The Grave - القبر
All the souls to be taken
for the next year are disclosed to the Angel of Death on Laylat AlQadr. In one
second there could be hundreds of people dying - but Allah gave him the ability
to do this.
While the soul goes up, the human beings on earth are
taking care of the body.
The grave is just a transitory home. It's like the
baby in the stomach. A person may have had the whole Dunya and travelled far
and wide - but when he dies, they put him in a narrow, tight hole in the
ground.
وعن أبي سعيد الخدري رضي الله عنه قال: كان النبي صلى الله عليه
وسلم يقول: "إذا وضعت الجنازة، فاحتملها الرجال علي أعناقهم، فإن كانت صالحة،
قال: قدموني، وإن كانت غير صالحة، قالت لأهلها: يا ويلها أين تذهبون بها؟ يسمع
صوتها كل شيء إلا الأنسان، ولو سمع الأنسان لصعق”
Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri
reported: The Prophet ﷺ said,
"When a dead body is placed on a bier and men carry it on their shoulders,
if he was a pious man, it (the corpse) says: "قدموني" "Take me in haste!"
But if he was not
righteous, it says to its bearers: "يا ويلها أين تذهبون بها؟" "Woe to it. Where are you taking it?"
Everything except man
hears its voice. Had a human being heard its voice, he would have surely fallen
into swoon."
حَدَّثَنَا هَنَّادٌ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ مَعِينٍ، حَدَّثَنَا
هِشَامُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ بَحِيرٍ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ
هَانِئًا، مَوْلَى عُثْمَانَ قَالَ كَانَ عُثْمَانُ إِذَا وَقَفَ عَلَى قَبْرٍ
بَكَى حَتَّى يَبُلَّ لِحْيَتَهُ فَقِيلَ لَهُ تُذْكَرُ الْجَنَّةُ وَالنَّارُ
فَلاَ تَبْكِي وَتَبْكِي مِنْ هَذَا فَقَالَ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه
وسلم قَالَ " إِنَّ الْقَبْرَ أَوَّلُ مَنَازِلِ الآخِرَةِ فَإِنْ نَجَا
مِنْهُ فَمَا بَعْدَهُ أَيْسَرُ مِنْهُ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَنْجُ مِنْهُ فَمَا بَعْدَهُ
أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ " . قَالَ وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم "
مَا رَأَيْتُ مَنْظَرًا قَطُّ إِلاَّ وَالْقَبْرُ أَفْظَعُ مِنْهُ " . قَالَ
هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ حَدِيثِ هِشَامِ بْنِ
يُوسُفَ
Hani' the freed slave of 'Uthman said: When 'Uthman would stop at a grave he would cry until his beard
was soaked (in tears).
It was said to him: 'The
Paradise and the Fire were mentioned and you did not cry, yet you cry because
of this?'
So he said: 'Indeed the
Messenger of Allah said: "Indeed the grave is the first stage among the
stages of the Hereafter. So if one is saved from it, then what comes after it
is easier than it. And if one is not saved from it, then what comes after it is
worse than it."
And the Messenger of
Allah said: "I have not seen any sight except that the grave is more
horrible than it."
- The Grave is Dark -
وَعَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ - رضى
الله عنه - -فِي قِصَّةِ اَلْمَرْأَةِ اَلَّتِي كَانَتْ تَقُمُّ اَلْمَسْجِدَ-
قَالَ: { فَسَأَلَ عَنْهَا اَلنَّبِيُّ - صلى الله عليه وسلم - ] فَقَالُوا:
مَاتَتْ, فَقَالَ: "أَفَلَا كُنْتُمْ آذَنْتُمُونِي"? فَكَأَنَّهُمْ
صَغَّرُوا أَمْرَهَا] فَقَالَ: "دُلُّونِي عَلَى قَبْرِهَا",
فَدَلُّوهُ, فَصَلَّى عَلَيْهَا } مُتَّفَقٌ عَلَيْهِ
وَزَادَ
مُسْلِمٌ, ثُمَّ قَالَ: { إِنَّ هَذِهِ اَلْقُبُورَ مَمْلُوءَةٌ ظُلْمَةً عَلَى
أَهْلِهَا, وَإِنَّ اَللَّهَ يُنَوِّرُهَا لَهُمْ بِصَلَاتِي عَلَيْهِمْ }
Abu Hurairah narrated regarding the story of the
black woman who used to clean the mosque.
The Messenger of Allah asked about her, and he was
told that she had died. He said to them, “Why didn’t you inform me of her
death?" It seems that they regarded her as an insignificant person.
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Show
me her grave." They showed him her grave and he offered the funeral prayer
for her.’ [Agreed upon.]
Muslim added in his narration, ‘Verily, those graves
are full of darkness for those buried in them. Allah, the Almighty, will
illuminate them for their dwellers by my prayer over them"
- The Squeezing of the Grave -
When you are first put in your grave, it'll squeeze
you.
عن
عائشة رضي الله عنها أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال :
( إِنَّ لِلْقَبْرِ
ضَغْطَةً وَلَوْ كَانَ أَحَدٌ نَاجِيًا مِنْهَا نَجَا مِنْهَا سَعْدُ بْنُ مُعَاذٍ
)
From Ayesha that
the Prophet ﷺ
said, "There is squeezing in the grave, and if anyone were to be saved
from it, it would be Sa'd Ibn Muadh"
عن
ابن عمر رضي الله عنهما أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال عن سعد بن معاذ رضي
الله عنه حين توفي :
( هَذَا الَّذِي
تَحَرَّكَ لَهُ الْعَرْشُ وَفُتِحَتْ لَهُ أَبْوَابُ السَّمَاءِ وَشَهِدَهُ
سَبْعُونَ أَلْفًا مِنْ الْمَلَائِكَةِ لَقَدْ ضُمَّ ضَمَّةً ثُمَّ فُرِّجَ عَنْهُ
)
Ibn Umar narrated
that the Prophet ﷺ
said regarding Sa'd Ibn Muadh, "This one at whose death the Throne shook,
for whom the gates of heaven were opened, and whose funeral was attended by
seventy thousand angels, has been squeezed once, then relieved him."
But remember, there is no one more merciful than Allah. He is more merciful to us than we are to ourselves. Attach yourself to the mercy of Allah. We need to remember Allah throughout this entire journey - otherwise we'll feel restless and scared.
- The Questioning in the Grave for the Believer -
"...فتعاد روحه في
جسده ويأتيه ملكان فيُجلسانه فيقولان له : من ربك ؟ فيقول : ربي الله ، فيقولان له
: ما دينك ؟ فيقول : ديني الإسلام فيقولان له : ما هذا الرجل الذي بعث فيكم ؟
فيقول : هو رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم . فيقولان : ما عملك ؟ فيقول : قرأت كتاب
الله وآمنت به وصدقت به..."
"...So his soul is returned to his body and there come to
him two angels who make him sit up and they say to him, ‘Who is your Lord?’ He
says, ‘Allah.’
They say, ‘What is your religion?’ He says, ‘My
religion is Islam.’
They say, ‘Who is this man who was sent among you?’
He says, ‘He is the Messenger of Allaah'
They say, ‘What did you do?’ He says, ‘I read the
Book of Allaah and I believed in it."
These Angels are called Munkar and Nakir and they're
black and blue.
When people interrogate you harshly, its easy to
forget how to answer. We can't depend on ourselves, we can't just memorize the
answers and expect to be able to pass this questioning easily. It's only Allah
who can keep us firm. Allah said in (14:27):
If you lived your life believing in Allah, following
the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, and submitting to Allah, your actions will translate
themselves into these answers. We have to live the answers to these questions.
And remember your final destination - This is just a
way on the path to meeting Allah.
" ...فينادي مناد من السماء أن صدق عبدي فأفرشوه من الجنة
وألبسوه من الجنة وافتحوا له بابا إلى الجنة فيأتيه من طيبها وروحها ويفسح له في
قبره مد بصره..."
"...Then a voice calls out from heaven, ‘My slave has
spoken the truth, so prepare for him a bed from Paradise and clothe him from
Paradise, and open for him a gate to Paradise.’
Then there comes to him some of its fragrance, and
his grave is made wide, as far as he can see..."
Allah is الواسع. He doesn't just
widen things for us in this world, but in the next as well. The person is
enjoying in their grave. He isn't actually in Paradise, but he's enjoying a
taste of it.
"...ويأتيه رجل
حسن الوجه حسن الثياب طيب الريح فيقول : أبشر بالذي يسرك هذا يومك الذي كنت توعد ،
فيقول : ومن أنت ؟ فوجهك الوجه الذي يجيء بالخير فيقول : أنا عملك الصالح ، فيقول:
رب أقم الساعة حتى أرجع إلى أهلي ومالي..."
"...Then there comes to him a man with a handsome face and
handsome clothes, and a good fragrance, who says, ‘Receive the glad tidings
that will bring you joy this day.’
He says, ‘Who are you? Your face is a face which
brings glad tidings.’
He says, ‘I am your righteous deeds.’
He says, ‘O Lord, hasten the Hour so that I may
return to my family and my wealth'..."
Make your friends
your good deeds. They'll be with you in your grave - not your husband, nor your
children, nor your friends. So make your good deeds your priority in life.
Allah is القادر;
He is able to make your good deeds come in the form of a man.
In another narration, your good deeds will say, "By Allah, I did not know of you but that you
were quick to the obedience of Allah and slow to His disobedience, so may Allah
reward you good"
After this happens,
the good souls meet each other. But this only happens with the good souls.
فَيَأْتُونَ بِهِ أَرْوَاحَ
الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَلَهُمْ أَشَدُّ فَرَحًا بِهِ مِنْ أَحَدِكُمْ بِغَائِبِهِ
يَقْدَمُ عَلَيْهِ فَيَسْأَلُونَهُ مَاذَا فَعَلَ فُلانٌ مَاذَا فَعَلَ فُلانٌ
فَيَقُولُونَ: دَعُوهُ فَإِنَّهُ كَانَ فِي غَمِّ الدُّنْيَا. فَإِذَا قَالَ:
أَمَا أَتَاكُمْ ؟ قَالُوا: ذُهِبَ بِهِ إِلَى أُمِّهِ الْهَاوِيَةِ.
"...Then the souls of the believers come to him and they rejoice more over him than any one of you rejoices when his absent loved one comes to him.
They ask him: ‘What happened to So and so, what
happened to So and so?’
They say: ‘Let him be, for he was in the hardship of
the world.
When he says, ‘Did he not come here?’
They say: ‘He was taken to the pit (of
Hell)..."
There'll be talking and conversation, but there'll
also be rest. It'll be said to you, "‘Sleep
like the bridegroom who will be woken by none but the dearest of his family to
him,’ until Allah raises him from that resting-place of his.”
When you are resurrected you'll be resurrected gently,
as if a loved one is awakening you.
Most people focus on punishments, and forget about the
pleasure and the blessings.
- The Questioning in the Grave for the
Hypocrite/Disbeliever -
Their state will be
completely opposite to that of a believer.
"...فيعاد روحه في
جسده ويأتيه الملكان فيجلسانه فيقولان له : من ربك ؟ فيقول : هاه هاه لا أدري ،
فيقولان له : وما دينك ؟ فيقول : هاه هاه لا أدري ،
"..Then his soul is returned to his body, and
there come to him two angels who make him sit up and they say to him, ‘Who is
your Lord?’
He says, ‘Oh, oh, I don’t know.’
They say, ‘What is your religion?’
He says, ‘Oh, oh, I don’t know..."
"...فينادي مناد من السماء
أفرشوا له من النار وألبسوه من النار وافتحوا له بابا إلى النار . قال : فيأتيه من
حرها وسمومها ويضيق عليه قبره حتى تختلف عليه أضلاعه..."
"...Then a voice calls out from heaven, ‘Prepare for him a bed from Hell and clothe him from Hell, and open for him a gate to Hell.’
Then there comes to him some of its heat and hot
winds, and his grave is constricted and compresses him until his ribs
interlock..."
As narrow as the grave is, it'll be made even narrower
for him.
"... ويأتيه رجل قبيح
الوجه قبيح الثياب منتن الريح فيقول : أبشر بالذي يسوؤك هذا يومك الذي كنت توعد ،
فيقول : من أنت ؟ فوجهك الوجه الذي يجيء بالشر ، فيقول : أنا عملك الخبيث ، فيقول
: رب لا تقم الساعة رب لا تقم الساعة..."
"...Then there comes to him a man with an ugly face and
ugly clothes, and a foul stench, who says, ‘Receive the bad news, this is the
day that you were promised.’
He says, ‘Who are you? Your face is a face which
forebodes evil.’
He says, ‘I am your evil deeds.’ He says, ‘O Lord,
do not let the Hour come, do not let the Hour come'..."
وَإِنَّ الْكَافِرَ إِذَا
احْتُضِرَ أَتَتْهُ مَلائِكَةُ الْعَذَابِ بِمِسْحٍ ـ كساء من شعر ـ فَيَقُولُونَ
: اخْرُجِي سَاخِطَةً مَسْخُوطًا عَلَيْكِ إِلَى عَذَابِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ
فَتَخْرُجُ كَأَنْتَنِ رِيحِ جِيفَةٍ حَتَّى يَأْتُونَ بِهِ بَابَ الأَرْضِ
فَيَقُولُونَ مَا أَنْتَنَ هَذِهِ الرِّيحَ حَتَّى يَأْتُونَ بِهِ أَرْوَاحَ
الْكُفَّارِ
"...When the Kaafir is dying, the angels of
punishment come to him with sackcloth and say: ‘Come out discontent and subject
to divine wrath to the punishment of Allah.
So it comes out like the foulest stench of a
corpse.
They bring him to the gates of the earth, where they
say: ‘How foul is this stench!’
"Then they bring him to the souls of the Kuffaar.”
It's easy to think
bad of Allah we hear about the punishment. But Allah is الرحمن، الرحيم، الودود، الوهاب. They did what made
them deserve this. In (41:46):
Allah gave them all
the opportunities to know the answer to these questions, but they didn't take
them. They didn't want to believe. Don't feel like Allah is being unfair
or unjust. Allah is more merciful than we are. Think good about Allah and bad
about the person.
There is nothing more
loyal to us than our good deeds. When I truly believe that my deeds will come
in the form of goodness or bad deeds, then I should make an effort now to see
what kind of deeds I do and correct them. Everything in the hereafter is
tangible.
This information
shouldn't be at the back our heads, it should always be alive in our eyes.
Islam didn't come to
make us miserable. It came to give us a better life in this world, in the
grave, in the next. In (20:2-3):
The Haraam and Halal
are good for us. It benefits us.
- People exempted from
the questioning of the Grave -
1) The Prophets and
Messengers
2) The Martyrs in
Battle
3) Those who guard
the borders of the Muslim countries - المرابطون
4) Small Children
5) The Insane Person
- The Punishment of
the Grave -
You'll be punished in
your grave according to your sins. A believer may have sins, and will be
punished according to them, as a purification.
E.g. His sins might
equate one year of punishment, and then his grave will be expanded and turn
into a delight. Then he won't be punished in Hell.
We don't want to be
punished in the grave at all. Ask Allah for forgiveness now.
There are specific
sins which have a punishment in the grave:
It was narrated that
Ibn ‘Abbaas said: The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ passed by two
graves and said, “They are being punished, but they are not being punished for
something that was difficult to avoid. One of them used to walk about spreading
Nameemah (malicious gossip) and the other used not to take care to avoid
getting urine on himself.” [Agreed upon]
1) النميمة
Be careful when you
talk to people about others. You might have a problem with someone and talk it
out with another, and you make the other person hate that person. You can end
up causing فتنة
and enmity between people. This can even happen between students of knowledge
when they talk about their teachers.
2) Not taking care to
avoid getting urine on yourself
This is something so
simple. Islam takes care of your cleanliness.
It happens quite
often with our kids. We need to teach them not to be in a rush to get out of he
bathroom.
3) الغلول
Taking from the booty
what doesn't belong to you.
Don't take things
which don't belong to you. A similar thing can happen when you go to a shop,
and the person inside isn't the owner of the shop but might give you something
free because you're her friend. This is someone else's businesses.
4) Lying
A person may spread
rumors around the world, or broadcast jokes which contains lies in then. Is it
worth it to forward these messages and end up being miserable in your
grave?
“… We came to a man who was
lying flat on his back, with another man standing over him, holding an iron
hook. He put the hook in the man's mouth and tore off that side of his face to
the back (of his neck), and he tore his nose and his eye from front to back in
a similar manner.
Then he turned to
the other side of the man's face and did likewise. No sooner had he finished
the second side but the first side was restored to its former state, then he
went back and did the same thing again. I said to my two companions, ‘Subhaan
Allaah! Who are these two persons?’
At the end of the
hadeeth, he said concerning this one who was being punished: “It's the man who
goes out of his house in the morning and tells a lie that is so serious that it
spreads all over the world" [Bukhari]
The less things you
do, the less you'll be accounted. Don't broadcast things without thinking
first. You post things on Facebook, Twitter, and the more people that see your
posts and spread it, the more you'll be accounted. You're responsible for what
you spread.
6) Forsaking the Qur'an
This can take
different forms: Not reading the Qur'an, not listening to it, not acting upon
the Qur'an, etc.
“… We came across a man who was lying down, with another man standing over him, holding a big rock. He threw the rock at the man's head, smashing it. The rock rolled away, and the one who had thrown it followed it, and picked it up.
By the time he came
back to the man, his head had been restored to its former state. Then he (the
one who had thrown the rock) did the same as he had done before. I said to my
two companions, ‘Subhaan Allaah! Who are these two persons?’
… ‘The one whom you
saw with his head being smashed with the rock, is the man who studies the
Qur’an then he neither recites it nor acts upon it, and he goes to sleep,
neglecting the obligatory prayers.’
According to another
version: “As for the man whom you saw with his head being crushed by a rock, he
is a man who learned the Qur’aan then abandoned it and he slept and missed the
obligatory prayer.” [Bukhari]
6) The one who commits
adultery
In the hadeeth of
Samurah (may Allaah be pleased with him) it says: “So we went on, and came
to something like a tannoor (a kind of oven, lined with clay, usually used for
baking bread). – I think the Prophet ﷺ said, in that
oven there was much noise and voices.
The Prophet ﷺ added: - We
looked into it and saw naked men and women. A flame of fire was reaching them
from underneath, and when it reached them, they cried out loudly. I asked them,
‘Who are these?’ … The naked men and women whom you saw in a structure that
resembled an oven are the adulterers and adulteresses.”
7) The one who deals
with Riba
In the hadeeth of Samurah
(may Allaah be pleased with him) it says:
“… So we went on and
came to a river – I think he said, red like blood. – In the river there was a
man swimming, and on the bank there was a man who had gathered many
stones.
Whilst the swimmer
was swimming, the man who had gathered the stones approached him. The swimmer
opened his mouth and the man on the bank threw a stone into it, then the
swimmer carried on swimming. Each time he came back, he opened his mouth again,
and the man on the bank threw another stone into his mouth.
… The man you saw
swimming in the river with rocks being thrown into his mouth is the one who
consumed riba (usury).”
- What can protect us
from the Punishment of the Grave -
1) Seeking refuge from
it.
There's a dua we say
after the Tashahud and before the Tasleem in prayer:
2) Reciting Surah
AlMulk every night before you sleep
Don't recite it when
you get really sleepy, otherwise you won't be able to concentrate. You don't
have to read it immediately before you sleep, but at night. And teach it to
your children. We don't know what sins we did that might make us deserve the
punishment in the grave.
Abdullaah ibn
Mas'ood said: “Whoever reads 'al-Mulk’ every night, Allaah will protect
him from the torment of the grave. At the time of the Messenger of Allaah, we
used to call it al-mani'ah (that which protects). In the Book of Allah, there
is a chapter [and] whoever recites it every night has done very well.”
Where
will the souls be?
1) The Souls of the
Prophets
Their souls will be
in the highest of the highest place. الرفيق الأعلى
2) The Souls of the Martyrs
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Their souls are in the crops of green birds, which have lamps hanging
from the Throne, and they roam freely wherever they want in Paradise, then they
return to those lamps. Their Lord looked down upon them and said: ‘Do you
desire anything?’
They said: ‘What could we desire, when we can roam freely wherever we want in Paradise?’
He did that with them three times, and when they saw that they would not be left without being asked, they said: ‘O Lord, we want You to restore our souls to our bodies so that we may be killed in Your cause again.’ When He saw that they had no need, they were left alone.” [Muslim]
They said: ‘What could we desire, when we can roam freely wherever we want in Paradise?’
He did that with them three times, and when they saw that they would not be left without being asked, they said: ‘O Lord, we want You to restore our souls to our bodies so that we may be killed in Your cause again.’ When He saw that they had no need, they were left alone.” [Muslim]
Allah said in (3:169-171):
3) The Souls of the
Believers
"The Souls of
the believers are in the crops of green birds, perching in the trees of
Paradise" [Ibn Majah]
4) The Souls of the Kuffar
They'll be in
punishment.
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