Question:

What do the expert scholars of shari’ah say: If the funeral prayer of the deceased has not been performed, then within how many days can it be performed?

Answer:

Until the point it is believed that the body of the deceased is unharmed. Now this varies according to the variation in the seasons, the quality of the earth and also the state of the deceased. In warm weather, the body changes quickly, but later if the weather is cold. In
salty lands, it will change quickly in comparison to hard land or lands with no saline soil. The body that is fat and wet shall change quickly in comparison to a body that is dry and thin. Thus, there is no fixed time as such.

And Allah ﷻ knows the best

Imam Ahmad Rida Khan رحمة الله تعالى عليه

Translation by Dr Musharraf Hussain Al-Azhari Translator of Majestic Quran, www.majesticquran.co.uk