Burial

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man, while circumambulating the House (the Ka'bah), was calling out in his supplication: 'Awwah! Awwah!', that is, "Ah! Ah!" (with deep pain and tender feeling). Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then I went out one night and suddenly saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) himself burying that man in the grave at night by the light of a lamp.
Imam Abu Ya'la recorded this hadith in his Musnad; a narrator of Roman origin in its chain is unnamed (unknown); however, this incident is narrated in other reliable narrations about Sayyiduna Abdullah Dhu al-Bijadayn (may Allah be pleased with him), who was given the title "Awwah" because of how much he wept and supplicated with humility.

It is narrated from one of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us at the time of a deceased person's burial and said: "Do not weigh down this companion of yours." Imam Sufyan bin Uyaynah (may Allah have mercy on him), explaining its meaning, said that it means the grave should not be made heavy by putting on it more earth than came out of its own pit; and sometimes the words of the hadith are narrated thus: "Lighten the burden of your companion." Imam Sufyan said that this too means not adding to the earth of the grave.
Imam Ibn Abi Umar recorded this narration in his Musnad; there is weakness in its chain because of an unnamed narrator; however, the command not to raise the grave high with earth is established by other sahih hadith.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him) made a bequest to me, saying: "When you place me in my lahd (grave niche), lay my cheek against the earth, so that nothing comes between my skin and the ground."
Imam Ahmad bin Mani' recorded it in his Musnad.

It is narrated from Abd al-Hakam bin Sulayman that when the "Plague of al-Jarif" (that is, the terrible epidemic which swept people away like a flood) broke out, Bushayr bin Ka'b (may Allah have mercy on him) dug a grave for himself (as preparation for death), then he sat in it and kept reciting the Noble Qur'an until he completed it; then, when he died, he was buried in that same grave.
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) recorded it in his work "al-Zuhd".

It is narrated from Hakim bin Qays bin Asim that Sayyiduna Qays bin Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) made a bequest to his sons, saying: "Bury me in a place where the people of the tribe of Bakr bin Wa'il cannot see my grave, for in the Days of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah) I used to make night raids on them (and was busy plundering against them)."
In the narration of Imam Abu Ya'la it is reported from Sayyiduna Qays bin Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) that he made a bequest, which contains these words: "Bury me in a hidden place that no one knows of, for in the Days of Ignorance there were some unpleasant dealings and enmities between us and Banu Bakr bin Wa'il, and I fear that they (by doing something disgraceful to my grave because of those old enmities) may create some trouble for you in the state of Islam, as a result of which they would find fault with your religion (and taunt you)."

It is narrated from Yazid bin al-Asamm (may Allah have mercy on him) that when his maternal aunt, (the Mother of the Believers) Sayyidah Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her), died, he said: "I took my cloak and spread it in her lahd (grave niche), but Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) took hold of it, pulled it out and threw it away."
The chain of this athar (report) is sahih (authentic), and Imam Musaddad recorded it in his Musnad.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jarir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Prepare a lahd (a grave with a side niche) (for burying the deceased), and do not make a shaqq (a grave dug straight down like a trench)."
Imam Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi recorded this narration in his Musnad; its chain contains a narrator named Uthman bin Umayr, who is da'if (weak); however, the lahd being the Sunnah is established by other sahih hadith.

It is narrated from Abu al-Siddiq (may Allah have mercy on him) that whenever Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) lowered a deceased person into the grave, he would say: 'Allahumma jafi al-arda 'an janbayhi, wa wassi' 'alayhi hufratahu' (O Allah, keep the earth away from his sides (make it spacious) and make his grave wide for him).
Imam al-Harith bin Abi Usamah recorded this narration in his Musnad (Bughyat al-Bahith: 310), and all the narrators of its chain are thiqat (trustworthy).

It is narrated from Uthman bin al-Shammakh, who was the nephew of Sayyiduna Samurah bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him), that a son of Sayyiduna Samurah bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) died who had reached the age of running about (that is, of understanding). When he heard the sound of weeping, he asked: "What is this weeping?" The people said: "It is weeping over the death of so-and-so (your son)." So he forbade them from doing that. Then he called for a basin or a large bowl of water, and (the boy) was washed right in front of him and shrouded right in front of him. Then he said to one of his freed slaves: "O so-and-so, go to his grave, and when you place him (in the grave), say: 'Bismillah, wa 'ala sunnati Rasulillah (peace and blessings be upon him)' (In the name of Allah, and upon the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)). And untie the knots (of the shroud) at his head and at his feet, and say: 'Allahumma la tahrimna ajrahu, wa la taftinna ba'dahu' (O Allah, do not deprive us of his reward, and do not put us to trial after him)."
There is criticism among the imams of narrator-criticism (al-jarh wa al-ta'dil) regarding the narrator in its chain, Uthman bin al-Shammakh; however, the supplication and the method of lowering the deceased into the grave are strengthened by the supporting evidence of other reliable and sahih hadith.