Are there any reasons for the punishment of the grave?

The Grave

Are there any reasons for the punishment of the grave?

The answer: yes there are reasons. Among them:

1.Gossip
2. Not releasing the urine

Proof to that: the Hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) passed by two graves so he said: “These two persons are being tortured not for a major sin (to avoid). One of them never saved himself from being soiled with his urine, while the other used to go about with calumnies (to make enmity between friends).…”[1]

Benefit: hiding oneself when urinating is by two conditions:

First: that the person is free from spraying the urine on himself or that it touches his clothes. That is by urinating in a deep surface in the ground and not on a hard surface so that the urine splashes onto his body and clothes.

Second: if he needs to urinate, he goes to wash himself and remove it because this is from personal hygience, which must be followed.

3.Gossip

Ibn Hajar (may Allah be pleased with him) (said) in Al Fatah: “Ahmed and Al Tabbarani reported with a correct chain of narrations that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “the Prophet (peace be upon him) passed by two graves. He said: “They are being punished, but they are not being punished for something that was difficult to avoid,” or as he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said. Then he said, “No, one of them used not to protect himself from his urine, and the other used to walk around spreading malicious gossip.” For Ahmed and Al Tabbarani there is also a Hadith of Ya’la ibn Shababa (may Allah be pleased with him): “that the Prophet (peace be upon him) passed by a grave in which the occupier was being punished. He said: “(This one) used to eat the flesh of people and then he called for a palm stalk.” The Hadith; their narrators are trustworthy.” [2]

4.Ghalool of the spoils of war

Ghalool is: stealing from the wealth of the spoils of war before its distribution. Ghalool of the spoils of war is among the reasons for the punishment of the grave.

Proof to that: the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: “we went out with the Prophet (peace be upon him) to Khaybar. Allah opened (it) for us so we did not get the booty of gold nor slave. We took the goods, food and clothes. Then we went to the valley and with the Prophet (peace be upon him) there was a slave (who belonged) to him…when we went down into the valley the slave of the Prophet (peace be upon him) stood and mounted to travel and an arrow was shot so it killed him. We said: glad tiding of martyrdom for him oh Messenger of Allah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Not so, by the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, for the small garment that he stole from the booty on the day of Khaybar and which was not part of his share is burning like fire on him.’ The people were very distressed by this…”[3]

-There are reasons for the punishment of the grave that came in a long Hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah from the Hadith of Samrah ibn Jundub in the story of the vision of the Prophet (peace be upon him) with the two angels. He saw a variety of punishments for the grave. The two angels mentioned the reasons for each punishment that he saw. Among those:

5.The abandonment of the Qur'an and rejecting it 
6.Sleeping on the prescribed prayers

Proof to that: what came in the Hadith of Samrah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said about the words of the two angels: “The one whose head you saw being crushed is the one whom Allah had given the knowledge of Qur'an (i.e. knowing it by heart) but he used to sleep at night (i.e. he did not recite it then) and did not use to act upon it (i.e. upon its orders etc.) by day.” [4]

Ibn Hajar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “probably the punishment is based on a combination of the issues, leaving the Qur'an and leaving the work”[5]

7. Lying

Proof to that: what came in the Hadith of Samrah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said in the words of the two angels: “As for the one whose cheek you saw being torn away, he was a liar and he used to tell lies, and the people would report those lies on his authority till they spread all over the world.”[6]

Ibn Hajar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “he deserved the punishment because of the corruption that is created because of that lie. With that, he has chosen (to spread it) without disliking it and not hiding it. Ibn Hubaira said: “when the liar helps his nose, eyes and tongue to lie, their collaboration together falls into the punishment”[7]

8. Fornication /Adultery

Proof to that: what came in the Hadith of Samrah ibn Jundub that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said in the words of the two angels: “And those you saw in the hole (like oven) were adulterers (those men and women who commit illegal sexual intercourse).” In the first Hadith the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “passed by a hole like an oven; with a narrow top and wide bottom, and the fire was kindling underneath that hole.” He said: “went down into it, and there were naked men and women in it.”[8]

Ibn Hajar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “the condition of nakedness is for them because they deserve to be exposed. Their habit was to cover themselves when they were alone. Therefore, they were punished by exposure. The wisdom in the punishment coming from under them is that they committed crimes from their lower organs.”[9]

9. Eating interest

Proof to that: what came in the Hadith of Samrah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said in the words of the two angels: “And those you saw in the river of blood were those dealing in Riba (usury).”[10]

Ibn Hajar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Ibn Hubaira said: the eater of interest was punished by swimming in a red sea and was made to eat a stone because the origin of interest runs in gold and gold is red. As for the angel who was feeding him a stone; it is a sign that it is worth nothing to him and likewise, interest. The companion (eater of interest) imagines that his money increases and Allah nullifies it from behind.”[11]

Ibn Qayyim (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned the reasons for the punishment of the grave and the sources of salvation from it. Look at his book: Al Rooh (The Spirit) for more details.