‘Amr b. ‘Auf reported Allah's Messenger ﷺ as saying, “The religion will shrink back to the Hijaz as a snake shrinks back to its hole, and the religion will seek refuge in the Hijaz as the mountain goat seeks refuge in the mountain top. The religion began few in number and will return to the state in which it began. Blessed are the few, for they will set right the corruptions caused in my sunnah by people after my death.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.

‘Urwa b. az-Zubair said there were two men in Medina, one of whom made a niche when digging a grave, the other of whom did not. The people said that the one who came first should do as he was accustomed to do, and the one who made a niche came and made one for Allah's Messenger ﷺ. [Baghawi] transmitted it in Sharh as-sunna.

Ibn ‘Abbas reported Allah's Messenger ﷺ as saying, “The niche in the side of the grave is for us and the excavation in the middle is for others.” Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasa’i and Ibn Majah transmitted it, and Ahmad transmitted it from Jarir b. ‘Abdallah.

Hisham b. ‘Amir told that the Prophet (ﷺ) said on the day of Uhud, “Dig graves, make them wide, deep and beautiful, bury two or three together in a single grave, and put first the one who knew most of the Qur’an.” Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Nasa'i transmitted it, and Ibn Majah transmitted up to “beautiful”.

Jabir said

Ibn 'Abbas said Allah's Messenger ﷺ was lowered gently into the grave head first. Shafi'i transmitted it.

He told that the Prophet (ﷺ) entered a grave during the night, and when a lamp was lit for him he faced the qibla and said, “Allah have mercy on you if you were devoted to supplication with tears (The Arabic is awwah which cannot easily be translated by one word. It is variously explained as meaning one much given to sighing through fear of Allah, one much given to supplication from love of Allah, one much given to weeping from fefir, or one much given to prayer asking for Allah’s mercy. Cf. Mirqat, ii, 376) and to the recitation of the Qur’an.” Tirmidhi transmitted it, but in Sharh as- sunna its isnad is said to be weak.

Ibn ‘Umar told that when the dead was placed in the grave the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “In the name of Allah, by Allah’s grace, and following the religion of Allah's Messenger ﷺ.” A version has “And following the sunna of Allah's Messenger ﷺ.” Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it, and Abu Dawud transmitted the second version.

Ja'far b. Muhammad told in mursal form on his father’s authority that the Prophet (ﷺ) cast three handfuls of earth on the dead with both hands, that he sprinkled water on his son Ibrahim’s grave, and that he put small pebbles on it. It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna, and Shafi’i transmitted from “he sprinkled".

Jabir said Allah's Messenger ﷺ forbade that graves should be plastered with gypsum, have any writing on them, or be trodden on. Tirmidhi transmitted it.