^4 From ‘Abdillah ibn Ja’far in Qurb al-Isnad...

^4 From ‘Abdillah ibn Ja’far in Qurb al-Isnad: From al-Hasan ibn Dharif from al-Husayn ibn ‘Alwan from Ja’far from his father (as): al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali (as) was sitting with his companions when a funeral procession passed by, so some of the people stood up but al-Hasan (as) did not stand up, and when the procession had passed, some of them said: “Why did you not stand up – may Allah grant you well-being – when the Holy Prophet (S) used to stand for the bier when it was carried past?” al-Hasan (as) said: “The Holy Prophet (S) only stood up once and this was when the bier of a Jew was being carried and the place was narrow, so the Prophet stood up because he disliked that the bier should pass over his head.”[^5] From al-Qutb in his Da’awat: When the Noble Prophet (S) followed a funeral procession, he would be overcome by grief and would contemplate more and talk less.[^6] In al-Ja’fariyat: In his narration from Ja’far ibn Muhammad from his fathers from ‘Ali (as): The Holy Prophet (S) used to throw three handfuls of dust on the grave (of a believer).[^7] al-Kafi: Narrated from Zurarah from Abi Ja’far (as) who said: The Holy Prophet (S) would perform something special when someone from Bani Hashim passed away; something which he never performed for any other Muslim.

After he prayed salat al-mayyit for the Hashimi and sprinkled water on his grave, the Noble Prophet (S) placed his hand on the grave until his fingers were seen to be in the soil, and when a person would return (home from a journey) or a traveler from Madinah (would come), he would see a new grave with the Holy Prophet’s (S) hand-print and say: “Who has died from the family of Muhammad (as)?”[^8] Also: Narrated from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi ‘Abdillah who said: I asked him about the placing of one’s hand on the grave – what is it and why is it done?