Which is closer to the Sunnah: the side niche or the central trench in the grave?

The questioner : What is the side niche, what is the central trench, and which is closer to the Sunnah?

The Shaykh : What is it?

The questioner : The side niche, what is the central trench, and which is closer to the Sunnah?

The Shaykh : He (peace be upon him) said: When the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away and they thought about preparing the noble grave for him, they questioned themselves about how to dig his grave as a group. There were two diggers, one who made a side niche and the other who made a central trench. In this hadith, the one who makes the central trench came to them, so they dug the central trench for him, and by the facilitation of Allah the Exalted, the digger of the central trench was available to them, not the one who makes a side niche, in implementation of his (peace be upon him) statement mentioned earlier: This is, of course, the legal ruling, and like all legal rulings, capability is taken into account, because sometimes the ground may be very rocky and does not facilitate making a central trench. This is especially true in that time when there were no powerful excavators, or even this manual excavator, what do you call it?

Another questioner : The compressor.

The Shaykh : The compressor, yes. So now it is very easy regardless of the ground, but this compressor is not available in some villages. Therefore, if making a central trench is facilitated, it is undoubtedly the best; otherwise, making a side niche is permissible.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : Something else.

The questioner : Another question.

The Shaykh: Yes.