❀ Is It Permissible to Wish for Burial Among the Righteous? ❀
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
Is it permissible to desire being buried among the righteous?
❖ Answer:
Yes, it is permissible to wish for burial among the righteous. However, this does not mean that merely being buried near the pious guarantees salvation. Salvation depends upon sound belief (‘aqīdah) and righteous deeds. If belief and deeds are correct, then proximity to the righteous is indeed an honor and virtue; otherwise, it is nothing more than coincidence.
❖ Report from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما):
Ibn Abī Mulaykah (رحمه الله) said that he heard ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) narrate:
وضع عمر على سريره فتكنفه الناس ، يدعون ويصلون قبل أن يرفع وأنا فيهم، فلم يرعني إلا رجل آخذ منكبي، فإذا على بن أبى طالب فترحم على عمر، وقال : ما خلفت أحدا أحب إلى أن ألقى الله بمثل عمله منك، وأيم الله إن كنت لأظن أن يجعلك الله مع صاحبيك، وحسبت إني كنت كثيرا أسمع النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول : ذهبت أنا وأبو بكر، وعمر، ودخلت أنا وأبو بكر، وعمر، وخرجت أنا وأبو بكر، وعمر .
“When ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) was placed on his bier, the people surrounded him, supplicating and praying for him before he was lifted up, and I was among them. Suddenly, I felt someone take hold of my shoulder, and it was ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (رضي الله عنه). He invoked Allah’s mercy for ʿUmar and said: After you, there is no one more beloved to me, whose deeds I would wish to present before Allah, than yours. By Allah, I always thought that Allah would join you with your two companions (the Prophet ﷺ and Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه). I used to hear the Prophet ﷺ say often: I, Abū Bakr, and ʿUmar went; I, Abū Bakr, and ʿUmar entered; I, Abū Bakr, and ʿUmar came out.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3685, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2389)
