Shama-il Tirmidhi Chapter 53, Hadith Number 10 (377).
Commentary
The grave was dug in the last portion of the night. A question may arise why did it take so long before Sayyidina Rasulullah Sallalallahu ‘Alayhi Wasallam was buried, wheras in the ahaadith it is stated that after death one should be buried as soon as possible. The fact is that the amount of obstacles that had to be overcome, taking this into consideration it could not be said that the burial was delayed, but was carried out as soon as possible. The first thing is, at the time of such a shocking incident, besides Abubakr Radiyallahu ‘Anhu, all the others were either shocked, confused, or did not gasp the actual situation. Some were confounded and astonished. Some were so aghast and amazed that they could not even speak. Because of the intense shock it could not be believed that Sayyidina Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wasallamhad passed away. A strong and powerful personality like ‘Umar Radiyallahu ‘Anhu could not control himself. Thereafter when the time came for the continuation of the administration, one thing was more important than any other. The most important issue at this moment was that of the khilaafah, because it was needed for every detail. And since it was a nabi, it was necessary to know every detail. As has been mentioned earlier, some were adamant that Sayyidina Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wasallam be taken to Makkah Mukarramah for burial. Some said to the burial place of Ebrahim ‘Alayhis Salaam. etc. In the same manner there were differences regarding the tajheez (preparation for burial), takfeen (shrouding the deceased), salaatul janaazah (prayer for, the deceased) etc. The tajheez and takfeen of the common people were observed many a time, but the burial of a nabi was not witnessed before this. How should he be given the ghusl? How should the salaatul janaazah be performed? The ahaadith had to be referred to whenever a question arose. As a result Sayyidina Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wasallam was given the ghusl without his clothing being removed, and janaazah salaah was performed individually without a jamaa’ah as will be mentioned later. It is apparent that the time needed for every Muslim present there to perform the salaatul janaazah was considerable. Besides this, the question of allegiance (bay’ah) among the Ansaar cropped up, which made matters even more difficult. If an unsuitable person was chosen as an amir, the matters of the deen would become chaotic. To remove such a person later would have become a calamity on it’s own. Therefore the protection of the deen now depended on the electing of an amir. This question was settled till the evening. The next, day after the general bay’ah (oath of allegiance) was made, Sayyidina Abubakr Radiyallahu ‘Anhu commanded what should be carried out. Thereafter every stage was overcome without any difficulty.