Tirmidhi 1045

[Its chain of transmission is daif] Abu Dawud narrated it in the Book of Funerals, chapter on the niche grave (lahd), no. 3208, and Ibn Majah, no. 1554, and others narrated it from the hadith of Hakkam, through this route.Abdul-Ala Thalabi is daif. Haythami said in al-Majma, 1/147, "Most scholars consider him daif," and the hadith has weak corroborating narrations.On this subject there are also narrations from Jareer bin Abdullah [Ibn Majah, no. 1555], Ayesha [Ibn Majah, no. 1558], Ibn Umar [Ahmad, 24/2], and Jabir [Ibn Shahin, in the Book of Funerals, as cited in Talkhis Habir, 2/127, no. 781].As for the niche grave (lahd) used for the Messenger of Allah, that is firmly established. Nawawi said in al-Majmu, 5/287, "The scholars agree that burial in a niche grave (lahd) or a trench grave (shaqq) are both permissible, but if the ground is firm and its soil will not collapse, the niche grave is preferable, based on the evidence already mentioned, whereas if the ground is loose and liable to collapse, the trench grave is preferable."