are disbelievers, and no intercession is accepted for them, nor is any supplication answered for them (30). We have been forbidden from seeking forgiveness for them, and Allah the Almighty said to His Prophet, peace be upon him: "And do not pray over any one of them who has died, ever, and do not stand at his grave" (31). He also said: "If you ask forgiveness for them seventy times, Allah will never forgive them" (32). As for the failure to pray over Ma'iz, it is possible that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) commanded others to pray over him due to an excuse, as evidenced by the fact that he stoned al-Ghamidiyyah and prayed over her. Umar said to him: "You stone her, then pray over her?" He replied: "She has repented with a repentance that, if divided among the people of Medina, would suffice them." This is how al-Awza'i narrated it (33). Ma'mar and Hisham narrated from Aban (34) that he ordered them to pray over her. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: "This is the correct view."

391- Issue: He said: (If the funeral [bier] of a man, a woman, and a child are present, the man is placed closest to the imam, the woman behind him, and the child behind them both.)

There is no disagreement within the school that if others are gathered along with men, the men are placed closest to the imam. This is the view of the majority of scholars. If there are women and boys among them, al-Khiraqi reported here that the woman is placed closer to the man, and then the boy is placed behind them, closest to the Qiblah; because the woman is a legally responsible person (mukallaf), and thus she is more in need of intercession, and because it has been narrated