Which is preferred: to offer Janazah Prayer in Masjids or outside, i.e. in a separate Musalla?

A: The Sunnah (action following the teachings of the Prophet) is to hasten to prepare the dead body for the Janazah Prayer and the burial (Part No. 7; Page No. 267) so that they may soon receive the good reward for their good deeds if they were pious or people will be quickly relieved of them if they were wicked. It was reported on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Make haste with the funeral; if the dead person was good, it is a good state to which you are sending him; but if they were otherwise it is an evil of which you are ridding yourselves. (Related by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad [Hadith compilation], Al-Bukhari and Muslim in the Two Sahih [authentic] Books of Hadith [i.e. Al-Bukhari and Muslim], and Ashab-ul-Sunan [authors of Hadith compilations classified by jurisprudential themes]) It was also related by Al-Tabarany with a Hasan Isnad (a Hadith whose Isnad contains a narrator with weak exactitude, but is free from eccentricity or blemish) on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: When one of you dies, do not withhold their corpse. Rather, make haste to bury them in their grave. Hastening to bury a deceased is essential to prevent physical decay and the development of an unpleasant odor that offends people. Accordingly, Janazah Prayer should be given priority by offering it immediately after the `Isha' Prayer and before Tarawih. As this is more consistent with the Sunnah, which urges to hasten the burial of the deceased. Moreover, Janazah Prayer takes a short time that neither results in delaying Tarawih Prayer nor causes any harm. As for the place where Janazah Prayer should be offered, the Sunnah of the Prophet states that he (peace be upon him) would often offer Janazah Prayer over the deceased outside the Masjid. He (peace be upon him) would offer it in the Musalla to facilitate those attending the Prayer to witness the burial and earn the reward of two Qirats; one Qirat for offering Janazah Prayer for the deceased, and another for witnessing its burial. This is based on what was narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Anyone who offers Janazah Prayer will have one Qirat (of reward) and if they stay until the burial is done will have two Qirats; each Qirat is equal to (the Mount) Uhud (Related by Imam Muslim) The is because (Part No. 7; Page No. 268) anyone who offers Janazah Prayer in the graveyard will take many more steps, which will increase their reward. On the other hand, offering Janazah Prayer in the Masjid makes it more likely that people will return to their homes and not witness the burial.However, there is nothing wrong with offering Janazah Prayer in the Masjid, because it was proven that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did so. This is based on what was narrated by `Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) offered Janazah Prayer for Suhayl ibn Bayda' in the Masjid. (Related by Imams Muslim, Al-Tirmidhy and Abu Dawud) Another narration reads: `Aishah ordered that the body of Sa`d ibn Abu Waqqas be brought past her in the Masjid so that she could offer Janazah Prayer for him. Some people disapproved of her doing that, so she said: How quickly people forget! The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) offered Janazah Prayer for Suhayl ibn Al-Bayda' in the Masjid. It was authentically reported that Janazah Prayer was offered for both Abu Bakr and `Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) in the Masjid. Yet none of the Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet) objected. Today people are accustomed to offering Janazah Prayer in the Masjid. Perhaps because this facilitates it for people and encourages many of them to offer the Salah for the deceased whose reward will accordingly increase. Perhaps this began as a result of people being too busy in this age and have become lazy to the extent that they neglect and have no zeal for the acts of Sunnah, except those whom Allah wills. (Part No. 7; Page No. 269) Accordingly, it is permissible to offer Janazah Prayer for a deceased in either the graveyard or the Masjid, since both matters were authentically reported to be one of the matters adopted by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and his Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them).May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.