Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
Offering a funeral prayer at the grave is not forbidden, for funeral prayer does not have to be offered at any specific place. It is rather better offered outside a mosque than inside it.
In his famous work, Fiqh As-Sunnah, Sheikh Sayyid Sabiq, elaborates on the subject as follows:
It is permissible to offer funeral prayer for a deceased anytime after his burial, even if a prayer was offered prior to his burial. The Prophet (peace be upon him), offered funeral prayer for the martyrs of Uhud after eight years.
Zayd ibn Thabit reported: “Once we went out with the Prophet (peace be upon him). When we reached al-Baqi` (Famous cemetery in Madinah, where a large number of the Prophet’s companions are buried) we noticed a newly dug grave. The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked about it and was told that was the grave of such and such a woman. At this he said: ‘Why did you not inform me of her death?’ They replied, ‘O Prophet of Allah! You were fasting and were resting at the time and we did not want to bother you.’ He said: ‘Do not do that again. So long as I am with you, make sure you inform me when any one among you dies, for my prayers for the deceased is a mercy for them.’ Then the Prophet (peace be upon him), went to the grave. We stood in rows behind him and he offered a funeral prayer for her with four Takbirs.” This hadith has been reported by Ahmad, An-Nasa’i, Al-Baihaqi, Al-Hakim and Ibn Hibban. The last two reporters regard it as a sound hadith.
At-Tirmidhi said: This has been the practice of most of the scholars, the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them), as well as others. Ash-Shafi`i, Ahmad, and Ishaq hold the same view. This hadith also shows that the Prophet (peace be upon him) offered funeral prayer at a grave when a funeral prayer had already been offered by his Companions for the deceased before her burial, for they could not bury her without a funeral prayer.
From this hadith it is also obvious that praying for the dead (before the burial) was a common practice of the Companions, and was not limited only to the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Ibn Al-Qayyim said: “These proven traditions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), do not contradict the sound hadith that reports the statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him): ‘Do not sit by the graves, or offer prayer facing them.’
This is a sound hadith that bids us not to sit or pray at the graves. What is forbidden is to offer formal prayer facing a grave.
Offering a funeral prayer at the grave is not forbidden, for funeral prayer does not have to be offered at any specific place. It is rather better offered outside a mosque than inside it.
The funeral prayer at the grave is similar to offering it beside the coffin. In either case the prayer is offered for the deceased, and his body, whether it is in the coffin or in the grave, remains in the same position.
Offering prayers other than funeral prayers are forbidden at graves, for there is a risk that this may turn these graveyards into mosques, against which the Prophet (peace be upon him), warned us. He cursed those who turn graves into places of worship, saying: ‘Some evil people will be overtaken by the Day of Judgment, including those (evil people) who turn graves into mosques.’ This warning has no bearing on an act that the Prophet (peace be upon him) repeatedly preformed. “
In a report from Ahmad it is said: “There is no harm in offering a funeral prayer (as distinct from formal prayer) in a graveyard as the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself offered a funeral prayer over a deceased while he was buried in his grave.
Abu Hurairah also offered a funeral prayer over the grave of `Aishah in the middle of the cemetery of Al-Baqi`, which was attended by Ibn `Umar. And `Umar ibn Abd al-‘Aziz did likewise.”
Read also:
Is Offering Prayer at Graveyards Permissible?
What Are the Funeral Rituals for a Dead Child?
Can You Offer Funeral Prayer on an Anonymous Woman?
Did Women Participate in the Funeral Prayer for the Prophet?
Is a Large Gathering at Someone’s Funeral Prayer a Sign of His Piety?
Is Wife Allowed to See Deceased Husband Before Burial?
Can a Woman Go to a Funeral in Islam?
Can You Attend Funeral of Non-Muslim Relatives?
Almighty Allah knows best.