Reciting Fatiha in Janazah Prayer
Talha bin Abdillah bin Awf narrated, "I have prayed behind ibn Abbas on a funeral, so he recited al-Faitha [and a Surah and he prayed loudly until he made us hear him. When he was done, I took him by the hand and asked him so] he said, [i have prayed outloud] so you know that it is Sunnah [and that it is the truth]". Recorded by Bukhari, Abu Dawud, Nasa'i, Tirmidhi, ibn Jaroud, Daraqutni, and Hakim. The first addition, the first pair of square brakets, is by Nasa'i and its chain is authentic. The second addition is by Hakim with a good chain. The third addition is by Nasa'i and ibn Jaroud, with an authentic chain.
Tirmidhi said after this Hadith,
"This Hadith is Hasan Saheeh. The action is upon this according to some scholars from the Companions of the Prophet and others. They choose to recite al-Fatiha after the first Takbeerah. And this is the opinion of Shafi'i, Ahmad, and Is'haq. Some other scholars have said however, there is no recitation [of Fatiha] in the funeral prayer! Rather, it's praise of Allah, prayer on His Prophet, and making du'a for the deceased. This is the opinion of Thawri and others from the people of Kufa".
Albani said in Ahkam al-Jana'iz,
"This Hadith is a proof against them [the scholars who say not to recite Fatiha]. One should not say that it is unclear whether this narration reaches the Prophet or not. Indeed, if the Companion says, 'it's from Sunnah such and such', then this is equivalent to a Hadith that reaches the Prophet".
This is not to forget that the Prophet has made a general statement, "There is no prayer for the one who does not recite Umm al-Kitab" [i.e. Fatiha]. Indeed, the funeral prayer is a prayer, and as a result this hadith applies to it just like it applies to any other prayer. The burden of proof is upon the one who claims otherwise!