It is also reported (1) that, after the deceased had been buried, he would cast three handfuls of earth (2) over him from the direction of his head.

When he had finished burying the deceased, he and his Companions would stand by the grave. He would ask Allah to grant the deceased steadfastness and instruct them to ask for steadfastness for him (3).

He would not sit reciting at the grave or prompt the deceased, as people do today. As for the hadith recorded by al-Tabarānī in his Muʿjam (4), on the authority of Abū Umāmah, from the Prophet ﷺ:

“When one of your brothers dies and you have levelled the earth over his grave, let one of you stand at the head of his grave and say: ‘O so-and-so!’ For he hears him but does not answer. Then he should say: ‘O so-and-so, son of such-and-such a woman!’ For he sits upright. Then he should say: ‘O so-and-so, son of such-and-such a woman!’ For he says: ‘Guide us, may Allah have mercy on you,’ though they are unaware of this. Then he should say: ‘Remember what you held when you departed this life: the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, and that you accepted Allah as your Lord, and Islam