Yahya bin Abi Kathir يحيى بن أبي كثير الطائي · Funerals (Kitab Al-Jana'iz)

I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say: If any Muslim dies and forty men associate nothing with Allah stand over his bier. Allah will accept them as intercessors for him.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: When you follow a funeral, do not sit until the bier is placed (on the ground). Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been narrated by al-Thawri (i.e. Sufyan) from Suhail, from his father on the authority of Abu Hurairah. This version has: until it (the bier) is placed on the ground. It has also been narrated by Abu Mu'wiyah from Suhail. This has: Until it is placed in the grave. Abu Dawud said:…

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to stand up for a funeral until the corpse was placed in the grave. A learned Jew (once) passed him and said: This is how we do. The Prophet (ﷺ) sat down and said: Sit down and act differently from them.

I was present with Marwan who asked AbuHurayrah: Did you hear how the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray over the dead? He said: Even with the words that you said. (The narrator said: They exchanged hot words between them before that.) Abu Hurairah said: O Allah, Thou art its Lord. Thou didst create it, Thou didst guide it to Islam, Thou hast taken its spirit, and Thou knowest best its inner nature and outer aspect. We have come…