2145 – ʿUbayd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn ʿAli informed us; Abu ʿAbd Allah al-Saffar—that is, Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmrawayh—narrated to us; I heard Muhammad ibn Nasr the Goldsmith say:

“My father was passionately devoted to joining funeral processions, whether he knew the deceased or not. He once said to me, ‘My son, I left the marketplace one day to buy something. There I came upon the funeral of a man followed by a large crowd, none of whom I recognized. I said to myself, “I shall accompany this funeral, perform the prayer over him, and remain until he is buried.” So I went along. They prayed over him and I prayed with them. They carried him into the cemetery and brought him to a freshly dug grave. Two men descended, pulled the body toward them, received it, and began covering it with earth. Then one of the two came out while the other stayed below, and the people kept heaping earth on him. I cried out, “People! Is a living man being buried with the dead? I hope my eyes have not deceived me!”

‘I stepped back and said, “I saw two men go down. One has come up; the other remains. I will not leave this spot until God discloses to me what I have witnessed.” I approached the grave, recited Sūrat Yā Sīn ten times and Sūrat al-Mulk (Tabāraka l-Mulk), wept, raised my hands and prayed, “O Lord, unveil for me what I have seen; I fear for my sanity and my faith.” The grave split open and a figure emerged, turning to flee. I rose and followed him, calling, “By the One you worship, stop so that I may ask you something!” He did not look back and kept going. I followed again and repeated, “By the One you worship, stop so that I may ask you something!” He still did not turn and walked on a second time. I called out a third time, “O you! I am an old man who cannot ⦗1212⦘ move quickly; by the One you worship, stop so that I may ask you something.” He turned toward me and said, “Nasr the Goldsmith!” I replied, “Yes.” He asked, “Do you not recognize me?” I answered, “No.” He said, “We are two angels from the angels of mercy. We have been assigned to the people of the sunnah when they are placed in their graves; we descend to teach them the answer (to the questioning).” Then he disappeared from my sight