Table of Contents
Return to the Earth
The burial of the Prophet ﷺ was the final step in his journey in this world and the moment when the Ummah had to face his departure in a practical, physical way. His burial combined deep sorrow with calm adherence to revelation and law. It also became the model for how Muslims treat the dead, and especially how they honor the greatest of Allah’s creation ﷺ.
This chapter focuses on the events surrounding his burial, the place where he was laid to rest, the manner of his washing and shrouding, the funeral prayer, and the entry into the grave. Matters already covered in the chapter on his final illness and passing, such as his last moments and the reaction of the Companions, will not be repeated here.
Key idea: The burial of the Prophet ﷺ united love, grief, and strict obedience to Allah. His body was honored in the simplest way, without extravagance, and he was buried where he passed away, in the home of Aishah رضي الله عنها, which later became part of al‑Masjid an‑Nabawi.
Where to Bury the Prophet ﷺ
When the Prophet ﷺ passed away, the Companions, filled with grief, were unsure at first about the exact place of burial. This was partly because of their immense love and partly because they wanted to act only with clear proof.
Some of them suggested he be buried in the masjid. Others thought of taking him to al‑Baqi’, the main graveyard of Madinah where many Muslims had already been buried. At that critical moment, Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه, who had already calmed the people with his reminder that Muhammad ﷺ is a Messenger and servant of Allah, brought a decisive piece of information.
He said that he had heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ:
«مَا قُبِضَ نَبِيٌّ إِلَّا دُفِنَ حَيْثُ يُقْبَضُ»
“I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say,
‘No Prophet is taken (in death) except that he is buried where he dies.’”
(Reported in Sunan at‑Tirmidhi and others)
This statement settled the matter. The Prophet ﷺ had died in the room of Aishah رضي الله عنها, which was attached to the masjid. Therefore, they agreed that he would be buried there.
The place was not chosen for status or architecture. It was chosen only because of revelation and the rule Allah had set for His Prophets. This became one of the clearest signs of how the Companions, even at the height of grief, submitted to the guidance of Allah and His Messenger.
Over time, as the mosque expanded, the room of Aishah and the grave area were enclosed within the larger structure of al‑Masjid an‑Nabawi, but the original principle remained that he is buried in his room, not in the prayer hall as a deliberate act.
Important principle: The Prophet ﷺ was buried exactly where he passed away, in the room of Aishah رضي الله عنها, following his own teaching that every Prophet is buried where he dies.
Delayed Burial and the Night of Preparation
The Prophet ﷺ passed away on Monday in the forenoon in the month of Rabi‘ al‑Awwal. The burial, however, did not take place immediately. Several necessary tasks occupied the Companions, and all of them were connected to the rights of Allah and the rights of His Messenger.
First, the political leadership of the community had to be clarified. The Ansar gathered in the courtyard known as Saqifah Bani Sa‘idah to discuss who should lead. The Muhajirun then joined, and through consultation and discussion the Muslims gave the pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr as‑Siddiq رضي الله عنه as the first khalifah. This preserved unity and avoided a split at the very moment when the Ummah was most vulnerable.
Second, the family and close Companions needed time to gather themselves and prepare to handle the body of the Prophet ﷺ with the greatest care. There was absolutely no neglect, but rather precise planning and agreement on who would wash him, shroud him, and conduct the funeral prayer.
Because of these tasks, the actual washing (ghusl) and preparation of the body took place later, and his blessed body remained in his house, covered, while the Companions handled the urgent matters of leadership and then turned fully to his burial.
Washing the Blessed Body
The ghusl of the Prophet ﷺ was carried out with the deepest reverence and modesty. Those who washed him were from his closest family, assisted by select Companions. Among them were Ali ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه, his cousin and son‑in‑law, Al‑Abbas رضي الله عنه and his sons, and others from the household.
They faced a question that no one had faced before. They knew that ordinary believers are washed and the clothes removed, but they were unsure whether the body of a Prophet should be undressed fully or bathed over his garments. In their hesitation, Allah guided them. A light sleep or dozing overtook them, or a kind of inspiration came to them, and they understood that he should be washed with his clothes remaining on his body.
Therefore they poured water and gently passed their hands over his garments, without viewing his nakedness. In this they honored his dignity and followed a special ruling that applied only to him as a Prophet.
The water used for his ghusl was prepared with care. Some narrations mention the use of water mixed with sidr, the leaves of the lote tree, similar to how other Muslims are washed. The intention was cleanliness and honor, in obedience to the general commands of the Prophet ﷺ about washing the deceased.
The washing was not just a physical act. It was an act of worship and farewell. Each person involved knew that he was touching the body that once received revelation through Jibril عليه السلام, that stood in prayer through the night, that fought on the front lines, and that had always been in the service of Allah.
Shrouding the Prophet ﷺ
After the washing, his blessed body was shrouded in simple white garments. Multiple narrations describe that he was wrapped in three white pieces of cloth from cotton or similar material, without a shirt and without a turban. This matched what he had taught regarding the shrouding of believers.
The garments were clean and plain, without any sign of wealth or royal decoration. There were no jewels, no embroidery of gold or silver, and no signs of kingship. He left this world just as he had lived in it, as a servant and Messenger of Allah.
This simplicity corresponded with his broader teaching. The Prophet ﷺ said:
عَنْ سَمُرَةَ بْنِ جُنْدُبٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ:
«البَسُوا مِنْ ثِيَابِكُمُ البَيَاضَ، فَإِنَّهَا مِنْ خَيْرِ ثِيَابِكُمْ، وَكَفِّنُوا فِيهَا مَوْتَاكُمْ»
“Wear white from your clothes, for they are the best of your clothes, and shroud your dead in them.”
(Sunan Abi Dawud)
So the Companions treated his body in the same way they would treat any believer’s body, but with a heart filled with immeasurable love and sadness. The shrouding was firm and complete, covering the entire body, then his body was placed on a platform or bed in the room, prepared for the funeral prayer.
Important statement: The Prophet ﷺ was shrouded in three simple white cloths, with no shirt and no turban, reflecting his own command for simplicity and his life of humility.
The Unique Funeral Prayer
The funeral prayer for the Prophet ﷺ was unlike any other janazah in one main respect. There was no single imam who led a single congregational prayer over him in the usual way. Instead, the Companions prayed for him in groups, one group entering after another, each offering the funeral prayer individually without a visible leader.
The scholars of seerah report that the people of his household prayed first, followed by the men among the Muhajirun and Ansar, then the women, and finally the children. Even the slaves and workers came and prayed. Each group entered the room containing his body, faced the qiblah, and prayed janazah over him, then left to allow the next group to enter.
The funeral prayer itself followed the same pattern he taught for other Muslims. It had no ruku‘ and no sujud. It consisted of standing, with a series of takbirs and supplications. His own general instruction for janazah is reflected in the Quranic command to pray for the believers:
قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى:
> وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ ۖ إِنَّ صَلَاتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَّهُمْ
“And pray for them. Indeed, your prayer is a source of comfort for them.”
(Surat at‑Tawbah 9:103)
In the janazah of the Prophet ﷺ, the Ummah returned that favor. For years he had prayed for his followers. Now, in turn, the believers gathered to offer prayer and supplication for him within the limits allowed by Islam.
The Companions did not cry out in loud, innovative rituals, nor did they treat his body in ways contrary to his teachings. They did not call upon him as a god, nor address their prayers to him. They prayed for him, to Allah, exactly as the Law commands.
This prayer took time, because tens of thousands of Companions were in Madinah at that time. The prayer continued into the night, and by the time everyone had prayed, the moment arrived to lower his body into the earth.
Entering the Grave
The grave of the Prophet ﷺ was dug inside the room of Aishah رضي الله عنها at the place where his bed had been. There were two common types of graves in that period. One was a simple pit, and the other, called lahd, had a side niche carved into the wall of the grave, in which the body would be placed, then covered with bricks or stones before soil was placed over them.
The Companions debated briefly about which type of grave should be made. There were two grave diggers in Madinah, each known for a different style. One used the lahd form and the other used the pit. They decided that the first to arrive would dig the grave in his usual way. The one who came was the lahd digger, so the Prophet ﷺ was placed in a lahd grave.
A number of family members and close Companions entered the grave pit to receive his body. Among them were Ali رضي الله عنه and others from Banu Hashim. They received the body gently from those above and placed him on his right side, facing the qiblah, in accordance with the burial rule for Muslims.
At that time, some of the Companions wept quietly. The earth that would cover him was ordinary soil, but in reality it became the most honored place on earth. The Prophet ﷺ had taught them again and again to avoid excess in graves. He had said:
عَنْ جَابِرٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: نَهَى رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ أَنْ يُجَصَّصَ الْقَبْرُ، وَأَنْ يُقْعَدَ عَلَيْهِ، وَأَنْ يُبْنَى عَلَيْهِ
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade plastering the grave with gypsum, sitting on it, and building upon it.”
(Sahih Muslim)
So they did not build a monument or palace over him. Instead, they placed unbaked bricks or stones over the niche, then gently poured soil until the grave was filled. The surface of the grave was raised slightly above ground level, as was his normal instruction for Muslim graves.
There are narrations that, after the grave was sealed, certain Companions sprinkled water over it and leveled it modestly. All of this was within the simple and dignified practice taught by the Messenger ﷺ for graves.
Important rule: The grave of the Prophet ﷺ was a simple lahd grave, inside the room of Aishah رضي الله عنها, without marble structures or elaborate decoration, in line with his own prohibition of building upon graves.
The Room of Aishah and the Sacred Chamber
Once the grave was complete, the room of Aishah رضي الله عنها became the resting place of the Prophet ﷺ. For many years, it remained a private chamber. Aishah continued to live there, praying in that space and visiting the grave with a balance of love and religious caution.
Later, after the passing of Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه, he was buried beside the Prophet ﷺ in the same room. This was in accordance with his wish, as he had asked to be buried next to his beloved companion and Messenger. Aishah رضي الله عنها granted this by allowing his body to be interred in the same chamber.
After some years, when Umar ibn al‑Khattab رضي الله عنه was fatally wounded, he too asked permission from Aishah to be buried with his two closest companions. She agreed, and so Umar was buried in the same chamber, completing the trio that had led the early Ummah.
As a result, the room of Aishah contained three graves. This small space later came to be called al‑Hujrah an‑Nabawiyyah, the Prophetic Chamber. When the mosque was expanded in subsequent generations, the chamber was enclosed and surrounded by walls to protect it. The exact location of the three graves became hidden, out of a desire to protect against exaggeration, and the whole area is now covered and distinguished by a special enclosure.
Through all expansions, the fundamental rule held. The Prophet ﷺ and his two companions remained in their original place, and no one ever exhumed or moved them. The Ummah respected the sanctity of the graves while keeping its worship purely for Allah.
Lessons from the Burial
The scenes of the burial carry several enduring lessons about how Muslims should view death, leadership, and respect for the Sunnah.
First, the burial showed that even the noblest of creation must return to the earth. Allah says:
قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى:
> مِنْهَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ وَفِيهَا نُعِيدُكُمْ وَمِنْهَا نُخْرِجُكُمْ تَارَةً أُخْرَى
“From it (the earth) We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it We will bring you forth once more.”
(Surat Taha 20:55)
This verse applied even to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. His burial was a practical reminder that every human, no matter the rank, is a servant of Allah and will meet his Lord.
Second, the Companions balanced their emotional pain with strict obedience to the Prophet’s instructions. They buried him in the place he died, washed and shrouded him according to his Sunnah, and avoided innovations in his janazah. Their grief did not lead them to invent new rituals or fall into excess. This became a model for how Muslims should handle the death of loved ones, especially righteous scholars and leaders.
Third, the simplicity of his grave is a living refutation of those who seek worldly glorification. The Prophet ﷺ could have been buried in a grand tomb or under gold domes in his own time, but he chose, through his teachings and through the actions of his Companions, a plain and modest burial.
Finally, his burial in the house of Aishah connected the most intimate part of his life to his final resting place. The same small room where revelation descended, where he taught and smiled and lived, became the place where he waited in the barzakh until the Day of Resurrection. For the believer, this offers both sadness and comfort, because it shows that even the most beloved servant of Allah walked the same path of death and burial that all believers must walk, but he walked it with perfect trust in his Lord.
Core lesson: The burial of the Prophet ﷺ is a complete example of humility, obedience, and balance. It teaches the Ummah to honor the dead within the clear limits of revelation and to keep worship for Allah alone while loving the Messenger ﷺ with sincere, lawful love.