Hadith Six

ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported: The Prophet ﷺ passed by two graves and said, “They are being punished, yet they are not being punished for something difficult to avoid. One of them used not to protect himself from urine, while the other used to walk about spreading malicious gossip.”

He then took a fresh palm-twig, split it in two, and planted one piece in each grave. The Companions asked, “Messenger of Allah, why did you do that?” He replied, “Perhaps their punishment will be lightened so long as these branches do not dry out.”

Unfamiliar terms
1- “innahumā layaʿdhabān” (they are being punished): i.e., the people inside the graves are being punished; the place is named while the occupants are intended.
2- “lā yastatiru mina l-baul” (he would not shield himself from urine): with two tā’s, meaning he did not place a barrier to protect himself from his own urine. It is also transmitted as “lā yastabriʾ” (he would not seek to be free of it).
3- “yamshī bi-n-namīmah” (he would walk about carrying gossip): he conveyed people’s speech to others with the intent of causing harm.
4- “fa-akhadha jarīdah” (he took a jarīdah): a palm stalk that has no fronds.
5- “fa-gharaza” (he stuck it) – with a zāy; Muslim relates it with a sīn: gharsa, meaning planted. Abū Masʿūd said, “He planted it level with the head,” and this is established by a sound chain.

Overall meaning
The Prophet ﷺ, accompanied by some of his Companions, passed by two graves. Allah unveiled their condition to him, and he saw that their occupants were being punished. He informed his Companions of this as a warning to his nation and a means to instil fear, for each person in these graves is being punished for a sin that is easy to avoid for anyone whom Allah enables.

One of the two did not take precautions against his urine when relieving himself, so impurity would touch his body and clothes. The other was a devil among people, spreading gossip that breeds enmity and hatred, especially between relatives and friends. He would go to one person and report what another had said, then return to the latter with what the former had said, sowing division and quarrelling between them.