Praise
be to Allah
This hadith was
narrated by at-Tabaraani in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabeer (491) via ‘Abd
ar-Rahmaan ibn al-‘Alaa’ ibn al-Lajlaaj, from his father who said: My father
said to me: O my son, when I die, then bury me, and when you place me in my
lahd (niche in the grave), say: In the name of Allah and in accordance with
the religion of the Messenger of Allah. Then fill in the grave, then recite
at my head the beginning and end of Soorat al-Baqarah, for I heard the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say that.
It was narrated
by al-Bayhaqi (7068), by al-Khallaal in al-Amr bi’l-Ma‘roof wa’n-Nahy ‘an
al-Munkar (p. 87), and by ad-Daynoori in al-Mujaalasah (757) as
follows:
When I die, then
place me in the lahd (niche in the grave) and say: In the name of Allah and
in accordance with the religion of the Messenger of Allah. Then fill in the
grave, then recite at my head the Opening of the Book (al-Faatihah), and the
beginning and end of al-Baqarah, for I heard ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar say that.
The second
version is attributed to ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, therefore it is mawqoof.
This is a da‘eef
(weak) isnad. ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn al-‘Alaa’ ibn al-Lajlaaj is majhool
(unknown). Adh-Dhahabi said in al-Mizaan (2/579):
No one narrated
from him except Mubashshir ibn Ismaa‘eel. End quote.
Those who
accepted this report relied on the fact that Ibn Hibbaan described this ‘Abd
ar-Rahmaan as being thiqah (trustworthy), but Ibn Hibbaan (may Allah have
mercy on him) is known for being too lenient in describing narrators as
trustworthy, to the extent that he might include among the trustworthy a
narrator of whom he clearly stated that he did not know who he or his father
were. Hence al-Haafiz said in his biography of this ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan in
at-Taqreeb (p. 348): His reports may be accepted if there are
corroborating reports, otherwise his reports are regarded as layyin (a kind
of weak hadith), as was stated in al-Muqaddimah.
The saheeh
(sound) report from Ibn ‘Umar is that which was narrated by at-Tirmidhi
(1046) via Naafi‘, from Ibn ‘Umar, according to which the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) used to say, when the deceased was placed in
the grave: “Bismillah wa billah wa ‘ala millati Rasoolillah ( In the
name of Allah, with the help of Allah, and in accordance with the religion
of the Messenger of Allah).”
Following this
report, at-Tirmidhi said:
This hadith is
hasan ghareeb with this isnad. This hadith was narrated with another isnad
from Ibn ‘Umar, from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
It was narrated by Abu’s-Siddeeq an-Naaji, from Ibn ‘Umar, from the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). And it was also narrated from
Abu’s-Siddeeq an-Naaji, from Ibn ‘Umar, in a mawqoof report. End quote.
It was classed
as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi.
This version of
the hadith is what is saheeh (sound).
It was also
narrated by at-Tabaraani in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabeer (13613) and
al-Bayhaqi in ash-Shu‘ab (8854), via Yahya ibn ‘Abdillah
al-Baablutti: Ayyoob ibn Naheek told us: I heard ‘Ataa’ ibn Abi Rabaah say:
I heard Ibn ‘Umar say: I heard the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) say: “When one of you dies, do not delay him [his burial]; hasten
him to his grave and recite at his head the Opening of the Book
(al-Faatihah) and at his feet the end of al-Baqarah, when he has been place
in his grave.
This is a waahin
(flimsy) isnad. Ayyoob ibn Naheek was classed as da‘eef (weak) by Abu Haatim
and others. Al-Azdi said: He is matrook (to be rejected).
Mizaan
al-I‘tidaal
(1/294).
Regarding al-Baablutti,
Ibn Abi Haatim said: He narrates problematic reports from trustworthy
narrators in which he seems to be confused, so the reports of which he is
the only narrator are not to be quoted as evidence. Ibn ‘Adiyy said: The
impact of weakness on his hadith is obvious.
Tahdheeb at-Tahdheeb
(11/211).
Al-Albaani said
in ad-Da‘eefah (4140): A very weak (da‘eef jiddan) hadith.
For more
information, please see Ahkaam al-Janaa’iz (1/192).
See also the
answer to question no. 209278.
And Allah knows
best.
Summary of the
answer:
It is not proven
from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or from Ibn
‘Umar that it is mustahabb to recite anything of the Qur’an after burying
the deceased, whether that is the beginning or end of Soorat al-Baqarah or
anything else. We do not know of any proven report from any of the Sahaabah
(may Allah be pleased with them) concerning this matter.