Prophet’s (s.a.w.) Intercession from the Grave

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Shaykh al-‘Utbi Muhammad ibn ‘Ubaydullah (r.a.) was a tabi’un narrator of ahadits, and he took from his father, Shaykh ‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Amru (r.a.), and Imam Abu Muhammad Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah (r.a.).  He said, “As I was sitting by the grave of the Prophet (s.a.w.), a Bedouin came and said, ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah!  I have heard Allah Saying:

سُوۡرَةُ النِّسَاء

... وَلَوۡ أَنَّهُمۡ إِذ ظَّلَمُوٓاْ أَنفُسَهُمۡ جَآءُوكَ فَٱسۡتَغۡفَرُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَٱسۡتَغۡفَرَ لَهُمُ ٱلرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُواْ ٱللَّهَ تَوَّابً۬ا رَّحِيمً۬ا (٦٤) 

... If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto you and asked Allah’s Forgiveness and the Messenger had asked Forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. (Surah an-Nisa’:64)

So, I have come to you asking forgiveness for my sin, seeking your intercession with my Lord.’  Then he began to recite poetry: 

‘O best of those whose bones are buried in the deep earth,

And from whose fragrance the depths,

And the heights have become sweet.

May I be the ransom for a grave which you inhabit,

And in which are found purity, bounty and munificence!’ 

Then he left, and I slept and saw the Prophet (s.a.w.) in my sleep.  He said to me. ‘O ‘Utbi, run after the Bedouin, and give him glad tidings that Allah (s.w.t.) has Forgiven him.’”  This was recorded by Imam Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Sharaf an-Nawawi (r.a.), in his Kitab al-Adzkar and his Majmu’. 

Hafizh ‘Imad ad-Din Abu al-Fida’ Isma’il ibn ‘Umar ibn Katsir (r.a.) stated, in his Tafsir, concerning this narration, “Allah (s.w.t.) Instructs the sinners, when they commit a sin, to come to the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) and seek Forgiveness in his presence, and then they ask him to request Forgiveness.  And, certainly, if they did that, Allah (s.w.t.) would Relent towards them, and have Mercy on them, and for that reason He Says, ‘they would have found Allah indeed Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.’” 

And Shaykh Manswur ibn as-Sabbagh (r.a.) recorded the same atsar with, essentially the same matn, but a different poem: 

“O you, best of those whose bones are buried in al-Qa’a,

From the sweet scents of those bones,

The whole area of al-Qa’a and Akamu became perfumed.

My self, I sacrifice to the grave that you live.

In it, is purity and in it, is incredible generosity.” 

Imam Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah (r.a.) and Imam Shihab Abu Sa’id ad-Din Ahmad ibn Isma’il as-Sam’ani (r.a.) also mentioned it, as did Imam Muwaffaq ad-Din Abu Muhammad ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi (r.a.) in his al-Mughni’.  Additionally, the following are more of our scholars who narrated this atsar: Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Bayhaqi (r.a.), in his Shu’ab al-Iman; Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Qurthubi (r.a.), in his Ahkam al-Qur’an; Imam Abu al-Faraj ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Jawzy (r.a.), in his Mutsir al-Gharam; Imam ‘Ali ibn Hasan ibn ‘Asakir (r.a.), in his Mukhtaswar Tarikh Dimashq; Imam Taqi’ ad-Din Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Abd al-Kafi’ as-Subki (r.a.), in his Shifa’ as-Siqam fi Ziyarat Khayr al-Anam; Imam Abu al-Wafa’ Ali ibn ‘Aqil (r.a.), in his at-Tadzkirah; Imam Badr ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Jama’ah (r.a.), in his Hidayat as-Salik; Imam Nur ad-Din ‘Ali ibn Ahmad as-Samhudi (r.a.), in his Khulaswat al-Wafa’; Imam Ahmad ibn Zayni ad-Dahlan (r.a.), in his Khulaswat al-Kalam; Imam Abu al-Faraj Qudamah ibn Ja’far (r.a.), in his ash-Sharh al-Kabir; Imam manswur ibn Yunus al-Bahuti al-Hanbali (r.a.), in his Kashshf al-Qina’; Imam Shibab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajr al-Haytsami (r.a.), in his al-Jawhar al-Munazhzham fi Ziyarat al-Qabr ash-Sharif an-Nabawi al-Mukarram; and Imam Muhib ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Mahmud ibn an-Najjar (r.a.), in his Akhbar al-Madina.