Question Summary:
Can a Shaykh or Rasulullāh Sallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam accompany the angel of death when extracting souls and be with his students when the three questions are asked?

Question Detail:

I want to ask three questions regarding the removal of the souls and the questions in the grave.
1) Can a sheikh accompany the angel of death to remove the souls of his students at the time of their death? Is there any basis for this?
2) Can a sheikh be with his student in the grave while the student is asked the three questions? Is there any basis for this?
3) Can the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) do any of the above (accompany the angel of death to remove our souls, and accompany us while we are asked the three questions in the grave)?
Also, I would like the respected scholars to please explain the meaning of the following hadith: 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘Teach your relatives the recitation of Surah Yusuf, for, any Muslim who recites it or teaches it to his family and slaves, Allah shall ease for him the agony of death, and give him the strength that will prevent him from envying a fellow Muslim’

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
1)     There is no basis in Shari’ah for a Shaykh accompanying the angel of death to remove the souls of his students at the time of their death or him being present in the grave when the questions are asked. Ascetics and saints are many times given the ability to exhibit extraordinary feats, however, the physical presence of a Shaykh in the graves of his students or him accompanying the angel of death is beyond such capabilities as well. There is also no basis for Rasulullāh Sallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam doing the abovementioned. It is possible that Allāh may bless somebody with the ability of having some form of spiritual presence at such occasions.
2)     The above mentioned narration pertaining to the virtue of Surah Yūsuf has been narrated by Imām Tha’labī Rahimahullāh in his Tafsīr, Al-Kashf wa-Albayān ‘An Tafsīr-il-Qur’ān.[1] However, ‘Allāmah Muhammad Ibn ‘Alī As-Shawkānī Rahimahullāh has stated that there is a problematic narrator in the chain of transmission. He further states that a corroborating narration has been mentioned by Hāfiz Ibn ‘Asākir Rahimahullāh, however, this too has problematic narrators.[2] Hence, the reliability of this narration is questionable.
 
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Nabeel Valli
Student Darul Iftaa
Lusaka, Zambia
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net