Is it necessary to plant trees / flowers in the grave, cemetery? Are they of any use to the dead?

It is said that to plant a pine tree in a grave alleviates the penalty of the dead person there. Is it true? Does it have to be a pine tree, or, can other trees be planted? Should the tree be planted on the grave or next to it (outside the wall of the grave)?

Dear Brother / Sister,

It is a rewarding thing to plant trees in graves. There are narrations stating that the tree and plant that are planted will alleviate the spirit of the dead. Therefore, the dhikr, tasbihat made by the tree and the living beings that benefit from the tree are recorded in the book of the dead person in the grave and the person who planted it gains thawabs. It is not necessary to plant a certain tree but it will be better if it is a tree that yields fruits or that has a long life. It is better to plant it in the grave but it is permissible to plant it next to the grave too. It is makruh to take a wreath to the grave as Christians do. 

"Even if Doomsday has started to strike, plant the sapling you have if you have enough time to plant it." (al-Munawi, Faydul-Qadir, III/30)

"If a person plants a tree, Allah will write as many thawabs as the number of the products the tree produces." (Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, V / 415)

"If a person revives empty dry and barren land, Allah will reward him due to it. As people and animals benefit from that place, sadaqah will be recorded for the person who revived it." (al-Munawi, Faydul-Qadir, VI/39; Haythami, Majmauz-Zawaid, IV/67-68)

"If a person plants a tree, thawabs will be written for him as long as the tree yields fruits." (Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, V/480)

"If a Muslim plants a tree, the products eaten from that tree will be sadaqah for him. The fruits stolen from that tree will also be sadaqah for him. What the birds eat from it is also sadaqah. The products that people eat from it are sadaqah for the Muslim who planted it." (Bukhari, Tajrid Sarih, VII/122; Muslim, Musaqat 2, no: 7)

"Even if a person is in the grave, thawabs coming from seven things will always reach him:

The ilm he taught, the water he brought for people, the water-well he dug, the tree he planted, the mosque he built, the Quran he read and presented as a gift to others and a child that will pray for him after his death." (Munawi, IV/87)

While passing by a graveyard, the Prophet (pbuh) saw that two dead people were being tortured in their graves due to some minor things. One of them committed talebearing and the other did not avoid urine. Thereupon, the Prophet picked a green branch and divided it into two; he planted each of them into their graves. When the Companions saw it, they asked why he did so. The Prophet (pbuh) said,    

"I hope that their torture will be decreased as they remain there green. (Bukhari Janaiz, 82; Muslim, Iman, 34; Abu Dawud, Taharah, 26)

Questions on Islam