In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
An Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah),
Authored by Sheikh Musa ibn Rashid al-Azmi, may Allah preserve him.
Preparing, Washing, and Shrouding the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
When Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) was pledged allegiance as Caliph,
The family of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) turned to preparing and washing his noble body,
And they differed regarding how to proceed.
Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad, and Abu Dawud in his Sunan with a good chain of narration,
On the authority of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said:
"When they intended to wash the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), they differed concerning him,
Saying: 'By Allah, we do not know what to do:
Should we strip the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) of his garments as we strip our dead, or should we wash him with his clothes on?'"
She said:
"So when they differed, Allah cast a slumber upon them,
Until, by Allah, there was not a single man among them whose chin was not resting on his chest, fast asleep.
She said:
Then a voice addressed them from the corner of the house, though they did not know who it was,
Saying:
'Wash the Prophet (peace be upon him) while his clothes are on him.'
She said:
So they sprang up,
And washed the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) while he was wearing his shirt,
Pouring water and lotus leaves (sidr) over him, and gently rubbing him over the shirt."
Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad with a chain that is good due to corroborating evidence,
On the authority of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
"When the people gathered to wash the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
There was no one in the house except his family:
His uncle al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib,
'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
Al-Fadl ibn al-'Abbas,
Qutham ibn al-'Abbas,
Usamah ibn Zayd ibn Harithah,
And Salih, his freed slave—
That is, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
When they had resolved to begin washing him,
Aws ibn Khawli al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) called out from behind the door—
He was one of Banu 'Awf ibn al-Khazraj,
And a veteran of Badr—
Calling out to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him),
Saying to him:
'O 'Ali, I adjure you by Allah and by our share in the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)!'
'Ali said to him, 'Enter.'
So he entered,
And attended the washing of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
Though he did not directly handle anything in his washing."
He said:
"'Ali leaned him against his chest while he was wearing his shirt,
And al-'Abbas, al-Fadl, and Qutham
Were turning him along with 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
While Usamah ibn Zayd and Salih, their freed slave, poured the water.
'Ali began washing him,
And not a single flaw or sign of decomposition
Such as is usually seen on a deceased person was seen on the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
While 'Ali kept saying:
'May my father and mother be ransomed for you! How pure and sweet you are, alive and dead!'"
When they finished washing the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)—
And he was washed with water and lotus leaves—
They dried him,
And then shrouded him in three garments.
The two Shaykhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim) recorded in their Sahihs,
On the authority of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was shrouded
In three white Sahuli garments
Made of cotton,
Containing neither a shirt nor a turban."
Imam at-Tirmidhi said in his Jami':
"Various narrations have been reported
Regarding the shroud of the Prophet (peace be upon him),
And the hadith of 'A'ishah
Is the most authentic of the narrations reported concerning the shroud of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
And the practice is according to the hadith of 'A'ishah
Among the majority of the people of knowledge
From the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him)
And others."
The Funeral Prayer over the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was shrouded,
Permission was given to the people to pray over him individually,
With no one leading them as an imam.
Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad
With an authentic chain of narration,
On the authority of Abu 'Usayb (may Allah be pleased with him),
That he witnessed the funeral prayer over the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
They asked, "How shall we pray over him?"
He replied, "Enter in groups, wave after wave."
He said: "So they would enter from this door,
Pray over him,
And then exit through the other door."
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said:
"This practice—
Namely, their praying over him (peace be upon him) individually,
Without anyone leading them—
Is a matter of consensus, without any difference of opinion."
The Burial of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was buried in the exact spot where he passed away.
Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad and at-Tirmidhi in his Jami',
With a chain that is authentic through its collective routes and supporting reports,
On the authority of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said:
"When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) passed away,
They differed regarding his burial.
Thereupon Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
'I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
Something that I have never forgotten;
He said:
"Allah never takes the soul of a Prophet except in the very place where he loves to be buried."
Bury him in the spot of his bed.'"
Imam at-Tirmidhi recorded in ash-Shama'il with an authentic chain of narration,
On the authority of Salim ibn 'Ubayd al-Ashja'i (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"They said to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him):
'O companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
Is the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to be buried?'
He replied, 'Yes.'
They asked, 'Where?'
He (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
'In the place where Allah took his soul,
For Allah would not take his soul except in a blessed and pure place.'"
Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad,
And Ibn Majah in his Sunan with a good chain of narration,
On the authority of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) passed away,
There was a man in Medina who used to dig graves with a side niche (lahd),
And another who dug straight trench graves (darh).
So they said:
'Let us seek guidance from our Lord (istikharah) and send for both of them,
And whichever of them arrives first, we shall leave the work to him.'
So messengers were sent to both of them,
And the one who dug the side niche (lahd) arrived first,
So they dug a lahd grave for the Prophet (peace be upon him)."
Ibn Hibban recorded in his Sahih with a sound chain of narration,
On the authority of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
"Those who entered the grave of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) were
Al-'Abbas, 'Ali, and al-Fadl;
And a man from the Ansar leveled the bricks of his niche,
The same one who had prepared the niches for the martyrs on the day of Badr."
The Sheikh commented in the footnote:
"He was Abu Talhah Zayd ibn Sahl al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him)."
Imam Muslim recorded in his Sahih,
On the authority of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
"There was placed in the grave of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
A red velvet cloth."
Imam at-Tirmidhi recorded in his Jami' with a good chain of narration,
On the authority of Shuqran (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"By Allah, it was I who spread the velvet cloth beneath the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in the grave."
Ibn Majah recorded with a chain that is good due to corroborating evidence,
On the authority of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
"Shuqran, his freed slave, took a velvet cloth
That the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to wear,
And placed it in the grave,
Saying: 'By Allah, no one shall ever wear it after you!'
So it was buried alongside the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)."
The burial of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) took place on Wednesday night,
Late in the night on the eve of Wednesday.
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said:
"The correct view is that he (peace be upon him) remained through the rest of Monday and the entirety of Tuesday, and was buried on Wednesday night."
Imam as-Sindi said:
"The reason for delaying his burial (peace be upon him)
Was due to the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) being occupied with momentous affairs,
Such as the pledge of allegiance, whose delay was feared to cause tribulations (fitnah)."
The Exclusive Distinctions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) Concerning His Shroud and Grave.
Imam adh-Dhahabi said:
"As for his being buried in the room of 'A'ishah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
It is exclusive to him,
Just as he was exclusively distinguished by having a velvet cloth spread beneath him in his grave niche,
And as he was exclusively distinguished by having the people pray over him individually without an imam,
For he remained their imam alive and dead, in this world and the Hereafter;
And as he was exclusively distinguished by having his burial delayed for two days,
Whereas delaying burial is disliked for his Ummah,
Because his noble body was safe from physical change, unlike the rest of us;
Furthermore, they delayed it so that all of them could pray over him inside his room,
Which took a long time to accomplish;
And also because they hesitated during the first half of the first day regarding his death,
Until Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived from as-Sunh.
These were the reasons for the delay."
Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad with an authentic chain of narration,
On the authority of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"I never saw a day more radiant or more beautiful
Than the day the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
And Abu Bakr entered Medina,
And I witnessed his death,
And I never saw a day darker or more sorrowful
Than the day on which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) passed away."
Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad,
And Ibn Majah in his Sunan with an authentic chain of narration,
On the authority of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"When the day came that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) entered Medina,
Everything in it was illuminated,
But when the day came that he died, everything in it turned dark.
And no sooner had we dusted off our hands from burying the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
Than we felt a profound change in our hearts."
Imam al-Bukhari recorded in his Sahih,
On the authority of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) said when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) passed away:
'O my father! He has answered the call of a Lord Who summoned him!
O my father! The Garden of Firdaws is now his abode!
O my father! To Gabriel we announce his death!'
I say: 'To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return.'
And we bear witness before Allah, Exalted and Glorified is He,
That His Messenger (peace be upon him) delivered the message,
and he fulfilled the trust, gave sincere counsel to the Ummah,
and left us upon the clear, illuminated path,
whose night is as bright as its day.
May the peace, blessings, and grace of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon all his family and Companions.
An Abridgment of the Prophetic biography (Seerah):
If people's longing for one another endures,
then the yearning for you is beyond all measure.
May Allah send blessings upon you whenever the call to prayer is raised,
and whenever lips move
with the enduring remembrance of Allah.