The Grave (5-9)

(3) Are the Muslims punished in their graves?

Al-Qurtubi said: "Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Haqq said: know that the punishment of the grave is not confined only to the kaafireen or the munaafiqeen; some of the believers will also have a share of that, each according to his deeds and what he has earned by his mistakes and errors."[1] The evidence that the believer may be punished in his grave because of the large number of sins he has committed will be quoted in detail in the following section.

(4) Reasons for the punishment of the grave

"The reasons for which people may be punished in their graves fall into two categories, general and specific. In the general category, people may be punished for their ignorance of Allah, for disobeying His commands and for committing sin."[2]

In the specific category, the texts mention many examples; below we shall quote those which we have come across in the ahaadeeth.

(i) and (ii) Not taking precautions to prevent oneself from being soiled with urine, and spreading slander[3]

Bukhari and Muslim narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that "The Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) passed by two graves and said, 'They are being punished but they are not being punished because of any major sin.' Then he said, 'Yes, one of them used to go around spreading slander, and the other used not to take precautions to prevent himself from being soiled with urine.' Then he took a fresh branch, broke it in two, and planted each part on a grave, then he said, 'Perhaps it may reduce for them, so long as this does not dry out.'"[4]

Nasaa'i narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "A Jewish woman visited me and said, 'The torment of the grave is because of urine.' I said, 'You are lying.' She said, 'Indeed (it is true). We clean our skin and clothes of it.' The Messenger of Allah (Blessings and peace be upon him) was going out to pray, and our voices were loud. He said, 'What is happening?' I told him what she had said, and he said, 'She spoke the truth.'" ('Aa'ishah) said: "After that, he never prayed but at the end of the prayer he would say, 'Rabba Jibraa'eel wa Mikaa'eel wa Israafeel, a'idhni min harr annaar wa 'adhaab al-qabr (Lord of Jibraa'eel, Mikaa'eel and Israafeel, protect me from the heat of Hellfire and the torment of the grave).'"[5]

This hadith refers to that the Children of Israel used to cleanse their skin and clothes of urine it was part of the religious teachings which Allah prescribed for them. Thus, anyone who does not pay heed to it will be punished in his grave. According to the hadith of 'Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn Hasanah, the Messenger of Allah (Blessings and peace be upon him) said,

"Do you not know what happened to a man from among the Children of Israel? If any urine fell onto their clothes, they would cut out the part of the garment that it had fallen onto. He told them not to do that, and he was punished in his grave for that."[6]

The Messenger of Allah (Blessings and peace be upon him) told us that most of the punishment in the grave is because of urine. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) said: "Protect yourselves from urine, for most of the torment of the grave is because of it."

It is also narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) with the wording, "Most of the punishment of the grave is because of urine, so protect yourselves from it." And it is narrated by Abu Hurayr'ah (may Allah be pleased with him) with the wording, "Most of the punishment of the grave is because of urine."[7]  

(iii) Ghalool (taking from the war booty by stealth before it is distributed)

Another of the sins for which a person will be punished in the grave is ghalool. More than one saheeh hadith has been narrated concerning this. It is narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: "A man gave as a gift to the Messenger of Allah (Blessings and peace be upon him) a slave who was called Mid'am. Whilst Mid'am was bringing down a saddle for the Messenger of Allah (Blessings and peace be upon him), an arrow came out of nowhere and killed him. The people said, "How fortunate he is! Paradise is his," but the Messenger of Allah (Blessings and peace be upon him) said, "No, by the One in Whose hand is my soul, the cloak which he took from the war-booty on the day of Khaybar before the booty had been shared out will bum him with fire." When the people heard that, a man came and brought one or two shoelaces to the Prophet (Blessings and peace be upon him) and said, "A shoelace of fire" or "Two shoelaces of fire." (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim[8]

It is narrated that 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr said, "A man called Karkarah was appointed in charge of the luggage of the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him). He died, and the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) said, 'He is in Hell.' They went and found a cloak which he had taken by stealth from the war-booty." [Reported by Bukhari][9]

(iv) to (vii) Lying, neglecting the Qur'an, zinaa and ribaa

Allah showed His Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him) different kinds of things for which some sinners will be punished. Bukhari narrated that Samurah ibn Jundub said: "When the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) had prayed, he would tum to face us and ask, 'Who among you has seen a dream this night?' If anyone had seen a dream, he would describe it, and say whatever Allah willed he should say.

One day he asked us, 'Has any one of you seen a dream?' and we said, 'No.' He said, 'But last night I saw (in a dream) that two men came to me, took me by the hand and accompanied me to the Holy Land. There was a man sitting and another man standing with an iron hook in his hand. - Some of our companions said, narrating from Moosa (Moses), an iron hook in his hand, which he inserted into one comer of his mouth then tore (his face) to the back of his head, then he did the same on the other side. Then his face was restored, and the same thing happened again.

I (the Messenger) asked, "What is this?" They said, "Keep going." So we kept going until we came to a man who was lying on his back, with another man standing at his head, holding a rock or a stone with which he smashed his head. After he struck him, the rock rolled away and he ran after it. By the time he brought it back, the other man's head had been restored, and he struck it again.

I asked, "What is this?" They said, "Keep going." So we kept going until we came to a hole like a tannoor (a kind of oven) which was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, under which a fire was lit. When it came near they rose up until they almost came out of it, and when it died down they went back down into it. In it were naked men and women.

I querried, "What is this?" They said, "Keep going." So we kept going until we came to a river of blood, in which a man was standing, and on the river bank was another man before whom were some stones.- Yazeed and Wahb ibn Jareer said, narrating from Jareer ibn Haazim: on the river bank was a man, towards whom the man who was in the river started walking. When he wanted to come out, he threw a stone into his mouth and he went back to where he was before. And every time he wanted to come out, he threw a stone into his mouth and he went back to where he was before. - I questioned, "What is this?" They said, "Keep going." So we kept going until we came to a green garden, in which there was a great tree, at the foot of which was an old man and children. In front of the tree there was a man stoking a fire. They took me up the tree, and took me into a house, and I never saw any finer house than that. In it there were old men, young men, women and children. Then they took me out of the house and up the tree, and into a house which was even better, in which there were old men and young men.

I said, "Tonight you have taken me around; tell me about the things that I have seen." They said, "Yes, (we will do that). The one whom you saw with his cheeks been tom open was a liar who used to tell lies which would spread far and wide. What you saw will be done to him until the Day of Resurrection. The one whom you saw with his head being smashed was a man to whom Allah taught the Qur'an, but he slept (and ignored it) at night and he did not act upon it by day. That will be done to him until the Day of Resurrection. The ones whom you saw in the hole are the adulterers (those who commit zinaa), and the one whom you saw in the river was one who consumed ribaa. The old man at the foot of the tree was Ibraaheem [(Abraham) (Peace be upon him)] and the children around him were the children of mankind (who died in childhood). The one who was stoking the fire was Maalik, the Keeper of Hell. The first house which you entered is the home of the believers in general, and this house is the home of the shuhadaa' (martyrs). I am Jibreel (Gabriel), and this is Mikaa'eel. Now raise your head." So I raised my head, and I saw above me something like a cloud. They said, "This is your house." I said, "Let me enter my house." They said, "You have not yet completed your life on earth. When you complete it, you will come to your house.""[10]

 (Continued)