Ruling 600. The following are recommended acts of ṣalāt al‑mayyit:

1. the person performing the prayer should have wuḍūʾ, ghusl, or tayammum; and the recommended precaution is that he should perform tayammum only when it is not possible for him to perform wuḍūʾ or ghusl, or he fears that were he to perform wuḍūʾ or ghusl he would not reach the prayer in time;

2. if the deceased is male, the imam of the congregation or the person who is performing the prayer on his own should stand and face the middle part of the corpse; and if the deceased is female, they should stand and face her chest;

3. performing the prayer bare-footed;

4. raising one’s hands for each takbīr;

5. the distance between the person who is performing the prayer and the corpse should be so little that if a wind were to blow any loose clothing that the person happened to be wearing, it would touch the coffin;

6. performing the prayer in congregation;

7. the imam of the congregation should say the takbīrs and duʿāʾs aloud, and those who are following him in the prayer should say them quietly;

8. if the prayer is being performed in congregation, the person following the imam should stand behind him even if he is the only one following the imam;

9. praying a lot for the deceased and the believers;

10. if the prayer is being performed in congregation, ‘aṣṣalāh’ should be said three times before commencing the prayer;

11. performing the prayer in a place where people go more often for performing ṣalāt al‑mayyit;

12. if a ḥāʾiḍ woman wants to perform ṣalāt al‑mayyit in congregation, she should stand alone and not in the rows with other people who are performing the prayer.

Ruling 601. Performing ṣalāt al‑mayyit in mosques is disapproved. Performing it in Masjid al-Ḥarām, however, is not disapproved.