পৃষ্ঠা 141: দশম অধ্যায়: কবরের অন্ধকার এবং জীবিতদের দোয়া ও সদকার মাধ্যমে তা আলোকিত হওয়া

Chapter Ten: Mentioning the Narrowness of Graves and Their Darkness for Their Inhabitants, Their Illumination Through the Supplication of the Living, and What Has Been Reported Regarding the Deceased's Need for the Supplication of the Living and Their Awaiting It.

It was previously mentioned in the Second Chapter that the grave proclaims: "I am the house of darkness, and the house of constriction, except for that which Allah expands."

Ibn al-Mubarak said: Safwan ibn 'Amr narrated to us, saying: Sulaym ibn 'Amir narrated to me, saying: We went out to a funeral at the gate of Damascus, and with us was Abu Umamah al-Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him). When he had prayed over the deceased and they began the burial, Abu Umamah said: "Indeed, you wake up in the morning and reach the evening in an abode wherein you acquire good deeds and sins. Soon, you will depart from it to another abode, and it is this," pointing towards the grave, "the house of darkness and the house of constriction, except for that which Allah expands. Then from it, you shall be transferred to the Day of Resurrection."

Ibn Abi al-Dunya narrated with his chain of transmission from Salamah ibn Sa'id, who said: Whenever Hisham al-Dastawa'i mentioned death, he would say: "The grave, the darkness of the grave, and the loneliness of the grave!" When one of his companions later passed by the side of his grave, he said: "O Abu Bakr, by Allah, you have arrived at that which you dreaded."

And he narrated with his chain of transmission from the wife of Hisham al-Dastawa'i, who said: "Whenever the lamp was extinguished, an overwhelming distress would overcome Hisham. So I said to him, 'An immense distress overcomes you whenever the lamp goes out.' He replied, 'Indeed, I recall the darkness of the grave.' Then he said, 'Had any of the pious predecessors preceded me in this, I would have willed that when I die, I should be placed in a corner of my house.' She said: We did not wait long until he died. Then one of his brethren passed by his grave and said, 'O Abu Bakr, you have arrived at that which you dreaded.'"

Al-Hasan ibn al-Bara' said: 'Abd al-Wahhab ibn Ghiyadh narrated to me, saying: Jumu'ah, a neighbor of Hisham al-Firdawsi, narrated to me, saying: "Whenever Hisham returned from a funeral, he would not eat dinner that night, and he would never sleep except in a room where a lamp was lit. One night, his lamp went out, so he rushed outside in flight. He was asked, 'What is the matter with you?' He replied, 'I remembered the darkness of the grave.'"

And we have related the narration of Khalid ibn Khidash, who said: "I used to sit with Ashyam al-Balkhi, the uncle of Qutaybah, who was blind. He would narrate and say: 'Ah, the grave and its darkness! The burial niche and its constriction! What shall I do?' Then..."