Issue: It is sunnah for whoever is present at the burial to cast three handfuls of earth, because the Prophet did so (1).

Issue: The hadith concerning prompting the deceased after burial is not authentic; it is therefore an innovation.

“The grave should be raised above the ground by the measure of a handspan, forming a rounded mound. Plastering it and building over it are disliked, ...”

His statement, “The grave should be raised above the ground by the measure of a handspan, forming a rounded mound,” means that it is sunnah for the grave to be raised above the ground. Moreover, the practical reality requires this, since the soil excavated from the grave will be returned to it. It is well known that earth is more compact before it is turned over than after it has been turned over, so the soil must necessarily rise.

Moreover, the place occupied by the deceased was originally earth, whereas it has now become an empty space. Thus, the earth that originally occupied the place where the deceased now lies will be above him.

The author’s words, “by the measure of a handspan”: a handspan is the distance between the tip of the little finger and the tip of the thumb when the hand is fully spread. This is, of course, only an approximation, since people differ in the size of their hands. A person with large hands and long fingers will have a longer handspan, and the reverse is also true.

Generally, the soil returned to the grave rises by about a handspan, though it may be slightly more or slightly less.

The scholars made an exception to this ruling in the case where a person dies in a land