Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1057
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو كُرَيْبٍ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو السَّوَّاقُ، قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ الْيَمَانِ، عَنِ الْمِنْهَالِ بْنِ خَلِيفَةَ، عَنِ الْحَجَّاجِ بْنِ أَرْطَاةَ، عَنْ عَطَاءٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم دَخَلَ قَبْرًا لَيْلاً فَأُسْرِجَ لَهُ سِرَاجٌ فَأَخَذَهُ مِنْ قِبَلِ الْقِبْلَةِ وَقَالَ " رَحِمَكَ اللَّهُ إِنْ كُنْتَ لأَوَّاهًا تَلاَّءً لِلْقُرْآنِ " . وَكَبَّرَ عَلَيْهِ أَرْبَعًا . قَالَ وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ جَابِرٍ وَيَزِيدَ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ وَهُوَ أَخُو زَيْدِ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ أَكْبَرُ مِنْهُ . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى حَدِيثُ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ . وَقَدْ ذَهَبَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ إِلَى هَذَا وَقَالُوا يُدْخَلُ الْمَيِّتُ الْقَبْرَ مِنْ قِبَلِ الْقِبْلَةِ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ يُسَلُّ سَلاًّ . وَرَخَّصَ أَكْثَرُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ فِي الدَّفْنِ بِاللَّيْلِ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Kurayb and Muhammad ibn Amr al-Sawwaq narrated to us: They said: Yahya ibn al-Yaman narrated to us, from al-Minhal ibn Khalifah, from al-Hajjaj ibn Artah, from Ata', from Ibn Abbas, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered a grave at night. A lamp was lit for him; he took the deceased in from the qiblah side and said: 'May Allah have mercy on you. You were indeed one who supplicated often and recited the Qur'an frequently.' He pronounced four takbirs over him. Reports on this topic are also related from Jabir and Yazid ibn Thabit, the brother of Zayd ibn Thabit, who was older than him. Abu Isa said: This is a hasan hadith. Some scholars held this view and said that the deceased should be placed in the grave from the qiblah side. Others said that he should be lowered into it lengthwise. Most scholars allowed burial at night.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم دَخَلَ قَبْرًا لَيْلاً فَأُسْرِجَ لَهُ سِرَاجٌ فَأَخَذَهُ مِنْ قِبَلِ الْقِبْلَةِ وَقَالَ " رَحِمَكَ اللَّهُ إِنْ كُنْتَ لأَوَّاهًا تَلاَّءً لِلْقُرْآنِ " .
The report's sequence and the phrase awāhan tallā'an are unusual and compressed; the precise manner of placing the deceased is not elaborated.
Does this literal rendering preserve the actions and descriptive praise without resolving the unclear verb or epithets?
وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ يُسَلُّ سَلاًّ .
Yusallu sallan is a specialized expression for inserting or lowering the deceased into a grave, and the exact technique is not explained.
Is 'lowered into it lengthwise' a sufficiently cautious rendering of this procedure?