Introduction
The grave is the first of the stages of the Hereafter and a place of examination, where the result of what a person did in this world will come before him. If someone laid the foundation of his deeds on the pleasure of Allah, adopted the beliefs narrated by the Companions of the Messenger ﷺ, obeyed the Seal of the Prophets, and kept the Islamic tradition in view in belief, methodology and thought, then he will be given the glad tidings of entering the palaces of Paradise, and then he will be put to sleep.
As for the one who carried out his deeds under the influence of carnal desires and satanic interpretations, and denied Allah, the grave and the Hereafter, he too will receive his recompense according to his condition. The stages of questioning by Munkar and Nakir, the narrowing of the grave, the angel striking with the hammer, which everything except jinn and mankind will hear, are all reality. Denying any of it is not possible.
The noble Master ﷺ used to seek refuge from the punishment of the grave in the tashahhud of every prayer. He would also urge his devoted Companions to seek refuge from the punishment of the grave, and sometimes he would say to them: “Seek refuge from the grave!” Then the Companions would say together: “O Allah, we seek refuge in You from the punishment of the grave.” He taught the Ummah several supplications in which refuge is sought from the trial of the grave. According to Ahl al-Sunnah, the hadiths about the punishment of the grave are unanimously mutawatir.
Ahl al-Sunnah are united in consensus that the punishment of the grave is true. Whoever ignores the consensual understanding of Ahl al-Sunnah is humiliated and misguided; his opinion is an innovation and misguidance. Abandoning the understanding and methodology of the righteous predecessors is in reality hostility to the Qur’an and hadith. Whoever interprets the Qur’an and hadith according to his own liking has strayed from the path of guidance. All the misguided sects that have appeared in the world sacrificed the Qur’an and hadith to carnal desires. The enemies of the muhaddithin have raised rational objections against the Qur’an and Sunnah. Could any Muslim do such a thing, that he would deny revelation with his own limited intellect? If the foundation of Islamic beliefs and deeds were reason, the purpose of the sending of the noble prophets would be lost. Regarding the noble Companions and the great Imams, Allamah al-Shatibi (may Allah have mercy on him) (790 AH) writes:
اَلرَّأْيُ إِذَا عَارَضَ السُّنَّةَ فَهُوَ بِدْعَةٌ وَّضَلَالَةٌ فَالْحَاصِلُ مِنْ مَّجْمُوعِ مَا تَقَدَّمَ أَنَّ الصَّحَابَةَ وَمَنْ بَعْدَهُمْ لَمْ يُعَارِضُوا مَا جَاءَ فِي السُّنَنِ بِآرَائِهِمْ، عَلِمُوا مَعْنَاهُ أَوْ جَهِلُوهُ، جَرٰى لَهُمْ عَلٰى مَعْهُودِهِمْ أَوْ لَا، وَهُوَ الْمَطْلُوبُ مِنْ نَقْلِهٖ، وَلْيَعْتَبِرْ فِيهِ مَنْ قَدَّمَ النَّاقِصَ وَهُوَ الْعَقْلُ عَلَى الْكَامِلِ وَهُوَ الشَّرْعُ.
“If opinion and the Sunnah clash, then the opinion is called an innovation and misguidance. The sum of what we have written previously is that the Companions and the Tabi’in, whether they knew the meaning of the hadiths of the Messenger ﷺ or did not know it, whether it made sense to their minds or not, did not pit their intellects against the hadith. This is what the Shari’ah requires. So consider who it is that gives precedence to the deficient over the perfect: the intellect is deficient and the Shari’ah is perfect.”
❀ He also says:
مَنْ نَظَرَ إِلٰى طُرُقِ أَهْلِ الْبِدَعِ فِي الْاِسْتِدْلَالِ؛ عَرَفَ أَنَّهَا لَا تَنْضَبِطُ؛ لِأَنَّهَا سَيَّالَةٌ لَا تَقِفُ عِنْدَ حَدٍّ، وَعَلٰى كُلِّ وَجْهٍ يَصِحُّ لِكُلِّ زَائِغٍ وَكَافِرٍ أَنْ يَسْتَدِلَّ عَلٰى زَيْغِهٖ وَكُفْرِهٖ حَتّٰى يَنْسِبَ النِّحْلَةَ الَّتِي الْتَزَمَهَا إِلَى الشَّرِيعَةِ، فَقَدْ رَأَيْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا عَنْ بَعْضِ الْكُفَّارِ أَنَّهُ اسْتَدَلَّ عَلٰى كُفْرِهٖ بِآيَاتِ الْقُرْآنِ، كَمَا اسْتَدَلَّ بَعْضُ النَّصَارٰى عَلٰى تَشْرِيكِ عِيسٰى بِقَوْلِهٖ تَعَالٰى: وَكَلِمَتُهُ أَلْقَاهَا إِلَى مَرْيَمَ وَرُوحٌ مِنْهُ
وَاسْتَدَلَّ عَلٰى أَنَّ الْكُفَّارَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ بِإِطْلَاقِ قَوْلِهٖ تَعَالٰى: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالنَّصَارَى وَالصَّابِئِينَ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ
، اَلْآيَةَ، وَاسْتَدَلَّ بَعْضُ الْيَهُودِ عَلٰى تَفْضِيلِهِمْ عَلَيْنَا بِقَوْلِهٖ سُبْحَانَهٗ: اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَنِّي فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ
وَبَعْضُ الْحُلُولِيَّةِ اسْتَدَلَّ عَلٰى قَوْلِهٖ تَعَالٰى: وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِنْ رُوحِي
وَالتَّنَاسُخِيُّ اسْتَدَلَّ بِقَوْلِهٖ: فِي أَيِّ صُورَةٍ مَا شَاءَ رَكَّبَكَ
وَكَذٰلِكَ كُلُّ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الْمُتَشَابِهَاتِ، أَوْ حَرَّفَ الْمَنَاطَاتِ، أَوْ حَمَّلَ الْآيَاتِ مَا لَا تَحْمِلُهُ عِنْدَ السَّلَفِ الصَّالِحِ، أَوْ تَمَسَّكَ بِالْأَحَادِيثِ الْوَاهِيَةِ، أَوْ أَخَذَ الْأَدِلَّةَ بِبَادِي الرَّأْيِ، لَهُ أَنْ يَسْتَدِلَّ عَلٰى كُلِّ فِعْلٍ أَوْ قَوْلٍ أَوِ اعْتِقَادٍ وَافَقَ غَرَضَهٗ بِآيَةٍ أَوْ حَدِيثٍ لَا يَفُوزُ بِذٰلِكَ أَصْلًا.
“Whoever looks closely at the way the people of innovation reason will know that they have no fixed rule or principle, because they flow on like a flood and never stop at any bank. Thus it is also possible for every misguided person and every disbeliever to reason in support of his misguidance and disbelief and to attribute the opinion he has adopted to the Shari’ah. We have seen and heard of some disbelievers who reason from Qur’anic verses in support of their disbelief. For example, some Christians reason, from this statement of Allah the Exalted, that Jesus (peace be upon him) is a partner in Allah’s divinity: وَكَلِمَتُهُ أَلْقَاهَا إِلَى مَرْيَمَ وَرُوحٌ مِنْهُ
“Jesus is the Word of Allah, which He cast to Mary, and a spirit from Him.” Likewise, they have reasoned from this statement of Allah the Exalted that even the disbelievers will enter Paradise: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالنَّصَارَى وَالصَّابِئِينَ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ……
“Indeed, those who believed, and those who were Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believed in Allah and the Last Day……” The Jews consider themselves superior to us, the Ummah of Muhammad (upon its Prophet be prayers and peace), and as evidence for this they present this statement of Allah: اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَنِّي فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ
“Remember My favour which I bestowed upon you, and that I preferred you over all the worlds.” Some of those who hold the belief of hulul (incarnation) reason from this verse: وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِنْ رُوحِي
“And I breathed into him (Adam) of My spirit.” The one who holds the belief of tanasukh al-arwah (transmigration of souls) reasons from this statement: فِي أَيِّ صُورَةٍ مَا شَاءَ رَكَّبَكَ
“In whatever form He willed, He assembled you.” In the same way, everyone who follows his desires, or alters the underlying reasons (illahs) of rulings, or loads onto verses meanings and purposes that the righteous predecessors did not understand by those verses, or takes evidence from weak hadiths, or derives evidence by a weak understanding: each of these people reasons from a verse or hadith in support of the action, statement or belief that suits him, and by doing so he will never succeed.”
❀ Hafiz Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him) (597 AH) writes:
لَيْسَ هٰذَا بِأَوَّلِ خَبَرٍ يَّجِبُ عَلَيْنَا الْإِيمَانُ بِهٖ وَإِنْ جَهِلْنَا مَعْنَاهُ، فَإِنَّ عَذَابَ الْقَبْرِ وَنَعِيمَهٗ وَسُؤَالَ مُنْكَرٍ وَّنَكِيرٍ فِيهِ حَقٌّ، وَلَا يُطَّلَعُ عَلٰى حَقِيقَةِ ذٰلِكَ، وَمَتٰى ضَاقَتِ الْحِيَلُ فِي كَشْفِ الْمُشْكِلَاتِ لِلْإِحْسَاسِ لَمْ يَبْقَ إِلَّا فَرْضُ التَّسْلِيمِ.
“This is not the first report that we are obliged to accept even though we do not know its meaning. Reward and punishment in the grave and the questioning of Munkar and Nakir are true. We have no knowledge of their reality. When the difficult matters of the Shari’ah lie beyond the limits of the intellect, there is no option except submission and acceptance.”
The punishment of the grave was denied by misguided people such as Bishr ibn Ghiyath al-Marisi (218 AH). His beliefs were disbelief; he said the Qur’an was created, and the hadith scholars declared him a disbeliever. Imam Uthman ibn Sa’id al-Darimi (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote a book in refutation of him called اَلرَّدُّ عَلٰى بِشْرِ الْمَرِيسِيِّ فِيمَا ابْتَدَعَهٗ مِنَ التَّأْوِيلِ لِمَذْهَبِ الْجَهْمِيَّةِ.
❀ Imam Ishaq ibn Rahawayh (may Allah have mercy on him) (238 AH) says:
دَخَلَ حُمَيْدٌ الطُّوسِيُّ عَلٰى أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَعِنْدَهٗ بِشْرٌ الْمَرِيسِيُّ، فَقَالَ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لِحُمَيْدٍ أَتَدْرِي مَنْ هٰذَا يَا أَبَا غَانِمٍ؟ قَالَ لَا، قَالَ هٰذَا بِشْرٌ الْمَرِيسِيُّ، فَقَالَ حُمَيْدٌ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، هٰذَا سَيِّدُ الْفُقَهَاءِ، هٰذَا قَدْ رَفَعَ عَذَابَ الْقَبْرِ وَمَسْأَلَةَ مُنْكَرٍ وَّنَكِيرٍ، وَالْمِيزَانَ، وَالصِّرَاطَ، أُنْظُرْ هَلْ يَقْدِرُ أَنْ يَّرْفَعَ الْمَوْتَ، ثُمَّ نَظَرَ إِلٰى بِشْرٍ، فَقَالَ: لَوْ رَفَعْتَ الْمَوْتَ كُنْتَ سَيِّدَ الْفُقَهَاءِ حَقًّا.
“Humayd al-Tusi (may Allah have mercy on him) went to the Commander of the Faithful (Abdullah al-Ma’mun ibn Harun al-Rashid), and Bishr al-Marisi was there too. The Commander of the Faithful said: Humayd, do you know who this is? He said: No. The Commander of the Faithful said: This is Bishr al-Marisi. Then Humayd said: He is the master of the jurists! This gentleman has abolished the punishment of the grave, and has also expelled Munkar and Nakir, the Scale, the Bridge (Sirat) and so on from Islam. Look, only death is left now; it is close that even that will be denied. Then Humayd (may Allah have mercy on him) said to Bishr: If you were to deny death as well, you would surely become the master of the jurists.”
The punishment of the grave is in reality among the matters of the Hereafter, so denying it is denying the Hereafter.
❀ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) (728 AH) says:
مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ بِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ؛ الْإِيمَانُ بِكُلِّ مَا أَخْبَرَ بِهِ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِمَّا يَكُونُ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ، فَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِفِتْنَةِ الْقَبْرِ وَبِعَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ وَبِنَعِيمِهٖ.
“Believing in the Last Day means believing in everything that the Prophet ﷺ informed us will occur after death. So Ahl al-Sunnah believe in the trial of the grave, its punishment and its blessings.”
❀ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) (852 AH) says:
…… اَلْإِيمَانُ بِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَيَدْخُلُ فِيهِ الْمَسْأَلَةُ فِي الْقَبْرِ وَالْبَعْثِ وَالنُّشُورِ وَالْحِسَابِ وَالْمِيزَانِ وَالصِّرَاطِ وَالْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّارِ.
“Believing in the Last Day (is also necessary). The questioning in the grave, the resurrection, the reckoning, the Scale, the Bridge (Sirat), Paradise and Hell are included in believing in the Hereafter.”
The life of the Barzakh is part of the Hereafter. The matters of the Hereafter are tawqifi (dependent on revelation); they cannot be measured by analogy with worldly matters, rather one will rely only on the texts of the Shari’ah.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) (463 AH) says:
أَحْكَامُ الْآخِرَةِ لَا مَدْخَلَ فِيهَا لِلْقِيَاسِ وَالْاِجْتِهَادِ وَلَا لِلنَّظَرِ وَالْاِحْتِجَاجِ.
“In the rulings of the Hereafter, analogy, ijtihad, and reasoning and intellect have no role.”
❀ Allamah Abu Abdillah al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) (671 AH) says:
هٰذَا كُلُّهٗ لَيْسَ فِيهِ مَدْخَلٌ لِلْقِيَاسِ وَلَا مَجَالٌ لِلنَّظَرِ فِيهِ، وَإِنَّمَا فِيهِ التَّسْلِيمُ وَالْاِنْقِيَادُ لِقَوْلِ الصَّادِقِ الْمُرْسَلِ إِلَى الْعِبَادِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.
“In all these matters of the Hereafter, analogy and reflection have no role. In these matters, the only thing to do is to submit wholly to the statements of the Prophet ﷺ.”
❀ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) (852 AH) says:
يَقْتَضِي الْإِيمَانُ بِأُمُورِ الْآخِرَةِ أَنْ لَيْسَ لِلْعَقْلِ فِيهَا مَجَالٌ وَلَا يُعْتَرَضُ عَلَيْهَا بِعَقْلٍ وَلَا قِيَاسٍ وَلَا عَادَةٍ وَإِنَّمَا يُؤْخَذُ بِالْقَبُولِ وَيَدْخُلُ تَحْتَ الْإِيمَانِ بِالْغَيْبِ.
“Belief in the matters of the Hereafter requires that the intellect has no scope in them, and that they are not weighed against intellect, analogy or custom; rather they are to be accepted, and they come under belief in the unseen.”
❀ He also says:
أَكْثَرُ مَا وَقَعَ الْغَلَطُ لِمَنْ قَاسَ أَحْوَالَ الْآخِرَةِ عَلٰى أَحْوَالِ الدُّنْيَا وَاللّٰهُ تَعَالَى الْمُوَفِّقُ.
“Most denial of the matters of the Hereafter is due to the error of measuring the conditions of the Hereafter against the conditions of this world. Allah, the Exalted, is the One who grants success (in guidance).”
The affirmation of the punishment of the grave is established by the Qur’an, mutawatir hadiths, the reports of the Salaf and the consensus of the Ummah. Even the Mu’tazila affirm the punishment of the grave; some of the later Mu’tazila have denied it.
The punishment of the grave exists in every nation and is not specific to the Ummah of Muhammad. Just as Paradise and Hell are for every nation, so too the punishment or blessings of the grave are for all nations.
Will the punishment of the grave befall only those who are accountable (mukallaf), or everyone? There is a difference of opinion on this. What appears correct is that only accountable individuals will face the punishment of the grave; a child below the age of puberty and an insane person will not face the punishment of the grave, because they are not accountable.
A question arises: were the noble Prophets (peace be upon them) also questioned in the grave? The answer is that the Shari’ah is silent on this, and in this silence lies safety for us as well. As for everyone else, three questions will be asked of each person in the grave.
One objection raised against the punishment of the grave is that there is a difference in the duration of the grave’s punishment between a disbeliever who died at the beginning of the world and a disbeliever who dies near the Day of Resurrection, which is contrary to justice. Is it not an injustice that one disbeliever be punished for thousands of years and another for a few years?
The answer is that Allah the Exalted will give each person as much punishment of the grave as he deserves. Equality in the punishment of the grave is not by duration alone, but also by measure. Allah the Exalted will give the disbeliever who dies later a more severe and painful punishment than the disbeliever who died earlier, and thereby justice will be achieved between the punishments of the two.
Similarly, there is also a difference in the measure of the blessings prepared in the grave for a believer who died earlier and a believer who dies later, so that equality is maintained between the two. In sum, every believer and disbeliever will certainly receive his share of reward or punishment. Duration plays no role in this. And Allah knows best!
In this book, nineteen (19) verses, seventy-one (71) hadiths, five (5) statements of the Companions, three (3) statements of the Tabi’in, and the statements of more than seventy (70) Imams and scholars have been mentioned.
The doubts raised about the punishment of the grave have also been answered. Thus this effort is a representation of the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah.
I pray that Allah the Exalted makes it a means of guidance for the lost and wandering creatures, and protects us from the punishment of the grave. Amin.
Ghulam Mustafa Zahir Amanpuri
