al-Qiraaah inda al-Qubur - min al-Jami lil-Khallal

al-Qira'ah 'inda al-Qubur (Arabic: القراءة عند القبور - من «الجامع» للخلال, lit. 'Recitation at Graves – from al-Jami'') is a short legal treatise by the Hanbali jurist and traditionist Abu Bakr al-Khallal (234–311 AH / 848–923 CE) devoted to examining the rulings and narrations concerning the recitation of the Quran over graves and during burials al-Madhhab al-Hanbali Dir…+1.

Background and Structure

The treatise represents a preserved specialized section from al-Khallal's encyclopedic compilation al-Jami' (also known as al-Jami' li-'Ulum al-Imam Ahmad), in which he systematically documented the legal responsa and traditions of Ahmad ibn Hanbal alongside corroborating reports from early authorities al-Madhhab al-Hanbali Dir…+1. As transmitted by his student Abu Bakr 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Ja'far (known as Ghulam al-Khallal), the text is structured as a sequence of narrated reports (athar) equipped with full chains of transmission (isnad) addressing the legality of reciting the Quran in graveyards al-Amr bil-Maruf wa al-Na…+1.

Contents and Narrations

The primary focus of the work is documenting the evidentiary basis for Ahmad ibn Hanbal's position and his reported retraction regarding grave recitation al-Ruh - Ibn al-Qayyim+1. The treatise includes:

• Ahmad ibn Hanbal's Retraction: A report via al-Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Warraq from 'Ali ibn Musa al-Haddad stating that he attended a funeral with Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Muhammad ibn Qudamah al-Jawhari al-Jami li-Ulum al-Imam A…+1. When a blind man sat by the grave after the burial to recite, Ahmad initially told him that recitation at the grave was an innovation (bid'ah) al-Jami li-Ulum al-Imam A…+1. Muhammad ibn Qudamah then cited a transmission from Mubashshir al-Halabi from 'Abd al-Rahman ibn al-'Ala' ibn al-Lajlaj from his father, who bequeathed that the opening and closing verses of Surat al-Baqarah be recited at his head upon burial, tracing this practice to 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar al-Jami li-Ulum al-Imam A…+1. Ahmad verified Mubashshir's reliability and subsequently instructed Muhammad to tell the man to resume reciting al-Jami li-Ulum al-Imam A…+1.
• Corroborating Transmissions on Ibn 'Umar: A transmission through al-'Abbas ibn Muhammad al-Duri, who asked Ahmad whether he preserved any report regarding recitation over graves and received a negative reply, whereas Yahya ibn Ma'in narrated to him the tradition of Ibn al-Lajlaj from Ibn 'Umar al-Ruh - Ibn al-Qayyim+1.
• Reports from Early Scholars: A narration from Rawh ibn al-Faraj from al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Sabbah al-Za'farani, who stated that he asked al-Shafi'i about recitation at graves, to which al-Shafi'i replied that there was no harm in it al-Ruh - Ibn al-Qayyim+1.
• Observed Practices: Observations reported by Salama ibn Shabib and al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham al-Bazzar regarding Ahmad ibn Hanbal praying behind or observing reciters at graves al-Jami li-Ulum al-Imam A…+1.

Scholarly Reception

Al-Khallal used these reports to conclude that the definitive position of Ahmad ibn Hanbal was the permissibility of recitation at graves without disapproval (karahah) Silsilat al-Fawaid al-Had…+1. This interpretation was adopted by later Hanbali authorities such as Ghulam al-Khallal and al-Qadi Abu Ya'la Silsilat al-Fawaid al-Had…+1.

Other jurists maintained that Ahmad held two divergent views, while scholars including Ibn Taymiyyah favored the narration of disapproval for habitual visitation for recitation or restricted permissibility strictly to the moment of burial al-Tadhkira bi-Ahwal al-M…+1.

The contents of the treatise were widely quoted and discussed in classical eschatological and legal literature, including Kitab al-Ruh by Ibn al-Qayyim and al-Tadhkirah by al-Qurtubi al-Ruh - Ibn al-Qayyim+1. Later hadith critics, notably Nasir al-Din al-Albani, critically evaluated the chains of transmission recorded in the text, scrutinizing the biographical status of transmitters such as al-Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Warraq and 'Ali ibn Musa al-Haddad Jami Turath al-Allama al-…+1.