1849 — Abū Abdullāh Muhammad ibn Makhlad al-Attār narrated to us. He said: Abū ⦗2370⦘ Sa‘īd Abdullāh ibn Shabīb ibn Khālid, who had come to Mecca, narrated to us. He said: Yahyā ibn Sulaymān ibn Nadla al-Ka‘bī narrated to us. He said: Hārūn al-Rashīd asked Mālik ibn Anas, “What standing did Abū Bakr and Umar—may Allah be pleased with them both—have with the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him?” Mālik—may Allah have mercy on him—replied, “As close as their two graves are to his grave after his death.” He said, “You have put my mind at ease, Mālik! You have put my mind at ease, Mālik!”

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn—may Allah have mercy on him—said:

“Al-Rashīd—praise be to Allah—did not reject this statement of Mālik’s. Rather, he accepted it as true and rejoiced in it. Mālik, the jurist of the Hijāz, informed al-Rashīd that Abū Bakr and Umar—may Allah be pleased with them both—were buried with the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—a fact that no one, noble or otherwise, denies. All praise is due to Allah.

“If someone were to say that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—and Abū Bakr and Umar—may Allah be pleased with them both—were created from one and the same soil, he would be speaking the truth. If someone were to ask, ‘What is the proof for what you have said?’ the answer would be: It is narrated that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—passed by a grave and asked, ‘Who is this?’ They replied, ‘So-and-so, the Abyssinian ⦗2371⦘.’ He then said, ‘Glory be to Allah! He was brought from his own land and sky to the soil from which he was created.’ This statement shows that a person is buried in the soil of the earth from which he was created. Likewise, the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—Abū Bakr, and Umar were created from one and the same soil, and all three were buried in one and the same soil.”