Prophet's funeral prayer over black woman
Was the Prophet's (funeral) prayer (S) over the black
woman who used to sweep the mosque (related by Bukhari)
one of his exclusive acts?
No. There is nothing to prove that this was exclusive for
him. Some do think that this contradicts the prohibition
on prayer in graveyards, but this is not so, since the
prohibition covers what the Prophet (S) did not do
himself. What is prohibited is to pray
obligatory/voluntary prayers, or over a funeral, amidst
graves; this is not allowed in Islaam. As for a person
who is already buried, after some or none have prayed
over him, then Muslims can come and fulfill their
obligation by praying over him while he is in his grave,
and this is what the Prophet (S) did.
Regrettably, you do not see this sunnah implemented in
Muslim lands nowadays for two reasons: (i) the turning
away of most scholars from studying the Sunnah; (ii) very
rarely is a Muslim buried without anyone praying over
him.
However, Allaah decreed on some of us, including myself,
that we should revive this sunnah: when the French bombed
the city of Damascus and destroyed a large area of it
which is until now known as al-Hareeqah (the burnt-out
place). At one stage, there was much killing when they
attacked from all sides. We later learnt that one of our
Salafi brothers, named 'Abd al-'Aee Nawaas, was among
those killed. Hence we found his grave and we stood to
pray over him while he was in his grave.
To summarize: prayer over a dead person who is in his
grave is different from prayer over him when he is in
his bier, and from ordinary prayer towards graves - the
latter are those included in his sayings, such as, "Do
not sit on graves, nor pray towards them," or those
prohibiting prayer towards/amidst graves.
As for a person already buried, it is an established
example of the Prophet (S) to pray salaah al-janazaah
over them, as he did with the black woman. Also, some of
his Companions prayed with him, so this is clear evidence
that this action was not exclusive to him: had he prayed
alone, one could have said it was exclusive, but in this
case, some Companions prayed with him, including some who
had already prayed over her before burying her.
Is it allowed for a Muslim woman to uncover her hair in
front of a woman of the People of the Book, e.g. a
maidservant?
It is not allowed for a Muslim woman to appear in front
of a disbelieving woman, whether she is of the People of
the Book or otherwise, unless she is covered the way she
would be in front of a strange man. This is because when
Allaah allows the women to uncover themselves in front of
various categories of people, He says, "... or their
women'' (Noor 24:31). Their women indicates Muslim women
only.
What are the sources of Islamic legislation?
Sharia law
Praise be to Allaah.
Sharia law Arabic: شريعة) is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "pat