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GRAVES.

1)

THE FIRST NIGHT IN THE GRAVE

2)

THREE QUESTIONS IN THE GRAVE

3)

PUNISHMENT IN GRAVE

4)

PUNISHABLE SINS IN GRAVE

5)

TRIALS OF GRAVE

6)

TORMENT AND BLESSING IN THE GRAVE

7)

VISITING THE GRAVES

8)

READING QURAN OVER GRAVES

9)

VISIT GRAVES OF SAINTS

10)

PRAYING FOR DEAD AFTER LONG TIME PASSED

11)

BURRYING MUSLIM IN NON MUSLIM GRAVEYARD

12)

WOMEN: VISITING GRAVES

13)

GRAVES OF ADAM AND ALI

1. THE FIRST NIGHT IN THE GRAVE

Question :
What happens to dead on first day of getting buried?
Answer :
The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "When the dead
person is buried two black-blue angels come to him, one called al-Munkar and
the other called an-Nakeer, and they say to him: 'What had you used to say
about this man?' So he says what he used to say: 'Allah's slave and His
Messenger, I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except
Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.' So they say: 'Verily
we knew that you (would) say that.' Then his grave is widened for him to the
extent of seventy cubits by seventy, then it is made light for him, then it is said:
' Sleep.' So he says: 'I should go to my family and inform them.' So they say:
'Sleep as the newly married sleeps whom no-one awakes except his favourite
wife.' Until Allah raises him up from that place of sleep. And if he is a hypocrite
(munaafiq), he says: 'I heard the people saying something so I said it too, I
don't know.' So they say: 'We knew that you (would) say that.' So it is said to
the earth: 'Crush him', so he is crushed until his cross over and he remains in
the state of torture until Allah raises him up from that resting place." [Hasan:
At-Tirmidhee from Abu Hurairah.]
The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "When a human
being is laid in his grave and his companions return and he even hears their
footsteps, two angels come to him and make him sit and ask him: What did
you used to say about this man, Muhammad? He will say: I testify that he is
Allah's slave and His Apostle. Then it will be said to him, 'Look at your place in
the Hell-Fire. Allah has changed for you a place in Paradise instead of it.' The
Prophet (sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) added, "The dead person will see both
his places. But a non-believer or a hypocrite will say to the angels, 'I do not
know, but I used to say what the people used to say! It will be said to him,
'neither did you know nor did you take the guidance (by reciting the Qur'aan).'
Then he will be hit with an iron hammer between his ears, and he will cry and
that cry will be heard by whatever approaches him except human beings and
jinns." [Saheeh: Al-Bukhaaree (2/422), Muslim, Ahmad, Abu Daud, anNasaa.ee: from Anas.]
Al-Baraa b. 'Azib said: We went out with the Prophet of Allah (sallAllahu 'alaihi
wa sallam) accompanying the bier of a man of the Ansar. When he reached
his grave, it was not yet dug. So the Prophet of Allah (sallAllahu 'alaihi wa
sallam) sat down and we also sat down around him as if birds were over our

heads. He had in his hand a stick by which he was scratching the ground. He
then raised his head and said: Seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of
the grave. He said it twice or thrice. The version of Jarir adds here: He hears
the beat of their sandals when they go back, and at that moment he asked: O
so and so! Who is your Lord, what is your religion, and who is your Prophet?
Hannad's version has: Two angels will come to him, make him sit up, and ask
him: Who is your Lord? He will reply: My Lord is Allah. They will ask him: What
is your religion? He will reply: My religion is Islaam. They will ask him: What is
your opinion about the man who was sent on a mission among you? He will
reply: He is the Apostle of Allah. They will ask: Who made you aware of this?
He will reply: I read Allah's Book, believed in it, and considered it true, which is
verified by Allah's word: "Allah establishes those who believe with the word
that stands firm in this world and the next." The agreed version goes: Then a
crier will call from the heaven: My servant has spoken the truth, so spread a
bed for him from Paradise, clothe him in Paradise, and open a door for him
into Paradise. So some of its air and perfume will come to him, and a space
will be made for him as far as the eye can see. He also mentioned the death
of the infidel, saying: His spirit will be restored to his body, two angels will
come to him, make him sit up and ask him: Who is your Lord? He will reply:
Alas, alas! I do not know. They will ask him: What is your religion? He will
reply: Alas, alas! I do not know. They will ask: Who is this man who was sent
on a mission among you? He will reply: Alas, alas! I do not know. Then a crier
will call from the heaven: He has lied, so spread a bed for him from Hell,
clothe him from Hell and open for him a door into Hell. Then some of its heat
and pestilential wind will come to him, and his grave will become restricted, so
his ribs will be pressed together. Jarir's version adds: One who is blind and
dumb will then be placed in charge of him, having a sledge hammer such that
if a mountain were struck with it, it would become dust. He will give him a blow
with it which will be heard by everything between the east and the west except
by men and jinn, and he will become dust. Then his spirit will be restored to
him. [Saheeh: Ahmad, Abu Dawud (3/4735) Ibn Khuzaimah, al-Haakim, alBaihaqee in 'Shu'ab ul-Imaan', ad-Diyaa: from al-Baraa.]
The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "...the righteous
man sits in his grave and is not alarmed or afraid, then it is said to him (by
angels): 'In (what state) were you?' So he says: 'In the (state of) Islaam.' So it
is said to him: 'What is this man?' So he says: 'Muhammad the Messenger of
Allah who came to us with clear signs from Allah, so we believed that.' Then it
is said to him: 'Have you seen Allah?' So he says: 'It does not behove any
man that he sees Allah.' So an opening is made for him in the direction of the
Fire, so he sees it, some parts of it smashing into others, and it is said to him:

'Look at what Allah, the Exalted, has saved you from.' Then an opening is
made for him in the direction of Paradise, and he looks to its brilliance and
what is therein and it is said to him: 'This is your place.' And it is said to him:
'You were upon certain Faith and died upon it and upon it you will be raised
up, if Allah wills.' And the wicked man sits in his grave alarmed and terrified
and so it is said to him: 'In what state were you?' So he says: 'I do not know.'
So it is said to him: 'Who is this man?' So he says: 'I heard the people saying
something so I said it!' So an opening is made for him in the direction of
Paradise and he sees its brilliance and what is therein, and it is said to him:
'Look at what Allah has refused you.' Then an opening is made for him in the
direction of the Fire, so he sees it crashing against itself and it is said: 'This is
your place, you lived upon doubt and died upon it and you will be raised up
upon it, if it is Allah's will." [Saheeh: Ibn Maajah from Abu Hurairah.]
The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "The souls of the
Believers are inside green birds in the trees of Paradise until Allah returns
them to their bodies on the Day of Resurrection." [Saheeh: At-Tabraanee in 'al
kabeer' from Ka'b ibn Maalik & Umm Mubashshir.]
The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "Seek Allah's
protection from the Punishment of the Grave, since punishment of the Grave
is a fact/true." [Saheeh: At-Tabraanee in 'al-Kabeer' from Umm Khaalid bint
Khaalid ibn Sa'eed ibn al-'Aas.]
The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "Everyone who
dies - then his actions are sealed except for the one guarding the border in the
way of Allah - his actions continue to increase for him until the Day of
Resurrection and he is saved from the trials of the Grave." [Saheeh: Abu
Dawud, at-Tirmidhee, al-Haakim: from Fadaalah ibn 'Ubaid & Ahmad from
'Uqbah ibn 'Aamir.]
The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "Verily the grave is
the first stopping place for the Hereafter; so if he is saved therein, then what
comes after is easier than it. And if he is not saved therefrom, then that which
comes after is harder."[Hasan: At-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah, al-Haakim: from
'Uthmaan.]
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2. THREE QUESTIONS IN THE GRAVE

Question :
Can you please tell me what are the trials of the grave that we ask Allah (saw) to
save us from.
Answer : Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
When the son of Adam dies and his soul departs and he is placed in his
grave, then he is in the first stage of the Hereafter, because the grave is the
first of the stages of the Hereafter.
It was narrated that Haani the freed slave of Uthmaan ibn Affaan said:
when Uthman ibn Affaan stood by a grave he would weep until his beard
became wet. It was said to him, You remember Paradise and Hell and you
do not weep, but you weep because of this? He said, The Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: The grave is the
first of the stages of the Hereafter; whoever is saved from it, whatever
comes afterwards will be easier for him, but if he is not saved from it, what
comes afterwards will be worse for him. And the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: I have never seen any
scene but the grave is more frightening than it. (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi,
2308; Ibn Maajah, 4567; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh alJaami, 1684).
Secondly:
The two angels who are charged with questioning come to him and ask him
what he used to believe in this world. Questions are:

Who was his Lord?

What was his religion?

Who is this man who was sent among you?

If he gives a good answer, that is good, but if he does not answer them
they inflict a severe and painful beating on him.

If he was one of the righteous, angels with white faces come to him, but if
he was one of the evildoers, angels with dark faces come to him. This is
the fitnah or tribulation that he suffers.
It was narrated from Aaishah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) used to say, Allaahumma inni aoodhu bika min alkasali wal-haram wal-maghram wal-matham. Allaahumma inni
aoodhu bika min adhaab al-naar wa fitnat il-naar, wa fitnat il-qabri,
wa adhaab il-qabri, wa sharri fitnat il-ghina wa sharri fitnat il-faqair wa
min sharri fitnat il-maseeh il-Dajjaal. Allaahumma ighsil khataayaaya
bi ma al-thalji wal-baradi wa naqqi qalbi min al-khataaya kama
yunaqqa al-thawb al-abyad min al-danas, wa baaid bayni wa bayna
khataayaaya kama baaadta bayna al-mashriqi wal-maghrib (O Allah! I
seek refuge with You from laziness and old age, and from debts and sins;
from the torment of the Fire and from the tribulation of the Fire, and from
the tribulation of the grave and the torment of the grave, and from the evil
of the tribulation of wealth, and from the evil of the tribulation of poverty,
and from the evil of the tribulation of the Dajjaal (Antichrist). O Allah! Wash
away my sins with the water of snow and hail, and cleanse my heart from
sin as a white garment is cleansed from filth, and put a great distance
between me and my sins, as great as the distance You have made
between the East and the West). (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6014).
Ibn Hajar said:
The phrase from the tribulation of the grave means the questioning of the
two angels.
Fath al-Baari, 11/177.
And al-Mubaarakfoori said:
The tribulation of the grave means confusion when answering the two
angels.
Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 9/328
Thirdly:
With regard to the questions that the angels will ask in the grave, this is
explained clearly in the following hadeeth:

It was narrated that al-Bara (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We went
out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
for the funeral of a man from among the Ansaar. We came to the grave and
when (the deceased) was placed in the lahd, the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sat down and we sat around
him, as if there were birds on our heads (i.e., quiet and still). In his hand he
had a stick with which he was scratching the ground. Then he raised his
head and said, Seek refuge with Allah from the torment of the grave, two
or three times. Then he said, When the believing slave is about to depart
this world and enter the Hereafter, there come down to him from heaven
angels with white faces like the sun, and they sit around him as far as the
eye can see. They bring with them shrouds from Paradise and perfumes
from Paradise. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits by his head, and
he says, O good soul, come forth to forgiveness from Allah and His
pleasure. Then it comes out easily like a drop of water from the mouth of a
water skin. When he seizes it, they do not leave it in his hand for an instant
before they take it and put it in that shroud with that perfume, and there
comes from it a fragrance like the finest musk on the face of the earth.
Then they ascend and they do not pass by any group of angels but they
say, Who is this good soul? and they say, It is So and so the son of So
and so, calling him by the best names by which he was known in this world,
until they reach the lowest heaven. They ask for it to be opened to them
and it is opened, and (the soul) is welcomed and accompanied to the next
heaven by those who are closest to Allah, until they reach the seventh
heaven. Then Allah says: Record the book of My slave in Illiyoon in the
seventh heaven, and return him to the earth, for from it I created them, to it
I will return them and from it I will bring them forth once again. 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
Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). They say, What did you
do? He says, I read the Book of Allah and I believed in it. 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. 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.
But when the disbelieving slave is about to depart this world and enter the
Hereafter, there come down to him from heaven angels with black faces,
bringing sackcloth, and they sit around him as far as the eye can see. Then
the Angel of Death comes and sits by his head, and he says, O evil soul,
come forth to the wrath of Allah and His anger. Then his soul disperses
inside his body, then comes out cutting the veins and nerves, like a skewer
passing through wet wool. When he seizes it, they do not leave it in his
hand for an instant before they take it and put it in that sackcloth, and there
comes from it a stench like the foulest stench of a dead body on the face of
the earth. Then they ascend and they do not pass by any group of angels
but they say, Who is this evil soul? and they say, It is So and so the son of
So and so, calling him by the worst names by which he was known in this
world, until they reach the lowest heaven. They ask for it to be opened to
them and it is not opened. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) recited (interpretation of the meaning):
. for them the gates of heaven will not be opened, and they will not
enter Paradise until the camel goes through the eye of the needle
. (Al-Araaf 7:40)
He said: Then Allah says, Record the book of My slave in Sijjeen in the
lowest earth, and return him to the earth, for from it I created them, to it I
will return them and from it I will bring them forth once again. So his soul is
cast down. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) recited the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
. and whoever assigns partners to Allah, it is as if he had fallen
from the sky, and the birds had snatched him, or the wind had thrown
him to a far off place (Al-Hajj 22:31)
He said: 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 dont know. They say, What is your religion? He says, Oh,
oh, I dont know. 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. 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.
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4753; Ahmad, 18063 this version was narrated
by him. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami, 1676.
The correct view is that the two angels will only question the deceased in
his grave about matters of Tawheed (monotheism) and aqeedah (belief).
This is quite clear.
And Allah knows best.
Excerpted, with some modifications, from: http://islamqa.com/en/
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3. PUNISHMENT IN GRAVE
Question :
What are the types of azab in the grave for the people?
Answer: Praise be to Allah.
The torment in the grave will vary according to the sins committed by the
person in this world, whether he was a kaafir or a disobedient Muslim. There
are saheeh ahaadeeth which describe this torment for the people who
commit these sins. For example:
1 Being struck with an iron hammer:
It was narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:When a person is placed in
his grave and his companions leave him, and he can no longer hear the
sound of their sandals (footsteps), two angels come to him and make him sit
up, and they ask him, What did you say about this man Muhammad (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him)?

He says, I bear witness that he is the slave of Allah and His Messenger. It is
said, Look at your place in Hell which Allah has replaced for you with a
place in Paradise.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, And he sees
them both. But as for the kaafir or hypocrite, he says, I do not know, I used
to say what the people said.
It is said, You did not know and you did not follow those who knew. Then he
is struck a blow with an iron hammer between his ears and he screams a
scream which everything around him can hear apart from the two races (of
mankind and the jinn). (Al-Bukhaari, 1222)
2 7: Furnishings from Hell are prepared out for him; he is clothed with fire; a
door to Hell is opened for him; his grave is made narrow for him; he is struck
with a great hammer which, if a mountain were to be struck with it, it would
turn to dust; and he is given the tidings of torment in the Hereafter. Hence he
will wish that the hour will never come.
Ahmad (17803) and Abu Dawood (4753) narrated that al-Baraa ibn Aazib
said: We went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) for the funeral of a man from among the Ansaar. We came to
the grave and when (the deceased) was placed in the lahd, the Messenger
of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sat down and we sat
around him, as if there were birds on our heads (i.e., quiet and still). In his
hand he had a stick with which he was scratching the ground. Then he
raised his head and said, Seek refuge with Allah from the torment of the
grave, two or three times
Then he mentioned the soul of the believer and how he is blessed in his
grave. Then he said: But when the disbelieving slave is about to depart this
world and enter the Hereafter, there come down to him from heaven angels
with black faces, bringing sackcloth, and they sit around him as far as the
eye can see. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits by his head, and he
says, O evil soul, come forth to the wrath of Allah and His anger.
Then his soul disperses inside his body, then comes out cutting the veins
and nerves, like a skewer passing through wet wool. When he seizes it, they
do not leave it in his hand for an instant before they take it and put it in that
sackcloth, and there comes from it a stench like the foulest stench of a dead
body on the face of the earth. Then they ascend and they do not pass by
any group of angels but they say, Who is this evil soul? and they say, It is

So and so the son of So and so, calling him by the worst names by which he
was known in this world, until they reach the lowest heaven. They ask for it
to be opened to them and it is not opened. Then the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited (interpretation of the
meaning):
for them the gates of heaven will not be opened, and they will not
enter Paradise until the camel goes through the eye of the
needle.... [Al-Araaf 7:40]
He said: Then Allah says, Nay! Truly, the Record (writing of the deeds)
of the Fujjar (disbelievers, sinners, evil-doers and wicked) is
(preserved) in Sijjin. (7) And what will make you know what Sijjin
is? (8) A Register inscribed. (Al-Mutaffafeen 56:7-9)
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
recited the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
and whoever assigns partners to Allah, it is as if he had fallen from
the sky, and the birds had snatched him, or the wind had thrown him to
a far off place [Al-Hajj 22:31]
He said: 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 dont know. They say, What is your religion? He says, Oh,
oh, I dont know. 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. 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.
This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Ahkaam alJanaaiz, p. 156
8 Being swallowed up by the earth.

It was narrated from Ibn Umar that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: Whilst a man was dragging his lower garment out
of pride, the earth swallowed him up and he will continue sinking into the
earth until the Day of Resurrection.(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5345; Muslim,
3894).
9- The edge of the mouth being torn to the back of the head
10- The head being smashed with a rock
11- Being burned in an tannoor (oven)
12- Swimming in a river of blood whilst being pelted with stones.
Al-Bukhaari (1386, 7047) narrated that Samurah ibn Jundub said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) often
used to ask his companions, Has any one of you had a dream? Then those
whom Allah willed would tell him (about their dreams). One morning he said,
Last night, two people came to me (in a dream), and woke me up and said,
Lets go! I set out with them, and 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 Allah! Who are these two persons? They said, Move
on! So we went on, and 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 Allah! Who are these two persons? They said, Move
on! 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 (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, in that oven there was much noise
and voices. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 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? They said to me, Move on! 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. I said to my two
companions, Who are these two persons? They said, Move on, move on!

I said to them, I have seen many wonders this night. What do all these
things mean that I have seen? They said: We will tell you. The first man you
came across, whose head was being smashed with the rock, is the man who
studies the Quraan then he neither recites it nor acts upon it, and he goes to
sleep, neglecting the obligatory prayers. The man you came across whose
mouth, nose and ears were being torn from front to back, is 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. The naked men and women whom you saw in a
structure that resembled an oven are the adulterers and adulteresses. The
man you saw swimming in the river with rocks being thrown into his mouth is
the one who consumed riba (usury).
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said:
This indicates that some sinners will be punished in al-barzakh (the interval
between death and the Day of Resurrection).
Fath al-Baari, 12/445
12- Items stolen from the war booty will be set ablaze on the one who stole
them.
Al-Bukhaari (4234) and Muslim (115) narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: We
went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) to Khaybar, and Allah granted us victory. We did not take gold or silver
as booty, but we seized goods, food and clothes, then we set out for the
valley. Along with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) there was a slave called Rifaaah ibn Zayd. When we camped in
the valley, the slave of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) stood up and began to unpack his saddlebag, when he was
struck by a (stray) arrow which proved fatal. We said, Congratulations to

him, for he is a martyr, O Messenger of Allah. The Messenger of Allah


(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Not so, by the One in
Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, for the small garment that he stole
from the booty on the day of Khaybar and which was not part of his share is
burning like fire on him. The people were very distressed by this. Then a
man brought one or two shoelaces and said, O Messenger of Allah, I found
(them) on the day of Khaybar. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: A lace of fire or Two laces of fire.
13- Along with this physical punishment there will also be a spiritual or
mental punishment, which is that in the grave the kaafir will be shown what
would have been his place in Paradise if he had obeyed his Lord; this will
increase his regret and pain when he realizes the greatness of the blessing
that he has missed out on.
Ahmad (10577) narrated that Abu Saeed al-Khudri said: I attended a funeral
with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: O
people, this ummah will be tested in their graves. When a man is buried and
his friends leave him, an angel with a hammer in his hand comes and sits by
him and asks, What do you say about this man? If he is a believer, he says,
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His
slave and Messenger. He says, You have spoken the truth. Then a door to
Hell is opened for him and he says, This would have been your place if you
had disbelieved in your Lord, but because you believed, this is your place.
Then a door to Paradise is opened for him and he wants to go there, but the
angel says to him, Calm down, and his grave is made wide and spacious
for him. But if he is a kaafir or a hypocrite, (the angel) says to him, What do
you say about this man? He says, I do not know, I heard the people saying
something. The angel says, You did not know and you did not follow those
who knew and you were not guided. Then a door to Paradise is opened for
him and he says, This would have been your position if you had believed in
your Lord. But because you disbelieved, Allah has replaced it for you with
this. Then a gate to Hell is opened for him, and he strikes him a blow with
the hammer which is heard by all of Allahs creation apart from the two races
(of mankind and the jinn). Some of the people said, O Messenger of Allah,
there is no one who would have an angel standing by him holding a hammer
but he would dumbfounded. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: ...Allah will keep firm those who believe, with
the word that stands firm... [Ibraaheem 14:27]

Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in his commentary on Kitaab al-Sunnah by


Ibn Abi Aasim, 865
These are some of the kinds of punishment that will befall some sinners in
the grave. We ask Allah to grant us refuge from the torment of the grave.
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4. PUNISHABLE SINS IN GRAVE
Question :
What are the sins for which people will be punished in the grave?
Answer : Praise be to Allah.
Here we list some of sins, along with evidence from the Quraan and
Sunnah.
Shirk (associating others with Allah) and kufr (disbelieving in Him)
Allah says concerning the people of Pharaoh (interpretation of the meaning):
The Fire, they are exposed to it, morning and afternoon. And on the
Day when the Hour will be established (it will be said to the angels):
Cause Firawns (Pharaoh) people to enter the severest torment! [AlGhaafir 40:46]
And Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
...And if you could but see when the Zaalimoon (polytheists and
wrongdoers) are in the agonies of death, while the angels are
stretching forth their hands (saying): Deliver your souls! This day you
shall be recompensed with the torment of degradation because of what
you used to utter against Allah other than the truth. And you used to
reject His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations,
etc.) with disrespect! [Al-Anaam 6:93]
When death approaches the kaafir, the angels tell him of what is awaiting of
him of punishment, chains and fire, and the wrath of Allah; his soul disperses
in his body and refuses to leave his body, and the angels beat him until his
soul comes out of his body, saying, ....Deliver your souls! This day you

shall be recompensed with the torment of degradation.... [Al-Anaam


6:93].
Evidence that shirk is one of the causes of punishment in the grave is to be
found in the hadeeth of Zayd ibn Thaabit (may Allah be pleased with him)
who said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
was in a garden belonging to Banul-Najjaar on a mule of his and we were
with him, it stumbled and nearly threw him. There he saw some graves, six
or five or four. He said: Who knows the occupants of these graves? A man
said: I do. He said: When did these people die? He said: They died in
shirk. He said: This ummah will be punished in their graves. Were it not
that you would not bury one another, I would pray to Allah to make you hear
what I hear of the torment in the grave. Then he turned to us and said:
Seek refuge with Allah from the punishment of Hellfire (Muslim 2867).
The words in this hadeeth, They died in shirk, indicate that shirk is a cause
of the punishment in the grave.
Hypocrisy is one of the causes of the punishment in the grave
The hypocrites are those who most deserve to be punished in the grave.
How can it be otherwise when they are the ones who will occupy the lowest
level of Hell?
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
And among the bedouins around you, some are hypocrites, and so
are some among the people of Al-Madinah who persist in hypocrisy;
you (O Muhammad) know them not, We know them. We shall punish
them twice, and thereafter they shall be brought back to a great
(horrible) torment [Al-Tawbah 9:101]
Qataadah and al-Rabee ibn Anas said concerning the phrase We shall
punish them twice: once in this world, and the second is the punishment
in the grave.
In the hadeeth about the questioning of the two angels and the torment of
the grave, the word hypocrite (munaafiq), or skeptic (murtaab) in many
reports, is clearly mentioned, as in the report narrated by al-Bukhaari (1374)
from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): as for the kaafir and the
hypocrite, it will be said to him. And in al-Saheehayn it is narrated from

Asma (may Allah be pleased with her): As for the hypocrite or the
skeptic
Changing the religion of Allah, by forbidding that which Allah has
permitted or permitting that which He has forbidden
The evidence that this changing of the religion of Allah is one of the causes
of punishment in the grave is the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him): I saw Amr ibn Aamir al-Khuzaai dragging his
intestines in Hell. He was the first one to introduce the institution of alsaaibah. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4623.
The saaibah was a she-camel, cow or sheep which they would leave to
graze for the sake of the false gods, and it would not be ridden, eaten or
used for carrying burdens. Some of them would make vows to make part of
their wealth a saaibah.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The
Arabs, from among the sons of Ismaaeel and others, who lived in the
environs of the Ancient House that had been built by Ibraaheem and
Ismaaeel, were haneefs (monotheists) who followed the religion of
Ibraaheem, until one of the leaders of Khuzaaah, namely Amr ibn Luhayy,
changed his religion. He was the first one to change the religion of
Ibraaheem to shirk and forbid things that Allah had not forbidden. Hence the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: I saw Amr ibn
Luhayy dragging his intestines.
Not taking care to avoid getting urine on oneself, and spreading
malicious gossip among people
It was narrated that Ibn Abbaas said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) 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.Narrated by al-Bukhaari (218) and Muslim (292).
It was narrated from Ibn Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Most of the
torment of the grave is because of urine, so be careful to avoid it. Narrated
by al-Daaraqutni and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh alTargheeb (1/152).

Gheebah (backbiting)
Based on that, al-Bukhaari (may Allah have mercy on him) included a
chapter in Kitaab al-Janaaiz (the Book of Funerals) called: Punishment of
the grave because of backbiting and urine. Then he narrated therein the
hadeeth about the two graves quoted above, except that the version of alBukhaari does not mention backbiting, rather it speaks of nameemah
(malicious gossip), but as was his wont, he referred to what was narrated in
some versions of the hadeeth: As for the other, he is being punished for
backbiting. Narrated by Ahmad (5/35); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani
in Saheeh al-Targheeb wal-Tarheeb (1/66)
Lying
According to the hadeeth of Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with
him), the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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 Allah! Who are these two persons?
At the end of the hadeeth, he said concerning this one who was being
punished: is 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. Bukhaari (7074).
Forsaking the Quraan after having learned it, sleeping and missing an
obligatory prayer
In the hadeeth of Samurah ibn Jundub he said: The Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 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 Allah! Who are these two persons?
The one whom you saw with his head being smashed with the rock, is

the man who studies the Quraan 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 Quraan then
abandoned it and he slept and missed the obligatory prayer. Narrated by alBukhaari (7076).
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said that this report is
clearer than the first one. The apparent meaning of the first one is that he is
being punished for not reading Quraan at night, whereas the second report
indicates that he is punished for sleeping and missing the obligatory prayer.
He said: It may be that the punishment is for both, not reading and not acting
upon it.
Ibn Hajar said: Ibn Hubayrah said: Abandoning the Quraan after learning it
is a serious crime, because it may imply that he has seen in it something
that made him abandon it, and because he has abandoned the noblest of
things, namely the Quraan, he should be punished in the noblest part of his
body, which is the head. Fath al-Baari, 3/251
Consuming Riba
In the hadeeth of Samurah (may Allah 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).
Zina (adultery, unlawful sexual relationships)
In the hadeeth of Samurah (may Allah 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 (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said, in that oven there was much noise and

voices. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 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.
Enjoining righteousness upon others and forgetting oneself
It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: On the night
on which I was taken on the Night Journey (Isra), I saw men whose lips
were being cut off with scissors of fire. I said: Who are these, O Jibreel? He
said: These are the khateebs from among your ummah who used to enjoin
righteousness on the people and forget themselves, and they used to recite
the Book but they did not understand. Narrated by Ahmad, 3/120; classed
as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Saheehah (291).
According to al-Bayhaqi: On the night on which I was taken on the night
Journey, I came to some people whose lips were being cut off with scissors
of fire. Every time they were cut off, they were restored. I said: O Jibreel
who are these? He said: The khateebs of your ummah who said what they
did not do, and they recited the Book of Allah but they did not act upon it.
Narrated by al-Bayhaqi in Shuab al-Eemaan; classed as hasan by alAlbaani in Saheeh al-Jaami (128).
Breaking the fast in Ramadaan with no excuse
It was narrated that Abu Umaamah al-Baahili (may Allah have mercy on him)
said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) say: Whilst I was sleeping, two men came to me and took me by the
arms, and they brought me to a mountain and said: Climb up. I said: I
cannot. They said: We will make it easy for you. So I climbed up until, when
I was at the top of the mountain, I heard loud voices. I said: What are these
voices? He said: These are the cries of the people of Hell. Then they took
me on, and I saw some people hanging by their heels, with the sides of their
mouths torn, and the sides of their mouths were flowing with blood. I said:
Who are these? He said: They are the ones who broke the fast before it
was permissible for them to do so. Narrated by Ibn Hibbaan and al-Haakim
(1/210, 290); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Saheehah (3951).
Stealing from the war booty

This is indicated by the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with
him) about the man who stole a garment from the war booty, and the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: By the One in
Whose hand is my soul, the garment that he took from the booty on the day
of Khaybar when it had not yet been shared out is burning him with
fire. Narrated by al-Bukhaari (4234) and Muslim (115).
Dragging ones garment out of pride
This is indicated by the hadeeth of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with
him), according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said: Whilst a man was dragging his garment out of pride, he was
swallowed up by the earth and he will continue sinking into it until the Day of
Resurrection. Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3485) and Muslim (2088).
Stealing from the pilgrims
This is indicated by the hadeeth of Jaabir (may Allah be pleased with him)
about the eclipse prayer, in which it says that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Hell was brought and that is when you
saw me moving backwards for fear that its flames might touch me. I saw
therein the owner of the curved staff, dragging his intestines in the Fire; he
used to steal from the pilgrims with his curved staff, and if he was discovered
he would say, It got caught on my curved staff, but if he was not noticed
then he would take it. Narrated by Muslim (904).
Detaining animals and tormenting them and not being compassionate
towards them
According to the hadeeth of Jaabir about the eclipse prayer, the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: And I saw therein the
woman who had a cat which she tied up and did not feed, and she did not let
it eat from the vermin of the earth, until it died of starvation. Narrated by
Muslim (904).
When he offered the eclipse prayer, he saw the one who was dragging his
intestines in Hell, and the one who was being punished for stealing, and the
women who was being punished for a cat. They had become decayed bones
in their graves as far as the people of his time were concerned, but those
who were praying with him did not see what he saw. End quote.
Debt

One of the things that harm the deceased in his grave is debt that he owes.
It was narrated that Sad ibn al-Atwal said: My brother died and left behind
three hundred dinars, and he left behind young children. I wanted to spend
on them, but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said to me: Your brother is being detained by his debt, so go and pay it
off. So I went and paid it off, then I came and said: O Messenger of Allah, I
have paid it off for him, and there is nothing left but a woman who is claiming
two dinars, but she does not have any proof. He said: Give it to her, for she
is telling the truth. Narrated by Ahmad (16776) and Ibn Maajah (2/82);
classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami (1550).
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5. TRIALS OF GRAVE
Question:
Can you please tell me what are the trials of the grave that we ask Allah
(saw) to save us from?
Answer: Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
When the son of Adam dies and his soul departs and he is placed in his
grave, then he is in the first stage of the Hereafter, because the grave is the
first of the stages of the Hereafter.
It was narrated that Haani the freed slave of Uthmaan ibn Affaan said:
when Uthman ibn Affaan stood by a grave he would weep until his beard
became wet. It was said to him, You remember Paradise and Hell and you
do not weep, but you weep because of this? He said, The Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: The grave is the
first of the stages of the Hereafter; whoever is saved from it, whatever
comes afterwards will be easier for him, but if he is not saved from it, what
comes afterwards will be worse for him. And the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: I have never seen any
scene but the grave is more frightening than it. (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi,
2308; Ibn Maajah, 4567; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh alJaami, 1684).
Secondly:

The two angels who are charged with questioning come to him and ask him
what he used to believe in this world, who was his Lord, what was his
religion and who was his Prophet. If he gives a good answer, that is good,
but if he does not answer them they inflict a severe and painful beating on
him.
If he was one of the righteous, angels with white faces come to him, but if
he was one of the evildoers, angels with dark faces come to him. This is the
fitnah or tribulation that he suffers.
It was narrated from Aaishah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) used to say, Allahumma inni aoodhu bika min al-kasali
wal-haram wal-maghram wal-matham. Allahumma inni aoodhu bika min
adhaab al-naar wa fitnat il-naar, wa fitnat il-qabri, wa adhaab il-qabri, wa
sharri fitnat il-ghina wa sharri fitnat il-faqair wa min sharri fitnat il-maseeh ilDajjaal. Allahumma ighsil khataayaaya bi ma al-thalji wal-baradi wa naqqi
qalbi min al-khataaya kama yunaqqa al-thawb al-abyad min al-danas, wa
baaid bayni wa bayna khataayaaya kama baaadta bayna al-mashriqi walmaghrib (O Allah! I seek refuge with You from laziness and old age, and
from debts and sins; from the torment of the Fire and from the tribulation of
the Fire, and from the tribulation of the grave and the torment of the grave,
and from the evil of the tribulation of wealth, and from the evil of the
tribulation of poverty, and from the evil of the tribulation of the Dajjaal
(Antichrist). O Allah! Wash away my sins with the water of snow and hail,
and cleanse my heart from sin as a white garment is cleansed from filth,
and put a great distance between me and my sins, as great as the distance
You have made between the East and the West). (Al-Bukhaari 6014).
Ibn Hajar said: The phrase from the tribulation of the grave means the
questioning of the two angels. Fath al-Baari, 11/177.
Thirdly:
With regard to the questions that the angels will ask in the grave, this is
explained clearly in the following hadeeth:
It was narrated that al-Bara (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We went
out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
for the funeral of a man from among the Ansaar. We came to the grave and
when (the deceased) was placed in the lahd, the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sat down and we sat around

him, as if there were birds on our heads (i.e., quiet and still). In his hand he
had a stick with which he was scratching the ground.
Then he raised his head and said, Seek refuge with Allah from the torment
of the grave, two or three times. Then he said, When the believing slave is
about to depart this world and enter the Hereafter, there come down to him
from heaven angels with white faces like the sun, and they sit around him
as far as the eye can see. They bring with them shrouds from Paradise and
perfumes from Paradise. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits by his
head, and he says, O good soul, come forth to forgiveness from Allah and
His pleasure. Then it comes out easily like a drop of water from the the
mouth of a waterskin. When he seizes it, they do not leave it in his hand for
an instant before they take it and put it in that shroud with that perfume, and
there comes from it a fragrance like the finest musk on the face of the earth.
Then they ascend and they do not pass by any group of angels but they
say, Who is this good soul? and they say, It is So and so the son of So
and so, calling him by the best names by which he was known in this world,
until they reach the lowest heaven. They ask for it to be opened to them
and it is opened, and (the soul) is welcomed and accompanied to the next
heaven by those who are closest to Allah, until they reach the seventh
heaven. Then Allah says: Record the book of My slave in Illiyoon in the
seventh heaven, and return him to the earth, for from it I created them, to it
I will return them and from it I will bring them forth once again. 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 Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
They say, What did you do? He says, I read the Book of Allah and I
believed in it.
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.

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.
But when the disbelieving slave is about to depart this world and enter the
Hereafter, there come down to him from heaven angels with black faces,
bringing sackcloth, and they sit around him as far as the eye can see. Then
the Angel of Death comes and sits by his head, and he says, O evil soul,
come forth to the wrath of Allah and His anger. Then his soul disperses
inside his body, then comes out cutting the veins and nerves, like a skewer
passing through wet wool. When he seizes it, they do not leave it in his hand
for an instant before they take it and put it in that sackcloth, and there comes
from it a stench like the foulest stench of a dead body on the face of the
earth. Then they ascend and they do not pass by any group of angels but
they say, Who is this evil soul? and they say, It is So and so the son of So
and so, calling him by the worst names by which he was known in this world,
until they reach the lowest heaven. They ask for it to be opened to them and
it is not opened. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) recited (interpretation of the meaning):
...for them the gates of heaven will not be opened, and they will not
enter Paradise until the camel goes through the eye of the
needle... [Al-Araaf 7:40]
He said: Then Allah says, Record the book of My slave in Sijjeen in the
lowest earth, and return him to the earth, for from it I created them, to it I
will return them and from it I will bring them forth once again. So his soul is
cast down. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) recited the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
and whoever assigns partners to Allah, it is as if he had fallen from
the sky, and the birds had snatched him, or the wind had thrown him
to a far off place [Al-Hajj 22:31]
He said: 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 dont know.
They say, What is your religion? He says, Oh, oh, I dont know.

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. 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. (Abu Dawood, 4753; Ahmad, 18063)
The correct view is that the two angels will only question the deceased in
his grave about matters of Tawheed (monotheism) and aqeedah (belief).
This is quite clear.
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6. TORMENT AND BLESSING IN THE GRAVE
The torment and blessing in the grave are true and happen to both the
soul and the body
Question:
My aqeedah is that after the body is dead it is of no use and they cannot
hear, but according to hadith there is punishment in the grave. Does this
mean that the body is still alive? Also in the Quran it is mentioned that
martyrs dont die, and also it is reported in a hadith of Muslim that when
prophet (saw) addressed the body of Abu Jahl, umaya and others, Umar
(ra) asked him how can the dead hear to which the prophet (saw) replies
that they can hear but cannot reply. Kindly answer my question with
detail.
Answer: By Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
Praise be to Allah.
1 What is mentioned in the question, that the dead do not hear
anything that the living say is true and is correct. Allah says
(interpretation of the meanings):

Neither are the living and the dead alike. Surely Allah makes whom He
pleases hear, and you cannot make those hear who are m the
graves (Faatir 35:22)
So verily, you (O Muhammad) cannot make the dead to hear.. (Ar-Room
30:52)
2 The belief of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaaah is that there is torment and
punishment in the grave and life in al-barzakh (the interval between death and
the Day of Resurrection), and there is blessing and pleasure, according to the
status of the deceased. The evidence for that is the aayah (interpretation of
the meaning):
The Fire, they are exposed to it, morning and afternoon. And on the
Day when the Hour will be established (it will be said to the angels):
Cause Firawns (Pharaoh) people to enter the severest
torment! (Ghaafir 40:46)
Allah states here that the people of Pharaoh are exposed to torment morning
and afternoon even though they are dead. From this aayah, the scholars
affirmed that the torment of the grave is real.
Ibn Katheer said:
This aayah is the main basis of the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah in the torment of albarzakh, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
The Fire, they are exposed to it, morning and afternoon . (Ghaafir
40:46)
(Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 4/82)
According to the hadeeth of Aaishah (may Allah be pleased with her), the
wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to pray
in his salaah (prayer), Allah umma inni aoodhu bika min adhaab il-qabr, wa
aoodhu bika min fitnat il-maseeh il-dajjaal, wa aoodhu bika min fitnat ilmahyaa wa fitnat il-mamaat, Allah umma ini aoodhu bika min al-matham
wal-maghram (O Allah , I seek refuge in You from the torment of the grave, I
seek refuge in You from the tribulation of the Dajjaal, I seek refuge in You from
the trials of life and death, O Allah , I seek refuge in You from sin and
loss). (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 798; Muslim, 589)

The relevant point in this hadeeth is that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) used to seek refuge with Allah from the torment of the
grave. This is one of the pieces of evidence that confirm the torment of the
grave. No one disputed the torment of the grave apart from the Mutazilah and
some other groups who are not worth paying attention to.
3 With regard to the hadeeth which describes the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) addressing the dead bodies of the mushrikeen
on the day of the battle of Badr, it is to be understood that this was a unique
case, where Allah brought them back to life so that His Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) might rebuke them and humiliate them.
(a) It was narrated that Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood over the well of
Badr (into which the bodies of the mushrikeen had been thrown) and said,
Have you found the promise of your Lord to be true? Then he said, They can
hear what I am saying now. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3980; Muslim, 932)
(b) It was narrated that Abu Talhah said: Umar said, O Messenger of Allah,
why are you speaking to bodies that have no souls? The Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: By the One in Whose hand
is the soul of Muhammad, you do not hear what I am saying any better than
they do. Qutaadah said: Allah brought them back to life so that they could
hear what he was saying, so that they might be rebuked and feel regret and
shame.
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3976; Muslim, 2875. See Fath al-Baari, 7/304)
The relevant point here is that Allah caused the people in the well to hear the
words of His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so that they
might be humiliated. But it is not correct to deduce from this hadeeth that the
dead can hear everything, because this applied only to the people in the well.
Some scholars made an exception and said that the dead can hear the
salaam, but this is a view for which clear sound evidence is lacking.
4 According to the most correct scholarly view, the torment of the grave
befalls both the soul and the body.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The view of the salaf (earliest generations) of this ummah and its imams is
that the torment or blessing (of the grave) happens to the soul of the

deceased and his body. After it departs from the body, the soul continues to be
blessed or punished, and it is also connected to the body from time to time, so
that the blessing or torment befalls the body as well as the soul.
So we must believe in that which Allah has told us.
(al-Ikhtiyaaraat al-Fiqhiyyah, p. 94)
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) was asked about this matter, and we will
quote his reply in full:
Indeed, the torment and blessing happen to both the soul and the body,
according to the consensus of the Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaaah. The soul is
blessed or tormented separately from the body, and it is blessed or tormented
in connection with the body. The body is connected to it, so in this case the
blessing or torment happens to them both, and it may happen to the soul
separately from the body.
The view of the salaf and imams of this ummah is that when a person dies, he
will be in a state of blessing or torment, and that happens to his soul and his
body. After the soul has departed from the body, it remains in a state of
blessing or torment, and that is sometimes connected to the body and the
blessing or torment happens to them both. Then when the Day of
Resurrection comes, the souls will be returned to their bodies and they will
rise from their graves to meet the Lord of the Worlds. The physical
resurrection is a matter upon which the Muslims, Jews and Christians are
agreed.
(al-Rooh, p. 51, 52)
The scholars likened that to dreams when one is asleep, for a person may
dream that he is going and traveling, and he may feel happiness or grief and
sorrow while he is sleeping, and that is when he is in his place and in this
world. So it is more apt that things should be different in the life of al-barzakh
which is completely different from the life of this world and the life of the
Hereafter.
Al-Nawawi said:

If it is said, we see the deceased and how he is in his grave, so how can he
be questioned, made to sit up and beaten with iron rods, when no mark is left
on him? The answer is that this is not impossible, and indeed there is a similar
case in our regular lives, that of the sleeper who feels joy or pain of which we
feel nothing. A person who is awake may also feel joy or pain because of
something he hears or thinks about, and those who are sitting with him feel
nothing of that. Similarly, Jibreel used to come to the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) and tell him of the Wahy (Revelation), and the
people present were unaware of it. All of that is clear and evident. (Sharh
Muslim, 17/201)
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:
When a person sleeps, he may feel joy or pain, and that happens to his soul
and his body. He may dream that someone is beating him and wake up with
pain in his body, or he may dream that he is being fed some good food, then
wake up with the food in his mouth. This is something that really happens. If
the body and soul of a sleeping person can experience joy and pain that are
not felt by the person next to him, and a sleeper may even cry out because of
the intensity of pain or fear of what is happening to him, and those who are
awake can hear him, and he may speak, reciting Quraan or dhikr, or talking to
someone, and those who are awake can hear that, even though he is asleep
with his eyes closed, and he does not hear them if they speak to him then
how can we deny that the one who is buried in his grave also feels things,
when the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has told us
that he hears the sound of their footsteps and You do not hear what I say
any better than they do?
The heart is akin to the grave, hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said, when he missed Asr on the day of al-Khandaq: May
Allah fill their hearts and graves with fire. And Allah differentiated between
them (graves and hearts) in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
Knows he not that when the contents of the graves are poured forth (all
mankind is resurrected)? (9) And that which is in the hearts (of men)
shall be made known? (Al-Aadiyaat 100:9-10)
This is just to explain that this could happen.
We cannot say that the blessing or torment that the dead experience is like
that which a sleeper experiences when he dreams, rather that blessing or
torment is more complete and more far-reaching; it is a real blessing and a

real torment. But this example is given to show that this is possible. If
someone were to say that the dead person does not move in his grave, and
the soil does not change, and so on, this matter may be explained in more
detail, but that would take too long to explain here. And Allah knows best. May
Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad and his family and
companions. (Majmoo al-Fataawa, 4/275, 276)
And Allah knows best.
Excerpted, with slight modifications, from: http://islamqa.com/
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7. VISITING THE GRAVES
Question :
What is the Islamic view of visiting the graves of relatives to pray Allah to
make the soul of the deceased rest in peace? People also visit the tombs of
saints, thinking that such visits will make Allah fulfill their requests with
promptness. How far should we differentiate between a visit to graves
expecting the deceased to be of help to us and a visit without any such
expectations?
Answer :
Visiting graves is recommended if it is for the purpose of expressing
dutifulness to deceased parents or to remind oneself of the inevitability of
death so that one can prepare for the hour when he is no longer able to do
anything to improve his situation in the life to come. The Prophet describes
death as a silent preacher because when people remember death they
remember that they have to do well in this life in order that they ensure a
happy future in the hereafter. Visiting the graves of parents is recommended
as evidence of dutifulness, at least once a year. [Added: These visits should
not be related to a particular date only, e.g. death anniversaries, etc.]
Such visits are rewarded by Allah in the same way as other aspects of
dutifulness are. I hope I have made the purpose of visiting graves very clear.
We have to remember that the deceased can not benefit the living. Indeed, it
is the other way round. The living can pray Allah to have mercy on those who
have died and Allah may answer such prayers. In this respect, the living can
benefit the dead. The dead, however, cannot benefit the living. This applies

to all people no matter how good and devoted they are during their lifetime
on earth. The Prophet says that "a human being" is unable to do anything
after his death.
The description "human being" applies both to saintly people and those who
are weaker in faith. He says: "When a human being dies, all his actions
come to an absolute end, except in one of three ways: a continuous act of
charity, a useful contribution to knowledge and a dutiful child who prays for
him."
Moreover, it is not for us to classify dead people as saints or non-saints.
Who are we to judge people, especially those with whom we have had no
contact, because they may have died before we were born. Some people
may have the appearance of being dedicated to the service of Allah. But how
can we judge their intentions? And if we cannot judge those who we know,
how can we judge those whom we have not known?
As you realize, a person may do a good action, but he may not be rewarded
for it because his intention was not as good as the act itself. An example of
this type may be given. When a rich person donates several thousands for a
charitable purpose in the hope that it will be said of him that he has given a
very generous donation then his reward is that reputation which he will
inevitably earn. Someone who is less rich and makes a little donation for a
charitable purpose, keeping the whole thing secret will be rewarded much
more generously by Allah. The reason is that the second person has made
his donation only for the purpose of pleasing Allah and earning reward from
Him.
As you have said, people do visit the tombs of persons whom they call saints
in the hope that they would have their wishes through such visits. Now who
will fulfill these wishes? Is it the deceased person in his grave? If the answer
is in the affirmative, then we tell that person that he has done a gross error.
He has attributed to a dead person powers which he does not have.
Moreover, he has appealed to him instead of appealing to Allah for the
accomplishment of his purpose. In effect, he has associated the dead
person with Allah as a partner. Some people say that they know that the
deceased person does not do anything by himself in his grave, but he can
appeal to Allah on our behalf.
This is absolute rubbish. It makes the dead person an intermediary between
Allah and His creation. Allah has said so may times in the Qur'an that he
accepts no partners. If people associate partners with Him, He abandons

those people to those partners to sort their affairs with them the way they
like. Eventually they are the losers because the partners they associate with
Allah are of no use to them. It is for this reason that we say time and again
that such visits to the graves of deceased people in the hope that the visit
will be of use in the fulfillment of the visitor's wishes is an act of polytheism. It
is needless to say that it is absolutely forbidden.
To sum up, we must not confuse visiting graves in order to remind ourselves
of death and the need to be better servants of Allah or to show dutifulness to
our deceased parents on the one hand and visiting the so-called saints in
the hope that they will be of use to us, helping in the fulfillment of our wishes
on the other. The first action is recommended while the second is forbidden,
as it is a polytheistic act.

Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News - Jeddah )


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8. READING QURAN OVER GRAVES
Question :
What is the ruling on reading Quran over graves? Saying duaa for the deceased at
the graveside? Saying duaa for oneself at the graveside?
Answer : Praise be to Allah.
Reading the Holy Quran at the graveside is bidah. It was not narrated from
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or from his
companions. As it is not narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) or from his companions, then we should not introduce it by
ourselves, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said, according to a saheeh report: Every introduced matter is an innovation,
and every innovation is a going astray, and every going astray will be in the
Fire.
What the Muslims must do is to follow the example of the earlier generations,
the Sahaabah and those who followed them in truth, so that they will be
following goodness and true guidance, because it is proven that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: The best of speech is the

Book of Allah and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him).
The Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas was asked: Is it permissible to
read al-Faatihah or anything from the Quran for the deceased when visiting
his grave, and does that benefit him?
They replied:
It is proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used
to visit graves, and he would recite duaas for the dead that he taught to his
companions and they learned them from him. For example: Al-salaamu
alaykum ahl al-diyaar min al-mumineen wal-Muslimeen, wa inna in sha Allah
bikum laahiqoon, nasal Allaha lana wa lakum al-aafiyah (Peace be upon you,
O people of the dwellings, believers and Muslims. If Allah wills we will join you.
We ask Allah to grant us and you safety).
But there is no report that he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
recited a soorah of the Quran or any verses thereof for the dead, even though
he visited them often. If that had been prescribed, he would have done it and
would have taught it to his companions, seeking the reward and out of mercy
towards his ummah, and fulfilling the obligation to convey the message. For
he was as Allah described him (interpretation of the meaning):
Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Muhammad) from
amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or
difficulty. He (Muhammad) is anxious over you; for the believers (he is)
full of pity, kind, and merciful (Al-Tawbah 9:128)
The fact that he did not do that even though there were reasons why he might
have done it, indicates that it is not prescribed. His companions (may Allah be
pleased with them) knew that and followed in his footsteps, and they limited
themselves to learning lessons and making duaa for the dead when they
visited them. There is no report that they read Quran for the dead. For them
such reading was an innovation (bidah), and it was proven that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Whoever introduces
anything into this matter of ours [i.e., Islam] that is not part of it will have it
rejected. Agreed upon.
From Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daaimah, 9/38

As for saying duaa for the deceased at the graveside, there is nothing wrong
with that. A person may stand at the graveside and say whatever duaas he
can, such as saying, O Allah, forgive him; O Allah, have mercy on him; O
Allah, admit him to Paradise; O Allah, make his grave spacious and so on.
With regard to a person saying duaa for himself at the graveside, if he does it
deliberately then it is also an innovation (bidah), because no place is
specified as a place for duaa unless there is a text concerning it. If there is no
text concerning it and no Sunnah has been narrated concerning it, then that
i.e., singling out a place for duaa, no matter what the place is is a bidah.
End quote.
Majmoo Fataawa Ibn Uthaymeen (17/228)
And Allah knows best.
Excerpted, with some modifications, from: http://islamqa.com/en/
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9. VISIT GRAVES OF SAINTS
Question:
How far it is right to visit DARGAH and MAZARS i.e graves of Al-Awliya wa
As-Salihin (saints or pious people) and making du`athere?
Answer:
A hadith related in Imam Malik's Muwatta is: Yahya related to me from Malik
from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn Yasar that the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, O Allah! Do not make my grave
an idol that is worshipped. The anger on those who took the graves of their
Prophets as places of prostration was terrible.
To avoid possibility of making grave sites places of worship, Muslims are not
allowed to visit the graves of Saints, especially if they want to get blessings
from them, or talk to them, or expect anything from them. This would be the
equivalent of shirk. It is allowed to go to such places only to draw a lesson
from what happened to them and that death will be the visitor's destiny too.

It is well known that when one loves somebody one loves all that is related to
him. Such an innate human characteristic is not opposed by religion; rather, it
is guided in two ways. The first is choosing those who deserve that love and
veneration and the second is not violating the principles of religion in
expressing this love or in any of its consequences. Seeking the blessings of
pious people or saints is not forbidden under Islam but it might have some
features that are against religion such as:
1) Going round the grave is blameworthy because it is an imitation of
circumambulating the Ka`bah.
2) Seeking blessings by touching or kissing the grave and the like. Imam
Al-Ghazali states that touching and kissing graves is not stated in the
Sunnah and it is better to stand at a distance from the grave.
3) When one performs du`a (supplications) at graves, one must direct
such du`a to Allah alone for He alone is capable of granting help and
warding off harm.
It is forbidden to direct the du`a to or seek the help of the one in the grave
however venerated he may be. Moreover, performingdu`a at his grave is not
better or more likely to be answered than doing it elsewhere. Ibn Taymiyyah
was among those who expressed such opinion. He says: Making
supplications (du`a) at graves of the righteous thinking that the supplications
are more likely to be answered than in any other place, is a practice that had
never been done by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or any of
his Companions, their successors, or the Imams of Islam and has never been
mentioned or recommended by any of the righteous scholars.
It may be better to prevent such a practice in order to dissuade people from
invoking or seeking the help of others than Allah or even along with Him.
Excerpted, with slight modifications, from: www.islamonline.net

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10. PRAYING FOR DEAD AFTER LONG TIME PASSED


Question :
My grandmother died and I did not offer the funeral prayer for her, although
I live in the same city, because they buried her before I could get there.
Now it is three years since she died. Do I have to do anything?
Answer: Praise be to Allah.
You have an opportunity to make up for what you missed, in sha Allah. You
can go and offer the funeral prayer over her grave. Imam al-Shaafai and
others are of the view that it is permissible to offer the funeral prayer over
the grave of the deceased. The evidence for that is:
The report narrated by al-Bukhaari (458) and Muslim (956) that the
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) offered the funeral
prayer for a woman at her grave. She used to clean the mosque, and the
Sahaabah had buried her without informing the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) of her death.
It was narrated from Ibn Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by
a grave where the burial had taken place at night and said: When was this
one buried? They said: Last night. He said: Why didnt you tell me? They
said: We buried him in the dark of night and we did not want to wake you
up. He stood up and we stood in rows behind him. Ibn Abbaas said: And I
was among them, and he offered the funeral prayer for him.(Bukhaari
1321).
It was narrated from Yazeed ibn Thaabit (may Allah be pleased with
him) that they went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) one day and he saw a new grave. He said: What is
this? They said: It is So and so, the freed slave woman of Banu So and so
and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
recognized her name She died at noon when you were taking a nap, and
we did not want to wake you up for her. The Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) stood and the people formed rows behind
him, and he said takbeer four times (i.e., offered the funeral prayer). Then
he said: No one should die when I am still among you without you telling
me, for my prayer for him will be a mercy. Narrated by al-Nasaai (2022);

classed as hasan by Ibn Abd al-Barr in al-Tamheed (6/271). Classed as


saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Nasaai.
Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated in al-Musannaf (3/239) a number of reports from
the Sahaabah and Taabieen who offered the funeral prayer over graves
after the burial, including Aaishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who
offered the funeral prayer at the grave of her brother Abd al-Rahmaan; and
Ibn Umar who offered the funeral prayer at the grave of his brother Aasim;
and Sulaymaan ibn Rabeeah and Ibn Sireen and others. This was also
narrated by Ibn Hazm in al-Muhalla (3/366) from Anas, Ali and Ibn Masood
(may Allah be pleased with them all).
Some fuqaha did not allow offering the funeral prayer over graves at all,
and some of them limited it to one month or three days, but there is no
evidence for this restriction.
Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Muhalla (3/366):
With regard to restricting the funeral prayer to within one month or three
days, it is clearly wrong because it is restricting it with no evidence. End
quote.
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Sharh alMumti (5/436):
The correct view is that we may offer the funeral prayer over graves even
after one month, but some of the scholars imposed an interesting
restriction, and said: That is subject to the condition that the person who is
buried died at a time when the one who is praying was able to pray.
For example: If a man died twenty years ago, and a man who is thirty years
old goes out to pray for him, that is valid, because when he died the one
who is praying was only ten years old, so he could have offered the prayer
for the dead man.
Another example: If a man died thirty years ago, and a man who is twenty
years old goes out to pray for him, that is not valid, because the one who is
praying did not exist at the time when the man died, so he could not have
prayed for him.
So it is not prescribed for us to offer the funeral prayer at the grave of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and we do not know of

anyone who said that it is prescribed to offer the funeral prayer at the grave
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or at the graves
of the Sahaabah, rather we should just stand and say duaa. End quote.
Honouring parents or grandparents does not stop when their life ends,
rather it continues after their death, and the greatest way in which a person
can honour his parents is by making duaa for them and praying for
forgiveness for them.
It was narrated that Abu Usayd Maalik ibn Rabeeah al-Saaidi said: Whilst
we were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him), a man from Banu Salamah came to him and said: O Messenger of
Allah, is there anything left that I can do to honour my parents after they
die? He said: Yes. Pray for them, ask for forgiveness for them, carry out
their last wishes, uphold the ties of kinship that you would not have were it
not for them, and honour their friends. Narrated by Abu Dawood (5142)
Pray for them means making duaa, and it includes the funeral prayer.
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11. BURYING MUSLIM IN NON MUSLIM GRAVEYARD
Question:
The price of graves where we live is very expensive. A child died and we could
not afford to buy a grave for him so that he could be buried in the Muslim
graveyard, so we took him to the forest and buried him there. What is the
ruling on that?
Answer: Praise be to Allah.
If it is not possible to bury a Muslim in the Muslim graveyard because there is
no Muslim graveyard or because it is too expensive, there is nothing wrong
with burying him in the desert or forest, and levelling the ground so that it will
not be dug up.
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas was asked: What
is the ruling if a Muslim dies in France and it is not possible to transport him to
an Arab land, and there is no graveyard just for the Muslims in the town where
he died. Can he be buried in the Christian graveyard or what? Similarly, there
is no place there for washing the deceased Muslims except the place that is

used for washing deceased Christians. Can the deceased Muslims be washed
there, if it is not possible to wash the deceased Muslim in his house?
They replied: If there is no Muslim graveyard then if a Muslim dies he should
not be buried in the Christian graveyard, rather they should look for a place in
the desert and bury him there, and level the ground so that it will not be dug
up. If it is possible to transport him to a land where there is a Muslim
graveyard without great expense then that is better. As for washing the
deceased Muslim in the place where deceased kaafirs are washed, there is
nothing wrong with that if it is not possible to find an alternative without
incurring expense.
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12. WOMEN: VISITING GRAVES
Question :
May I refer to an earlier answer by you when you suggested that women are
allowed to visit graves. If the Hadith you have quoted is authentic, then it shall
supersede earlier sayings by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him),
concerning the same subject. Could you please include the full text of the
Hadith reported by Lady Aisha and comment further on the subject.
Answer :
The relevant part of the Hadith which you have quoted mentions that Lady
Aisha was questioned on her return from visiting the grave of her brother
about the Prophet's prohibition on visiting graves. She answered: "Yes, he did
prohibit that, but he later encouraged visiting them."
Before mentioning the full text of the Hadith, let me mention two authentic
Hadiths on this subject. The first is reported by Buraidah, a companion of the
Prophet (PBUH), who quotes him as saying: "I had ordered you not to visit
graves, now I say: Visit them; and I did prohibit you to keep sacrificial meat for
more than three days, now I say: Keep what you wish; etc." (Muslim).
This Hadith is clear that an early prohibition has been abrogated. Scholars
suggest that in the early years of Islam, the Prophet was keen to restrict every
action which had even the slightest connotation of associating partners with
Allah. Because people used to do various rituals at graveyards, the Prophet
wanted them to get used to accepting death as a natural thing, determined by

Allah, and which does not justify any wailing or the performance of any rituals.
In the case of sacrificial meat, the early prohibition encouraged the distribution
of meat at a time when the circumstances of the Muslims were hard and
things scarce. When the Muslim state became richer, the Prophet allowed
people to keep what they wished of the meat of animals they had sacrificed.
The second Hadith is that which encourages visiting graveyards. AbuHurairah reports that the Prophet "visited his mother's grave and wept until
everyone around him was in tears. He then said: I sought my Lord's
permission to pray Him to forgive her, but this permission was not given me. I
also sought His permission to visit her grave, and He has permitted me. Visit
graves, because such visits remind you of death." (Related by Muslim).
Some of the scholars do maintain that women are not allowed to visit graves.
In support of their view, they cite the Hadith which prevents women from
following funerals and the one which quotes the Prophet as saying: "Allah
curses the women who visit graves frequently and the ones who pray at them
and put lanterns at them" (related by Abu-Dawood and An-Nassaie).
Al-Qurtubi, a renowned scholar, explains that this curse is limited to those who
carry the habit of visiting graves too excess. This is clearly indicated by the
way the Arabic text of this Hadith is phrased. He suggests that the reasons for
such a curse may be that such frequent visits may lead a woman to abandon
her duties, or cause her to dress improperly or she may often wail at the
grave, etc. If she visits graves and does not do any of these things, then that
is appropriate because both men and women need to remember death.
A larger number of scholars, however, are of the view that visiting graves is
permitted for women. In support of their view, they cite the Hadith of Lady
Aisha, which is related by Al-Hakim on the authority of Abdullah ibn
Maulaikah, who saw her coming back from visit to the grave of her brother,
Abdurrahman. He asked her : "Had not the Prophet prohibited this?" She said:
"Yes, he had prohibited it, but he later encouraged visiting them (graves)."
There is nothing in this Hadith to suggest that this permission applies to men
only. Indeed, we have an authentic Hadith which may be quoted in support of
this view. Anas ibn Malik, a companion of the Prophet, reports: "The Prophet
(peace be upon him) passed by a woman crying at a grave. He said to her:
Fear Allah and be patient. She said: Leave me alone, for you have not had a
calamity like mine and you have not known him. She was subsequently told
that she was talking to the Prophet. She went to him at his place where she

found no door-keepers. She said: I did not know you. He said: Real patience
is that shown at the first shock" (related by Al-Bukhari)
The evidence in this Hadith is that the Prophet saw a woman visiting a grave
and he did not prohibit her from doing so. Nor did he suggest to his
companions who were with him that her action was wrong. Indeed, he
approved of it. Such approval is sufficient to consider the action of the women,
i.e. visiting the grave of a close relative, permissible.

Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News - Jeddah )


TOP
13. GRAVES OF ADAM & ALI
Question :
Where are the graves of the Prophet Adam and Caliph Ali? I heard that Ali's
grave which is said to be in Iraq is not the true one. What happened to Ali's
body after he was murdered? Is the grave of Mother Eve in Jeddah real or
fictitious? Is there any religious significance in keeping a fictitious grave?
Answer :
I do not think any human being could say with even the faintest chance of
accuracy where the grave of Prophet Adam is. We should not forget that the
Prophet Adam was the first human being on earth. It was unlikely that his
immediate children and grandchildren could keep a record of his burial place
and that record should remain intact until the present time.
Since Ali was the fourth caliph, it was to be expected that his burial place
should be noted. Ali was assassinated in Iraq and, in conformity with Islamic
teachings, he must have been buried in the closest graveyard to where he
was murdered. That was in the town of Kufa in Iraq. Whether we know the
exact spot of his burial or not is probably debatable. But what would it signify
if we knew it or not? We know, for example, that Caliph Usman was buried in
Al-Bak'ie, but the exact spot of his burial place, and those of many of the
Prophet's companions, cannot be identified with any degree of accuracy.
Why should we bother about identifying these graves? Those were people
who served Islam to the best of their ability. Their reward is with the Lord,

and they are sure to have it on the day of judgment. That reward does not
include people paying homage to them by visiting their graves.
As for the grave of Mother Eve, what we have said about Adam's grave
applies to her grave too. There is certainly no significance whatsoever in
keeping a fictitious grave, or a real one for that matter.

About the Questions that are Asked in the Grave

According to Ahlu Sunnah, Munkar and Nakir ask the person who has died about his Lord, religion and
prophet. A believer answers those questions but an unbeliever cannot. There are a lot of hadiths
regarding the issue. Those two angels go to the grave of the dead, revive him and ask the questions.
(Pazdawi, "Ehl-i Snnet Akidi" Trns., erafettin Glck, stanbul 1980, 237).
From Abu Hurayra; Hazrat Prophet (pbuh) was reported to have said the following:
"When a dead body is buried, two jet-black angels with blue eyes come. One of them is called Munkar and
the other Nakir. They ask the dead person, What do you say about this man (the Messenger of Allah)? He
says what he used to say when he was alive; "He is the slave and messenger of Allah. I witness that there is
no god but Allah and I witness that Muhammad (pbuh) is His slave and messenger. The angels say; "We
already knew that you said it. Then his grave is expanded seventy times seventy ziras (1 zira = 75 cm) and
illuminated. Then, he is told to lie down. He turns to them and asks; Shall I return and inform my family?
They say, Sleep like the sleep of a groom that will nobody will wake except the person that he loves most.
Thus, he sleeps in the place he is lying down until Almighty Allah revives him.
If he is a munafiq (hypocrite), he will say, "I would hear what people say and would repeat it. I dont know.
The angels will say, We already knew you would say that Then they say to the earth, Squeeze him. The
earth squeezes him and his ribs become intertwined. He is tortured in that place until Allah revives him."
(Tirmizi, Janaiz, 70)
In almost all of the creed books, Munkar and Nakir, and the questions they ask the dead person in the
grave are mentioned. In the Quran, the names of those two angels are not mentioned; there is no
statement in the Quran expressing that the dead person will be questioned in the grave, either. However,

Ahlu Sunnah scholars accept that some verses indicate it and some verses are completely related to the
questioning in the grave. The following is stated in the Aqaid of Omar Nasafi: "The questioning by
Munkar and Nakir is definite in the Book (the Quran) and Sunnah."
It is stated that the hereafter mentioned in the following verse is the grave and the firm word is the word
of witness" (kalima shahadah): Allah will establish in strength those who believe, with the Word that
stands firm, in this world and in the Hereafter; but Allah will leave to stray those who do wrong: Allah
doeth what He willeth". (Ibrahim 14/27) Ibn Majah says the following in his Sunan:
This verse " Allah will establish in strength those who believe, with the Word that stands firm " was sent
down about the questioning in the grave. The dead person will be asked in the grave; "Who is your Lord?"
He will answer: "My Lord is Allah; my Prophet is Muhammad (pbuh). Thus, the answer of the dead
believer is the expression of the verse; "Allah will establish in strength those who believe, with the Word
that stands firm " (Ibn Majah, Zuhd, 32; In addition, see Bukhari, Tafsir, Chapter, 14).
That hadith is narrated in all of the famous six hadith books. In some narrations, the number of the
questions are increased to three as follows: "Who is your Lord, what is your religion, who is your
prophet?"
It is stated in tafsir (interpretation) books that the following verse is also about the questioning in the
grave and grave torture: " In front of the Fire will they be brought, morning and evening: and (the
Sentence will be) on the Day that Judgment will be established: "Cast ye the People of Pharaoh into the
severest Penalty!" (al-Mu'min, 40/46) (Ibn Kathir, "Tafsiru'l-Qur'ani'l-Azim", tafsir of 40/46).
There are a lot of hadiths about the questions of Munkar and Nakir in the grave. Although those ahad
(reported by only one person) hadiths do not reach the state of tawatur (multiplicity of the sources of a
certain report that leads to certitude in the listener that the report is indeed true) in terms of the words,
the fact that there are a lot of hadiths regarding the issue raises the issue to the level of tawatur.
(Haiyet'l-Kesteli al erhi'l-Akid, stanbul 1973, 133, 134).
In some of those hadiths, it is mentioned that the dead person will be questioned but no angel is
mentioned:
"The dead person is put into the grave. If he is a good person, he is placed in the grave without anxiety or
fear. Then, he is asked; "What was your religion?". He answers; "I was in the religion of Islam". Then, he
is asked; "Who is that man (the Messenger of Allah (pbuh)?". He says; "He is Muhammad (pbuh), the

Messenger of Allah. He brought us obvious verses from Allah; and we approved him. Then they ask
him;Have you seen Allah? He says: "Nobody is worthy of seeing Allah." After those questions and
answers, a window on the side of the fire is opened. When the dead person looks at it, he sees that the
flames of the fire try to beat one another. Then, he is told; "Look at the fire that Allah protected you from.
Then a window on the side of Paradise is opened. This time, he looks at the ornaments and bounties of
Paradise. He is told; "That place is your position; then, he is told; "You were on a sincere belief, you died
on that sound belief and inshaallah (God willing) you will be revived on that belief." (Ibn Majah, Zuhd,
32).
As it is seen, in the hadith above, no angel is mentioned; only the questioning in grave is mentioned. In
another hadith, it is stated that there is an angel that will question the dead but the name of that angel is
not mentioned:
"This umma (community) will be questioned in the grave. When the dead person is buried and his friends
leave him, an angel holding a mace will come, will make him sit and ask; "What do you say about this man
(the Messenger of Allah)? If the dead person is a believer, he will say, "I witness that there is no god but
Allah and that Muhammad (pbuh) is His slave and Messenger. The angel will say; "You told the truth."
(Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, III, 3, 40).
In the Abu Hurayra hadith mentioned earlier, two questioning angels are mentioned and it is stated that
one of them is called Munkar and the other Nakir.
According to Ahlu Sunnah, it is true that Munkar and Nakir will question the dead. The grave in the grave
and the squeezing of the grave is true. It is for all of the unbelievers and some disobedient
Muslims. (Imam Azam, "al-Fiqh al-Akbar", trns

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