Abū al-Āliyah—may Allah have mercy on him—who said: “When we conquered Tustar, we found in al-Hurmuzān’s treasury a bier upon which lay a dead man, with a manuscript belonging to him at his head. We took the manuscript and brought it to Umar ibn al-Khattāb—may Allah be pleased with him. He summoned Kaʿb, who transcribed it into Arabic. I was the first Arab to read it, and I read it as I read the Quran.” I asked Abū al-Āliyah, “What did it contain?” He replied, “Your history, your affairs, the various forms of your speech, and what was yet to come.” I asked, “What did you do with the man?” He replied, “During the day, we dug thirteen graves in different places. When night came, we buried him and leveled all the graves alike, concealing him from the people so that they would not dig him up.” I asked, “What did they hope to obtain from him?” He replied, “Whenever rain was withheld from them, they would bring his bier out into the open, and rain would fall.” I asked, “Who did you think the man was?” He replied, “A man called Daniel.” I asked, “How long had he been dead when you found him?” He replied, “Three hundred years.” I asked, “Had any part of him changed?” He replied, “No, apart from a few hairs at the nape of his neck. The earth does not cause the flesh of prophets to decay, nor do wild beasts devour it.” Ibn Kathīr cited this report in his book al-Bidāya wa-l-Nihāya and said, “Its chain of transmission is sound back to Abū al-Āliyah.”1

This report demonstrates the thorough precautions and extreme caution exercised by the righteous predecessors—may Allah be pleased with them—in this perilous matter. What the Emigrants and Helpers did, under the direction of the Commander of the Faithful, Umar ibn al-Khattāb—may Allah be pleased with him—by concealing Daniel’s grave and obscuring its location is evidence of the precautions and caution they exercised lest people be led into temptation on his account. Had supplicating at graves, praying beside them, and seeking blessings from them