Short answer
In the Hanafi school, only if the person was buried without a janazah, or without the wali's prayer. Then it is prayed at the grave as long as the body is thought not to have decayed. If a proper janazah was already prayed, it is not repeated at the grave. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools allow those who missed it to pray at the grave.
If a Muslim was buried without the janazah prayer, it is prayed at the grave until the body is presumed to have decomposed; the time depends on the soil, climate and body, and is not fixed. The body is not exhumed for the prayer. If the janazah was already prayed by the wali or with his permission, it is not prayed again at the grave.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Anyone who missed the janazah may pray at the grave, even if it was already prayed.
- Hanbali
- Anyone who missed it may pray at the grave up to about a month after burial.
Explanation
Sometimes a person is buried in a hurry, in a hospital or prison burial, or by people who did not know the prayer. Families later ask whether anything can still be done. In most cases it can.
The Hanafi ruling. The janazah is owed to every Muslim. If it was missed, the duty is still on the community, so it is prayed at the grave: the imam stands at the grave with the people in rows behind him and prays the janazah as normal, with four takbirs. There is no need to open the grave. This is allowed as long as the body is presumed still to be intact. Hanafi books mention three days as a common estimate but say the real test depends on the place and the soil.
The Prophet ﷺ prayed at the grave of a person who used to clean his mosque and had been buried at night without his knowledge. Hanafi scholars take from this that praying at a grave is valid, and explain that he did it because his was the greatest right over every believer's funeral.
- Buried with a janazah already prayed. Do not pray it again. Visit the grave, greet the dead and make dua; see visiting graves.
- Buried long ago without a janazah. The prayer has lapsed. Make dua and do good deeds for them.
- Not sure if a janazah was prayed. Ask the hospital, funeral home or mosque. If no Muslim prayed it, pray at the grave soon.
For praying over someone in another city, see janazah in absentia.
The evidence
Sahih al-Bukhari 1337
Sahih... دلوني على قبره ...
"Show me his grave. Then he went to the grave and prayed over him."
Praying the janazah at a grave is valid.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Salah, Bab al-Jana'iz, section on the funeral prayer. A person buried without the prayer is prayed over at the grave until presumed decomposed.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Salah, Bab Salat al-Janazah. The time limit is by presumption and varies with place, not fixed at three days.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Jana'iz, praying over a grave. The Hanbali limit of about a month.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.