It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) that one day the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon and mentioned one of his Companions who had passed away and had been buried in a shroud that was poor (of inferior quality), and he had been buried at night. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sternly forbade that a man be buried at night until the funeral prayer has been offered over him, unless a person is compelled to do so. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When one of you shrouds his brother, let him give him a good shroud." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Muslim, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it; and it has a corroborating report (shahid) narrated by Wahb bin Munabbih from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him).

Wahb bin Munabbih narrates: These are the questions that I asked Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), and he informed me that: One day the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon and mentioned one of his Companions who had passed away; he was given a poor (inferior) shroud and was buried at night. At this the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sternly forbade that a man be buried at night without the funeral prayer being offered over him (properly), unless a person is compelled to do so. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When one of you becomes the guardian (the one responsible) for his brother, let him give him a good shroud."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said to Abu al-Hayyaj: "Shall I not send you on the mission on which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me? That you leave no statue without effacing it, and no raised grave without levelling it (with the ground)." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it. I think the reason for this is the discrepancy in al-Thawri's narration, for he once narrated it from Abu Wa'il, from Abu al-Hayyaj; whereas Abu Wa'il's hearing (sama') from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is established and authentic.

Abu al-Hayyaj narrates: Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: "Shall I not assign you to the task to which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) assigned me?" Then the narrator mentioned a narration similar in meaning to the hadith above.