Silsilah Sahihah

It is narrated from Sayyidah Umm Mubashshir (may Allah be pleased with her), she says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to me while I was in a garden of Banu Najjar. There were some graves there of those who had died in the days of ignorance, and the punishment being inflicted upon them was made audible to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). So he left from there saying: "Seek Allah's refuge from the punishment of the grave." I said: O Messenger of Allah! Are they being punished in their graves? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Yes! They are being punished with such a punishment that even animals can hear it."

Narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by the date palms of Banu Najjar. He (peace be upon him) heard some sounds and asked, "What is this?" The noble Companions replied that it was the grave of a man who had died in the days of ignorance. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "If I did not fear that you would stop burying (your dead), I would have asked Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, to let you hear the sounds of the punishment of the grave that I hear."

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entered a garden belonging to Banu Najjar and heard the voices of men from Banu Najjar who had died in the days of ignorance. The Prophet (peace be upon him) left there in fear and distress, and instructed his companions to seek refuge from the punishment of the grave.

Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says: A Jewish woman came to me and, mentioning the punishment of the grave, prayed for me that Allah Almighty protect me from the punishment of the grave. When I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about the punishment of the grave (whether it exists or not), he said: "Yes, the punishment of the grave is true." Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says that after this incident, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to seek refuge from the punishment of the grave in every prayer.

Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was riding his mule in a garden of Banu Najjar, when suddenly the mule shied and it was close that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would fall. According to the doubt of the narrator of the hadith, Jariri, there were four, or five, or six graves there. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Who knows the people of these graves?” A man said: I know. The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked: “When did these people die?” He said: In the state of shirk (polytheism). (Upon hearing this) the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The (human) ummah is tested in their graves, and if I did not fear that you would stop burying (your dead), I would have prayed to Allah that He make you hear the punishment of the grave that I hear.” Sayyiduna Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) turned towards us and said: “Seek refuge with Allah from the punishment of the grave.” We said: We seek refuge with Allah from the punishment of the grave. The Prophet (peace be upon him) again said: “Seek refuge with Allah from the punishment of the grave.” We said: We seek refuge with Allah from the punishment of the grave. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said: “Seek refuge with Allah from the apparent and hidden trials.” We said: We seek refuge with Allah from the apparent and hidden trials. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said: “Seek refuge with Allah from the trial of Dajjal.” We said: We seek refuge with Allah from the trial of Dajjal.

Sayyiduna Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) that a child was buried and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If anyone could be saved from the squeezing of the grave, it would have been this child.”

Sayyiduna Abu Sa‘id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I attended a funeral with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace be upon him) said: “O people! This ummah (mankind) is tested in their graves. When a person is buried and his companions leave, an angel comes to him, holding an instrument for striking and piercing. He makes the person sit up and asks: ‘What do you say about this man?’ If he is a believer, he replies: ‘I bear witness that Allah alone is the true deity and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and Messenger.’ The angel says: ‘You have spoken the truth.’ Then a door to Hell is opened for him, and the angel says: ‘Look, if you had disbelieved in your Lord, this would have been your abode. But now that you have believed, this is your destination.’ Then a door to Paradise is opened for him. Now the person intends to rise (to enter Paradise), but the angel says: ‘Stay!’ Then his grave is made spacious for him. If the buried person is a disbeliever or a hypocrite, the angel asks: ‘What do you say about this man?’ He replies: ‘I do not know. I only said what I heard people say (but now I have no answer in my mind).’ The angel says: ‘You neither understood nor did you read nor did you receive guidance.’ Then a door to Paradise is opened for him, and the angel says: ‘This would have been your destination if you had believed in your Lord. But now that you are a disbeliever, Allah the Exalted has given you this abode instead.’ Then a door to Hell is opened for him, and the angel strikes him on the head with that instrument (with such force) that everyone except jinn and mankind hears its sound. Upon hearing this hadith, some people said: O Messenger of Allah! Whoever sees that instrument in the angel’s hand will become unconscious (out of terror)? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse in reply: «يُثَبِّتُ اللَّـهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ» (Surah Ibrahim: 27) Allah keeps firm those who believe, with the firm word.”