Question: Is it permissible to recite the first Ruku of Surah Al-Baqarah at the head of the grave and the last Ruku of Surah Al-Baqarah at the foot of the grave after burying a deceased person? Please explain in the light of the Quran and Sunnah whether this act is permissible or not.
Answer: The practice of reciting the initial verses of Surah Al-Baqarah at the head of the grave and the last verses at the foot of the grave after burying the deceased is based on a weak narration which Sahib Mishkat has quoted in Kitab al-Jana’iz: Bab Dafin al-Mayyit
from Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) who heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say:
«إذا مات اح»
“When any one of you dies, do not delay him, but hasten to take him to his grave and recite the beginning verses of Surah Al-Baqarah at his head and the last verses of Surah Al-Baqarah at his feet.”
Al-Bayhaqi narrated this in Shu’ab al-Iman and said: “The correct view is that this hadith is Mauquf (stopped) on Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both).” Sahib Mishkat quoted this narration from Imam Bayhaqi’s Shu’ab al-Iman but the ruling Imam Bayhaqi gave on it is not found in Shu’ab al-Iman because this narration is present in Shu’ab al-Iman under the chapter “On Prayer for the Deceased of the People of the Qiblah, Section on Visiting Graves”
, where Imam Bayhaqi wrote:
«ولم يكتب الا بهٰذا الاسناد فيما اعلم وقد روينا القراءة المذكورة فيه عن ابن عمر موقوفا عليه»
“To my knowledge, this narration is recorded with the same chain and it is mentioned as a Mauquf narration from Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both).” This narration is also not found in Al-Sunan al-Kubra of Bayhaqi in the chapter “What has been reported about reciting the Quran at the grave” (56/4).
It should be noted that this Marfu’ narration apart from Shu’ab al-Iman is also narrated in “Al-Tabarani al-Kabir (2/208/2)” and Imam Khalaal’s “Kitab al-Qira’ah ‘Ind al-Qubur (Q 2/25)” as mentioned by Allama Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) in the second revision of Mishkat (223/2). Its chain includes Yahya bin Abdullah bin Al-Dahhak Al-Babali.
Imam Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: «واهٍ» He is a weak narrator.
Azdi said: «اَلضُّعْفُ عَلٰي حَدِيْثِهِ بَيِّنٌ» There is clear weakness in his narration.
Abu Hatim said: «لَا يُعْتَدُّ بِهِ» He should not be counted.
Ibn Abi Hatim said he narrates detailed reports from trustworthy narrators but he falls into error and in the narrations where he is unique, the narration is not reliable.
Ibn Adi said: His narration has evident weakness.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “He is weak.”
Similarly, his teacher Ayyub bin Nahik Al-Hilmi, the freed slave of Al-Sa’d bin Abi Waqas, is also extremely weak. Abu Hatim and others declared him weak and Azdi considered him abandoned.
Imam Dhahabi wrote in Al-Mughni fi al-Du’afa
: “Leave him,” the Muhaddithin have abandoned him.
Ibn Abi Hatim Razi said:
«سمعت ابا زرعة يقول : لا احدث عن ايوب بن نهيك لم يقرأ علينا حديثه وقال هو منكر الحديث»
“I heard Abu Zur’ah Razi saying that he does not narrate from Ayyub bin Nahik because his narration did not reach us and he said he is a denier of hadith.” From this detail, it is clear that this narration is not established from the Prophet (peace be upon him). As for its being Mauquf, it is also not authentically established. Sahib Mishkat quoted from Imam Bayhaqi that it is Mauquf and Sahih, but the Imam said the correct view is that this hadith is Mauquf rather than Marfu’. This does not prove that they considered its Mauquf chain authentic.
This narration
is narrated as follows: «عبدالرحمٰن بن العلاء بن الجلاج عن ابيه» that Al-‘Alaa bin Al-Lajlaj said to his sons: When you bury me in my grave, place me in the grave and say, «باسم الله وعلي سنت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم» and throw soil on me and recite the beginning and the end of Surah Al-Baqarah near my head. I saw Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) considered it recommended.”
Allama Zailai recorded this in Nasb al-Rayah (302/2) and Allama Haithami in Majma’ al-Zawa’id (44/3) (4243) citing Al-Tabarani al-Kabir (220/29) and at the end of it are the words:
«فاني سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول ذالك»
“I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying this.” Allama Zailai remained silent on this and said: «رجاله موثقون» Its narrators have been authenticated, but this narration is also not authentic in terms of chain because it contains Abdul Rahman bin Al-‘Alaa bin Al-Lajlaj Al-Shami who is unknown, and except for Mubashshir bin Ismail Al-Hilmi, no one narrated it (Mizan al-I’tidal 258/9).
Hafiz Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote in Taqreeb (3975) that it is acceptable.
Shuaib Arna’ut said in Tahrir Taqreeb al-Tahdhib (342/7) that he is unknown and Mubashshir bin Ismail Al-Hilmi is unique in narrating it.
Shaykh Al-Albani in Mishkat (223/2) second revision stated:
«والموقوف لا يصح اسناده فيه عبدالرحمٰن بن العلاء بن الجلاج وهو مجهول»
“The chain of Mauquf is not authentic; it contains Abdul Rahman bin Al-‘Alaa bin Al-Lajlaj who is unknown.”
From the above details, it is clear that the narration on which the practice of reciting the first and last Ruku of Surah Al-Baqarah is based is neither established from the Prophet (peace be upon him) nor is there any authentic chain from Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both).
In Sahih Muslim, there is a hadith where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
«لا تجعلوا بيو تكم مقا بر ان الشيطان ينفر من البيت تقر افيه سورة البقرة»
“Do not make your houses graves; indeed, Satan flees from the house in which Surah Al-Baqarah is recited.”
From this, it is understood that Surah Al-Baqarah should be recited in houses, not in graveyards.
This hadith is exactly like another hadith where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
«صلوا فى بيوتكم ولا تتخذوها قبورا»
“Pray in your houses and do not make them graves.”
It is understood that just as prayer is not performed in graveyards, similarly the Quran should not be recited there. Therefore, there is no Shariah evidence for the mentioned practice, and it should be avoided.
دكم فلا تحبسوه واسرعوا به إلٰي قبره وليقرأ عند رأسه فاتحة البقرة وعند رجليه بخاتمة البقرة
