Firstly:
When the son of Adam dies and his soul departs and he is
placed in his grave, then he is in the first stage of the Hereafter, because
the grave is the first of the stages of the Hereafter.
It was narrated that Haani’ the freed slave of ‘Uthmaan ibn
‘Affaan said: when ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affaan stood by a grave he would weep until
his beard became wet. It was said to him, “You remember Paradise and Hell
and you do not weep, but you weep because of this?” He said, “The Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘The grave
is the first of the stages of the Hereafter; whoever is saved from it,
whatever comes afterwards will be easier for him, but if he is not saved
from it, what comes afterwards will be worse for him.’” And the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I have never
seen any scene but the grave is more frightening than it.” (Narrated by
al-Tirmidhi, 2308; Ibn Maajah, 4567; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in
Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1684).
Secondly:
The two angels who are charged with questioning come to him
and ask him what he used to believe in in this world, who was his Lord, what
was his religion and who was his Prophet. If he gives a good answer, that is
good, but if he does not answer them they inflict a severe and painful
beating on him.
If he was one of the righteous, angels with white faces come
to him, but if he was one of the evildoers, angels with dark faces come to
him. This is the fitnah or tribulation that he suffers.
It was narrated from ‘Aa’ishah that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say, ‘Allaahumma inni
a’oodhu bika min al-kasali wa’l-haram wa’l-maghram wa’l-ma’tham. Allaahumma
inni a’oodhu bika min ‘adhaab al-naar wa fitnat
il-naar, wa fitnat il-qabri, wa ‘adhaab il-qabri, wa sharri fitnat il-ghina
wa sharri fitnat il-faqair wa min sharri fitnat il-maseeh il-Dajjaal.
Allaahumma ighsil khataayaaya bi ma’ al-thalji wa’l-baradi wa naqqi qalbi
min al-khataaya kama yunaqqa al-thawb al-abyad min al-danas, wa baa’id bayni
wa bayna khataayaaya kama baa’adta bayna al-mashriqi wa’l-maghrib
(O Allah! I seek refuge with You from laziness and old age, and from debts
and sins; from the torment of the Fire and from the tribulation of the Fire,
and from the tribulation of the grave and the torment of the grave, and from
the evil of the tribulation of wealth, and from the evil of the tribulation
of poverty, and from the evil of the tribulation of the Dajjaal
(Antichrist). O Allah! Wash away my sins with the water of snow and hail,
and cleanse my heart from sin as a white garment is cleansed from filth, and
put a great distance between me and my sins, as great as the distance You
have made between the East and the West).”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6014).
Ibn Hajar said:
The phrase “from the tribulation of the grave” means the
questioning of the two angels.
Fath al-Baari, 11/177.
And al-Mubaarakfoori said:
“The tribulation of the
grave” means confusion when answering the two angels.
Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 9/328
Thirdly:
With regard to the questions that the angels will ask in the
grave, this is explained clearly in the following hadeeth:
It was narrated that al-Bara’ (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said: We went out with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah 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 Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah 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 Allaah 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 Allaah and
His pleasure.’ Then it comes out easily like a drop of water from the the
mouth of a waterskin. 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 Allaah, until they reach the seventh
heaven. Then Allaah 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, ‘Allaah.’ 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
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).’ They say, ‘What
did you do?’ He says, ‘I read the Book of Allaah 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 Allaah 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
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah 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”
[al-A’raaf 7:40]
He said: “Then Allaah
says, ‘Record the book of My slave in Sijjeen in the lowest earth, 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 cast
down.” Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) recited the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
“and whoever assigns partners to Allaah, it is as if he
had fallen from the sky, and the birds had snatched him, or the wind had
thrown him to a far off place”
[al-Hajj 22:31]
He said: “Then 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, ‘Oh, oh, I don’t know.’
They say, ‘What is your religion?’ He says, ‘Oh, oh, I don’t know.’ Then a
voice calls out from heaven, ‘Prepare for him a bed from Hell and clothe him
from Hell, and open for him a gate to Hell.’ Then there comes to him some of
its heat and hot winds, and his grave is constricted and compresses him
until his ribs interlock. Then there comes to him a man with an ugly face
and ugly clothes, and a foul stench, who says, ‘Receive the bad news, this
is the day that you were promised.’ He says, ‘Who are you? Your face is a
face which forebodes evil.’ He says, ‘I am your evil deeds.’ He says, ‘O
Lord, do not let the Hour come, do not let the Hour come.’”
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4753; Ahmad, 18063 – this version was
narrated by him. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’,
1676.
The correct view is that the two angels will only question
the deceased in his grave about matters of Tawheed (monotheism) and ‘aqeedah (belief). This is quite clear.
And Allaah knows best.
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