The Coffins Section · 72 – Leveling the Grave (Bringing its Height Down to Ground Level)
Abū Ḥayyā al-Asadī, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
He said: “Ali said to me, ‘The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, sent me to demolish any elevated tomb and to destroy any statue; I am sending you for a similar task.’” [120]
EXPLANATION
It is sunnah to raise tombs as high as a camel’s hump. This is the position in the Hanafi school of thought. In the Hanafi school, it is permissible to construct upon the graves of virtuous individuals. A group of scholars from the Shafi'i and Malikī schools consider elaborately constructing tombs to be forbidden; they must be demolished and leveled. The basis for this is this honorable hadith. Furthermore, tombs that are raised with expense become a cause for the common people to show reverence and respect towards them. Eventually, they begin to ask for what should only be asked of the creator of the universe from these tombs, which constitutes shirk (associating partners with Allah). The same principle applies to the erasure of images. The likenesses of angels and those considered great attract reverence. There comes a time when they become a cause for being worshipped. Due to these harms, it is commanded that elaborately constructed tombs be leveled and depictions inscribed on walls be erased and destroyed. (Awn al-Ma'bud, vol. 3, p. 302)
Abu Ali al-Hamadani relates:
We were with Fadil ibn Ubayd in the land of Rome, on the island of Rhodes. A companion died amongst us. Fadil ordered that his grave be leveled. The grave was leveled. Then I heard that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, commanded that graves be leveled. [121]
Abu Dawud said: Rhodes is an island in the sea.
Qasim bin Muhammad bin Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
I entered upon my aunt Aishah and said, "O mother, show me the graves of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and the two companions buried with him."
Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, showed me the graves of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, Abu Bakr, and Umar, may Allah be pleased with them. The graves were neither excessively high nor close to the ground. They were paved with red gravel.
Abu Ali said, "The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, is in the lead, Abu Bakr is near his head, and Umar is near the feet of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, his head being at the feet of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam."
COMMENTARY
Lady Aishah was the aunt of Qasim, may Allah be pleased with him. Her designation as "mother" is due to her status as the mother of the believers, or because she is the sister of his father and holds a maternal position. The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, Abu Bakr, and Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, were buried within Lady Aishah’s chamber, so he requested her to open the door of the chamber.
Mushaaf: Elevated.
Watieh: Spread out.
Mabtuha: Paved.
In Hakim's narration, there is an addition stating that Abu Bakr’s head reached the two shoulders of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and Umar’s head reached the foot of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Ibn Asakir described the positions as follows:
The Messenger of Allah
Umar
Abu Bakr
According to another description, it is as follows:
Umar
The Messenger of Allah
Abu Bakr