Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab narrated, that Umm Sa'd died while the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was absent; when he returned, he prayed over her, and a month had passed since then. It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi. Ahmad said: The most we have heard is that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed over the grave of the mother of Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah after a month. This is because it is a duration during which it is highly probable that the deceased remains, so the prayer over them is permitted, just as it is before three days, and like the absent person. Permitting the prayer over the grave unconditionally is invalid, for it is agreed that the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is not prayed over now. Likewise, the determination based on the decay of the deceased is invalid, for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) does not decay, and yet his grave is not prayed over. If it is said: The report indicates permissibility after a month, so how do you forbid it? We say: Defining it by a month...