Part 17: Belief in the Punishment of the Grave and Its Reward ― The Foundations of the Sunnah of Imām Ahmad Ibn Hanbal: Benefits from Shaikh An-Najmī.

In the name of Allāh, Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.

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Additional notes from Abu Khadeejah Abdul-Wāhid.
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Belief in the Punishment of the Grave and Its Reward

We now move on to the next point in Imām Ahmad’s Usool us-Sunnah regarding the punishment in the grave and its reward. Imām Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (rahimahullāh) said:

والإيمان بعذاب القبر

“And to have faith in the punishment of the grave…”

The Explanation

The punishment of the grave and the torment, and also the joy or bliss experienced by the deceased is an affair that is not known except to Allah (the Most High). We cannot see what is happening in the grave. The punishment and reward in the grave is established through numerous texts reaching the level of tawātur – where there are so many narrators at each level of the chain of narration (isnād) that it is not possible that the narrators would have gathered together to concoct a lie. In this subject, the narrations are tawātur bil ma’nā – i.e., the wordings of the hadeeths are different, but the meanings expressed in them are the same, i.e., the questioning, reward and punishment in the grave.

From these narrations is that which the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) stated in a hadeeth collected by Imām Muslim in his Saheeh where the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said: “Were it not for the fact that you would stop burying your dead I would supplicate to Allah so that you could hear the punishment of the grave which I can hear.” Here the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) has made clear that the people in their graves are punished and that they scream due to this torment, and were mankind and jinn to hear it, the people would stop burying their dead. This also shows that the punishment in the grave is real and is not just a metaphor, or just a ‘spiritual torment of the mind’ as many people such as the philosophers claim.

Imām Muslim collected another hadeeth where the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said: “If Allah did not prevent you from hearing those being punished in their graves, you would stop burying your dead.” So it is a mercy from Allah (the Most High) that He prevents us from hearing this punishment.

There is also a narration mentioned in Bukhāri and Muslim that the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) passed by two graves and said: “The two companions of these graves are being punished for something that was not great (i.e. it is easily avoidable). As for the first of them, he used to carry tales between the people causing discord (he was a scandal-monger). As for the second one, he did not clean himself after urinating.” The Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) then asked for two green, fresh twigs and he placed one upon each of the graves and said: “Their punishment will be lightened as long as these twigs remain fresh.” All of these narrations talk about the punishment of the grave.

A Description of What Happens to the Believer at the Time of Death

There is also pleasure or joy (na’eem) in the grave for those who deserve that, as is shown in the hadeeth of al-Barā ibn ‘Aazib (radiyallahu ‘anhu) who stated: The Sahābah were in the Baqee’ graveyard, waiting for the burial of a man from the Ansār, and Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) came to them and he sat down so they sat alongside him. They were completely still as if they had birds perched upon their heads. The Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) had a stick which he moved around on the ground. Then he (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) looked to the sky, then to the ground, then again he looked to the sky, and then again to the ground, then he did it a third time.

He said to his companions: “Seek refuge with Allah from the punishment of the grave.” He said it three times. Then he said:

اللهم اني اعوذ بك من عذاب القبر

“O Allah! I seek refuge with You from the punishment of the grave,” (he repeated it three times).

Then he (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said: “When the believing servant is at the point of death, the angels descend with white, bright faces, like the Sun in the sky. With them are shrouds from the cloth of Jannah, and embalment from the fragrances of Jannah and they sit at the limit of the eyesight of the dying one. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits at his head and says, ‘O good and peaceful soul, depart to Allah’s forgiveness and His pleasure.’ So the soul leaves the body of that righteous person just as water flows from the spout of a waterskin. All of the angels between the heavens and the earth, and those in the heavens, seek forgiveness for that soul. All of the gates of heaven are opened, and when the Angel of Death takes the soul, it does not remain with him for even the blink of an eye, before the other angels who are present at the distance of the eyesight take the soul and shroud and embalm it. It is about this that Allah the Most High has mentioned in the Qur’ān: ‘Our messengers (i.e. angels) take his soul, and they never neglect their duty.’

The soul comes from the body with the best smell that ever existed on earth, and those angels ascend with the soul through the heavens, until they reach the seventh heaven.

Then Allah (the Most High) commands those angels saying, ‘Write the record of my servant in ‘Illiyoon,’ and it is regarding this that Allah mentions in the Qur’ān:

كَلَّا إِنَّ كِتَابَ الْأَبْرَارِ لَفِي عِلِّيِّينَ وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا عِلِّيُّونَ كِتَابٌ مَّرْقُومٌ يَشْهَدُهُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ

‘Nay! Verily the record (of deeds) of the pious and righteous is in ‘Illiyyeen. And what will make you know what ‘Illiyyoon is? It is register inscribed to which bear witness those nearest to Allah (i.e., the angels).” (Surah al-Mutaffifeen 83:18-21).

Then Allah commands those angels saying, ‘Take him back to the earth, for I created them from it, and into it I will send them, and from it I will resurrect them once again.’

The soul is then returned to the earth, after the body has been buried and covered with soil such that the person in his grave hears the footsteps of his companions as they walk away.

Then two black and blue angels come to him named Munkar and Nakeer. They are severe and harsh angels who sit the deceased up and shake him. They ask him: ‘Who is your Lord?’ He will say, ‘My Lord is Allah.’ He will then be asked, ‘What is your religion?’ He will say, ‘My religion is Islām.’ Then they ask, ‘Who was that man who was sent among you?’ He will say, ‘He is the Messenger of Allah.’ There occurs in a narration that they ask him, ‘And how did you come to know that?’ He will answer by saying, ‘I read the Book of Allah and I believed in it and affirmed its truthfulness.’ Then they shake him and ask him again: ‘Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your Prophet?’ This is the last fitnah that will come to him. Allah (the Most High) said regarding the one who is righteous and obedient to Allah:

يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ

‘Allah will keep firm those who believe with the word that stands firm in this world (i.e., the worship of Allah alone and no one else), and also in the Hereafter (i.e., during the questioning in the graves).’ (Surah Ibrāheem 14:27)

Then Allah (the Most High) says: ‘Indeed my servant has spoken the truth, so provide him with furnishings from Jannah, clothe him from the garments of Jannah, open for him a door to Jannah.’

So, his grave is expanded for him as far as the eye can see. His deeds then appear before him in the form of a man with a pleasant face, nice garments and a nice smell. He brings him glad tidings for his righteous deeds and his obedience, and then he is shown the Hellfire and is told that that is what Allah saved him from, so he will say, ‘O Allah! Hasten the Day of Judgement so that I may be reunited with my family.’ It is said to him, ‘Be calm and be rested.’”

This is the reality of the grave, and on the other side of this reality are those who are punished, from the transgressors and disbelievers and innovators. The other part of this hadeeth of al-Barā speaks of the severe torment of the disbelievers, the hypocrites and the sinners from amongst the Muslims.

There occurs in another narration from Abu Hurairah that Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said: “When the believer is dying, the angels of mercy come to him with a white silk shroud and they say, ‘Come out content, and with the pleasure of Allah. Upon you is the Mercy of Allah, a fragrance, and a Lord who is not angry.’ So the soul comes out with ease like the best fragrance of musk. They pass him from one angel to another, until they bring him to the gate of heaven where they say, ‘How good is this fragrance that has come to you from the earth.’ Then the souls of the other believers [who have already died] come to him and rejoice more over him than any of you rejoice after meeting a loved one who was absent from him. Then they start questioning him about what happened to those still in the world, while the other souls say, ‘Leave him, let him be for he was in the distresses of the world.’ However, he will respond and say, ‘But so and so died, did he not come here to you?’ They will say, ‘Rather he was taken to the pit of fire.’”

A Description of Some of What Befalls a Disbeliever at the Time of Death

Imām An-Nasā’ī reported that the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said: “When a disbeliever’s death is close the angels of punishment bring him the coarsest cloth of punishment as a shroud and they say, ‘Come out displeased and with Allah’s wrath upon you, and to the punishment of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.’ Then the soul comes out with a stench like the most unpleasant stench of a corpse. They take him to the gate of the lowest heaven, where it is said, ‘How foul is this stench.’ Then they take him to the souls of the disbelievers.” (Graded saheeh by Imām al-Albānī).

The Meeting of the Souls of the Deceased Believers

All of the above narrations prove the reality of what will take place after death. Shaikh ul-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullāh) said in Majmoo’ al-Fatāwa (volume 24): “When the souls of the living are taken by death, they meet with the souls that have already died, and they ask the newly deceased about the conditions of those who are still living. They ask, ‘What did so and so do?’ The newly deceased will answer by saying, ‘So and so got married,’ or ‘He is in a good state.’ Then they will ask, ‘What about so and so?’ He will respond: ‘He died, so did he not come to you?’ They will reply, ‘No, he was taken to the pit of the Hellfire.’ The souls meet up, those in the higher echelons descend to those who are in the lower levels, whereas those who are in the lower levels do not ascend to those who are higher up.” (End)

All of this occurs before Judgement Day. There is also another hadeeth regarding the reward and bliss of the grave, collected by Imām Muslim: “The souls of the believers are in the bodies of green birds. They fly in paradise around lanterns hanging from the throne of Allah the Most High.” This narration has various wordings, some of them mention an extra addition regarding the martyrs and others mention that the believers’ souls will be in the bellies of birds flying around in paradise.

Those Who Deny the Punishment of the Grave

Many of the people of innovation (the Mu’tazilah and their offshoots) deny the punishment and bliss of the grave because their intellects cannot perceive it, and therefore they reject this belief. They claim that if you were to look at anyone in his grave, you would only find bones and skeletal remains and we would not find any evidence of pleasure or punishment. Some of the extreme ones (among the philosophers) do not believe in the angels and the jinn, etc., because they cannot see them. This is in opposition to Ahlus Sunnah who believe in the Unseen (al-Ghayb). Allah (the Most High) mentions at the very beginning of Surah al-Baqarah regarding the Muttaqoon that they believe in the Unseen.

We believe in the reward and punishment of the grave, we believe in the heavens one above the other, even though we have not seen that. We believe that there are gates that will enter people into paradise. We believe in the hellfire even though we have never seen it. We believe in the rivers and the trees of Jannah even though we have not seen them. We believe in all of these affairs because that is what Allah has commanded us to believe.

Those who disbelieve in what Allah has commanded us to believe in from the resurrection, paradise, hell, and so on, have disbelieved in the revelation informing us of these matters.

Among those who deny the punishment of the grave at this time is the sect, Hizb ut-Tahrir, which arose in the 1950’s founded by Taqiyudeen an-Nabahāni. The dawah of this group is built upon returning the Islamic Caliphate (as they claim) by replacing the leadership of the present rulers. This innovator, An-Nabahāni, has statements and positions that oppose the Book and the Sunnah and the main body of scholars. From their false beliefs is their extreme focus on political matters, their reliance upon their intellects (in establishing the ‘aqeedah) and their abandonment of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil until the Khilafah is established. They have enmity and hatred towards all the regimes and this has led them to an unending battle with the rulers, and their incarceration in prisons. Their intense secrecy, their ambition for position and rulership which has caused them to be hunted down by the regimes and not shown leniency.

They also have strange and false fiqh positions: they hold that it is permissible to look at pictures of nude women; it is permissible to have a kāfir as a ruler over a Muslim country; it is permissible for a Muslim state to give jizyah to a non-muslim state; that prayer is not required for a person who is in the sky; that prayer and fasting is not required for those living in the North and South Poles; it is allowed to kiss (and shake hands) with non-mahram women with or without desire, etc. So their ‘aqeedah and their fiqh are corrupt!

The Excellence of Sa’ad bin Mu’ādh (may Allah be pleased with him), and Proof that the Punishment or Bliss of the Grave is Upon the Soul and the Body

The scholars have differed as to whether the punishment of the grave is only upon the soul, or only upon the body, or upon the soul and the body (i.e., the rooh and the jism). Shaikh Ahmad an-Najmī (Allah’s mercy be upon him) stated that what is closest to being correct is that the punishment or pleasure in the grave is upon both the soul and the body: the body feels the pain or the pleasure just as the soul does.

There is a narration in the Sunan of Imām an-Nasā’i (rahimahullāh) which is authentic, from Ibn ‘Umar (radiyallāhu ‘anhumā) that the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said regarding Sa’d bin Mu’ādh (radiyallāhu ‘anhu): “This is the one at whose death the throne of Allah shook, for whom the gates of Jannah were opened, and for whose funeral 70,000 angels attended, but he was squeezed once in his grave and then he was relieved.” So this proves that the body itself is squeezed in its grave.

There is another narration reported by Bukhāri and Muslim, that the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said: “If anyone was to be saved from the squeezing of the grave, it would have been Sa’d bin Mu’ādh, for indeed the throne of Allah shook at the death of Sa’ad.” Therefore, it is clear that the bodies are squeezed in the grave, and this shaking of the ‘Arsh (Throne) for Sa’ad bin Mu’ādh was an honour conferred upon him (radiyallāhu ‘anhu).

Visiting the Graves and Remembering Death

In another narration from ‘Uthmān bin ‘Affān (radiyallāhu ‘anhu), Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said: “Seek forgiveness for your brother and ask that he be given steadfastness, for indeed he is being questioned now.” Reported by Abu Dāwud and declared Saheeh by Shaikh al-Albāni (rahimahullah). This shows that the punishment of the grave is real and that after a Muslim has been buried, we should stand and supplicate for him or her to be given steadfastness during the questioning, and to be forgiven. As the people walk away after the burial, the dead hear their footsteps, as has been established from the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam). Therefore, we should not cease to make dua for the dead amongst the Muslims, and visit their graves as this reminds us of death. The Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “I used to prohibit you from visiting the graves, but visit them now, for indeed they will remind you of death.”

والحمد لله رب العالمين وصلى الله على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين.

سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت، أستغفرك وأتوب إليك

Abu Khadeejah Abdul-Wāhid.
Copyright 2024.

This article was transcribed by Umm Maryam (may Allah reward her) from the classes of Abu Khadeejah (SalafiSounds.com). Please share it with others.