What is the ruling on shuq and lahdi in the grave, and al-Nawawi’s consensus?

The questioner : Shaykh, regarding the side niche (shuqq) and the central niche (lahd), and in the hadith of Ibn Abbas, the side niche is for others and the central niche is for us.

The Shaykh : The central niche is for us and the side niche is for others. Yes.

The questioner : The consensus (ijma') that al-Nawawi cited is that the scholars said the side niche is permissible for us, and all the hadiths say that the central niche is what they used to make for Muslims, except in the hadith of Anas from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when he passed away, he said, "We were ordered to take a man who made side niches and a man who made central niches, and the one who made central niches was ahead." So this is what you relied upon, Shaykh, for the recommendation or rather the prescription of the central niche. Is this consensus that al-Nawawi cited correct or not?

The Shaykh : But I find it difficult to accept your question except for the exception, which I think is out of place, because it supports the first hadith: the central niche is for us.

The questioner : And... and...

The Shaykh : Perhaps this exception can be considered a disconnected exception (istithna' munqati'). The consensus transmitted by al-Nawawi or others can be understood as absolute permissibility, and this does not negate what he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the first hadith, nor the lahdi that was prepared for him (peace and blessings be upon him) for his grave. It is recommended (mustahabb) that the grave be a lahdi and not a shuq.
It is often said that a certain matter is permissible, but when details are examined, they acknowledge it with dislike (karahah). If evidence is established for the dislike, a Muslim has no choice but to state it. If no evidence is established to prove the dislike, one stops at permissibility and does not add anything from oneself. Here we have two hadiths: the first is that the lahdi is for us and the shuq is for others, and the second is that Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, chose for His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) the one who would make the lahdi in the grave. So the lahdi was made for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and his grave was not made a shuq. At the very least, it should be said that this is a recommended matter and its opposite is disliked. However, we must also note a point here.
The Muslim is compelled to take this into account because lands differ; some are rocky, and it is difficult for the grave digger to first cut a side niche and then dig to the size of the deceased's body. And hardship means difficulty, and the Shari'ah is based on ease. Second, the land may be the opposite, sandy, where it is not possible to dig a side niche and then a central niche. If it is easy for the digger to apply this Sunnah, that is the default. And if it is not easy, the side niche is permissible as al-Nawawi said.

The questioner : If it is feasible, the dislike exists in the shuq (opening a trench). May Allah reward you. But it is a dislike, Professor, conditional. Yes. Just a dislike, meaning I... just.

The Shaykh : A dislike, yes.

The questioner : Because Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, the author of *Minhaj al-Sunnah*, brings up the attributes by which the Shi'ah imitate the Jews. He says the Shi'ah do not perform the lakhad, and also...

The Shaykh : ...disturbance.

The questioner : He says the Jews do not perform the lakhad and the Shi'ah do not perform the lakhad. So if we do not perform the lakhad, are we also in a type of imitation of the Jews?

The Shaykh : That is it, but imitation has degrees. Imitation is not all on the same level, meaning forbidden, forbidden, forbidden. One observes the degree of strength of the imitation in that. For example, let us give an example now: the Muslim who wears a cap, if that is the correct term, puts a cap on his head, or wears a beret. This is the utmost imitation of the disbelievers, because no one who sees him dares to greet him, because in his dress and appearance he has departed from the community of Muslims. And it drops a level from the beret or cap to the one who ties around his neck what is called a scarf. This is also very strong imitation, because it is a symbol of the disbelievers and an adornment for them, without this symbol having any benefit for the body. What do we want to call this? The one who wears the scarf... it is repeated, it is repeated, it is repeated, it is repeated, it is repeated. The point is there is no benefit, unlike, for example, the jacket, unlike the trousers that cover the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered), even if they fit the body. These are things that have a benefit, but at the same time they are the dress of the disbelievers. As for this knot that these people wear, it is only for imitation and resembling the disbelievers. So the degrees of imitation differ completely.
So now, a person has died and been buried, and we opened a shuq for him instead of a lahdi, or a lahdi with a shuq. The imitation (tashabbuh) here is not obvious or strong, but it remains that a Muslim should, as we always and forever say, that he should differ from the disbelievers, not only by not imitating them, but in response to his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: so differ from them.
Yes, and on this occasion, I say to you, Abu al-Harith, perhaps this person who handed me his letter understood that I dye my beard, but perhaps you also conveyed to him my statement on such an occasion, that I do not put my effort into my beard, and effort means my beard, meaning every time the dye fades, I start working on dyeing it. It is enough that I apply this hadith: "The Jews and Christians do not dye their hair, so differ from them." As long as we differ from them in this and other things, perhaps you conveyed that to him, or did you not open the conversation with me? Reading the letter to the Shaykh. No, I do not say you did not open the conversation; that is what it means. So the point is that imitation has levels and degrees. Therefore, we do not say in the matter of the lahdi that leaving it off, when able, is forbidden (haram), but rather it is contrary to what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged. Perhaps Abu al-Yaman did not miss us with his distribution of tea, and praise be to Allah.