‘A'isha said that whenever it was her turn for God's messenger to spend the night with her he would go out towards the end of the night to al-Baqi' and say, “Peace be upon you, household of a people who are believers. What you were being promised will come to you tomorrow, you receiving it after some delay, and if God will we shall join you. O God, grant forgiveness to the inhabitants of Baqi' al- Gharqad.” (This is the full name of the cemetery at Medina. Baqi' properly means a place with tree roots, and gharqad is the name of a thorny type of tree. The name was retained even when all signs of trees were removed.) Muslim transmitted it.

The Messenger of Allah(PBUH) said, "The Last Hour will not come until the Muslims fight against the Jews, until a Jew will hide himself behind a stone or a tree, and the stone or the tree will say: 'O Muslim, there is a Jew behind me. Come and kill him,' but Al-Gharqad tree will not say so, for it is the tree of the Jews."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

"The Prophet walked on a very hot day towards Baqi' Al-Gharqad (graveyard of Al-Madinah), and the people were walking behind him. When he heard the sound of their shoes, it affected his soul so he sat down until he made them go ahead of him, lest that make him feel too proud."

The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.

reported Whenever it was her turn to spend with Messenger of Allah (PBUH), he used to go to the Baqi' (graveyard in Al-Madinah) at the last part of night and say, "May you be safe, O abode of the believing people. What you have been promised has come to you. You are tarried till tomorrow and certainly we shall follow you if Allah wills. O Allah, forgive the inmates of the Baqi'-al-Gharqad."

[Muslim].

Peace be upon you, abode of a people who are believers. What you were promised would come to you tomorrow, you receiving it after some delay; and God willing we shall join you. O Allah, grant forgiveness to the inhabitants of Baqi' al-Gharqad. Qutaiba did not mention his words:" would come to you".

We were at a funeral in Baqee’ al-Gharqad, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to us. He sat down and we sat down around him. He had a stick and he started to hit the ground with it, then he lifted his gaze and said: `There is no one among you, no living soul, but Allah has decreed its place in Paradise or Hell, and it has been decreed whether it is doomed or blessed.” The people said. O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), shouldn`t we rely on our destiny and stop striving? Then whoever is one of the blessed, will end up blessed, and whoever is one of the doomed, will end up doomed. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Rather you should strive, for everyone is helped (to do their deeds): the doomed are helped to do the deeds of the doomed and the blessed are helped to do the deeds of the blessed.` Then he recited: `As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah and fears Him, And believes in Al-Husna. We will make smooth for him the path of ease (goodness). But he who is greedy miser and thinks himself self-sufficient. And belies Al-Husna We will make smooth for him the path for evil` [Al-Lail.92:5–10]. (Al-Husna: The Best (i.e. either La ilaha illAllaah: none has the right to be worshipped but Allah) or a reward from Allah (i.e. Allah will compensate him for what he will spend in Allah`s way or bless him with Paradise) Footnote from Hilali/Khan Translation of Meanings) It was narrated that ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) said: We were at a funeral in Baqee` al-Gharqad - and he narrated a similar report

We were accompanying a funeral procession in Baqi` Al-Gharqad (graveyard in Al-Madinah) when the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) proceeded towards us and sat down. We sat around him. He had a small stick in his hand. He was bending down his head and scraping the ground with the stick. He said, "There is none among you but has a place assigned for him either in the Jannah or in the Hell." The Companions said: "O Messenger of Allah, should we not depend upon what has been written for us (and give up doing good deeds)?'' The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Carry on doing good deeds. Every one will find it easy to do such deeds (as will lead him to his destined place) for which he has been created."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

"My wife and I stopped at Baqi Al-Gharqad, and my wife said to me: 'Go to the Messenger of Allah and ask him to give us something to eat. ' So I went to the Messenger of Allah and found a man with him asking him (for something), and the Messenger of Allah was saying: 'I do not have anything to give to you.' The man turned away angrily, saying: 'You only give to those you want. 'The Messenger of Allah said: 'He is angry with me because I did not have anything to give him. Whoever asks of you and he has an Uqiyah or its equivalent, then he has been too demanding in asking."' Al-Asadi said: I said: 'Our milch-camel is worth more than an Uqiyah, 'and an Uqiyah is forty Dirhams. "So I went back and did not ask him for anything. Then the Messenger of Allah got some barley and raisins after that, and he gave us a share of them, until Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, made us independent of means."

We were in a funeral in the graveyard of Gharqad when Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came to us and we sat around him. He had a stick with him. He lowered his head and began to scratch the earth with his stick, and then said: There is not one amongst you whom a seat in Paradise or Hell has not been allotted and about whom it has not been written down whether he would be an evil person or a blessed person. A person said: Allah's Messenger, should we not then depend upon our destiny and abandon our deeds? Thereupon he said: Acts of everyone will be facilitated in that which has been created for him so that whoever belongs to the company of the blessed will have good works made easier for him and whoever belongs to the unfortunate ones will have evil acts made easier for him. He then recited this verse (from the Qur'an): "Then, who gives to the needy and guards against evil and accepts the excellent (the truth of Islam and the path of righteousness it prescribes), We shall make easy for him the easy end and who is miserly and considers himself above need, We shall make easy for him the difficult end" (xcii. 5-10).

We were sitting with the Prophet (ﷺ) at a funeral - I [the narrator] think he said in Baqee` al-Gharqad - and he struck the ground (with a stick), then he lifted his head and said: “There is no one among you but Allah has decreed his place in Paradise or his place in Hell.” We said: O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), shouldn`t we rely on that? He said: `No, rather strive, for each will be enabled [to do the appropriate deeds].” Then he recited: `As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah and fears Him, And believes in Al-Husna.` We will make smooth for him the path of ease (goodness). But he who is greedy miser and thinks himself self sufficient. And belies Al-Husna. We will make smooth for him the path for evil” [Al-Lail 92:5-10]. (Al-Husna: The Best (i.e. either La ilaha illAllaah: none has the right to be worshipped but Allah) or a reward from Allah (i.e. Allah will compensate him for what he will spend in Allah`s way or bless him with Paradise) Footnote from Hilali/Khan Translation of meanings)

A man from Banu Asad said : I and my family alighted at Baqi al-Gharqad. My wife said to me : Go the Messenger of Allah(may peace be upon him) and beg something from him for our eating, and made a mention of there need. So I went to the Messenger of Allah(May peace be upon him). I found with a man who was begging from him and he was saying to him: I have nothing to give you. The man turned away from him in anger while he was saying: By my life, you give anyone you wish. The Messenger of Allah(May peace be upon him) said : He’s anger with me, for I have nothing to give him. If any of you begs when he has an Uqiyah or its equivalent, he has begged immoderately. The man of Banu Asad said : So I said : The she camel of ours is better than an uqiyah, while an uqiyah is equivalent to 40 Dirhams. I therefore returned and did not beg from him. Afterwards some barley and raisins where brought to the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him). He gave us a share from them (or as he reported)till Allah, the Exalted, made us self-sufficient(i.e well off).

Abu Dawud said: Al-Thawri narrated it as Malik narrated.

We attended a funeral at Baql’ al-Gharqad which was also attended by the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) came and sat down. He had a stick (in his hand) by which he began to scratch up the ground. He then raised his head and said : The place which every one of you and every soul of you will occupy in Hell or in Paradise has been recorded, and destined wicked or blesses. A man from among the people asked : Prophet of Allah! Should we not then trust simply in what has been recorded for us and abandon (doing good) deeds? Those who are among the number of the blessed will be inclined to blessing, and those of us who are among the number of the wicked will be inclined to wickedness. He replied : Go on doing good actions, for everyone is helped to do that for which he was created. Those who are among the number of wicked will be helped to do wicked deeds. The Prophet of Allah (May peace be upon him) then recited: “So he who gives (in charity) and fears (Allah), and in all sincerity testifies to the best, we will indeed make smooth for him the path to bliss. But he who is a greedy miser and thinks himself self-sufficient, and gives the lie to the best, We will indeed make smooth for him the path of misery.”

I have committed immorality (adultery), so inflict punishment upon me. Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) turned him away again and again. He then asked his people (about the state of his mind). They said: We do not know of any ailment of his except that he has committed something about which he thinks that he would not be able to relieve himself of its burden but with the Hadd being imposed upon him. He (Ma'iz) came back to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and he commanded us to stone him. We took him to the Baqi' al-Gharqad (the graveyard of Medina). We neither tied him nor dug any ditch for him. We attacked him with bones, with clods and pebbles. He ran away and we ran after him until he came upon the ston ground (al-Harra) and stopped there and we stoned him with heavy stones of the Harra until he became motionless (lie died). He (the Holy Prophet) then addressed (us) in the evening saying Whenever we set forth on an expedition in the cause of Allah, some one of those connected with us shrieked (under the pressure of sexual lust) as the bleating of a male goat. It is essential that if a person having committed such a deed is brought to me, I should punish him. He neither begged forgiveness for him nor cursed him.

One day, I performed my Wudu' in my house and then set forth with the determination that I would stick to Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and spend the whole day with him. I came to the mosque and asked about him. The Companions told that he (PBUH) had gone in a certain direction. Abu Musa added: I followed him inquiring until I came to Bi'r Aris (a well in the suburb of Al-Madinah). (There) I sat down at the door till he (PBUH) had relieved himself and performed Wudu'. Then I went to him and saw him sitting on the platform of the well with his shanks uncovered and his legs dangling in the well. I greeted him and returned to the door of the garden, saying to myself, "I will be the doorkeeper of the Messenger of Allah today." Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) came and knocked at the door. I said; "Who is that?" He said: "Abu Bakr." I said, "Wait a moment." Then I went to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and said, "O Messenger of Allah! Abu Bakr is at the door seeking permission to enter." He said, "Admit him and give him the glad tidings of Jannah." I returned and said to Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him): "You may enter and Messenger of Allah (PBUH) has given you the glad tidings of (entering) Jannah." Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) came in and sat down on the right side of Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and suspended his legs into the well and uncovered his shanks, as the Messenger of Allah had done. I returned to the door and sat down. I had left my brother at home while he was performing Wudu' and intending to join me. I said to myself: "If Allah intends good for him (i.e., to be blessed to come at this time and receive the glad tidings of entering Jannah), He will bring him here." Someone knocked at the door and I said, "Who is it?" He said, "Umar bin Al-Khattab." I said, "Wait a moment." Then I proceeded towards Messenger of Allah (PBUH). I greeted him and said, "Umar is at the door, seeking permission to enter. He said, "Let him in and give him the glad tidings of entering Jannah." I went back to 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) and said to him, "Messenger of Allah has given you permission as well as glad tidings of entering Jannah." He entered and sat down with Messenger of Allah (PBUH) on his left side and dangled his feet into the well. I returned to the door and sat down and said to myself: "If Allah intends good for my brother, He will bring him here." Someone knocked at the door and I said, "Who is it?" He said, "Uthman bin 'Affan." I said, "Wait a moment." I went to Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and informed him about his arrival. He said, "Let him in and give him glad tidings of entering Jannah together with a tribulation which he will have to face." I came back to him and said, "You may enter; and Messenger of Allah (PBUH) gives you the glad tidings of entering Jannah together with a tribulation that will afflict you." He got in and saw that the elevated platform round the well was fully occupied. So he sat on opposite side. Sa'id bin Al- Musaiyab (May Allah be pleased with him) a subnarrator has reported: The order in which they sat down indicated the places of their burial.

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Another narration adds: Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (PBUH) ordered me to guard the door. When 'Uthman was told (about the misfortune) he praised Allah then said: "Allahu Musta'an (His help is to be sought)."

(The interpretation of Sa'id bin Al-Musaiyab is that the graves of Abu Bakr and 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) are by the side of the Prophet (PBUH), in the same position they took when they sat next to the Prophet (PBUH) while the grave of 'Uthman is away from their graves, in the public graveyard of Al-Madinah known as Baqi' Al-Gharqad).

"The Messenger of Allah (saw) addressed us, and most of his speech had to do with telling us about Dajjal. He warned about him, and among the things he said was: 'There will not be any tribulation on earth, since the time Allah created the offspring of Adam, that will be greater than the tribulation of Dajjal. Allah has not sent any Prophet but he warned his nation about Dajjal. I am the last of the Prophets, and you are the last of the nations. He will undoubtedly appear among you. If he appears while I am among you, I will contend with him on behalf of every Muslim, and if he appears while I am not among you, then each man must fend for himself and Allah will take care of every Muslim on my behalf. He will emerge from Al-Khallah, between Sham and Iraq, and will wreak havoc right and left. O slaves of Allah, remain steadfast. I will describe him to you in a manner in which none of the Prophets has described him before me. He will start by saying "I am a Prophet," and there is no Prophet after me. Then a second time he will say: "I am your Lord." But you will not see your Lord until you die. He is one-eyed, and your Lord is not one-eyed, and written between his eyes is Kafir. Every believer will read it, whether he is literate or illiterate. Part of his Fitnah will be that he will have with him Paradise and Hell, but his Hell will be a Paradise and his Paradise a Hell. Whoever is tested with his fire (hell), let him seek the help of Allah and recite the first Verses of Al-Kahf, then it will be cool and safe for him, as the fire was for Ibrahim. Part of his Fitnah will be that he will say to a Bedouin: "What do you think, if I resurrect your father and mother for you, will you bear witness that I am your Lord?" He will say: "Yes." Then two devils will appear to him in the form of his father and mother and will say: "O my son, follow him, for he is your Lord." And part of his Fitnah will be that he will overpower a single soul and kill him, then he will cut him with a saw until he falls in two pieces. Then he will say: "Look at this slave of mine; I will resurrect him now, then he will claim that he has a Lord other than me." Then Allah will resurrect him and the evil one will say to him: "Who is your Lord?" and he will say: "Allah is my Lord, and you are the enemy of Allah, you are Dajjal. By Allah, I have never had more insight about you than I have today." (An addition) Abul-Hasan Tanafisi said: "Muharibi told us: 'Ubaidullah bin al-Walid Al-Wassafi told us, from 'Atiyyah, that Abu Sa'eed said: "The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: 'That man will be the highest in status in my nation in Paradise'" -  He said: "Abu Sa'eed said: 'By Allah, we did not think that man would be anyone other than 'Umar bin Khattab, until he passed away. -   Muharibi said: "Then we went back to the narration of Abu Rafi'." He said: - 'Part of his Fitnah will be that he will command the sky to rain, and it will rain, and he will command the earth to bring forth vegetation and it will do so. And part of his Fitnah will be that he will pass by a clan and they will disbelieve in him, so all their flocks will perish and none will be left. And part of his Fitnah will be that he will pass by a clan who will believe in him, so he will command the sky to rain, and it will rain, and he will command the earth to bring forth vegetation and it will do so, until their flocks will come back in the evening of that day, bigger and fatter than they have ever been, with their flanks stretched and their udders full of milk. There will be no part of the earth left that he does not enter and prevail over, except for Makkah and Al-Madinah, for he will not approach them on any of their mountain paths but he will be met by angels with unsheathed swords, until he will stop at the red hill at the end of the marsh. Then Al-Madinah will be shaken with its people three times, and no hypocrite, male or female, will be left, all will come out to him. Thus it will be cleansed of impurity just as the bellows cleanses the iron of dross. And that day will be called the Day of Deliverance.' "Umm Sharik bint Abi 'akar said: 'O Messenger of Allah, where will the Arabs be that day?' He said: 'On that day they will be few, and most of them will be in Baitul-Maqdis (Jerusalem), and their leader will be a righteous man. When their leader has stepped forward to lead them in subh prayer, 'Eisa bin Maryam will come down to them. Their leader will step backwards so that 'Eisa can come forward and lead the people in prayer, but 'Eisa will place his hand between his shoulders and say to him: "Go forward and pray, for the Iqamah was given for you." Then their leader will lead them in prayer. When he has finished, 'Eisa (as), will say: "Open the gate." So they will open it and behind it will be Dajjal with seventy thousand Jews, each of them carrying an adorned sword and wearing a greenish cloak. When Dajjal looks at him, he will start to melt as salt melts in water. He will run away, and 'Eisa (as), will say: "I have only one blow for you, which you will not be able to escape!" He will catch up with him at the eastern gate of Ludd, and will kill him. Then Allah will defeat the Jews, and there will be nothing left that Allah has created which the Jews will be able to hide behind, except that Allah will cause it to speak - no stone, no tree, no wall, no animal - except for Al-Gharqad (the box-thorn), for it is one of their trees, and will not speak - except that it will say: "O Muslim slave of Allah, here is a Jews, come and kill him!" "The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: 'His (Dajjal's) days will number forty years: a year like half a year, a year like a month, a month like a week, and the rest of his days will be like sparks from a fire (i.e., they will pass quickly). One of you will enter the gate of Al-Madinah in the morning and not reach its other gate until evening comes.' It was said: 'O Messenger of Allah, how should we pray on those short days?' He said: 'Estimate (the times of) the prayer, as you do on these long days, then pray.' The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "Eisa bin Maryam (as), will be a just judge and a just ruler among my nation. He will break the cross, slaughter the pigs, abolish the Jizyah and charity will be left. No one will be appointed to (collect the Zakah of) sheep and camels. Grudges and mutual hatred will disappear and the venom of every venomous creature will be removed, so that a baby boy will but his hand in a snake and it will not harm him, and a baby girl will make a lion run away, and it will not harm her; and the wolf will be among the sheep like their sheepdog. The earth will be filled with peace just as a vessel is filled with water. The people will be united and none will be worshipped except Allah. War will cease and Quraish will no longer be in power. The earth will be like a silver platter, with its vegetation growing as it did at the time of Adam, until a group of people will gather around one bunch of grapes and it will suffice them, and a group will gather around a single pomegranate and it will suffice them. An ox will be sold for such and such amount of money, and a horse will be sold for a few Dirham.' They said: 'O Messenger of Allah, why will horses be so cheap?' He said: 'They will never be ridden in war again.' It was said to him: 'Why will oxen be so expensive?' He said: 'Because all the land will be tilled. Before Dajjal appears there will be three difficult years in which the people will suffer severe famine. In the first year, Allah will command the sky to withhold one third of its rain and the earth to withhold one third of its produce. In the second year, He will command the sky to withhold two thirds of its rain and the earth to withhold two-thirds of its produce. In the third year, he will command the sky to withhold all of its rain, and not a single drop will fall, and the earth to withhold all of its produce, and nothing will grow. All cloven-hoofed animals will die, except those that Allah wills.' It was said: 'What will the people live on at that time?' He said: 'Tahlil, Takbir, Tasbih and Tahmid. That will take the place of food for them.'" Abu 'Abdullah (Ibn Majah) said: "I heard Abul-Hasan Tanafisi say: 'I heard 'Abdur-Rahman Al-Muharibi say: "This Hadith should be sent to every teacher so that they can teach it to the children in the schools."