PROOF-TEXTS OF THE LIFE
OF THE PROPHET 
IN HIS
GRAVE
Another version in Ibn Maja has this addition:
fa nabiyyallahi Hayyun yurzaq
Bayhaqi mentions it also in the Sunan al-kubra.
A sound (sahih) tradition related on the authority of Anas ibn Malik (r) by: al-Bazzar in his Musnad, Abu Ya`la in his Musnad, Ibn `Adi in al-Kamil fi al-du`afa', Tammam al-Razi in al-Fawa'id, al-Bayhaqi in Hayat al-anbiya' fi quburihim, Abu Nu`aym in Akhbar Asbahan, Ibn `Asakir in Târeekh Dimashq, al-Haythami in Majma` al-zawa'id (8:211), al-Suyuti in Anbâ' al-adhkiya' bi-hayat al-anbiya' (#5), and al-Albani, in Silsilat al-ahadith al-sahihah (#621).
Suyuti adds: "The life of the
Prophet,
may Allah bless him and give him peace, in his grave, and
[also] that of the rest of the prophets is known to us as
definitive knowledge (`ilman qat`iyyan)."
I have used the above information from a post on MSA-Net on that particular hadith by Brother Akram Y. Safadi, for which I thank him.
A sound (sahih) tradition related on the authority of Anas and others by Muslim, Nasa'i, and Bayhaqi in the dala'il al-nubuwwa and the Hayât. Some mention the beginning (in parentheses), while others omit it. Nawawi said in his explanation of this hadith: "The work of the next world is all dhikr and du`a" (sharH SaHeeH Muslim 1/73/267).
From Abu Hurayra, in Abu Dawud with a
sound (SaHeeH) chain. This hadith has been adduced by the
scholars as the legal proof for the validity and modality of
visiting and greeting the Prophet
, although
the hadith does not mention the necessity of physically
visiting the Prophet
in Madina.
A note about the translation of "has
returned": Suyuti said that "radda" means `ala al-dawâm," i.e.
permanently, and not temporarily: in other words, Allah does
not return the rûH and take it back, then return it again and
then take it back again, but He returned it to the Prophet
permanently, and the Prophet
is alive
permanently.
Sakhawi, Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalâni's
student, said: "As for us (Muslims) we believe and we confirm
that he is
alive and provided for IN HIS GRAVE" (al-qawl al-badee` p.
161). Ibn al-Qayyim said in al-RûH p. 58: "It is obligatory
knowledge to know that his body
is in the
earth tender and humid (i.e. as in life), and when the
Companions asked him: 'How is our greeting presented to you
after you have turned to dust' he replied:
and if his body was not in his grave he would not have given this answer."
"tawâtarat al-adillatu wa al-nuqûlu bi anna al-MuSTafa Hayyun Tariyyu... wa Sawmun thumma Hajjun kulla `âmin yaTTahhiru li al-Salâti bi mâ'i ghaythi" which means:
"The proofs and the transmitted texts
have been established as authentic in the highest degree that
the Prophet
is alive and tender... that he fasts and performs pilgrimage
every year, and that he purifies himself with water which
rains on him."
Qadi `Iyad cites it in "al-Shifa" (1:56 of the Amman edition) and Suyuti said in his "Manahil al-safa fi takhrij ahadith al-shifa" (Beirut 1988/1408) p. 31 (#8): "Ibn Abi Usama cites it in his Musnad from the hadith of Bakr ibn `Abd Allah al-Mazni, and al-Bazzar from the hadith of Ibn Mas`ud with a sound (sahih) chain."
It is cited in Subki's Shifa' al-siqâm
fi ziyarat khayr al-anâm
[The Healing of the Sick Concerning the Visit of the Best of
Creation],
where he mentions that Bakr ibn Abd Allah al-Mazini reported
it, and Ibn al-Jawzi mentions it through Bakr and then again
through Anas ibn Malik in the penultimate chapter of the
penultimate section of al-Wafa, both huffaz without giving the
isnad. However, Ibn al-Jawzi specifies in the introduction of
al-Wafa that he only included sound traditions in his bûk. He
also mentions the version through Aws ibn Aws: "The actions of
human beings are shown to me every Thursday on the night of
(i.e. preceding) Friday." See also FatH al-Bâri 10:415, al-Mundhiri's
Targheeb wa al-Tarheeb 3:343, and Ahmad 4:484.
Ibn Hajar says in FatH al-Bâri 6:379: "Abu al-Shaykh cites it with a good chain (sanad jayyid)," and Bayhaqi mentions it in Hayât al-anbiyâ with "ublightuhu" in the end.
Narrated by al-Daraqutni, al-Dulabi, al-Bayhaqi, Khatib al-Baghdadi, al-`Uqayli, Ibn `Adiy, Tabarani, and Ibn Khuzaymah in his Sahih, all through various chains going back to Musa ibn Hilal al-`Abdiyy from Ubayd Allah Ibn Umar, both from Nafi`, from Ibn `Umar.
Dhahabi declared this chain hasan (fair) as narrated, in "Mizan al- i`tidal," vol. 4, p. 226: "Huwa salih al-hadith" which means:"He -- Musa ibn Hilal -- is good in his narrations." Al-Sakhawi confirmed him in the "Maqasid al-hasana", while al-Subki declared it sahih according to Samhudi in Sa`adat al-dârayn 1:77. Ibn `Adiyy said: "He [Musa ibn Hilal] is most likely acceptable; other people have called him 'unknown' and this is not true... He is one of the shuyukhs of Imam Ahmad and most of them are trustworthy." al-Kamil fi al-Du`afa (6:2350). Albani declared him "thabit al-riwaya" (of established reliability) in his Irwa' 4:338. About `Ubayd Allah ibn `Umar al-`Umari: - Dhahabi calls him "saduq hasan al-hadith" [truthful, of fair narrations] al-Mughni 1:348; - Sakhawi says of him "salih al-hadith" [of sound narrations] al-tuhfat al-latifat 3:366; - Ibn Mu`in said to Darimi about him: "salih thiqat" [sound and reliable] al-kamil 4:1459.
This is one of the prûf-texts adduced
by the ulama of Islam to derive the obligation or
recommendation of visiting the Prophet's grave and seeking him
as "wasilat" (intermediary/means). See the chapter on visiting
the Prophet's grave in Nawawi's bûk "al-Adhkar" and in Qadi `Iyad's
bûk "al-Shifa." Sakhawi said in "al-qawl al-badee`" p. 160:
"The emphasis and encouragement on visiting his noble grave is
mentioned in numerous ahadith, and it would suffice to show
this if there was only the hadith whereby the truthful and
God-confirmed Prophet
promises
that his intercession among other things becomes obligatory
for whoever visits him, and the Imams are in complete
agreement from the time directly after his passing until our
own time that this is among the best acts of drawing near to
Allah."
Blessings and Peace on the Prophet, his Family, and his Companions.
. He said:
"Do you know what you are doing?" When he came near him, he
realized it was Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. The latter said: "Yes; I
came to the Prophet
, not to a
stone. I heard the Prophet
say:
Ahmad 5:422, Hakim (Mustadrak 4:515); both the latter and al-Dhahabi said it was sahih. It is thus cited by as-Subki (Shifa' as-siqam p. 126), Ibn Taymiyya (al-Muntaqa 2:261f.), and al-Haythami (al-Zawa'id 4:2).
Brother Audah is right if his point is to show that kissing the grave, rubbing or hugging it is neither haram nor an innovation, although it is disliked that people should be permitted to do it.
Blessings and Peace on the Prophet,
his Family, and his Companions.
GF Haddad ©
[ Feb. 1996]
