2133 – Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān informed us; Yaḥyā ibn Muḥammad ibn Ṣāʿid told us; he said: al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Ḥasan narrated to us; he said: Abū Muʿāwiyah narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, from Mujāhid, from ʿAṭāʾ, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who related:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ once passed by two graves and said, “They are both being punished, yet they are not being punished for something difficult to avoid. One of them failed to keep himself clear of urine, while the other used to circulate among the people with malicious gossip.”

He then took a fresh palm-branch, split it in two, and planted one half on each grave ⦗1205⦘. Someone asked, “O Messenger of Allah, why did you do that?” He replied, “Perhaps their punishment will be lightened for them so long as these do not dry out.”

Both al-Bukhārī and Muslim recorded this narration.