The Prophet instructed his nation to seek refuge from the punishment of the grave. He said: "Seek Allah's protection from the punishment of the grave, since punishment of the Grave is a true." [At-Tabaraani] The punishment in the grave is the result of the sins committed by the heart, the eyes, the ears, the mouth, the tongue, the stomach, the private parts, the hands, the feet, and the body as a whole. Thus, one must make an effort to learn which actions result in this punishment to try our best to avoid them.
The following are some sins which bring about punishment in the grave:
- Tale-bearing, backbiting, and slandering.
- Giving false testimony.
- Causing disputes between people.
- Innovating in matters of religion.
- Talking on behalf of Allah The Almighty and His Messenger without knowledge.
- Consuming Riba (interest and usury).
- Devouring the wealth of orphans without due right.
- Dealing with bribes.
- Consuming the money of fellow Muslims, or one with whom a person has an agreement, without due right.
- Consuming intoxicants.
- Fornication, adultery, and homosexuality.
- Theft and murder.
- Deception, betrayal, and fraud.
- Usage of deception to change what is unlawful in Islam to lawful, or to prevent people from performing Islamic obligations and encouraging them to commit prohibitions.
- Harming Muslims and seeking out their mistakes.
- Ruling with other than what Allah The Almighty legislated, or passing Islamic rulings which differ from what Allah The Almighty prescribed and legislated.
- Assisting oppressors and evil doers.
- Repudiating the meaning of the Names and Attributes of Allah or disbelieving in them.
- Giving precedence to one's own opinions, tastes or politics over the Sunnah (tradition) of the Prophet or slandering our Salaf (pious predecessors).
- Being a woman who is hired by the family of a deceased person to cry loudly upon his death, or being one of those who listen to her.
- Singing, being a musician, or being one who listens to them.
- Building mosques over graves.
- Giving less in measure to others when one is weighing, but taking more for oneself when being weighed for.
- Tyranny, arrogance, boasting, and aiding those who have such characteristics in these qualities.
- Indifference to being reminded of Allah The Almighty, but refraining from what one is doing when threatened by mere humans.
- Going to fortune-tellers and magicians, and believing them.
- Not paying attention or giving importance to the words of the Prophet but listening and adhering to admonition from an ordinary human being,
- Reciting the Quran but not being affected by it, and even becoming preoccupied by something else during it; but when listening to music, which is an introduction to adultery and the foundation for hypocrisy, rejoicing and becoming excited, and even wishing that the music would never stop.
- Giving false oaths when swearing by Allah The Almighty, but being truthful when swearing by the name of one's Shaykh, father, leader or anyone else whom one loves dearly.
- Openly bragging about one's sins.
- Being untrustworthy with regard to people's wealth or honor.
- Having a licentious tongue, which causes others to avoid one for fear of his evil.
- Delaying prayer to the end of its prescribed time, then praying it hurriedly.
- Paying Zakah (obligatory charity) resentfully and only due to coercion.
- Not performing Hajj despite being physically and financially capable.
- Not fulfilling people’s due rights despite being capable of doing so.
- Not fearing Allah The Almighty in one's means of earning provisions.
- Severing ties of kinship.
- Showing no mercy to the needy, widows and orphans.
- Showing no mercy to animals.
All of the above-mentioned categories of people, and others like them, will be punished in their graves on account of their crimes, each according to the extent of the sins that he committed. He will be punished accordingly unless he repents to Allah The Almighty and He forgives him due to his repentance, or due to His general mercy upon the Muslims.