Better Burnt Than Sat on Grave

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “If one of you were to sit on a live coal and have it burn his clothes until it reached his skin, that would be better for him than sitting on a grave.” [Sunan Abu Dawud]

We are extremely lucky that Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) blessed us with revelation. Otherwise, all the worlds of existence that are unknown to us, and unreachable with our five senses and the parameters in which they work, would never be known to us. The world of the Barzakh (the state in between life in this world and being resurrected on the Day of Judgement) is known to us only through revelation and to the extent that Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) revealed to us.

This hadith tells us that it is extremely detrimental for us to sit on graves. The lesson of this hadith is not something we could have arrived at through our own efforts. It is Allah’s blessing on us that He informed us through the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) regarding sitting on graves.