“When the Prophet (SAW) died, there was a man in Al-Madinah who used to make a niche in the grave and another who used to dig graves without a niche. They said: ‘Let us pray Istikharah to our Lord and call for them both, and whichever of them comes first, we will let him do it.’ So they were both sent for, and the one who used to make the niche-grave came first, so they made a niche-grave for the Prophet (SAW).”

Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If anyone invokes a blessing on me at my grave I shall hear him, and if anyone invokes a blessing on me at a distance I shall have it conveyed to me.” Baihaqi transmitted it in Shu‘ab al-lman.

the punishment in jahannam, the punishment in the grave, the trial of life and death, and the evil of the antichrist.” Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi reported God’s messenger as saying, “Do not sit on graves, and do not pray facing them.” Muslim transmitted it.

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) passed by two graves and said, "Both of them (the persons in these graves) are being tortured, and they are not being tortured for a cardinal sin. But indeed they are great sins. One of them used not to save himself from being soiled with his urine, and the other one used to go about with calumnies (among the people to rouse hostilities, e.g., one goes to a person and tells him that so-and-so says about him such and such evil things)."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

“The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: ‘The niche-grave is for us and the ditch-grave is for others.”

"Sulaiman bin Surad said to Khalid bin Urfutah - or, Khalid said to Sulaiman - 'Did you hear the Messenger of Allah saying: "Whoever is killed by his stomach then he will not be punished in the grave"?' One of them said to the other: "Yes."

We went to Amr b. al-As and he was about to die. He wept for a long time and turned his face towards the wall. His son said: Did the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him not give you tidings of this? Did the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) not give you tidings of this? He (the narrator) said: He turned his face (towards the audience) and said: The best thing which we can count upon is the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah. Verily I have passed through three phases. (The first one) in which I found myself averse to none else more than I was averse to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and there was no other desire stronger in me than the one that I should overpower him and kill him. Had I died in this state, I would have been definitely one of the denizens of Fire. When Allah instilled the love of Islam in my heart, I came to the Apostle (may peace be upon him) and said: Stretch out your right hand so that may pledge my allegiance to you. He stretched out his right hand, I withdrew my hand, He (the Holy Prophet) said: What has happened to you, O 'Amr? replied: I intend to lay down some condition. He asked: What condition do you intend to put forward? I said: should be granted pardon. He (the Holy Prophet) observed: Are you not aware of the fact that Islam wipes out all the previous (misdeeds)? Verily migration wipes out all the previous (misdeeds), and verily the pilgrimage wipes out all the (previous) misdeeds. And then no one as or dear to me than the Messenger of Allah and none was more sublime in my eyes than he, Never could I, pluck courage to catch a full glimpse of his face due to its splendour. So if I am asked to describe his features, I cannot do that for I have not eyed him fully. Had I died in this state had every reason to hope that I would have bee among the dwellers of Paradise. Then we were responsible for certain things (in the light of which) I am unable to know what is in store for me. When I die, let neither female mourner nor fire accompany me. When you bury me, fill my grave well with earth, then stand around it for the time within which a camel is slaughtered and its meat is distributed so that I may enjoy your intimacy and (in your company) ascertain what answer I can give to the messengers (angels) of Allah.

"Allah's Messenger cursed the women who visit the graves, and those who use them as Masajid and put torches on them."

“When the Messenger of Allah (SAW) died, they differed as to whether his grave should have a niche or a ditch in the ground, until they spoke and raised their voices concerning that. Then ‘Umar said: ‘Do not shout in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (SAW), living or dead,’ or words to that effect. So they sent for both the one who made a niche and the one who dug graves without a niche, and the one who used to make a niche came and dug a grave with a niche for the Messenger of Allah (SAW), then he (SAW) was buried.”

A black woman (or probably a young man) used to clean the mosque. Messenger of Allah (PBUH) missed her (or him) and asked about her (or him). He was told that she (or he) had died. He (PBUH) said, "Why did you not inform me?" (It seemed as if) they (Companions) considered the matter insignificant. Then he (PBUH) said, "Show me her (or his) grave." When it was shown to him, he offered (Janazah-funeral) prayer over it and said, "These graves cover those in them with darkness, and Allah illumines them for the inmates as a result of my supplication for them".

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "When anyone of you has done his Tashahhud during Salat (prayer), he should seek refuge in Allah against four things and say: "Allahumma inni a'udhu bika min 'adhabi jahannam, wa min 'adhabil-qabr, wa min fitnatil-mahya wal-mamat, wa min sharri fitnatil-masihid-dajjal (O Allah! I seek refuge in You from the torment of Hell, from the torment of the grave, from the trials of life and death, and from the mischief of Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal (Antichrist)."

[Muslim].

Asma’ daughter of Abu Bakr said, “God’s messenger arose to deliver an address in which he mentioned the trial a man will endure in the grave. On his mentioning that, the Muslims gave a shout of dismay." Bukhari transmitted it thus, but Nasa’i added, “which prevented me from grasping what God's messenger had said. So when the clamour died down I said to a man near me, ‘God bless you, what did God’s messenger say at the end of his address?' He replied that he said he had had a revelation that the trial they would endure in their graves would approximate to that of ad-Dajjal."

level every grave and destroy every idol.

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “He who dies of an illness dies as a martyr, or he will be guarded from the trial in the grave, and will have his provision brought him morning and evening from paradise." Ibn Majah and BaihaqI, in Shu'ab al-iman, transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Umar told that when the dead was placed in the grave the Prophet said, “In the name of God, by God’s grace, and following the religion of God’s messenger.” A version has “And following the sunna of God’s messenger.” Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it, and Abu Dawud transmitted the second version.

Muhammad b. an-Nu‘man who traced the tradition back to the Prophet reported him as saying, “If anyone visits the grave of his parents, or of one of them, every Friday he will be granted forgiveness and it will be recorded as filial piety.” Baihaqi transmitted it in mursal form in Shu'ab al-iman.

“The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: ‘The niche-grave is for us and the ditch-grave is for others.’”

Abud Darda’ reported God’s messenger as saying, “The best thing in which to visit God in your graves and in your mosques is white." Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Abu Ayyub told that the Prophet went out when the sun had set, and on hearing a sound said, "The Jews are being punished in their graves." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

“Seek refuge with Allah from the punishment of Hell, and seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of the grave. Seek refuge in Allah from the trial of Al-Masihid-Dajjal, and seek refuge in Allah from the trials of life and death.”

“Do you know what mission I am sending you on? It is the same mission as the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent me. To erase every image and level every grave.”

that regarding Allah's saying: Allah will keep firm those who believe, with the word that stands firm in this world and in the Hereafter (14:27). The Prophet (SAW) said: "In the grave, when it is said to him: 'Who is your Lord? What is your religion? And who is your Prophet?'"

`Ali (رضي الله عنه) said to me: I shall send you on the same mission as the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent me: do not leave any image without erasing it or any built-up grave without levelling it.

" The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) entered his Musalla and saw the people who looked as if they were smiling. So he said: 'Indeed, if you were to increase in remembrance of the severer of pleasures, then you would find yourselves too busy for what I see. So increase in remembrance of death, the severer of pleasures. For indeed there is no day that comes upon the grave except that it speaks, saying: "I am thee house of the estranged, I am the house of the solitude, I am the house of dust, and I am the house of the worm-eaten." When the believing worshipper is buried, the grave says to him: "Welcome, make yourself comfortable. Indeed, to me, you are the most beloved of those who walked upon me. Since you have been entrusted to me and delivered to me today, you shall see what I have arranged for you." It will then widen for him so that his sight extends, and the door to Paradise is opened for him. And when the wicked worshipper or the disbeliever is buried , the grave says to him: "You are not welcome, do not get comfortable. Indeed, to me, you are the most hated of those who walked upon me. Since you have been entrusted to me and delivered to me today, you shall see what I have arranged for you.'" He said: 'It will begin closing in on him(squeezing him) until his ribs are crushing each other.'" He said: " The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) clasped some of his fingers between others and said: 'Seventy giant serpents will constrict him, if even one of them were to hiss on the earth, nothing upon it would grow as long as it remained. They will chew on him and bite him until he is brought to the Reckoning.'" He said: " The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: 'The grave is but a garden from the gardens of Paradise, or a pit from the pits of the Fire.'"

The sun eclipsed during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). As I went to 'A'isha who was busy in prayer. I said: What is the matter with the people that they are praying (a special prayer)? She ('A'isha) pointed towards the sky with her head. I said: Is it (an unusual) sign? She said: Yes. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) stood up for prayer for such a long time that I was about to faint. I caught hold of a waterskin lying by my side, and began to pour water over my head, or (began to sprinkle water) on my face. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) then finished and the sun had brightened. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) then addressed the people, (after) praising Allah and lauding Him, and then said: There was no such thing as I did not see earlier, but I saw it at this very place of mine. I ever saw Paradise and Hell. It was also revealed to me that you would be tried in the graves, as you would he tried something like the turmoil of the Dajjal. Asma' said: I do not know which word he actually used (qariban or mithl), and each one of you would be brought and it would be said: What is your knowledge about this man? If the person is a believer, (Asma' said: I do not know whether it was the word al-Mu'min or al-Mu'qin) he would say: He is Muhammad and he is the Messenger of Allah. He brought to us the clear signs and right guidance. So we responded and obeyed him. (He would repeat this three times), and it would be said to him: You should go to sleep. We already knew that you are a believer in him. So the pious man would go to sleep. So far as the hypocrite or sceptic is concerned (Asma' said: I do not know which word was that: al-Munafiq (hypocrite) or al-Murtad (doubtful) he would say: I do not know. I only uttered whatever I heard people say.

"We have come to the morning, and in the morning the dominion belongs to God ..." A version has, "My Lord, I seek refuge in Thee from a punishment in hell and a punishment in the grave." Muslim transmitted it.

‘A’isha said that the Prophet used to say, “O God, I seek refuge in Thee from slackness, decrepitude, debt and sin. O God, I seek refuge in Thee from the punishment in hell, the trial [which leads to] hell, the trial in the grave, (2) the punishment in the grave, the evil of the trial of riches, the evil of the trial of poverty, (3) and the evil of the testing of the antichrist. (4) O God, wash away my sins with snow and hail water, purify my heart as a white garment is purified from filth, and put my sins as far away from me as Thou hast put the East from the West.” 2. Being unable to answer the two angels. 3. Riches may lead to oppression and poverty to envy. 4. al-Masih ad-dajjal. The false Christ who is to appear in the last days. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Ja'far b. Muhammad told in mursal form on his father’s authority that the Prophet cast three handfuls of earth on the dead with both hands, that he sprinkled water on his son Ibrahim’s grave, and that he put small pebbles on it. It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna, and Shafi’i transmitted from “he sprinkled".

Jabir said God’s messenger forbade that graves should be plastered with gypsum, that any erection should be built over them, and that people should sit on them. Muslim transmitted it.

When Uthman ibn Maz'un died, he was brought out on his bier and buried. The Prophet (saws) ordered a man to bring him a stone, but he was unable to carry it. The Messenger of Allah (saws) got up and going over to it rolled up his sleeves.

The narrator Kathir told that al-Muttalib remarked: The one who told me about the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: I still seem to see the whiteness of the forearms of the Messenger of Allah (saws) when he rolled up his sleeves. He then carried it and placed it at his head saying: I am marking my brother's grave with it, and I shall bury beside him those of my family who die.

Al-Bara’ b. ‘Azib said, “We went out with God’s messenger to the funeral of a man of the Ansar, but when we reached the grave the niche in the side had not yet been made, so the Prophet sat down facing the qibla and we sat down along with him.” Abu Dawud, Nasa’i and Ibn Majah transmitted it, Ibn Majah adding “quietly”. (Literally, as though the birds were over our heads. An explanation of the phrase is that when a bird alights on a camel’s head and begins to pick the ticks off it, the camel stands perfectly still so as not to frighten it away.)

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abdullah ibn Dinar said, "I saw Abdullah ibn Umar stop by the grave of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and ask for blessings on the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and on Abu Bakr and Umar."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Hour will not come until a man passes by the grave of another and says, 'If only I were in his place.' "

Ash-Sha'bi said: "I was informed by one who saw the Prophet: He (pbuh) saw a solitary grave, s he lined his Companions (behind him) to pray over it." It was said to him (Ash-Sha'bi): "Who informed you?" He said: "Ibn Abbas."

'Ali bin Abu Talib (May Allah be pleased with him) said to me: "Shall I not send you to do a task that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) had assigned to me? Spare no portrait unwiped out, and leave not a high grave unlevelled."

[Muslim].

I am sending you on a mission as the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent me: Do not leave any grave without levelling it or any statue without knocking it down.

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) placed a man in his grave at night, and he lit a lamp in his grave.

It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) was brought into his grave from the direction of the Qiblah, and he was placed in his grave gently.

"The Prophet entered a grave during the night, so a torch was lit for him. He took it (the deceased) in from the direction of the Qiblah, and he said: 'May Allah have mercy upon you, you were often invoking (Allah) by reciting the Qur'an.' And he said: 'Allahu Akbar four times."

Bukhari said without a full isnad that when al-Hasan b. ‘Ali died, his wife put a tent over his grave for a year; then when she removed it she heard one shouting and saying, “Have they found what they lost?” and another replied, “No, they have given up hope and gone away.”

that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "Do not turn your houses into graves. Indeed Ash-Shaitan does not enter the house in which Surat Al-Baqarah is recited."

‘A’isha told of God's Messenger as saying in his illness from which he did not recover, “God curse the Jews and Christians! They have taken the graves of their prophets as mosques.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Ibn ‘Abbas said that God’s Messenger cursed women who visited graves, people who put mosques there and those who lit lamps there. Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi and Nasa’i transmitted it.

We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) at a funeral, and he said: `Who will go to Madinah and not leave any grave without levelling it, or any image without smearing it, or any idol without breaking it?` A man stood up and said: I will. Then he felt afraid of the people of Madinah, so he sat down. `Ali (رضي الله عنه) said: So I went, then I came back and said: O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), I did not leave any grave in Madinah but I levelled it, or any image but I smeared it, or any idol but I broke it. He said: `Whoever goes back to doing any of that has disbelieved in what Allah revealed to Muhammad. O Ali, do not be a cause of division - or he said: a show-off - or a merchant, except a good merchant, for they are the ones who procrastinate in doing good deeds.”

God’s messenger prayed at a funeral and I have retained in my memory some of his supplication. He was saying, “O God, forgive him, show him mercy, grant him security, pardon him, grant him a noble provision and a spacious lodging, wash him with water, snow and ice, purify him from sins as Thou hast purified the white garment from filth, give him a better abode in place of his present one, a better family in place of his present one, and a better spouse in place of his present one, cause him to enter paradise and preserve him from the trial in the grave and the punishment in hell.” A version has “And guard him from the trial in the grave and the punishment in hell.” He added that the result was that he wished he had been that dead man. Muslim transmitted it.

“Sa`d used to teach his children these words just as the Muktib teaches children, he would say: ‘Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (saws) used to seek refuge by saying them at the end of (every) Salat: O Allah I seek refuge in You from cowardliness, I seek refuge in You from miserliness, I seek refuge in You from feeble old age, and I seek refuge in You from the trial of the world, and the punishment of the grave (Allāhumma innī a`ūdhu bika minal-jubn, wa a`ūdhu bika minal-bukhl, wa a`ūdhu bika min ardhalil-`umur, wa a`ūdhu bika min fitnatid-dunyā wa `adhābil qabr).’”

Abu Huraira said that a negress (or a youth) used to sweep the mosque. God’s messenger missed her, and when he asked about her (or him) the people told him he had died. He asked why they had not informed him, and it appeared as if they had treated her (or him) as of little account. He asked the people to lead him to the grave, and when they did so he prayed over her (The wording of this tradition causes some difficulty owing to the indefiniteness as to whether the person was a man or a woman. Sometimes the alternative is mentioned, as in the translation, but sometimes merely the masculine singular pronoun and at others merely the feminine singular pronoun is used) and then said, "These graves are full of darkness for their occupants, but God will illuminate them for them by reason of my prayer over them.” (Bukhari and Muslim, the wording being Muslim’s.)

"When you have buried me, keep standing near my grave till (for the time it takes to) a camel is slaughtered and its meat is distributed, so that I may feel your nearness and know what to reply to the angels sent by my Rubb."

[Muslim].

My father told me that the Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) did not know where to bury the Prophet (ﷺ) until Abu Bakr said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: `A Prophet is not to be buried except where he died.” So they removed his bed and dug a grave for him beneath