Death is inescapable. No matter how influential, wealthy or a positional a person is, one cannot buy time to escape death. In fact, death begets a man even if he has dived to the depth of the seas or hidden into strong walls of a bastion. Even the prophets, messengers of Allah, no matter how long some lived, finally tasted death.
We more often than not listen about the torment of grave, but with canty details. Punishment of the Grave (Arabic: عذاب القبر ʿAdhāb al-Qabr, also translated torment of the grave) is a Judeo-Islamic concept about the time between death and resurrection on the Day of Judgement. While, there is no mention of torment of grave mentioned in the Qur'an, I do not know about Torah or Bible, yet there are many a hadith attributed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in which he cautioned his companions and family about the torment of grave and warned them that no one can prevent this to happen, and the dead who had a shady life during their worldly life, harmed people by the weight of their authority or position and wealth should be prepared to face the consequences of their deeds which will commence right after they are buried and this will continue till they are restructed on the Day of Judgment and then finally thrown into the blazing fire of hell. According to some hadiths, the souls of the unrighteous are punished by two angels in the grave, while the righteous find the grave "peaceful and blessed".
Herein under, are listed some of the hadiths which give a fair idea what the torment of grave will be like and how we can prevent it by living a life as per dictates of Qur'an and Sunnah, repenting much too often and seeking forgiveness of Allah: [1]
- Narrated/Authority of Anas bin Malik: The Prophet (SAW) used to say, "O Allah! I seek refuge with You from helplessness, laziness, cowardice and feeble old age; I seek refuge with You from Fitnah (trials or afflictions) of life and death and seek refuge with You from the punishment in the grave." Source: Sahih Bukhari. Chapter 54, Jihaad (Fighting for the cause of Allah), Hadith No: 84
- Narrated/Authority of Musa bin Uqba, (From the daughter of Khalid bin Sa id bin Al-Asi) who said that she had heard the Prophet seeking refuge with Allah from the punishment in the grave. (Source: Sahih Bukhari. Chapter 23, Funerals (Al-Janaaiz), Hadith No: 458)
- Narrated/Authority of Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle used to invoke (Allah): "Allahumma ini a'udhu bika min 'adhabi-l-Qabr, wa min 'adhabi-nnar, wa min fitnati-l-mahya wa-lmamat, wa min fitnati-l-masih ad-dajjal. (O Allah! I seek refuge with you from the punishment in the grave and from the punishment in the Hell fire and from the afflictions of life and death, and the afflictions of Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal." Source: Sahih Bukhari. Chapter 23, Funerals (Al-Janaaiz), Hadith No: 459
And I mentioned before that concept torment of grave is not only restricted to Islam, but its mention is also found with Jews. In a hadith, Aisha wife of the Prophet of Allah has mentioned as saying: Two old ladies from among the Jewish ladies entered upon me and said' "The dead are punished in their graves," but I thought they were telling a lie and did not believe them in the beginning. When they went away and the Prophet (ﷺ) entered upon me, I said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Two old ladies." and told him the whole story. Prophet (ﷺ) said, "They told the truth; the dead are really punished, to the extent that all the animals hear (the sound resulting from) their punishment." Since then, I always saw him seeking refuge with Allah from the punishment of the grave in his prayers. (Source: Sahih Bukhari. Book 80 (Invocations) Chapter 37, To seek refuge from punishment of the grave as Hadith No: 6366)
What could be the factors that may lead a dead person to bear the torment of grave? There is a long list, but here we mentioned just one hadith which warns people to stay away from two acts lest they want to be punished in the grave upon their death: [2]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) talked about two men whom he saw being punished in their graves. One of them used to walk around spreading malicious gossip among people, and the other failed to take precautions to avoid getting urine on himself. So, the latter failed to purify himself as required, and the former did something that created enmity among people by talking, even if what he says is true.
Thus, it can be seen that even talking badly about someone in his absence and stirs up enmity by telling lies and making false statements will face the punishment in the grave. Likewise, failing to keep oneself clean from urine indicates that the one who neglects prayer, for which cleansing oneself from urine is a requirement and condition will be punished even more. In the hadith of companions of the Prophet of Allah has mentioned: “One of them used to eat the flesh of people,” which refers to backbiting or malicious gossip.
So let, our sisters and brothers in Islam, prepare now and live a life that is lived as it should be lived in the light of the Qur'an and Sunnah so that we do not have to face the torment of grave, which indeed is projected as the most horrible of all punishments, only second to the torment of Hell.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
Please refer to our reference page: Sunnah and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to know more about sunnah of Prophet of Allah. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references as given below. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors. If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.
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