And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Chapter on admonition at the grave. It was narrated from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: We were at a funeral in al-Baqi' al-Gharqad when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us and sat down, and we sat around him. He had a stick with him, so he lowered his head and began to poke the ground with his stick. Then he said:

There is none among you but has his place written for him either in the Hell Fire or in Paradise.

ما منكم من أحد إلا وقد كتب مقعده من النار ومقعده من الجنة

Sahih al-Bukhari 4949

They said: O Messenger of Allah, should we not then rely on what has been written for us? He said:

Work, for everyone is facilitated for what he was created.

اعملوا فكل ميسر لما خلق له

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2136

The rest of the hadith was mentioned. Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim".

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said in the book *Riyad al-Salihin*: "Chapter on admonition at the grave". Admonition is reminding people of things that soften their hearts, either by encouraging them to do good or by warning them of evil. This is admonition. The greatest, best, and most beneficial admonisher for the heart is the Noble Qur'an, as Allah the Exalted said: So the Qur'an is the greatest admonisher for the one who has a heart or who lends an ear while being a witness. However, the hearts of many people, or most people, do not take admonition from the Qur'an because there is hardness in them. Allah the Exalted said about those who, when the verses are recited to them, say "Tales of the former people"—and we seek refuge in Allah—meaning that they are like spittle. Allah the Exalted said: "No, they are not tales of the former people" meaning: their hearts were sealed over with the evil deeds they used to earn, so that they do not feel the Qur'an as the righteous do, those upon whom Allah has bestowed His grace. We ask Allah to bestow His grace upon us and upon you. But despite this, a person may come to whom Allah the Exalted has granted clarity, eloquence, and knowledge, and he admonishes people and reminds them, softening what in their hearts is not softened by the recitation of the Qur'an. This is something observed and experienced. Admonition at the grave: The author (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned the hadith of Ali ibn Abi Talib, who said: "We were at a funeral in al-Baqi' al-Gharqad". Al-Baqi' al-Gharqad is the al-Baqi' known today in Medina. Al-Gharqad is a type of tree that is well known, and it was called al-Baqi' al-Gharqad because of the abundance of this type of tree in this cemetery. It was the burial place of the people of Medina. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So they were at a funeral, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) came and sat down, and the people sat around him, because all people love to be seated with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). They sat around him, and he had a stick in his hand, meaning a stick from a date palm, so he lowered his head like this, and he began to poke with the stick, as if he was preoccupied, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. Then he said: Every person among the children of Adam has his place in Paradise written for him, if he is among the people of Paradise, and his place in the Fire written for him, if he is among the people of the Fire. Every person was written before the heavens and the earth were created by fifty thousand years. We ask Allah to make us and you among the successful. When he said this, they said: "O Messenger of Allah, should we not leave off work and rely on what has been written?" Meaning, since we are written down, if we are among the people of the Fire, we are among the people of the Fire, and if we are among the people of Paradise, we are among the people of Paradise, what is the need for work? He said: No, do not leave off work. Paradise does not come except through work, and the Fire does not come except through work. No one enters the Fire except one who works with the work of the people of the Fire, and no one enters Paradise except one who works with the work of the people of Paradise. He said: As for the people of happiness, they are facilitated for the work of the people of happiness, and as for the people of misery, they are facilitated for the work of the people of misery. Then he recited the saying of Allah the Exalted: He said: Work, do not rely on what has been written. The command of the writing is unknown to us; we do not know. Each one of us does not know what has been written for him. But whoever does good, this is glad tidings that he is among the people of good, and whoever does otherwise, this is a warning. He said: So you, my brother, if you see that Allah has facilitated for you the work of the people of happiness, then be glad that you are among the people of happiness. If you see in yourself that you submit to prayer, you submit to zakah, you submit to doing good, and you have mindfulness of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, then know, or be glad, that you are among the people of happiness, because Allah said: And if you see the opposite, if you see yourself expanding to do evil deeds—and we seek refuge in Allah—and feeling constrained by doing acts of obedience, then beware, save yourself, repent to Allah the Mighty and Majestic until Allah facilitates things for you. And know that whenever you turn to Allah, Allah turns to you, even if you sin, whatever you sin, if you turn to Allah, Allah turns to you. Allah the Exalted said: And on this basis, when a person comes to the cemetery and sits, and the people sit around him, it is good to admonish them with what is appropriate, like this hadith, or like the hadith of Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura, when the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came to the funeral of a man from the Ansar and found them digging the grave and they had not finished digging it. So he sat down and they sat around him, as if there were birds on their heads. The bird on his head does not move, fearing that it will fly away, but as if there were birds on their heads out of respect for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and veneration for this gathering and awe. So he began to tell them that when a person is approached by death, the angels of mercy or the angels of punishment descend to him. And he began to tell them a long hadith, admonishing them with it, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. This is admonition at the grave: that when a person sits and the people sit around him, he takes advantage of the opportunity to remind them. As for the one who stands at the grave and speaks as if he is delivering a sermon, this was not the way of the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). It is not the way of the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) for a person to stand among the people, among the crowds, and speak in elevated words as if he is delivering a sermon. This is not a Sunnah. The Sunnah is to do only what the Messenger did. If the people are sitting and the dead person has not been buried, sit and wait for his burial and speak the talk of gatherings, meaning ordinary talk, not a sermon you deliver to the people. Some people took from this heading, the heading of al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him), and al-Bukhari had headed it similarly before him in his *Sahih*: Chapter on admonition at the grave. They took from this that he stands as a preacher to the people, preaching to the people with a raised voice, "O servants of Allah," and similar words that are said in sermons. And this is a wrong and incorrect understanding. Admonition at the grave is restricted to what came in the Sunnah only, so that cemeteries are not taken as pulpits. Cemeteries are not pulpits from which a Friday sermon is delivered. They are quiet admonitions in which the person is sitting, and the effect of sadness, reflection, and the like is apparent on him, not the effect of boldness, as if he is a warner to an army saying "Good morning and good evening to you." But the favor of Allah is given to whom He wills. Some people understand something from texts that is not intended, and Allah guides whom He wills to a straight path.

The questioner : ...