What is the ruling on instructing the deceased after burial, and that is on the grave, by saying to him: O servant of Allah, remember the covenant you left upon, when the two angels come to you, say to them:

The questioner : What is the ruling on instructing the deceased after burial, and that is on the grave, by saying to him: O servant of Allah, remember the covenant you left upon, when the two angels come to you, say to them: Allah is my Lord, Muhammad is my Prophet, the Qur'an is my leader, and Islam is my religion, and other such things?

The Shaykh : Instructing the deceased after burial is based on the hadith of Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him), and people have disputed its authenticity. The correct view is that it is a weak hadith that does not serve as a proof, and that instructing the deceased after burial is a religious innovation, because this was not reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or from his Companions in a hadith that is relied upon. Rather, it was reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when he finished burying the deceased, he would stand over him and say: He would stand over the grave after burial and say: O Allah, forgive him, O Allah, forgive him, O Allah, forgive him, O Allah, make him firm, O Allah, make him firm, O Allah, make him firm, three times, and then he would leave. We chose to say it three times because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) generally repeated the supplication three times when he made du'a. As for instructing him with what was mentioned,The questioner : O so-and-so, son of so-and-so, referring him to his mother, remember what you left the world upon, namely the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and so on, it is a hadith that is not authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).