Critical Analysis of the Report on Thābit al-Bunānī Praying in His Grave
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p.171
Question:
A narration states that Thābit al-Bunānī (رحمه الله) used to pray in his grave. What is the authenticity of this narration?
(Master Anwar Salafi, Hasilpur, District Bahawalpur)
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
A narration from Ḥammād ibn Salamah (رحمه الله) mentions that:
“O Allah! If You have granted anyone the ability to pray in their grave, then grant me the ability to pray in mine as well.”
(Ṭabaqāt Ibn Saʿd 7/233 — Authentic isnād)
Another narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn Shawdhab states:
“I heard Thābit al-Bunānī (رحمه الله) supplicating:
O Allah! If You have granted anyone from Your creation the ability to pray in his grave, then grant it to me too.”
(Maʿrifah wa al-Tārīkh by Yaʿqūb ibn Sufyān al-Fārisī 2/99 — Hasan isnād; Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ 2/319)
Conclusion: These are duʿās (supplications) only. There is no proof that he actually prayed in his grave.
A narration attributed to Yūsuf ibn ʿAṭiyyah (a severely weak narrator) says:
“Permission was granted to Thābit to pray in his grave.”
(Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ 2/319)
This narration is fabricated (mawḍūʿ) due to the weakness of the narrator:
Another narration from Jasr ibn Farqad claims to have seen Thābit al-Bunānī praying in his grave:
(Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ 2/319)
This narration is also fabricated and has multiple weaknesses:
Some individuals used this weak narration to prove false beliefs, such as:
◈ ʿAbd al-Ḥayy Lakhnawī copied it from Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ without verification.
◈ Zakarīyā Deobandi cited it in Faḍāʾil al-Ṣalāh (pp. 69–70).
◈ Nūr Muḥammad Qādrī Deobandi referenced it in Mahnāmah al-Khayr, Multan (Vol. 24, Issue 5, June 2006, p. 25/249), trying to use it to support the belief of life in the grave.
These are all incorrect conclusions, because:
✔ The narration is fabricated or weak.
✔ It has no basis in authentic Hadith or the Qur’an.
✔ Scholars must avoid propagating weak and fabricated reports among the masses.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Whoever remains silent, is saved."
(Kitāb al-Zuhd by Ibn al-Mubārak: 385 — Ḥasan; Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 2501)
Established:
◈ Thābit al-Bunānī (رحمه الله) supplicated to pray in his grave.
Not Established:
◈ That he actually prayed in his grave.
Fabricated/Weak Reports:
◈ Narrations from Yūsuf ibn ʿAṭiyyah and Jasr ibn Farqad are unreliable.
❖ The claim that Thābit al-Bunānī (رحمه الله) used to pray in his grave is false and baseless, as it rests on fabricated and weak narrations.
❖ Such beliefs should not be promoted, and scholars must exercise care in citing such sources.
Waṣallallāhu ʿalā Nabiyyinā Muḥammad wa ālihi wa ṣaḥbihi ajmaʿīn.
ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب۔
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p.171
Question:
A narration states that Thābit al-Bunānī (رحمه الله) used to pray in his grave. What is the authenticity of this narration?
(Master Anwar Salafi, Hasilpur, District Bahawalpur)
❖ The Answer:
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
✿ The Supplication of Thābit al-Bunānī (رحمه الله)
A narration from Ḥammād ibn Salamah (رحمه الله) mentions that:
“O Allah! If You have granted anyone the ability to pray in their grave, then grant me the ability to pray in mine as well.”
(Ṭabaqāt Ibn Saʿd 7/233 — Authentic isnād)
Another narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn Shawdhab states:
“I heard Thābit al-Bunānī (رحمه الله) supplicating:
O Allah! If You have granted anyone from Your creation the ability to pray in his grave, then grant it to me too.”
(Maʿrifah wa al-Tārīkh by Yaʿqūb ibn Sufyān al-Fārisī 2/99 — Hasan isnād; Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ 2/319)
Conclusion: These are duʿās (supplications) only. There is no proof that he actually prayed in his grave.✖ Fabricated and Weak Narrations About Praying in the Grave
A narration attributed to Yūsuf ibn ʿAṭiyyah (a severely weak narrator) says:
“Permission was granted to Thābit to pray in his grave.”
(Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ 2/319)
This narration is fabricated (mawḍūʿ) due to the weakness of the narrator:
Yūsuf ibn ʿAṭiyyah:
- Imām al-Bukhārī: “Munkar al-ḥadīth”
(Kitāb al-Ḍuʿafāʾ, Verification: 422) - Imām al-Nasāʾī: “Matrūk al-ḥadīth”
(Kitāb al-Ḍuʿafāʾ: 617)
Another narration from Jasr ibn Farqad claims to have seen Thābit al-Bunānī praying in his grave:
(Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ 2/319)
This narration is also fabricated and has multiple weaknesses: Chain Defects:
- Jasr ibn Farqad:
- Imām al-Dāraquṭnī: “Matrūk”
(Suʾālāt al-Barqānī: 70) - Classified as weak and abandoned.
(Taḥfah al-Aqwiyāʾ fī Taḥqīq Kitāb al-Ḍuʿafāʾ: 54)
- Imām al-Dāraquṭnī: “Matrūk”
- Shaʿbān ibn Jasr: Unknown narrator.
- Muḥammad ibn Sinān al-Qaẓẓāz: Weak. (Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb: 5936)
- Ismāʿīl ibn al-Karābīsī: Majhūl (unknown).
- Abū ʿAmr ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad: Unknown.
Misguided Use of This Report
Some individuals used this weak narration to prove false beliefs, such as:
◈ ʿAbd al-Ḥayy Lakhnawī copied it from Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ without verification.
◈ Zakarīyā Deobandi cited it in Faḍāʾil al-Ṣalāh (pp. 69–70).
◈ Nūr Muḥammad Qādrī Deobandi referenced it in Mahnāmah al-Khayr, Multan (Vol. 24, Issue 5, June 2006, p. 25/249), trying to use it to support the belief of life in the grave.
These are all incorrect conclusions, because:✔ The narration is fabricated or weak.
✔ It has no basis in authentic Hadith or the Qur’an.
✔ Scholars must avoid propagating weak and fabricated reports among the masses.
The Prophet ﷺ said:"Whoever remains silent, is saved."
(Kitāb al-Zuhd by Ibn al-Mubārak: 385 — Ḥasan; Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 2501)
Summary of Research:
Established:
◈ Thābit al-Bunānī (رحمه الله) supplicated to pray in his grave.
Not Established:
◈ That he actually prayed in his grave.
Fabricated/Weak Reports:
◈ Narrations from Yūsuf ibn ʿAṭiyyah and Jasr ibn Farqad are unreliable.
❖ Final Conclusion:
❖ The claim that Thābit al-Bunānī (رحمه الله) used to pray in his grave is false and baseless, as it rests on fabricated and weak narrations.
❖ Such beliefs should not be promoted, and scholars must exercise care in citing such sources.
Waṣallallāhu ʿalā Nabiyyinā Muḥammad wa ālihi wa ṣaḥbihi ajmaʿīn.ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب۔
