Burial of the Prophet

The Prophet's burial was delayed until Tuesday night (or Wednesday night according to some narrations) due to the succession crisis and the process of preparing his body. Ali ibn Abi Talib, al-Fadl ibn Abbas, his uncle Abbas, and Usamah ibn Zayd washed the Prophet's body without removing his clothes, based on a report that the Prophet had said: 'Wash me in my garments.' Abbas and his sons turned the body while Ali washed it and Usamah poured the water. They used water mixed with crushed sidr (lote) leaves and camphor. The Prophet was shrouded in three white Yemeni cotton garments without a shirt or turban. There was a discussion about where to bury him: some suggested the mosque, others al-Baqi' cemetery. Abu Bakr resolved it by narrating the Prophet's hadith: 'No prophet dies except that he is buried where he died.' They dug the grave in the spot where the Prophet had breathed his last in Aisha's apartment. Muslims entered in groups to pray over him individually, without a single imam leading. He was buried in the middle of the night.