What we do know is that Allah indeed stepped in as Guardian over his descendants: the Prophet ﷺ married his widow, and his children became the Prophet’s step-children and were raised in his household. As for the remaining four supplications, we pray that Allah accepted His Messenger’s plea on behalf of this righteous man.

This ḥadith provides evidence for several rulings:

1. When a person is struck by calamity, he should invoke only what is good for himself.

2. Whoever is present at the moment of death should, once the soul departs and the eyes stare open, close the deceased’s eyes while the body is still warm; if the body cools first, the eyes will remain fixed. Scholars also recommend loosening the joints before they stiffen: bend the forearm to the upper arm and the upper arm to the chest, then straighten the arm; bend the lower leg to the thigh and the thigh to the abdomen, then extend it again—repeating this several times until the limbs become pliable, making the washing and shrouding easier.

3. The report shows that the soul is something that can be perceived, for it is a body—yet not like our dense bodies. Our frames are heavy, whereas the soul is a subtle body that flows through the child of Adam as blood flows; it was not created from clay but from—