First: Regarding the jurisprudential ruling on the matter of Ṣalāt al-Ghā᾽ib, scholars have differed on its permissibility:
The Ḥanafī and Mālikī schools prohibit it, stating it is not to be performed for someone who has had some Muslims pray over them. The Shāfi῾ī and Ḥanbalī schools allow it for any deceased person, whether or not some Muslims have prayed over them, with some Ḥanbalī scholars stipulating contemporaneity, that the deceased must have died in your time. ᾽Aḥmad, in one narration, stipulated that it be for people of virtue and knowledge specifically. Al-Khaṭṭābī, Ar-Rūyānī, Ibn Taymiyyah, and Ibn al-Qayyim limited it to those who died in a land where no one prayed over them.
The reason for the difference lies in two ḥadīths:
- The ḥadīth of An-Najāshī, recorded by Al-Bukhārī and others: From Abū Hurayrah (may Allāh be pleased with him) who said, “The Prophet (peace be upon him) announced the death of An-Najāshī on the day he died. He went out to the prayer area, lined them up, and pronounced takbīr four times.” It is known that An-Najāshī died in the ninth year of the Hijra.
- The ḥadīth about the woman who used to clean the Prophet’s mosque, recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim from Abu Hurayrah: “A black woman (or a young man) used to clean the mosque. The Prophet (peace be upon him) missed her and asked about her (or him). They said, ‘He has died.’ He said, ‘Why did you not inform me?’ It was as if they considered her/his insignificant. He said, ‘Show me his grave.’ So they led him to it and he prayed over her, then said, ‘These graves are filled with darkness for their inhabitants, but Allāh illuminates them through my prayer over them.’”
Those who permit the Ṣalāt al-Ghā᾽ib rely on these previous apparent texts indicating permissibility.
Those who prohibit it counter this with several points:
- The prayer over An-Najāshī was performed in his presence as Allāh brought An-Najāshī’s body before the Prophet as an honor for him.
- An-Najāshī died in a land where no one prayed over him because he was the only Muslim in Abyssinia after the migrants returned from Abyssinia. They also consider it a unique characteristic of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
- As for the ḥadīth about the woman, they interpret the prayer as a supplication (du῾ā᾽), using the term prayer to mean supplication, as in the verse: “The angels called to him as he stood praying in the sanctuary.” [Ali-῾Imrān: 39], meaning he was supplicating for a child.
They also argue that if Ṣalāt al-Ghā᾽ib were permissible, it would have been widely known and practiced by the Prophet (peace be upon him), and he would have performed it for Khubayb ibn ῾Adī and the martyrs of Bi᾽r Ma῾ūnah, for whom he made qunūt for a month.
Second: Given the jurisprudential disagreement on the issue, Ṣalāt al-Ghā᾽ib can follow the Friday or congregational prayer for the martyrs of Gaza, seeking mercy for them and encouraging Muslims who are observing from afar to feel a sense of participation and solidarity. There is benefit for everyone in such prayer.
Fatwā issued by Dr. Khālid Naṣr
