The Embrace of the Grave for the Deceased
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Your Eminence! The hadith of the Companion whose funeral was attended by seventy thousand angels, and when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) buried him, he said: (He was embraced in a manner that if anyone had been spared from it, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh would have been spared) Is this something that happens to all of us, or not?
As for the claim that seventy thousand angels attended his funeral, I am not aware of this. As for the fact that he was embraced, that refers to Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the leader of the Aws tribe. His story with the Banu Qurayzah is well known; they were his allies when they betrayed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He waged war against them and besieged them for more than twenty nights. When they grew weary of the siege, they asked to submit to the judgment of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) granted them that. Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) was in a tent of his in the mosque, because his leg had been injured on the Day of the Confederates, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) built a canopy—meaning a tent—for him in the mosque so that he could visit him up close.
And when he (may Allah be pleased with him) heard that the Banu Qurayzah, who were his allies, had broken the treaty, he said: [O Allah, do not let me die until You satisfy my eyes by dealing with them] meaning: by having them punished for breaking the treaty.
After that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent for him and said to him: (Your allies have asked to submit to your judgment). So Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) came from the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) mosque to the place of the Banu Qurayzah riding on a donkey. When he approached, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Stand up for your leader) So they stood up for him. He dismounted, and then the leaders of the Jews gathered with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) so that Sa'd ibn Mu'adh would judge them. The Jews were expecting Sa'd to judge them as Abdullah ibn Ubayy had judged the Banu Nadir, but there is a difference between Abdullah ibn Ubayy, the head of the hypocrites, and Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him).
When they gathered, he said: Is my judgment binding upon you?They said: Yes.
He said: And upon those here? He did not say "upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)," and this was part of his good manners.He never said: My judgment is binding upon the Messenger,Rather He said: and upon those here;He said: I judge that their fighters be killed, and their women and children be taken as captives.So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (You have judged them with the judgment of Allah from above the seven heavens) Then the judgment was carried out, and the fighters were killed, and the women and children were taken as captives.
After that, blood gushed from Sa'd ibn Mu'adh's wound and he died (may Allah be pleased with him). He remained until Allah answered his supplication and satisfied his eyes regarding the Banu Qurayzah, until their judgment was in his hand. When he had judged and their case was concluded, the blood gushed out and he died (may Allah be pleased with him).And it is reported in the authentic collections: (The Throne of the Lord shook at the death of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh) Allahu Akbar! And regarding this, Hassan ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Throne of Allah did not shake at the death of any deceased person we heard of, except for Sa'd, the father of 'Umar.
As for the embrace, it is reported that the grave embraced him (may Allah be pleased with him), but in my opinion, there is weakness in this hadith; because the authentic hadiths indicate that when the two angels question a man and he answers correctly, space is made for him in his grave. If the hadith is authentic, the meaning is that at first the grave embraced him, and then space was made for him. It has been mentioned that the embrace of the grave for the believer is like the embrace of a merciful mother for her child.Meaning: It is not an embrace that causes pain or harm. We ask Allah to make us and you among the successful.
As for the claim that seventy thousand angels attended his funeral, I am not aware of this. As for the fact that he was embraced, that refers to Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the leader of the Aws tribe. His story with the Banu Qurayzah is well known; they were his allies when they betrayed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He waged war against them and besieged them for more than twenty nights. When they grew weary of the siege, they asked to submit to the judgment of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) granted them that. Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) was in a tent of his in the mosque, because his leg had been injured on the Day of the Confederates, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) built a canopy—meaning a tent—for him in the mosque so that he could visit him up close.
And when he (may Allah be pleased with him) heard that the Banu Qurayzah, who were his allies, had broken the treaty, he said: [O Allah, do not let me die until You satisfy my eyes by dealing with them] meaning: by having them punished for breaking the treaty.
After that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent for him and said to him: (Your allies have asked to submit to your judgment). So Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) came from the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) mosque to the place of the Banu Qurayzah riding on a donkey. When he approached, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Stand up for your leader) So they stood up for him. He dismounted, and then the leaders of the Jews gathered with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) so that Sa'd ibn Mu'adh would judge them. The Jews were expecting Sa'd to judge them as Abdullah ibn Ubayy had judged the Banu Nadir, but there is a difference between Abdullah ibn Ubayy, the head of the hypocrites, and Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him).
When they gathered, he said: Is my judgment binding upon you?They said: Yes.
He said: And upon those here? He did not say "upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)," and this was part of his good manners.He never said: My judgment is binding upon the Messenger,Rather He said: and upon those here;He said: I judge that their fighters be killed, and their women and children be taken as captives.So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (You have judged them with the judgment of Allah from above the seven heavens) Then the judgment was carried out, and the fighters were killed, and the women and children were taken as captives.
After that, blood gushed from Sa'd ibn Mu'adh's wound and he died (may Allah be pleased with him). He remained until Allah answered his supplication and satisfied his eyes regarding the Banu Qurayzah, until their judgment was in his hand. When he had judged and their case was concluded, the blood gushed out and he died (may Allah be pleased with him).And it is reported in the authentic collections: (The Throne of the Lord shook at the death of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh) Allahu Akbar! And regarding this, Hassan ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Throne of Allah did not shake at the death of any deceased person we heard of, except for Sa'd, the father of 'Umar.
As for the embrace, it is reported that the grave embraced him (may Allah be pleased with him), but in my opinion, there is weakness in this hadith; because the authentic hadiths indicate that when the two angels question a man and he answers correctly, space is made for him in his grave. If the hadith is authentic, the meaning is that at first the grave embraced him, and then space was made for him. It has been mentioned that the embrace of the grave for the believer is like the embrace of a merciful mother for her child.Meaning: It is not an embrace that causes pain or harm. We ask Allah to make us and you among the successful.