3 Questions To Be Asked In Grave
By Dr. Farhat Hashmi

 

The Three Questions To be Asked In Grave

It was narrated that al-Bara' (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

We went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for the funeral of a man from among the Ansaar. We came to the grave and when (the deceased) was placed in the lahd, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sat down and we sat around him, as if there were birds on our heads (i.e., quiet and still). In his hand he had a stick with which he was scratching the ground. Then he raised his head and said, "Seek refuge with Allah from the torment of the grave", two or three times. Then he said, "When the believing slave is about to depart this world and enter the Hereafter, there come down to him from heaven angels with white faces like the sun, and they sit around him as far as the eye can see. They bring with them shrouds from Paradise and perfumes from Paradise. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits by his head, and he says, 'O good soul, come forth to forgiveness from Allah and His pleasure.' Then it comes out easily like a drop of water from the the mouth of a water skin.

When he seizes it, they do not leave it in his hand for an instant before they take it and put it in that shroud with that perfume, and there comes from it a fragrance like the finest musk on the face of the earth. Then they ascend and they do not pass by any group of angels but they say, 'Who is this good soul?' and they say, 'It is So and so the son of So and so, calling him by the best names by which he was known in this world, until they reach the lowest heaven. They ask for it to be opened to them and it is opened, and (the soul) is welcomed and accompanied to the next heaven by those who are closest to Allah, until they reach the seventh heaven. Then Allah says: 'Record the book of My slave in 'Illiyoon in the seventh heaven, and return him to the earth, for from it I created them, to it I will return them and from it I will bring them forth once again.' So his soul is returned to his body and there come to him two angels who make him sit up and they say to him, 'Who is your Lord?' He says, 'Allah.' They say, 'What is your religion?' He says, 'My religion is Islam.' They say, 'Who is this man who was sent among you?' He says, 'He is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).' They say, 'What did you do?' He says, 'I read the Book of Allah and I believed in it.' Then a voice calls out from heaven, 'My slave has spoken the truth, so prepare for him a bed from Paradise and clothe him from Paradise, and open for him a gate to Paradise.' Then there comes to him some of its fragrance, and his grave is made wide, as far as he can see. Then there comes to him a man with a handsome face and handsome clothes, and a good fragrance, who says, 'Receive the glad tidings that will bring you joy this day.' He says, 'Who are you? Your face is a face which brings glad tidings.' He says, 'I am your righteous deeds.' He says, 'O Lord, hasten the Hour so that I may return to my family and my wealth.' But when the disbelieving slave is about to depart this world and enter the Hereafter, there come down to him from heaven angels with black faces, bringing sackcloth, and they sit around him as far as the eye can see.

Then the Angel of Death comes and sits by his head, and he says, 'O evil soul, come forth to the wrath of Allah and His anger.' Then his soul disperses inside his body, then comes out cutting the veins and nerves, like a skewer passing through wet wool. When he seizes it, they do not leave it in his hand for an instant before they take it and put it in that sackcloth, and there comes from it a stench like the foulest stench of a dead body on the face of the earth. Then they ascend and they do not pass by any group of angels but they say, 'Who is this evil soul?' and they say, 'It is So and so the son of So and so, calling him by the worst names by which he was known in this world, until they reach the lowest heaven. They ask for it to be opened to them and it is not opened." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited (interpretation of the meaning): 
"for them the gates of heaven will not be opened, and they will not enter Paradise until the camel goes through the eye of the needle" (Sunan Abu Dawood)

From Abu Hurayra; Hazrat Prophet (pbuh) was reported to have said the following:

"When a dead body is buried, two jet-black angels with blue eyes come. One of them is called Munkar and the other Nakir. They ask the dead person, What do you say about this man (the Messenger of Allah)? He says what he used to say when he was alive; "He is the slave and messenger of Allah. I witness that there is no god but Allah and I witness that Muhammad (pbuh) is His slave and messenger. The angels say; "We already knew that you said it. Then his grave is expanded seventy times seventy ziras (1 zira = 75 cm) and illuminated. Then, he is told to lie down. He turns to them and asks; Shall I return and inform my family? They say, Sleep like the sleep of a groom that will nobody will wake except the person that he loves most. Thus, he sleeps in the place he is lying down until Almighty Allah revives him.
If he is a munafiq (hypocrite), he will say, "I would hear what people say and would repeat it. I dont know. The angels will say, We already knew you would say that Then they say to the earth, Squeeze him. The earth squeezes him and his ribs become intertwined. He is tortured in that place until Allah revives him."

(Tirmizi, Janaiz, 70)