One Who Joins a Funeral Procession and then Returns

“Once I was in the presence of abu Ja’far (a.s.), in a funeral procession of one of his relatives. When he completed the prayer for a deceased, the guardian of the deceased said to abu Ja’far (a.s.), ’Please return home. May Allah grant you the reward. Please do not become tired. You are not strong enough to walk. 5 I then said to abu Ja’far (a.s.), ’He has given you permission to return. I am in need of something and I want to ask you about it.’ Abu Ja’far,

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that the Messenger of Allah has said, ‘Two kinds of commanders have no command. One is he who joins a funeral procession. He has no command to return home before the burial is complete, or he is given permission to return. The other is a man who performs Hajj along with a woman. He has no command to leave her alone before she completes all activities of her Hajj.’”

“Once abu Ja’far (a.s.), joined a funeral procession for a man from Quraysh while I was with him. ‘ Ata’ (ibn Rabah) was also there. A woman began to cry loudly. ‘ Ata’ said, ‘You should calm down or I must leave.’ She did not calm down and ‘Ata’ returned. I then said to abu Ja’far (a.s.), that ’Ata’ has returned.’ He asked, ‘Why did he do so?’ I said, ‘A woman began to cry loudly. ‘Ata’ asked her, “Calm down or I return.” She did not calm down thus he returned.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Allow us to continue. If we saw falsehood alongside the truth and for that reason returned, we would not be yielding to the rights of a Muslim.’ The narrator has said, ‘When prayer for the deceased was performed, the guardian of the deceased came to abu Ja’far (a.s.), and said, “Please return home. May Allah grant you good rewards and favors for your efforts. You are not strong enough to walk.’” The Imam refused to return. I then said, ‘He has given you permission to return. I need something and I want to ask you about it.’ He said, ‘Allow us to continue. We did not join the funeral procession by his permission, nor will we return by his permission. It is a matter of virtue and reward we seek, and such reward is proportionate to the amount of walking in the procession.’”