[117] And it was narrated in the same book that our master the Commander of the Faithful said to the Muslims after he had prayed over him alone: “Indeed, the Messenger of Allah is our Imam, alive and dead. So a group after a group of you shall enter upon him and pray over him without an Imam.”
And the Messenger—Exalted is His might—had said: “For Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, is the first to pray over me.” 1 Thus, the first to pray over him was our master the Commander of the Faithful, who said—Exalted is His might: “Then He shall give permission to the angels to pray over me.” So it was that the Muslims prayed over him with permission from the Commander of the Faithful when he said to them: “A group after a group of you shall enter upon him and pray over him.” And the cognizant believer realizes that the angels who prayed over him are the sincere supporters, such as Salman, al-Miqdad, Abu Dharr, Ammar, and others among the angels who appeared with the manifestation of the Creator in a visible form.