The Last Service

As a free man Shuqran stayed in the Prophet's ﷺ household until the end. When the Prophet ﷺ died, the biographers name him among the small group of family and household who washed his body, with 'Ali, al-'Abbas and his sons al-Fadl and Qutham, and Usamah ibn Zayd.

When the grave was ready, Abu Talhah made its niche. Ja'far al-Sadiq reported from his father that the one who placed a velvet cloth beneath the Prophet ﷺ in the grave was Shuqran, the mawla of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. 'Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Rafi' heard Shuqran himself say: "By Allah, I placed the velvet cloth beneath the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the grave" (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 1047). Ibn 'Abbas also reported that a red velvet cloth was placed in the Prophet's ﷺ grave, without naming who placed it (Sahih Muslim 967).

Another report, with a weaker chain, names Shuqran among those who went down into the grave with 'Ali, al-Fadl and Qutham, and says the cloth was one the Prophet ﷺ used to wear, and that Shuqran said no one would ever wear it after him (Sunan Ibn Majah 1628). The servant who had once guarded captives at Badr gave the last service of all.