When seeing a janaza, Muslims who happen to be in a store, in a cafe, etc. should at least carry it forty steps, walk behind it for a while, and say the Fatiha and other prayers for his soul. It is written in Maraq-il-falah and Halabi-i kabir that when seeing the janaza it is tahrimi makruh to stand up and wait with your face towards it. After carrying the janaza you should walk behind it.
cannot remember which faqih it was but i read that if a sunnah has become the sign of innovators, it is best/mustahab to leave that sunnah? is that right?
will this not confuse the 'awaam? they will think people are standing for the kafir. i am sure there are rulings in fiqh that say things like the learned should even avoid the permissible sometimes. i read that sayyiduna 'ali radiyAllahu ta'ala anhu would not stop people from praying after 'asr in case they totally stopped praying. i know it's not a great example but you know what i mean. another similar example is praying jum'a in a village. if the people do it, do not stop them lest they cease totally. just thought of one: it is ok for the imam to lift his hands and do du'a after the adhan for the khutba in jum'a but not for the people. because the ruling for the imam is different. but he should avoid it because people might start doing it after seeing him do it.
Bukhārī 1311: Narrated to us Muáādh ibn Fađālah: Hishām narrated to us from Yaĥyā from Úbaydullāh ibn Miqsam from Jābir ibn Ábdullāh may Allāh be pleased with them both that he said: A cortege passed by us and the Prophet şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam stood up; we stood up along with him. We said: ‘O Messenger of Allāh, this is the funeral of a Jew.’ And he replied: ‘If you see a funeral pass by, then stand up’. Bukhārī 1312: Narrated to us Ādam: Shúbah narrated to us that Ámr ibn Murrah narrated to us and he said: I have heard Ábd ar-Raĥmān ibn Abū Laylā say: Sahl ibn Ĥunayf and Qays ibn Saád were sitting in Qadisiyyah, and a funeral procession passed by; they both stood up. They were told: ‘they are of this land’, that is ‘among the dhimmis’. They [both] said: Verily a funeral [procession] passed by the Prophet şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam and he stood up; he was told that it was a Jew’s funeral and he said: ‘is it not a life [that has extinguished]?’ Similar reports are found in Muslim 960, 961. The chapter of the abrogation is appended in the Hadiths under 962. --- Mishkātu’l Maşābīĥ, 1682: Narrated from Álī rađiyAllāhu ánhu that he said: RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam commanded us to stand up for the funeral [procession] and later he [used to] sit and ordered us to sit likewise. Reported by Imām Aĥmed. Mishkātu’l Maşābīĥ 1683: Muĥammad ibn Sīrīn says that a funeral procession passed by Ĥasan ibn Álī and Ibn ábbās rađiyAllāhu ánhum; Ĥasan stood up and Ibn Ábbās did not. Ĥasan said: ‘Did the Messenger of Allāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam not stand for the funeral procession of a Jew?’. [Ibn Ábbās] replied: ‘Yes. But he sat thereafter.’ Reported by Nasāyī. Mishkātu’l Maşābīĥ 1684: Jáfar ibn Muĥammad reports from his father that Ĥasan ibn Álī rađiyAllāhu ánhumā was sitting when a funeral procession passed by them; all the people stood up until the funeral party went away. Ĥasan said: ‘When the funeral party carrying the body of the Jew passed by, RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam was sitting by the road. He disliked that the body of the Jew be raised above his head; so he stood up.’ Reported by Nasāyī. Mishkātu’l Maşābīĥ 1685: Abū Mūsā rađiyAllāhu ánhu reports that RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam said: ‘If a funeral party – whether a Jewish, Christian or a Muslim – passes by stand up for it; because you do not stand up for the body; rather for the angels that accompany that body. Reported by Aĥmed. Mishkātu’l Maşābīĥ 1686: It is reported by Anas rađiyAllāhu ánhu that a funeral passed by RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam and he stood up. He was told that it was the funeral of a Jew. He replied: ‘I stood up for the angels’. Reported by Nasāyī. Mullā Álī al-Qārī in his explanation of Mishkāt says that the above Ĥadīth prove the abrogation of the earlier command [to stand up], along with the permissibility of standing up. Allāh táālā knows best.
