Bukhari

Hadith Commentary:
What happened was that during the caliphate of Walid, he wrote to Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, who was his governor in Madinah Sharif, instructing him to demolish the chambers of the Pure Wives (azwaj mutahharat) and expand the Prophet’s Mosque (Masjid Nabawi), and to raise the wall on the side of the blessed grave of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam so that people would not face that direction during prayer. When Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz began demolishing these chambers, a foot appeared from the ground, which was recognized by Urwah, who informed them that it was the foot of Umar radi Allahu anhu, which had been buried there with due respect.

Out of humility, Aisha radi Allahu anha had said that if she were buried in the blessed chamber with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, people would mention her along with him and would give her preference over the other wives, which she did not like. Therefore, she preferred to be buried in Baqi’ Gharqad, where her sisters, the other wives of the Prophet, are buried, and she gave up her empty place for Umar radi Allahu anhu. Subhan Allah, what a great act of self-sacrifice this is. May Allah’s peace be upon them all.

Regarding the raising of the walls of the blessed chamber, Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah says:

“Ay ha’it hujrat al-nabiyy sallallahu alayhi wa sallam (i.e., the wall of the chamber of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). And in the narration of al-Hamawi from them: The reason for this is what Abu Bakr al-Ajurri narrated through the chain of Shu’ayb ibn Ishaq from Hisham ibn Urwah, who said: My father informed me, saying: People used to pray facing the grave, so Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ordered that it be raised so that no one would pray towards it. When it was demolished, a foot with a shin and knee appeared, and Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was alarmed. Urwah came to him and said: This is the shin and knee of Umar, and Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was relieved. Al-Ajurri also narrated through the chain of Malik ibn Mighwal from Raja’ ibn Haywah, who said: Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik wrote to Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, who had purchased the chambers of the wives of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, instructing him to demolish them and expand the mosque with their land. Umar sat in a corner and then ordered their demolition. I never saw him weep more than he did that day. Then he built it as he was instructed. When he built the house over the grave and demolished the first house, the three graves became visible, and the sand that was over them had collapsed. Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was alarmed and wanted to get up and fix them himself. I said to him: May Allah set you right! If you get up, the people will get up with you. If you would order a man to fix them, I hoped he would order me to do it. He said: O Muzahim (meaning his freed slave), get up and fix them. Raja’ said: The grave of Abu Bakr was at the middle of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and Umar was behind Abu Bakr, his head at the middle of Abu Bakr.”

The summary of this passage is the same as the content that has already been mentioned. (Fath al-Bari, vol. 6, p. 6)

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Aisha (radi Allahu anha) said, out of humility and modesty, that if I am buried in the blessed chamber (hujrah mubarakah) alongside the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), then people will mention me together with him and will give me preference over the other wives, which I do not like. Therefore, I prefer to be buried in Baqi‘ al-Gharqad along with the other Mothers of the Believers. Thus, according to her bequest, she was buried in Baqi‘.

(2)
Here, there is a problem: the following narration indicates that Aisha (radi Allahu anha) had said to Umar (radi Allahu anhu) that she had reserved a place for herself in the blessed chamber so that she could be buried there, but she preferred Umar (radi Allahu anhu) over herself. This shows that only one grave space remained in the blessed chamber. However, after a long period, when Aisha (radi Allahu anha) passed away, she said that she did not wish to be buried there, as she did not desire any distinction for herself. This indicates that even at the time of her death, one grave space remained there.

The answer to this is that initially, Aisha (radi Allahu anha) thought that after the burial of Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu), only one grave space remained in the blessed chamber. After Umar (radi Allahu anhu) was buried, it became apparent that there was still space for one more grave. However, all the narrations that mention ‘Isa (alayhis salam) being buried with the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) are weak.