praying for the deceased after the funeral prayer. Concerning this Allah, the Exalted, says: “Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith” (al-Hashr 59:10), along with other verses to the same effect.

2 – The report also affirms that the dead person is questioned in his grave, and the sound hadiths on this are well established. Al-Bukhari (1338) and Muslim (2870) transmit, on the authority of Anas, that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“When the servant is placed in his grave, two angels come to him and make him sit up. They ask, ‘What would you say about this man?’ He replies, ‘I bear witness that he is the servant of Allah and His Messenger.’ They then show him his seat in Paradise. As for the disbeliever and the hypocrite, he will say, ‘I do not know,’ and he will be struck with an iron hammer.”

3 – Authentic reports, transmitted in succession, confirm that the deceased is questioned in his grave. He is asked, “Whom did you worship?” The believer answers, “I worshipped Allah,” whereupon he is told, “You have spoken the truth,” and nothing further is asked of him. A caller from heaven announces, “My servant has spoken the truth; open for him a gate to Paradise,” and there reaches him its breeze and fragrance, and his grave is widened for him as far as he can see.

The disbeliever and the hypocrite, however, can only say, “Alas, alas—I do not know.” He is told, “You neither knew nor recited,” and is struck once with iron hammers; were such a blow dealt to a mountain, it would crumble to dust. He screams a scream heard by all around him except humankind and jinn.

4 – Supplicating for the deceased at his grave after burial is proven by the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Muslims. Allah says: “And do not stand at his grave” (al-Tawbah 9:84), meaning: do not stand there to supplicate and seek forgiveness for him.

Shaykh al-Islam said: When Allah forbade His Prophet ﷺ to stand at the graves of the hypocrites, this indicated that one should stand at the grave of the believer after burial. Abū Dāwūd (3221) narrated from ʿUthmān that when the Prophet ﷺ had finished with the burial he would stand over the grave and say, “Seek forgiveness for your brother and ask that he be made steadfast, for he is now being questioned.”

Ibn al-Mundhir said: The majority of scholars deem this practice prescribed.

Al-Tirmidhī said: Standing at the grave and praying for the deceased at the moment of burial is a continuation