Honour of Preparing the Grave of the Holy Prophet (sa)

Hazrat Anas (ra) bin Malik relates that when the Holy Prophet (sa) passed away, there was an individual in Medina who would prepare the lahad, [i.e. a grave which has a hollow cavity within the actual grave where the body would be placed], and there was another individual who would prepare a simple grave. The Companions (ra) decided that they would offer the Istikhara prayer before their Lord and then send word to both individuals. Whichever of the two came last, they would not use his services. In other words, they would use the services of the one who would come first. Thus, the message was sent to both individuals and the one who prepared the lahad came first and the Companions (ra) appointed him to prepare the grave of the Holy Prophet (sa). In the commentary of this narration, Allama Busiri states that Hazrat Abu Talha (ra) was the one who would prepare the lahad and Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) bin al-Jarrah was the one who would prepare the simple grave.

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Kitabul Jana‘iz, Bab Maa Jaa‘a fi al-Shiqq, Hadith 1557) (Sharh Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 1, Kitabul Jana‘iz, Bab Maa Jaa‘a fi al-Shiqq, p. 617, Baitul Afkar al-Dawliyyah, Jordan, 2007)