from his father, from Wahb ibn Munabbih, from Jabir ibn ʿAbd Allah and Ibn ʿAbbas, who both said:
ʿAli (may Allah be pleased with him) asked, “O Messenger of Allah, when you are taken (in death), who will wash you? In what shall we shroud you? Who will perform the funeral prayer over you? And who will place you in the grave?”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, “O ʿAli, as for the washing (ghusl), you will wash me while Ibn ʿAbbas pours the water, and Jibril will be the third among you. When you have finished washing me, shroud me in three new cloths. Jibril will bring me ḥanūṭ (a perfumed embalming mixture) from Paradise. When you have laid me on the bier, set me down in the mosque and leave me, for the first to pray over me will be the Lord—glorified is He—from above His Throne, then Jibril, then Mikaʾil, then Israfil, then the angels in successive groups. After that, come in and stand row upon row (1); let no one step ahead of me.”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then passed away. They carried him into the mosque, and the people withdrew. The first to pray over him was the Lord—glorified is He—from above His Throne, then Jibril, then Mikaʾil, then Israfil, then the angels in groups upon groups (2).
(1) In other manuscripts it reads “fasaffū ṣufūfan” (and they arranged themselves in rows).
(2) This is part of a lengthy hadith transmitted by Abu Nuʿaym in al-Hilya (4:77–78), which al-Dhahabi also cites in al-ʿUluw on the authority of al-Musannif, commenting: “This hadith is fabricated.” I regard it as one of ʿAbd al-Munʿim’s fabrications and have recorded it only to expose his falsehood (al-ʿUluw, p. 43). Note that ʿAbd al-Munʿim ibn Idris ibn Sinan ibn Kulayb is listed by al-ʿUqayli among the weak transmitters (al-Duʿafa’, 3:112), who states “he has abandoned hadith.” Ibn Hibban includes him in al-Majruhin (2:157), calling him “a fabricator of reports about his father and others.” Ibn al-Jawzi also records this hadith in full length in his al-Mawduʿat under “Chapter on Mentioning the Death of the Prophet ﷺ” (1:295–301), where he asserts: “This hadith is undoubtedly fabricated—may God recompense its forger; how repulsive to taint the Sharīʿa with such cold concoction and words unbefitting of the Messenger ﷺ and his Companions. ʿAbd al-Munʿim ibn Idris is the accused.” He further cites Ahmad ibn Hanbal (“he used to lie on Wahb”), Yahya (“a vile liar”), Ibn al-Madini and Abu Dawud (“not reliable”), Ibn Hibban (“cannot be used as proof”), and al-Daraqutni (“he and his father are abandoned”) (al-Mawduʿat 1:301). Concerning his father, Idris ibn Sinan ibn Bint Wahb ibn Munabbih, al-Daraqutni deems him “abandoned,” Ibn ʿAdi considers him weak, Ibn Maʿin notes that al-Ruqaq is compiled from his reports, and Ibn Hibban lists him among the trustworthy but warns that his narrations should be treated with caution when transmitted through his son ʿAbd al-Munʿim (see al-Duʿafa’ wa al-Matrukin, p. 158; Mizan al-Iʿtidal 1:169; Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 1:194).