Download PDF: [S] The Punishment in the Grave

There is no doubt that the punishment in the grave is nothing but the truth which is also proven from the Qur’an and Ahadith. Therefore, it is part of our Imaan that we should believe in this. There are different descriptions which have been mentioned about the punishment in the grave.

 

  1. Hadrat Sayyiduna Zaid bin Haarith – may Allah be pleased with him – narrates that once, the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – was riding on a donkey and travelling past the area of the Bani Najjar. The blessed Ashaab also accompanied him. While he was near one of their orchards the donkey began to rear upwards. In fact, it reared to such a degree that the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – nearly fell off the donkey.

 

They saw nearly five or six graves nearby. The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – also mentioned that these people were receiving punishment in their graves. The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – also mentioned, “If I did not have the fear that you people would stop burying the dead then I would make Du’a to Allah Almighty that He allows you to listen to the sound of punishment which I am able to hear.”

The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – then turned towards us and said, “All of you should seek protection from the punishment of the Fire of Hell.”

 

We replied, “We seek protection from the Fire of Hell.”

 

The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – then said, “You should seek protection from the punishment of the grave.”

 

We then replied, “We seek protection from the punishment of the grave.”

 

The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – then said, “You people should seek protection from all internal and external fitna and mischief.”

 

We then said, “We seek protection from all fitnah both internal and external.”

 

The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – said, “You people should seek protection from the fitnah of Dajjal.”

 

We all then said, “We week protection from the fitnah of Dajjal.” (Mishkaat Shareef, 1/56)

 

  1. Hadrat Sayyiduna Barra bin Aazib – may Allah be pleased with him – narrates that the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – has stated that, “In the grave, two Angels (Munkar and Nakeer) appear. They make the person sit up and begin to question him. They ask ‘who is your Lord’. A believer will answer that his Lord is Allah. The next question is asked which is ‘what is your religion’. The believer will that his religion is Islam. The third question will be about ‘who is this person who was sent to you.’ The believer will reply that this is the Prophet of Allah. A sound will be heard from the heavens saying, ‘This servant of Mine is speaking the truth. Therefore, spread out a bed of Jannah, allow him to adorn the clothes of Jannah and open for him the door towards Jannah. When this door is opened, the person is able to get the fragrance of Jannah and the cool wind of Jannah. And his grave is made extremely expansive.

 

“When the Kaafir is questioned by Munkar and Nakeer about who is his Lord, the Kaafir will reply, ‘how unfortunate I am unaware’. He will then be asked about his religion and again he will reply that ‘I am unaware.’ The Angels will then question him about the person that was sent to them and again they will reply that they are unaware. The Angels in the heavens will then announce that this person is a liar therefore, spread a bed of Hell for him and allow him to wear the clothes of Hell. Thereafter, a door of Hell will be opened for him and he will be able to smell the foul stench of Hell and also feel the heat of the Fire of Hell. After this, his grave will become so constrained for him that his right ribs will appear on his left side and left ribs will appear on his right. A blind and deaf Angel will be released on him who will have a large iron ball which is tied to a chain. In fact, this ball is so powerful that if it is struck a mountain, the mountain will crumple into dust. The Angel then continues to beat this man with this ball and except for Jinn and man, all other creatures are able to listen to the sound of this punishment.” (Mishkaat Shareef)

 

  1. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Sa’eed Khudri – may Allah be pleased with him – narrates that the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – has declared, “There are ninety nine serpents in the grave of a disbeliever which are left loose. These serpents continue to bite this person until the Day of Judgement. (In fact), it is said that that the venom of these snakes are so dangerous that if only one of these snakes blows on the earth, the earth will cease to have any greenery.” (MIshkaat Shareef, 1/22)

 

  1. Hadrat Sayyiduna Jabir – may Allah be pleased with him – narrates, “We once went to bury Hadrat Sayyiduna Sa’ad bin Ma’az – may Allah be pleased with him. After he had been placed in the grave and the people had filled the grave with sand the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – began to read the Tasbeeh and we also started to read the Tasbeeh for a long time. The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – then started to read the Takbeer and we also started to read the Takbeer quite long. Someone then asked, ‘O Prophet of Allah, why did you read the Takbeer and Tasbeeh?’ He replied, ‘When the grave of this pious person began to constrict him (after reading this Tasbeeh and Takbeer), Allah Almighty, through His Divine Mercy, then allowed this grave to become wide and expansive.” (Mishkaat Shareef, 1/26)