The trials of the grave that we ask Allah (saw) to save us from... Aameen...
All Praise be to
ALLAH.
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 al-Jaami’, 1684).
The two angels who are charged with questioning come to him and ask
him what he used to believe in 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 ‘Aa’ishah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to say,
‘Allahumma inni a’oodhu bika min al-kasali wa’l-haram wa’l-maghram
wa’l-ma’tham. Allahumma inni a’oodhu 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. Allahumma ighsil khataayaaya bi ma’ al-thalji wa’l-baradi wa
naqqi qalbi min al-khataaya kama yunaqqa al-thawb al-abyad min
al-danas, wa baa’id bayni wa bayna khataayaaya kama baa’adta bayna
al-mashriqi wa’l-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
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
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,
Angel : ‘Who is your Lord?’
Person says : ‘Allah.’
Angel : ‘What is your religion?’
Person says : ‘My religion is Islam.’
Angel : ‘Who is this man who was sent among you?’
Person says : ‘He is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).’
Angel : ‘What did you do?’
Person 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-A’raaf 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 don’t know.’ They say, ‘What is your
religion?’ He says, ‘Oh, oh, I don’t 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.
May ALLAH SWT save us from the torment of grave and unite us in His Jannathul Firdaus...
Aaameen...
