Punishment and Blessings in The Grave (2/2)

'They told me to move on and so we went on until we came to a man lying flat on his back with another man standing over his head. He was holding a stone or a piece of rock and dropping it on to the head of the man lying down. When it hit him, the stone would roll away. The man would go to pick it up and before he had returned, the crushed head had become normal again — and then the man would come back and smash it again. I said, "What is this?"

'They told me to move on and so we carried on and passed by a hole like an oven, with a narrow top and a wide bottom and a fire blazing at the bottom of it. Whenever the flames of the fire leapt up, the people in it were lifted up so high that they almost escaped out of the top, and then whenever the flames died down, the people would fall back down into it. The men and women in it were naked. I said, "What is this?"

'They told me to move on and so we went on until we reached a river of blood in which there was a man, with another man standing on the bank. He had some stones in front of him and was watching the man standing in the river. Whenever the man in the river tried to climb out, the other would throw a stone at his mouth and make him retreat to where he had been before. As often as he tried to come out, the other would throw a stone at his mouth and make him return to where he had been before. I asked, "What is this?"

 ‘They told me to move on and so we did until we reached a well-watered garden of green with a huge tree, at whose foot was an old man sitting with some children. There was another person near the tree with a fire in front of him which he was tending.

'The two men made me climb up the tree and told me to enter a dwelling which was better than any I had have ever seen before. Inside there were some old men and some young men, women and children.

'Then they took me out of this dwelling and made me climb further up the tree and told me to enter another dwelling which was even better and more excellent (than the first). Inside there were some old and young people.

'I said to them, "You have kept me on the move all night — now explain everything that I have seen to me." They replied, "Certainly."

"As for the one whose cheeks you saw being torn away, he was a liar who used to tell lies which people would believe and pass on until they spread right across the world — so he will continue to be punished like this until the Day of Rising.

"As for the one whose head you saw being crushed, he was a man whom Allah had given knowledge of the Qur'an, but he used to sleep all night and did not act on it during the day — so he will continue to be punished like this until the Day of Rising.

"As for those whom you saw in the hole, they were adulterers.

"As for those whom you saw in the river of blood, they used to deal in riba (usury).

"'The old man who was sitting at the base of the tree was Ibrahim and the little children with him were the offspring of his people — and the person tending the fire was Malik, the keeper of the Fire of Hell. The first dwelling in which you entered was the dwelling of the common believers, and the second dwelling was that of the martyrs. I am jibril and this is Mikail. Now raise your head. ' "

'I raised my head and saw what looked like a cloud above me. They said, "That is your dwelling." I said, "Then let me enter my dwelling." They replied, "You still have a life which you have not yet completed — when you have completed it then you will enter your dwelling.' [1]"

This is an authentic sahih hadith which vividly describes some of the punishments of the grave, as the scholars have interpreted it.

Avoiding Punishment in the Grave

This matter has two approaches, one general and one specific.

As regards the general approach, we can avoid punishment in the grave by obeying the commands of Allah and by refraining from wrong actions. We should be pleasing to Allah in this world in order to avoid the punishment of the grave, as well as that of the next world. As we have seen in the above hadith, the Prophet described some of the (disobedient) people who are punished in the grave including liars, slanderers, hypocrites, adulterers and usurers.

As regards the specific approach, there are a number of sayings of the Prophet which indicate how we can avoid punishment in the grave:

Salman al-Farsi related that the Prophet said, "Keeping watch for a day and a night (during jihad) is better than fasting for a whole month and standing in prayer every night. If a person dies (while doing this), it will be as if his action continues and he will go on receiving his reward for it perpetually and he will be saved from the punishment of the grave."[2]

Fudalah Ibn Ubaid related that the Prophet said, "Everyone who dies has completed their actions, except for someone who was at the frontier (fighting in the Way of Allah) — whose actions will continue to go on increasing until the Day of Rising and who will be safe from the trials in the grave." [3]

Al-Miqdam Ibn Ma'd Yakrib related that the Prophet said, "The martyr receives six blessings from Allah: he is forgiven as soon as the first drop of his blood is shed; he is shown his dwelling in the Garden; he is protected from the punishment in the grave; he is kept safe from the Greatest Terror; he has placed on his head a crown of honour, a ruby of which is better than the world and what it contains; he is married to seventy-two wives of the maidens with large dark eyes; and he is made intercessor for seventy of his relatives."[4]