1344 — “When the believer sees the spaciousness granted to him in his grave, he says: ‘Let me go and give my family glad tidings.’ He is then told: ‘Remain where you are.’”

Ahmad (3/331) recorded it from Abu Bakr ibn ‘Ayyash, from al-A‘mash, from Abu Sufyan, from Jabir, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

I say: This is a good chain of transmission. Its narrators are those of the Sahih, though there is some criticism of Abu Bakr ibn ‘Ayyash; nevertheless, his hadith does not fall below the rank of good. This is especially so since it has another route: Ibn Lahi‘ah narrates it from Abu al-Zubayr, who said that he asked Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah about the two angels who question the dead in the grave. He replied: “I heard the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, say…” and then related it in similar, but longer, wording. Ahmad recorded it (3/346). Its narrators are trustworthy, were it not for Ibn Lahi‘ah’s poor memory; a narrator like him may be cited in corroboration.

It also has a supporting narration from Anas ibn Malik, attributed to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with the wording: “When the believer is placed in his grave, an angel comes to him … and he is told: ‘This was to have been your dwelling in Hell, but Allah protected you and had mercy on you, and He has replaced it for you with a dwelling in Paradise.’ He then says: ‘Let me go, so that I may give my family glad tidings …’” The hadith. Abu Dawud recorded it (2/539–540, Halabi edition), as did Ahmad (3/233), through ‘Abd al-Wahhab ibn ‘Ata’ al-Khaffaf, Abu Nasr, from Sa‘id, from Qatadah, from him.

This is an authentic chain of transmission according to Muslim’s criteria. It is recorded in the two Sahihs and elsewhere, but without the portion cited as corroboration. This is the version recorded by Abu Dawud.

It has another supporting narration from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, attributed to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, similar to the hadith of Anas. Ahmad recorded it (3/3–4) from ‘Abbad ibn Rashid, from Dawud ibn Abi Hind, from Abu Nadrah, from him. This is a good chain of transmission; its narrators are those of the Sahih, and the criticism concerning ‘Abbad is not detrimental.