Life after Death Fatwa No: 82911
- Fatwa Date:30-5-2001
I want to know about what is written in Qur'an about the pain in grave the and every step after death, where the soul it will be settled?
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, know that there is no difference between what is sound from the Sunnah and what is in the Quran, as both the Quran and the Sunnah are revelations from Allah The Almighty. Allah Says (what means):
• {Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed.} [Quran 53:3-4]
• {And whoever turns away from My remembrance - indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind.} [Quran 20:124]
Abu Hurayrah, ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood, and Abu sa’eed Al Khudri said that “a depressed life” here means the torment of the grave. Zirr Ibn Hubaysh said: "We doubted the torment of the grave till this verse was revealed: {Competition in [worldly] increase diverts you. Until you visit the graveyards. No! You are going to know.} [102:1-3]; "To know", means to know the torment of the grave.
Abu Daawood also reported that Anas narrated that the Prophet said: “Seek refuge with Allah from the torment of the grave and the temptations of the Dajjaal (Antichrist).”
At-Tirmithi, Ibn Maajah, Ahmad and others reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said: “Urination is the main cause of the punishment in the grave.”
As for what the person undergoes in the grave, Ahmad and others reported from Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri that the Prophet said: “O People! This Ummah (Muslim community) will be put to test in their graves. When the person is buried and his companions leave him, an angel carrying a hammer in his hand make this person sit then says to him: “What do you say about this man?” If this person is a believer, he replies: “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger. He (the angel) says: “You are right.” Then he opens a door to the Hellfire and says to him: “This was your place in Hellfire had you disbelieved in Allah but now that you have believed, this is your place and he opens a door to Paradise. Then the dead person intends to go to it. But the angel tells him: “Settle down in here.” Then his (the dead person's) grave becomes more spacious. But if the dead person is a disbeliever or a hypocrite, the angel says to him: “What do you say about this man?” The disbeliever says: “I do not know. I heard people saying something.” The angel then says: “May you not know, succeed, or follow the right path.” Then a door to Paradise is opened to him. Then the angel says: “This is your place had you become a believer; now that you have become a disbeliever, Allah has changed it to this, and a door is opened to Hellfire. Then the angel hits him with the hammer a hit that is heard by everybody except the Jinn and the Human beings.” Then some of the companions said to the Prophet : “O Prophet of Allah, nobody could sit calm while an angel is standing above him carrying a hammer.” Thereupon, the Prophet said: {Allah keeps firm those who believe, with the firm word, in worldly life and in the Hereafter. And Allah sends astray the wrongdoers. And Allah does what He wills.} [Quran 14:27]
Allah knows best.