The Three That Follow To The Grave

This is an English rendering of Ibn al-Rajab's treatise " شرح حديث يتبع الميت ثلاث / Sharh Hadith Yatba'u Al-Mayyit Thalath"

The Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said:

"Three things follow the deceased person (to the grave), two of them return, and only one remains. His family, wealth and actions follows him. His family and wealth return but his deeds will remain." [Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim]

Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajr commented in Fathul-Bari, "The meaning of 'his deeds remain' is that he will enter the grave with them", whether they were righteous or evil.

Man is therefore, encouraged to have a righteous family that he lives with and wealth that he supports them and himself with so that when these two companions inevitably leave him, they may continue to be a source of reward for him.

The intelligent person is the one who takes from these things sufficiently to help him in the remembrance of Allah and what will benefit him in the next life. Thus, he takes from his wealth what helps in reaching the success of the next life and takes a righteous spouse to assist him in faith. He must never be deluded by this world and its dazzles, its beauty and splendours, such that he preoccupies himself with it at the expense of occupying himself with what is eternal and everlasting (i.e. the Hereafter).

A man entered upon the Sahabi Abu Dharr (ra) and he began to look around his house. He finally asked, "O Abu Dharr, where are your possessions?" Abu Dharr replied, "We have another house where we place our good possessions." The man said, " You must have some possessions as long as you are here." So Abu Dharr (ra) replied, "The owner of the house will not allow us indefinite leave to remain in it!"

Book Details

Title: The Three That follow To The Grave (English Translation ofشرح حديث يتبع الميت ثلاث)
Author: Al-Hafidh Ibn Rajab
Publisher: Dar-Us-Sunnah (UK)
Pages: 80
Binding: Paperback
Weight: 0.13 kg

About Author

Imam Al-Hafidh Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (d. 795 AH) was a scholar praised extensively for his vast knowledge, asceticism and expertise in the Hanbali school of Islamic Jurisprudence as well as in hadith and its related sciences. His writings, gatherings and sermons were full of blessings and he was loved by all. He has written numerous monographs explaining individual hadiths of which this is one, a series of which is currently published by Dar As-Sunnah Publishers (UK) .