MUSJIDUL HAQ

Download PDF: [S] Your Grave is your Jannah or Jahannam

The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – has stated that, “The grave is a garden among the gardens of Jannah or it is a valley among the valleys of Jahannam.” (Tirmidi Shareef)

One day, there was a Janazah which went past and the people around the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him –  mentioned good things about this person. When he heard this, the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – declared, “Wajaabat”. Thereafter, another Janazah went past and the people around the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him –  did not mention good things about this person and again the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him –  declared, “Wajaabat”. Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – then asked, “O Prophet of Allah, what has become Waajib?”  He replied “You people had spoken good about the first Janazah which went by, therefore, for him, (entry) into Jannah has become Waajib or necessary. As for the second person, you people had spoken ill about him, therefore entry into Jahannam has become Waajib upon him. The reason is that you (who are the believers), are the witnesses of Allah Almighty on earth. Therefore, that Janazah whom you had spoken good about, with Allah Almighty he is also good and that Janazah whom you had spoken ill about, with Allah Almighty he is also evil.” (Mishkaat Shareef, 2/145)

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah – may Allah be pleased with him – narrates that once the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him –  saw a certain Janazah and he stated, “This is a person who will receive peace or people have received peace through him” The people asked, “What is the meaning of this?” The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – replied, “A true believer is someone when he dies acquires peace from the troubles and calamity of this world and he reaches the Divine Mercy of Allah Almighty. When an evil person dies, then everyone, even including the trees and all the animals, receive peace, (through his death. In other words, he is no longer in this world to cause trouble to other creatures).” (Mishkaat Shareef, 1/139)

It is reported that whenever Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘Uthman Ghani – may Allah be pleased with him – used to stand near any grave, he used to weep so much that his beard used to become wet. Once someone asked him, “O Ameerul Mo’mineen! When you mention Jannah and Jahannam, you do not weep so much and yet when you stand near a grave, why do you weep?” He replied, “Have certainty that the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – has stated that, ‘The grave is the first stage to the Hereafter. If one receives salvation from this then the stages after this becomes easier. And if he does not receive salvation from this, then the stages after this become even more difficult. And the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – has also stated that, ‘I have never seen a more frightening scene than the grave.’” (Mishkaat Shareef, 1/26)

Someone once asked Hadrat Sayyiduna Ali – may Allah be pleased with him – as to why he remained so long in the graveyard. He replied, “I find the people of the grave the best of neighbours. The reason is that they always restrict their tongue from speaking evil and bad things. They continue to speak about the Hereafter and the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – has also stated that, ‘I have never seen a more frightening scene which is more frightening than the grave.’” (Ihya ul Uloom, 4/412)

It is mentioned that Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Darda – may Allah be pleased with him – used to spend most of his time in the graveyard. People then asked him about this one day and he replied, “I am sitting among such a nation through whom I am able to remember the Hereafter and when I leave these people, they do not backbite against me.” (Ihya ul Uloom, 4/412)

The famous Muhaddith and Jurist, Hadrat Sayyiduna Sufyan Thouri – may Allah be pleased with him – who was a contemporary of Imam A’zam – may Allah be pleased with him – and a citizen of Kufah, used to say, “That Muslim who speaks about the grave in excess, he will find his grave a garden of Jannah and that person who forgets the grave, will find his grave a valley from Hell.” (Ihya ul Uloom, 4/413)

Hadrat Sayyiduna Rabee bin Khaysam – may Allah be pleased with him – who was considered an eminent Muhaddith and Saint had actually dug a grave in his house. Whenever he felt that his heart had become hardened through forgetfulness, he used to enter this grave and used to place himself inside this grave. He used to sleep in this grave as much as Allah Almighty destined. He used to then say to himself, ‘O Allah, please allow me to return so that I may perform noble deeds.” He used to then address himself, “O Rabee! We have made you return, therefore, perform good and noble deeds.” (Ihya ul Uloom, 4/413)

Hadrat Sayyiduna Saleh Mirri – may Allah be pleased with him – was also considered a very eminent Muhaddith and even his students were considered as eminent scholars themselves. He was also famous for his piety and spiritual penitence. One of his amazing qualities was that if he happened to see a grave, he used to be lost in deep concentration for nearly two days. In these two days, he hardly used to eat or drink anything and used to be silent all the time. One of his miracles is that he used to hear the conversation of the people in the grave and was also able to speak to them. (Imam Nawawi, Tahzeeb Al Tahzeeb; Tabqaat Imam She’rani)

Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘Umar bin Zarr – may Allah be pleased with him – was considered a famous Saint of his era. His neighbour was also famous for his bad habits and rebellious attitude. When this person died, the entire community boycotted this person and refused to carry his Janazah. However, when the Great saint saw this, he carried this person to the grave and had him buried. He then stood at this person’s grave and also made Du’a for him. (Ihya ul Uloom, 4/412)

It is mentioned that there was once a person who was considered a very rebellious person and he was also in the habit of drinking alcohol. He used to live on the outskirts of Basrah. When he died, the entire village boycotted his Janazah and no one was even prepared to carry his Janazah.  In a state of desperation, his wife hired two people to carry his Janazah to the graveyard. No one else from the village accompanied this Janazah.

There was also a very eminent Saint who lived in the nearby mountain and most of the villagers were his Mureeds. He spent most of his time in Ibadah and hence he had retired to this village. From the mountain, he could see that there was only a lady who accompanied this Janazah and there was no one to perform the Janazah Salaah. For the first time, he came down from the mountain. When this news spread to the other members of the village, all of them also came to the graveyard. This Saint then read the Janazah Salaah and the entire village also joined him.

The Saint then mentioned, “I saw a dream in which there was a female who was sitting alone near a Janazah and there was no one to read the Janazah and I was instructed in the dream to go and perform the Janazah of this person because he had been pardoned by Allah Almighty azza wa jall.”

When the people heard this, they were surprised and shocked. All of them bowed their heads in embarrassment. This Saint then asked the lady about the state of her husband. She replied, “Whatever people have said is true, my husband was indeed a very rebellious and sinful person and he used to spend the entire day in the local pub.”

The Saint then asked her whether she had seen anything good in her husband and she replied, “Yes, even though he was an alcoholic, he had three good qualities in him. The first was that even though he was drunk the entire night, but when the time for Fajr appeared, he became sober. He used to make Ghusal, change his clothes and join the congregation for the Fajr Salaah. After that, he used to retire to the pub and spend the entire day there.

“The second habit of his was that he always used to take care of two or three orphans in his house. In fact, he showed more love for these orphans than to his own children although he loved them both.

“The third quality of his was that if ever he became sober during the night, he used to weep alone and used to always say, “O Allah Almight! I wonder in which part of Hell You are going to place this evil person?”

The Saint and everyone else then understood the secret of this person’s salvation. He then made Du’a for this person and retired to the mountain once again. (Ihya ul Uloom, 4/412)