Salah (Prayer) for a Person in a Masjid

كُنْتُ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ وَ قَدْ جِي‌ءَ بِجَنَازَةٍ فَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ أُصَلِّيَ عَلَيْهَا فَجَاءَ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ الْأَوَّلُ ع فَوَضَعَ مِرْفَقَهُ فِي صَدْرِي فَجَعَلَ يَدْفَعُنِي حَتَّى خَرَجَ‌[1] مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ فَقَالَ يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ إِنَّ الْجَنَائِزَ لَا يُصَلَّى عَلَيْهَا فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ[2].

“Once I was in the Masjid when a dead body was brought in and I wanted to perform Salah (prayer) for the deceased. Abu al-Hassan, al-Awwal (a.s.), came to me, placed his elbow against my chest and pushed me back all the way out of the Masjid and then said, ‘O abu Bakr, Salah (prayer) for deceased people is not performe

سَأَلْتُهُ‌[3] عَنِ الصَّلَاةِ عَلَى الْمَيِّتِ فَقَالَ تُكَبِّرُ خَمْسَ تَكْبِيرَاتٍ تَقُولُ أَوَّلَ مَا تُكَبِّرُ- أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّداً عَبْدُهُ وَ رَسُولُهُ اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَلَى الْأَئِمَّةِ الْهُدَاةِ وَ اغْفِرْ لَنا وَ لِإِخْوانِنَا الَّذِينَ سَبَقُونا بِالْإِيمانِ وَ لا تَجْعَلْ فِي قُلُوبِنا غِلًّا ل

1. A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Muhammad ibn ’Uramah from Zur‘ah, from Muhammad ibn Sanaa ‘ah in a Muzmar manner has said the following: “I once asked him (the Imam), ‘Alayhi al-Salam, about Salah (prayer) for a deceased. He (the Imam) said, ‘You must say five Takbir (Allah is great bey