The Punishment of the Grave and the Mutawatir Hadiths
The hadiths of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ describe the punishment of the grave in great detail. At first even the Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself had no knowledge of the punishment of the grave; then revelation was sent down to him ﷺ and he was told that there would be punishment in the grave. Afterwards he ﷺ also spoke about the punishment of the grave in explaining verses of the Noble Qur’an, and likewise made supplications for protection from the punishment of the grave. He mentioned the conditions of the grave and narrated the accounts of several people who were being punished.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) (463 AH) says:
أَمَّا الْآثَارُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ فَلَا تَكَادُ تُحْصٰى بِعَدَدٍ تَوَاتُرًا وَاشْتِهَارًا وَّصِحَّةً، وَكَذٰلِكَ هِيَ عَنِ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ لَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ كَثِيرَةٍ شَهِيرَةٍ يَجِبُ الْاِسْتِنَادُ إِلَيْهَا.
“The hadiths reported from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ concerning the punishment of the grave are so many that they cannot be counted; they are mutawatir, well-known and sahih (authentic) reports. Likewise, narrations have come in abundance from the Companions and the Tabi’in, and it is obligatory to take them as evidence.”
❀ Allamah Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy on him) (429 AH) mentions the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah:
مِنْهَا أَخْبَارٌ مُسْتَفِيضَةٌ بَيْنَ أَئِمَّةِ الْحَدِيثِ وَالْفِقْهِ، وَهُمْ مُجْمِعُونَ عَلٰى صِحَّتِهَا كَالْأَخْبَارِ فِي الشَّفَاعَةِ وَالْحِسَابِ وَالْحَوْضِ وَالصِّرَاطِ وَالْمِيزَانِ وَعَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ وَسُؤَالِ الْمَلَكَيْنِ فِي الْقَبْرِ.
“Some hadiths are well-known and mutawatir among the imams of hadith and the jurists, and they are agreed upon their being sahih (authentic), such as the hadiths reported about intercession, the reckoning and accounting, the Pond of Kawthar, the Bridge (Sirat), the Scale, the punishment of the grave, and the questioning of the angels in the grave.”
❀ Hafiz Ibn Dihya al-Kalbi (may Allah have mercy on him) (633 AH) says:
اَلْأَخْبَارُ فِي عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ صَحِيحَةٌ مُتَوَاتِرَةٌ، لَا يَصِحُّ عَلَيْهَا التَّوَاطُؤُ، وَإِنْ لَّمْ يَصِحَّ مِثْلُهَا لَمْ يَصِحَّ شَيْءٌ مِّنْ أَمْرِ الدِّينِ، وَلَمْ يَنْفِ هٰذَا سِوَى الْكَفَرَةِ وَالزَّنَادِقَةِ الْمُلْحِدِينَ.
“The hadiths about the punishment of the grave are sahih (authentic) and mutawatir, and it is not possible for them to have agreed upon a lie. If hadiths like these are not established, then nothing of the religion is established. The punishment of the grave has been denied only by the disbelievers and the heretical atheists (zindiq).”
❀ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) (728 AH) called the hadiths reported about the punishment of the grave and the blessings of the grave “mutawatir”.
❀ Allamah Taftazani al-Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) (793 AH) called the hadiths of the punishment of the grave “mutawatir”.
❀ Allamah al-Damamini (may Allah have mercy on him) (827 AH) says:
قَدْ كَثُرَتِ الْأَحَادِيثُ فِي عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ حَتّٰى قَالَ غَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ: إِنَّهَا مُتَوَاتِرَةٌ، لَا يَصِحُّ عَلَيْهَا التَّوَاطُؤُ، وَإِنْ لَّمْ يَصِحَّ مِثْلُهَا لَمْ يَصِحَّ شَيْءٌ مِّنْ أَمْرِ الدِّينِ.
“There are many hadiths about the punishment of the grave, so much so that several scholars have said that they are mutawatir, and it is not possible for them to have agreed upon a lie even by mistake. If something like this (clear belief) is not established, then no belief of the religion can be established.”
❀ Hafiz al-Suyuti (may Allah have mercy on him) (911 AH) says:
قَدْ تَوَاتَرَتِ الْأَحَادِيثُ بِذٰلِكَ مُؤَكَّدَةً.
“Mutawatir hadiths have been reported about the trial of the grave and the questioning and answering.”
❀ Allamah Abd al-Salam ibn Ibrahim al-Laqani al-Maliki (may Allah have mercy on him) (1078 AH) says:
وَرَدَ فِي ذٰلِكَ مِنَ النُّصُوصِ الْبَالِغَةِ مَبْلَغَ التَّوَاتُرِ.
“The texts concerning the blessings of the grave have reached the level of tawatur.”
