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Fatwa CenterWomen praying Janaza prayer
Question
Is it possible for women to pray “Janaza Prayer”? Is there any mention in the Qur'an of this? What about in Hajj trip in Makkah?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
There is no verse in the Quran concerning the funeral prayer for men or women but this prayer is confirmed by the Sunnah of the Prophet .
Nonetheless, it is lawful for the woman to perform the funeral prayer as she is addressed by the rulings of the Sharee’ah like the man unless there is evidence that specifies either of them. There is no evidence from the Sunnah forbidding women from performing the funeral prayers according to the agreement of the scholars 
.
This is of course if the funeral prayer is in the mosque or the house, and the like. However, it is disliked for the woman to follow the funeral procession even with the intention to perform the funeral prayer on it. Um ‘Atiyyah 
from the An-saar, said: “We were forbidden to accompany funeral processions and this prohibition was not made obligatory on us.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Ibn Hajar 
said in Fath Al-Baari: “This means that the prohibition was not emphasized on us in the manner that other prohibitions were emphasized on us. It is as if it was said to us: “It is disliked for us to follow the funeral procession but without prohibition. Besides, Al Qurtubi said: “It appears from the context of Umm ‘Atiyyah that the restraint does not mean prohibition; rather, it means that it is only dislikable.” This is also the opinion of the majority of the scholars . However, Imam Maalik is of the view that it is lawful for women to follow the funeral procession. This is also the opinion of the scholars of Al-Medeenah.
The evidence for the permissibility is the Hadeeth narrated by Ibn Abu Shaybah from Abu Hurayrah 
that “The Prophet was attending a funeral when ‘Umar saw a woman and he shouted at her. So, the Prophet told him: “Leave her, o ‘Umar.” [Ibn Maajah and An-Nassai]
Therefore, a woman should not follow the funeral procession in order to perform the funeral prayer. The Prophet ordered the woman to perform the prescribed prayers in her home and he told her that praying in her home has greater reward than “praying with him in his mosque”. So, if this is the ruling about the prescribed prayers, it is more applicable to other prayers.
Moreover, Imam Ahmad reported that Umm Humayd came to the Prophet and told him: “O Prophet of Allah, I like praying with you.” He replied: “I had known that you like praying with me. But your prayer in your private room is better than your prayer in other rooms of your house, and your prayer in other rooms of your house is better than your prayer in the halls of your house, and your prayer in the halls of your house is better than your prayer in your community's mosque, and your prayer in your community's mosque is better than your prayer in my mosque.”
Ibn Al-Munthir said after he had reported part of this Hadeeth: “Since this is the ruling for women regarding the obligatory prayers and they were ordered to be reclusive, then the same ruling applies to them following the funeral procession.”
Allah knows best.
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