The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would wrap two of the slain at Uhud together in a single garment, then ask, "Which of them had memorized more of the Quran?" When one of them was indicated to him, he would place that one first in the grave.He said, "I am a witness over these men."He ordered that they be buried in their blood, and he did not perform the funeral prayer over them, nor did he wash their bodies.
أن رسول الله ﷺ كان يجمع بين الرجلين من قتلى أحد في ثوب واحد، ثم يقول: أيهم أكثر أخذا للقرآن؟ فإذا أشير له إلى أحدهما قدمه في اللحد، وقال: أنا شهيد على هؤلاء وأمر بدفنهم بدمائهم، ولم يصل عليهم ولم يغسلهم.
Bukhari narrated it in "the Funerals" (1347) from Ibn Muqatil, who said, "Abdullah informed us, Layth bin Saad informed us, Ibn Shihab told me, from Abdul-Rahman bin Kaab bin Malik, from Jabir bin Abdullah," and he mentioned it.Uzai narrated it from Zuhri, from Jabir bin Abdullah, who said, "The Prophet ﷺ used to say about the dead of Uhud, 'Which of these knew more of the Quran?' Then when a man was pointed out to him, he would place him first in the grave before his companion." Jabir said, "So my father and my uncle were shrouded together in a single striped cloak."Sulayman bin Kathir said, "Zuhri told me, someone who heard Jabir told me."Uzai's omission of Zuhri's source, and Sulayman bin Kathir's vagueness, do not weaken this, for Layth bin Saad named Zuhri's source as Abdul-Rahman bin Kaab bin Malik, and the weight of evidence lies with the one who got it right and added the detail, since he is trustworthy.As for what is narrated from Anas bin Malik, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed by Hamza after he had been mutilated, and said, "Were it not that Safiyya would be distressed, I would leave him for the birds of prey to eat until he is resurrected out of their bellies," and that cloth became scarce and the dead grew numerous, so a man, or two men, or three, would be shrouded in a single cloth and then buried in a single grave, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would ask, "Which of them knew more of the Quran?" and place him first toward the qibla, this is a mistake.Abu Dawud (3136) and Tirmidhi (1016) both narrated it from Qutayba bin Saeed, who said, "Abu Safwan told us, from Usama bin Zayd, from Ibn Shihab, from Anas bin Malik," and he mentioned it, and the wording given is Abu Dawud's.Tirmidhi added after the words "out of their bellies," "Then he called for a striped cloak and shrouded him in it, and when it was pulled up over his head, his feet showed, and when it was pulled down over his feet, his head showed."He also added, after the words "and place him first toward the qibla," "So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ buried them, and did not pray over them."He said, "Hasan gharib, we do not know it from the hadith of Anas except through this route, and Usama bin Zayd has been contradicted in the narration of this hadith.Layth bin Saad narrated it from Ibn Shihab, from Abdul-Rahman bin Kaab bin Malik, from Jabir bin Abdullah bin Zayd, and Mamar narrated it from Zuhri, from Abdullah bin Thalaba, from Jabir, and we do not know of anyone who reported it from Zuhri from Anas except Usama bin Zayd. I asked Muhammad about this hadith, and he said, 'The hadith of Layth, from Ibn Shihab, from Abdul-Rahman bin Kaab bin Malik, from Jabir, is more sahih.'" This is the end of Tirmidhi's words.Munziri transmitted from Daraqutni that he said, "Usama bin Zayd alone narrated it, from Zuhri, from Anas, with this wording. Uthman bin Umar narrated it, from Usama, from Zuhri, from Anas, and added in it a phrase that no one else brought."And he said in another place, "No one transmitted this wording except Uthman bin Umar, and it is not preserved." Bukhari said, "The hadith of Usama bin Zayd is not preserved, Usama bin Zayd made a mistake in it."Then Munziri responded to this defect, but his response is daif, because a narrator being among the men of Bukhari or Muslim does not make him an authority if he erred.See also the chapter on the martyr not being washed nor prayed over.I say, the hadith of Uthman bin Amr was narrated by Abu Dawud (3137) from Abbas Anbari, from him, from Usama, from Zuhri, from Anas, that the Prophet ﷺ passed by Hamza after he had been mutilated, and did not pray over any of the martyrs besides him. Hakim (1/365) narrated it through two other routes from Uthman bin Umar and Rawh bin Ubada with the same wording.This is an addition that is not preserved, because what is firmly established as sahih is that he did not pray over any of the dead of Uhud.