[Machine] Uthman used to cry when he stood by a grave until his beard became wet. It was said to him, "You remember Paradise and Hell, so why do you cry from this?" He said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, 'The grave is the first stage of the Hereafter, so whoever is saved from it, then what comes after it is easier for him, and whoever is not saved from it, then what comes after it is harder for him.'" Uthman also said, "I have not seen a sight except that the grave is scarier than it." Uthman reported that when the Prophet ﷺ finished burying the dead, he would say, "Seek forgiveness for your deceased and ask Allah to make him steadfast, for now he is being questioned." This narration was added by someone other than Hisham, and when Uthman stood by the grave of Hisham, he said, "Seek forgiveness and I rely on the statement of the Prophet ﷺ , 'I have not seen a sight like him.'"
كَانَ عُثْمَانُ ؓ إِذَا وَقَفَ عَلَى قَبْرٍ بَكَى حَتَّى يَبُلَّ لِحْيَتَهُ قَالَ فَيُقَالُ لَهُ تَذْكُرُ الْجَنَّةَ وَالنَّارَ فَلَا تَبْكِي وَتَبْكِي مِنْ هَذَا؟ قَالَ فَقَالَ إِنِّي سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ إِنَّ الْقَبْرَ أَوَّلُ مَنَازِلِ الْآخِرَةِ فَمَنْ نَجَا مِنْهُ فَمَا بَعْدَهُ أَيْسَرُ مِنْهُ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَنْجُ مِنْهُ فَمَا بَعْدَهُ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ قَالَ وَقَالَ عُثْمَانُ مَا رَأَيْتُ مَنْظَرًا قَطُّ إِلَّا وَالْقَبْرُ أَفْظَعُ مِنْهُ قَالَ عُثْمَانُ ؓ وَكَانَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ إِذَا فَرَغَ مِنْ دَفْنِ الْمَيِّتِ قَالَ اسْتَغْفِرُوا لِمَيِّتِكُمْ وَسَلُوا لَهُ التَّثْبِيتَ فَإِنَّهُ الْآنَ يُسْأَلُ زَادَ فِيهِ غَيْرُهُ عَنْ هِشَامٍ وَوَقَفَ عَلَيْهِ فَقَالَ اسْتَغْفِرُوا وَأَسْنَدَ قَوْلَهَ مَا رَأَيْتُ مَنْظَرًا إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ