Bab Ma Yata'allaq bil-Quboor
Issues Related to Graves
بَابٌ : مَا يَتَعَلَّقُ بِالْقُبُورِ
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالىٰ : إِذْ يَتَنَازَعُونَ بَيْنَهُمْ أَمْرَهُمْ فَقَالُوا ابْنُوا عَلَيْهِمْ بُنْيَانًا رَبُّهُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِهِمْ قَالَ الَّذِينَ غَلَبُوا عَلَى أَمْرِهِمْ لَنَتَّخِذَنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ مَسْجِدًا ۔ (آیت ۲۱ - کھف) *Translation: Allah the Most High says: "When they were disputing among themselves about their affair, they said: 'Build over them a building. Their Lord knows best about them.' Those who prevailed in their matter said: 'We will surely build a place of worship over them.'" (Ayah 21 - Al-Kahf)*
عَنْ بُرَيْدَةَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : كُنْتُ نَهَيْتُكُمْ عَنْ زِيَارَةِ الْقُبُورِ فَزُورُوهَا فَإِنَّهَا تُذَكِّرُكُمْ الْآخِرَةَ ۔ (اخرجه الخمسة الا البخاري) Vocabulary:- كُنْتُ نَهَيْتُكُمْ: I had forbidden you. زِيَارَةٌ: To meet, to visit. زُورُوا: Visit. Translation:- It is narrated from Hazrat Buraidah (RA), he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "I had forbidden you from visiting graves. So now you may visit graves because they remind you of the hereafter." (Apart from Imam Bukhari, the remaining five scholars of Sihah Sittah have recorded this hadith in their books)
Sihah Sittah: Sittah means six. Sihah means Sahih. That is, six books of hadith, which the scholars of hadith have unanimously accepted as authentic. Their arrangement is as follows: (1) Sahih Bukhari (2) Sahih Muslim (3) Sunan Abi Dawud (4) Al-Jami' as-Sahih lit-Tirmidhi (5) Sunan al-Nasa'i (6) Sunan Ibn Majah. * In terms of the aforementioned arrangement, among these books, Sahih Bukhari has precedence. After it is Sahih Muslim, similarly until the end. The meaning of this is that among these Imams of Hadith, Hazrat Imam Bukhari (RH) exercised the most caution and scrutiny. Thus, Hazrat Imam Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ismail Bukhari (RH) (born 194 AH / 194 Hijri died 256 AH) - In his youth, at the age of 18, you authored "Kitab Qadhaya as-Sahabah wa at-Tabi'een". Then you presented yourself in Madinah Munawwarah and sitting near the Rawdah Mutahharah, you compiled "Tarikh Kabeer". In the science of hadith, you narrated from eighty (80) thousand individuals. All of these were scholars of hadith. You narrated hadiths from five categories of people. (1) Tabi'een (2) Followers of Tabi'een (3) Peers (4) Sahabah (5) Students. You had memorized approximately six lakh hadiths with their matn (text) and isnad (chain). From these, you selected nine (9) thousand hadiths. Sahih Bukhari has hadiths with repetitions (7275). If repetitions are excluded, then there are (4000) four thousand hadiths. Hazrat Imam Bukhari (RH) started it at the age of 18 and completed it in a period of 16 years. In this way, he himself says
* (And according to some, Sunan Ibn Majah) - Administration ۱۵۵
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that "I did not write any hadith in my Jami' hadith except after performing ghusl, praying two rak'ahs of supererogatory prayer, and sifting through six lakh hadiths." I sat in the Haram Sharif for a period of 16 years. In short, the caution that these elders exercised is something that, even mentioning it at this time, is astonishing. And some simpletons consider it out of the realm of possibility and deny it altogether.
عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ مَرَّ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِقُبُورِ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ فَأَقْبَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِوَجْهِهِ فَقَالَ السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ يَا أَهْلَ الْقُبُورِ! يَغْفِرُ اللّٰهُ لَنَا وَلَكُمْ أَنْتُمْ لَنَا سَلَفٌ وَنَحْنُ بِالْأَثَرِ ۔ (اخرجه الترمذي) Vocabulary:- مَرَّ: Passed by, walked. أَقْبَلَ: Came forward, turned attention to. سَلَفٌ: Preceded. بِالْأَثَرِ: Following in footsteps. Translation:- It is narrated from Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas (RA) that when the Holy Prophet ﷺ passed by the graves of the people of Madinah, he turned his face towards them and said: "O people of the graves! Peace be upon you. May Allah forgive us and forgive you. You have preceded us, and we are following in your footsteps." (This hadith is recorded in Tirmidhi)
Friends! Look closely! If a dead person does not hear the words of a living person, then how can it be correct to say Assalamu Alaikum to him? Also remember that initiating salam is Sunnah, but replying to salam is obligatory because it is established from the Quran: "وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُمْ بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَا أَوْ رُدُّوهَا ۗ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَانَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَسِيبًا" - Ayah 86 - Nisa. *(And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or [at least] return it [in a like manner]. Indeed, Allah is ever, over all things, an Accountant.)* "Assalamu Alaikum", the minimum reply is "Wa Alaikum Assalam", it is obligatory to give. And if one says "Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah", it is even better, and if one adds "wa Barakatuhu", it is the best. Because the Quranic command فَحَيُّوا is an imperative form which signifies obligation. Thus, the dead hearing it is established.
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ " لَأَنْ يَجْلِسَ أَحَدُكُمْ عَلَى جَمْرَةٍ فَتَحْرِقَ ثِيَابَهُ فَتَخْلُصَ إِلَى جِلْدِهِ خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ أَنْ يَجْلِسَ عَلَى قَبْرٍ ۔ (اخرجه مسلم و ابو داؤد و نسائی) Vocabulary:- جَلَسَ يَجْلِسُ: To sit. جَمْرَةٍ: Fire, ember, spark. تَحْرِقَ: Burned. ثِيَابٌ plural of ثَوْب: clothes. جِلْدٌ: Skin, hide. Translation:- It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him), he said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "If any person sits on embers, then his clothes burn and the fire reaches his skin (hide) - it is better for him than that he sits on a grave." (This hadith is recorded by Muslim, Abu Dawud and Nasa'i). (A meaning of this is also given that sitting near a grave for answering the call of nature. Therefore, at the time of urinating
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keep in mind. The Prophet ﷺ has also forbidden urinating in the marketplace, on pathways, or in holes).
عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ كَيْفَ أَقُولُ يَا رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ يَعْنِي فِي زِيَارَةِ الْقُبُورِ ۔ فَقَالَ قُولِي ”السَّلَامُ عَلَى أَهْلِ الدِّيَارِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمِينَ وَيَرْحَمُ اللّٰهُ الْمُسْتَقْدِمِينَ مِنَّا وَالْمُسْتَأْخِرِينَ ۔ وَإِنَّا إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰهُ بِكُمْ لَلَاحِقُونَ ۔ (رواه مسلم - مشكوة) Vocabulary:- كَيْفَ أَقُولُ: What should I say? الْمُسْتَقْدِمِينَ: Those who go ahead, those who precede. الْمُسْتَأْخِرِينَ: Those who delay, those who come later, after. بِكُمْ: With you, along with you. لَلَاحِقُونَ: About to join. دِيَارٌ: Plural of دَارٌ (abode), region, country. Translation:- It is narrated from Hazrat Aisha Siddiqa (May Allah be pleased with her). She requested the Holy Prophet, "O Messenger of Allah! What should I say, what should I read?" Meaning at the time of visiting graves. So the Prophet ﷺ said: "Say this salam, O believing and submitting people of the abodes, peace be upon you, and may Allah have mercy on those among us who have gone ahead, and on those who come later, and undoubtedly, if Allah wills, we are going to join you." (This hadith is in Muslim and also in Mishkat)
عَنِ الْقَاسِمِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ قَالَ دَخَلْتُ عَلَى عَائِشَةَ فِي بَيْتِهَا فَقُلْتُ يَا أُمَّ اكْشِفِي لِي عَنْ قَبْرِ رَسُولِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَصَاحِبَيْهِ ۔ وَكَشَفَتْ لِي عَنْ ثَلَاثَةِ قُبُورٍ لَا مُشْرِفَةٍ وَلَا لَاطِئَةٍ مَبْطُوحَةٍ بِبَطْحَاءِ الْعَرْصَةِ الْحَمْرَاءِ ۔ (اخرجه ابوداؤد) Vocabulary:- اكْشِفِي لِي: Uncover for me, show me. اكْشِفِي لِي عَنْ قَبْرٍ: Remove the sheet from the grave and show me. مُشْرِفَةٍ: High, elevated. لَا طِئَةٍ: Flat, low. مَبْطُوحَةٍ: Gravelly, covered in pebbles. Small pebbles were spread out. حَمْرَاءِ: Red. عَرْصَةِ: Courtyard. Translation:- It is narrated from Hazrat Qasim bin Muhammad bin Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with them all), he says that I entered the house of Sayyida Aisha Siddiqa. I said to her, "O Mother! Remove the sheet from the grave of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his two companions (RA), so that I may see." So she removed the sheet from the three graves for me. These graves were neither very high nor very low. Red pebbles were spread on them, applied to them. (This hadith is in Abu Dawud)
Friends! From this, the act of putting a sheet on graves as a sunnah is also established.
وَعَنِ الْمُطَّلِبِ بْنِ أَبِي وَدَاعَةَ ـ قَالَ لَمَّا مَاتَ عُثْمَانُ بْنُ مَظْعُونٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ
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مَنْ مَاتَ بِالْمَدِينَةِ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ - فَلَمَّا دُفِنَ أَمَرَ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَجُلًا أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُ بِحَجَرٍ فَيُعَلِّمَ قَبْرَهُ بِهِ - فَأَخَذَ حَجَرًا ضَعُفَ عَنْ حَمْلِهِ فَقَامَ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَحَسَرَ عَنْ ذِرَاعَيْهِ ثُمَّ حَمَلَهُ فَوَضَعَهُ عِنْدَ رَأْسِهِ وَقَالَ أُعْلِمُ بِهِ قَبْرَ أَخِي - فَأَدْفِنُ عِنْدَهُ مَنْ مَاتَ مِنْ أَهْلِي ۔ (اخرجه ابوداؤد - تيسير الوصول ج ۲) Vocabulary:- لَمَّا: When, at the time. أَمَرَ: Ordered. حَسَرَ: Rolled up sleeves. ذِرَاعَيْهِ: Both of his hands. ذِرَاعٌ: Yard, hand. ضَعُفَ عَنْ حَمْلِهِ: Was unable to lift it. أُعْلِمُ بِهِ: I am making a mark with it. Translation:- It is narrated from Hazrat Muttalib bin Abi Wada'ah that when Hazrat Uthman bin Maz'oon (RA) passed away, and he is the first person among the Muhajireen to pass away in Madinah, when he was buried, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered a person to bring a stone and place it on his grave as a sign. A person laid hands on a stone but could not lift it. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself stood up and rolled up his sleeves from both his hands and lifted that stone and placed it at the head of (Uthman's) grave and said, I am making a mark for my brother's grave. Whoever from my relatives dies, I will bury them near him. (This hadith is in Abu Dawud and also in the second volume of Taysir al-Wusool)
وَقَالَ خَارِجَةُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ رَأَيْتُنِي وَنَحْنُ شُبَّانٌ فِي زَمَنِ عُثْمَانَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ وَإِنَّا أَشَدُّنَا وَثْبَةً الَّذِي يَثِبُ قَبْرَ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ مَظْعُونٍ حَتَّى يُجَاوِزَهُ ۔ (البخاری) Vocabulary:- رَأَيْتُنِي: I see myself, I remember that time. شُبَّانٌ: Plural of شَابٌّ - young men. وَثْبَةً: To jump, leap. وُثُوبٌ: To jump, leap. يُجَاوِزَهُ: To cross it. Translation:- Hazrat Kharijah bin Zaid says - I remember that time well, and during the era of Caliph Uthman Ghani (RA), we were young men, and the one among us who could jump the highest was the one who could jump over the grave of Uthman bin Maz'oon, to the extent that he would cross it. (This hadith is present in the third volume of Fath al-Bari, the commentary of Sahih Bukhari)
Friends! What is proven by these two hadiths. The Holy Prophet ﷺ made a mark for the grave so that it would remain. Some ignorant people completely level graves. If there is no mark of a grave, then how can one take precaution from the grave. It is also proven from this hadith that it is good to be buried near a good person's grave. Furthermore, upon reflecting on the second hadith, it is also proven that the grave of Hazrat Uthman bin Maz'oon was so big and high that not everyone could jump over it. Only the one who could jump high could cross it.
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وَعَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ مَرَّ بِقَبْرَيْنِ يُعَذَّبَانِ فَقَالَ إِنَّهُمَا لَيُعَذَّبَانِ وَمَا يُعَذَّبَانِ فِي كَبِيرٍ أَمَّا أَحَدُهُمَا فَكَانَ لَا يَسْتَتِرُ مِنَ الْبَوْلِ وَأَمَّا الْآخَرُ فَكَانَ يَمْشِي بِالنَّمِيمَةِ - ثُمَّ أَخَذَ جَرِيدَةً رَطْبَةً فَشَقَّهَا بِنِصْفَيْنِ ثُمَّ غَرَزَ فِي كُلِّ قَبْرٍ وَاحِدَةً - قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ لِمَ صَنَعْتَ هَذَا؟ فَقَالَ لَعَلَّهُ أَنْ يُخَفَّفَ عَنْهُمَا مَا لَمْ يَيْبَسَا ۔ (البخاری) Vocabulary:- مَرَّ: Passed, originally it was مُرُورٌ. بِقَبْرَيْنِ: By two graves. أَحَدُهُمَا: One of those two. لَا يَسْتَتِرُ: Used to conceal, did not use to cover/shield. يَمْشِي: Used to walk, used to go. كَانَ يَمْشِي: Used to walk. جَرِيدَةً: Branch, stem, stalk. رَطْبَةً: Fresh, green. A fresh or green thing is called رَطْبٌ. شَقَّ: Split, tore, cleaved. غَرَزَ: Planted, fixed. لِمَ صَنَعْتَ هَذَا: Why did you do this? لَعَلَّهُ أَنْ يُخَفَّفَ: Perhaps it may be lightened. مَا لَمْ يَيْبَسَا: As long as they do not dry - remain green. Translation:- Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them both) narrates from the noble Prophet ﷺ that the Prophet ﷺ passed by two graves. Both of them were being punished. So the Prophet ﷺ said: These two are being punished and not for any major matter (meaning they could have easily saved themselves if they wanted). Out of them, one person used to not shield himself while urinating and the other person used to walk around carrying people's backbiting. Meaning he used to do tale-bearing. Then the Prophet took a fresh date palm branch, split it into two pieces, and planted one piece on each grave. The people requested, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! Why did you do this? So the Prophet said, I have hope that as long as these pieces do not dry up, their punishment will be lightened. (This hadith is in the third volume of Fath al-Bari, the commentary of Bukhari)
Friends! Reflect on this hadith for a moment. When fresh date palm branches bring lightening in the punishment of the grave due to their dhikr of Allah, then rose, jasmine, etc. flowers, which are also fresh and fragrant (and fragrance was very beloved to the Holy Prophet ﷺ), do they not do the dhikr of Allah? And does the reward of the dhikr of these flowers reach the occupant of the grave upon being placed on someone's grave or not? Those who call everything "bid'ah", reflect a little on the wisdom and utility of placing flowers on graves. "فَاعْتَبِرُوا يَا أُولِي الْأَبْصَارِ" *(So take warning, O people of vision)*.
وَعَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ ، كُنْتُ أَدْخُلُ بَيْتِيَ الَّذِي فِيهِ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَإِنِّي وَاضِعٌ ثَوْبِي أَقُولُ إِنَّمَا هُوَ زَوْجِي وَأَبِي فَلَمَّا دُفِنَ عُمَرُ مَعَهُمْ فَوَاللّٰهِ مَا دَخَلْتُهُ إِلَّا أَنَا مَشْدُودَةٌ عَلَيَّ ثِيَابِي حَيَاءً مِنْ عُمَرَ - (رواه احمد - مشكوة) Vocabulary:- كُنْتُ أَدْخُلُ: I used to enter. إِنِّي وَاضِعٌ ثَوْبِي: I used to put aside my extra clothes, for example
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