HOW IS YOUR FRIEND AFTER DEATH OR IN THE GRAVE?

HOW IS YOUR FRIEND AFTER DEATH OR IN THE GRAVE?

ASSEMBLED BY MALLAM ABBA ABANA, KUBWA, ABUJA, NIGERIA

http://variousislamicdawadocuments.blogspot.com

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emails:gonidamgamiri@yahoo.com; abba.abana@gmail.com

Monday 31 JULY 2017 CE AND 8 DHUL QADA 1438 AH

Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah. As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu. Praise be to Allaah; we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Sallalhu alaihi Wasalam) is His slave and Messenger.

HOW IS/ARE YOUR FRIEND(S) IN THE GRAVE (AFTER DEATH OR)?

The life of the people in their GRAVES is the life of Al-Barzakh and no one knows except Allah.

 

1.0 GOOD DEEDS APPEAR IN THE FORM OF A MAN IN THE GRAVE

What is narrated in the saheeh Sunnah about one’s good deeds taking a physical form and appearing in the form of a handsome man in the grave, including the deed of reciting the Holy Qur’aan, is as follows:

It was narrated from al-Bara’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 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…” until he said, describing the state of the believer in the grave:

“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.’” Narrated by Ahmad (4/362); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Ahkaam al-Janaa’iz (156).

2- It was narrated that Buraydah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say:

“The Qur’aan will meet its companion on the Day of Resurrection when his grave is opened for him, in the form of a pale man. It will say to him, ‘Do you recognize me?’ He will say: ‘I do not recognize you.’ It will say: ‘I am your companion the Qur’aan, who kept you thirsty on hot days and kept you awake at night. Every merchant benefits from his business and today you will benefit from your good deeds.’ He will be given dominion in his right hand and eternity in his left, and there will be placed on his head a crown of dignity, and his parents will be clothed with priceless garments the like of which have never been seen in this world. They will say: ‘Why have we been clothed with this?’ It will be said: ‘Because your son used to recite Qur’aan.’ Then it will be said to him: ‘Recite and ascend in the degrees of Paradise,’ and he will continue to ascend so long as he recites, either at a fast pace or a slow pace.” Narrated by Ahmad in al-Musnad (394) and Ibn Maajah in al-Sunan (3781); classed as hasan by al-Busayri in al-Zawaa’id and by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah (2829).

Al-Suyooti said in his commentary on the hadeeth (2/1242):

“In the form of a pale man”. Al-Suyooti said: This is the one whose colour has changed. It is as if he comes in this form so as to resemble his companion in this world, or to draw attention to the fact that just as his colour changed in this world because of staying up at night to read Qur’aan, the Qur’aan will appear in a similar form because of its striving on the Day of Resurrection until its companion attains the ultimate goal in the Hereafter. End quote.

I have not found anything in the saheeh Sunnah to suggest that a man’s righteous deeds will appear in the form of a man in the grave except in these two hadeeths.

As for the hadeeth which you quoted, it is not narrated in any of the reliable books of Sunnah, and we have not found it with any isnaad, saheeh (sound) or da’eef (weak). Rather it is something that appears in some chat rooms or on some sites with no proof. Perhaps some ignorant person wrote it himself then attributed it to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), to encourage the people to respect the Qur’aan and pay attention to it, but these people do not know that telling lies about the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is one of the worst of sins that doom a person to the Fire of Hell, and the good intention does not remove the burden of sin for those who tell lies and fabricate ahaadeeth as if the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said them. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Telling lies about me is not like telling lies about anyone else. Whoever tells a lie about me deliberately, let him take his place in Hell.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1291) and Muslim (4).

 

2.0 DO THE DEAD VISIT OR FEEL OR SEE ONE ANOTHER IN THEIR GRAVES?

it is proven that the souls of the believers meet and visit one another. There follow some of the ahaadeeth which indicate that, as well as some of the fatwas of the scholars on this matter.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When the believer is dying, the angels of mercy come to him with white silk and say: ‘Come out content and with the pleasure of Allaah upon you to the mercy of Allaah, fragrance and a Lord Who is not angry.’ So it comes out like the best fragrance of musk. They pass him from one to another until they bring him to the gate of heaven, where they say: ‘How good is this fragrance that has come to you from the earth!’ Then the souls of the believers come to him and they rejoice more over him than any one of you rejoices when his absent loved one comes to him. They ask him: ‘What happened to So and so, what happened to So and so?’ They say: ‘Let him be, for he was in the hardship of the world. When he says, ‘Did he not come here?’ They say: ‘He was taken to the pit (of Hell).’ When the kaafir is dying, the angers of punishment come to him with sackcloth and say: ‘Come out discontent and subject to divine wrath to the punishment of Allaah. So it comes out like the foulest stench of a corpse. They bring him to the gates of the earth, where they say: ‘How foul is this stench!’ Then they bring him to the souls of the kuffaar.” Narrated by al-Nasaa’i, 1833; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 2758.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: Does his soul meet with the souls of his family and relatives? According to the hadeeth narrated from Abu Ayyoob al-Ansaari and others of the salaf, and narrated by Abu Haatim in al-Saheeh from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “When his soul is taken up it is met by the souls who ask him about the living and they say to one another: ‘Let him rest.’ And they say: ‘What happened to So and so?’ And he says: ‘He did a righteous deed.’ They say: ‘What happened to So and so?’ and he says: ‘Has he not come to you?’ They say: ‘No.’ They say: ‘He was taken to the Pit (of Hell).’”

And because the deeds of the living are shown to the dead, Abu’l-Darda’ used to say: “O Allaah, I seek refuge with You from doing any deed that would shame me before ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Rawaahah.” This is how they meet when he comes and they ask him questions and they answer him.

With regard to where they settle, that depends on their status before Allaah. For the one who is among those who are close to Allaah (al-muqarrabeen – cf. al-Waaqi’ah 56:88), his status will be higher than those of the Right Hand (cf. al-Waaqi’ah 56:90). The one who is higher may descend to the one who is lower but the one who is lower cannot ascend to the one who is higher, thus they will gather when Allaah wills as they used to gather in this world, despite their differences in status, and they will visit one another.

That will happen whether their places in which they are buried in this world are far apart or close together. Souls may meet even though their places of burial are far apart, or they may be separated even though their places of burial are close together. A believer may be buried beside a kaafir, but the soul of the former will be in Paradise whilst the soul of the latter is in Hell. Two men may be sitting or sleeping in the same place, but the heart of one is blessed and the heart of the other is tormented, and there is no connection between the two souls. As the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Souls are troops collected together and those who got along with each other (in the heaven from whence they come) would have an affinity with one another (in this world) and those amongst them who opposed each other (in heaven) would also be divergent (in the world).” Narrated by Muslim, 2638; Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 24/368.

Ibn al-Qayyim said: The second issue is whether the souls of the dead meet one another, visit one another and talk to one another.

This is a good question? The answer is that souls are of two types: those that are punished and those that are blessed. Those that are punished are too preoccupied with the torment that they are facing to visit and meet one another, but the souls that are blessed are free and are not detained, so they meet one another, visit one another and talk about what they used to do in this world and what happened to the people of this world. So each soul will be with its friends who did similar good deeds. The soul of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is with the highest companions. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And whoso obey Allaah and the Messenger (Muhammad), then they will be in the company of those on whom Allaah has bestowed His Grace, of the Prophets, the Siddeeqoon (those followers of the Prophets who were first and foremost to believe in them, like Abu Bakr As Siddeeq), the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent these companions are!”[Holy Quran Chapter al-Nisa’ 4:69]

This togetherness is confirmed in this world, in al-Barzakh and in the abode of reward (Paradise), and “A man will be with those whom he loves” in these three realms… Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “(It will be said to the pious — believers of Islamic Monotheism): ‘O (you) the one in (complete) rest and satisfaction! 28. ‘Come back to your Lord,— well pleased (yourself) and well pleasing (unto Him)!29. ‘Enter you then among My (honoured) slaves, 30. ‘And enter you My Paradise!’”[Holy Quran Chapter al-Fajr 89:27-30].

i.e., enter among them and be one of them. This is said to the soul at the time of death… And Allaah has told us that the martyrs are: “are alive, with their Lord, and they have provision” [Holy Quran Chapter Aal ‘Imraan 3:169]; they “rejoice for the sake of those who have not yet joined them, but are left behind” [Holy Quran Chapter Aal ‘Imraan 3:170] and “They rejoice in a grace and a bounty from Allaah” [Holy Quran Chapter Aal ‘Imraan 3:171]. This indicates that they will meet one another in three ways: (1) they are with their Lord and are given provision, and if they are alive then they meet one another; (2) they rejoice at the arrival of their brothers and their meeting with them; and (3) the word yastabshiroon (translated as “rejoice”) implies that they pass the good news to one another. Al-Rooh, p. 17, 18.

There are ahaadeeth which state that the dead visit one another and we are commanded to make their shrouds beautiful because of that, but none of these ahaadeeth are saheeh. For example, the hadeeth of Abu Qataadah according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever takes the responsibility of preparing his brother for burial, let him make his shroud beautiful, for they visit one another in them.” Shu’ab al-Eemaan, 7/10. Its isnaad includes Salam ibn Ibraaheem al-Warraaq whom Ibn Mu’een and al-Dhahabi classed as a liar, as did others.

 

3.0 THE LIFE OF THE RIGHTEOUS IN THEIR GRAVES IS THE LIFE OF AL-BARZAKH AND NO ONE KNOWS HOW IT REALLY IS EXCEPT ALLAH

3.1 RECITING SOORAT AL-MULK TO THE END OF THE SOORAH:

It was narrated by at-Tirmidhi (2890), al-Bayhaqi in ash-Shu‘ab (2280); at-Tabaraani in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabeer (12801), and Abu Nu‘aym in al-Hilyah (3/81) via Yahya ibn ‘Amr ibn Maalik an-Nukri, from his father, from Abu’l-Jawza’, from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him), that he said: One of the Companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) set up his tent on a grave, and he did not realize that it was a grave. Then to his surprise he heard a man inside it reciting Soorat al-Mulk to the end of the soorah. He went to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, I set up my tent on a grave, and I did not realize that it was a grave, and then to my surprise I heard someone inside it reciting Soorat al-Mulk to the end of the soorah. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “It is the protector, it is the saver, it will save him from the punishment of the grave.” Al-Bayhaqi said: This was narrated only by Yahya ibn ‘Amr, and he is not qawiy (strong). End quote.

This Yahya was described by Ibn Ma‘een, Abu Zar‘ah, Abu Dawood, an-Nasaa’i and ad-Doolabi as da‘eef (weak). Al-‘Uqayli said: His hadeeth is not be followed. Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: He is not anything. As-Saaji said: His hadeeth is to be rejected. Tahdheeb at-Tahdheeb, 11/260

His father, ‘Amr ibn Maalik an-Nukri was mentioned by Ibn Hibbaan in ath-Thiqaat, where he said: His hadeeth, apart from those that were narrated by his son from him, are regarded as odd. Tahdheeb at-Tahdheeb, 8/96

This hadeeth is da‘eef and cannot be quoted as evidence. It was classed as da‘eef by al-Bayhaqi, as stated above. It was also classed as da‘eef by al-Albaani in Da‘eef Sunan at-Tirmidhi. Al-Mubaarakfoori (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Its isnaad includes Yahya ibn ‘Amr ibn Maalik, who is da‘eef. End quote from Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 8/161

With regard to the words “It is the protector, it is the saver, it will save him from the punishment of the grave”, they are narrated in a sound report as being the words of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him), as was narrated and classed as saheeh by al-Haakim, and adh-Dhahabi agreed with him.

3.2 PROPHETS, THE MARTYRS AND THE RIGHTEOUS, ARE ALIVE IN THEIR GRAVES:

The close friends of Allah, the Prophets, the martyrs and the righteous, are alive in their graves in the sense of the life of al-barzakh, which is not like our lives in this world. We cannot give likenesses in an attempt to understand how it is; rather its real nature is known only to Allah.

The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas said: The life of the Prophets, martyrs and the rest of the righteous (in their graves) is the life of al-barzakh, the real nature of which no one knows except Allah. It is not like the life they had in this world.End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, vol. 1 (1/173-174).

3.3 NO PROVEN SHAR‘I TEXT INDICATE RIGHTEOUS READ QUR’AN IN THEIR GRAVES:

There is no proven shar‘i text to indicate that the righteous read Qur’an in their graves, so it is not permissible to say that without knowledge. What some people say about dreams concerning that, or that they passed by So and so in his grave and he was reciting Qur’an, and so on, cannot be taken as proof; it cannot be regarded as proof even if it is true. But perhaps the person who says it is lying or maybe he is imagining something that did not happen, or maybe the Shaytaan showed him that in his dream, so as to confuse him and other people. With regard to the life in al-Barzakh, as we stated above, no one knows its real nature except Allah.

3.4 LIFE IN AL-BARZAKH IS A MATTER OF THE UNSEEN:

The basic principle is that the dead cannot hear the words of the living, just as the living do not know anything about the situation of the dead except that concerning which texts have been narrated, because the life in al-barzakh is a matter of the unseen, which no one knows except Allah.

You can pass by the graves of the mushrikeen and not feel that anyone is there or hear any sound from them, when in fact they are being punished in their graves.

A righteous Muslim man may be buried next to a wrongdoer, and Allah may have mercy on the righteous man and make his grave spacious for him and illuminate it for him, and it may be like one of the gardens of Paradise for him, whereas He punishes the wrongdoer, makes his grave constricted for him and then it may be like one of the ditches of hellfire for him, but their conditions will not be mixed (even though their graves are next to one another) and no one will be aware of either of them.

As to whether they can hear and know about things in this world, like the living, this is pure falsehood, and there is no evidence for it in any text or from the point of view of rational thinking. Even more false and misguided is the view of one who says that they can hear and respond.

The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas said:

The dead in general, including the Prophets (peace be upon them) cannot hear those who call them in the sense of responding. They cannot answer the one who calls upon them or comply with whatever he tells them or forbids them to do. This is something that Allah has stated does not happen, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, you cannot make the dead to hear” [Holy Quran Chapter an-Naml 27:80]. With regard to what is mentioned in as-Saheehayn about the deceased when he is placed into his grave, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “He can hear the sound of their sandals when they turn to leave him”; and what the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to the slain mushrikeen on the day of Badr when they were dragged and thrown into the dried well of Badr, and he said to them: “Have you found what your Lord promised you to be true?” and he said: “They can hear what I am saying now”; and like the deceased’s hearing the two angels when he is placed in his grave and they ask him about his religion and his Prophet etc; and other things that are narrated in the shar‘i texts, that is the hearing of al-barzakh, and Allah knows best what its real nature is. The deceased cannot hear all the time; rather it is only at these particular times, and his hearing is not like his hearing in the life of this world; rather it is particular to the circumstances of al-barzakh, and no one knows how it really is except Allah. This hearing does not result in any benefit for the deceased or any harm for the living, because no one has power over that except Allah, may He be glorified. As for what is narrated about the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) saying: “No one sends greetings of salaam upon me but Allah will restore to me my soul so that I may return his greeting of salaam,” that is something that is unique to him (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and that does not result in the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) benefitting or harming the living person who does that, apart from the reward that Allah, may He be glorified, bestows upon the one who sends blessings and peace upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). And one should not ask of him (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) when he is in his grave anything that was asked of him in this world of meeting needs and solving problems, because the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) did not ask any such thing of him, because they knew that it is not permissible. End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, vol. 2 (2/456-457).

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The deceased cannot hear if he is called upon or invoked in such a way as to respond to the one who calls upon him. This is what is meant by the verse (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, you cannot make the dead to hear” [an-Naml 27:80]. End quote from Fataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb by Ibn ‘Uthaymeen.

3.5 SUFIS AND BAREILAWIS ARE FAR AWAY FROM THE PATH OF PROPHETHOOD:

These sects of Sufis and Bareilawis are far away from the path of Prophethood, and are innovating sects that go against the teachings and Sunnah of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and the path of the righteous early generations.

And Allah knows best.

REFERENCES

Islam Q&A, https://islamqa.info/en/93151, https://islamqa.info/en/20820

https://islamqa.info/en/200103, Sufis and our attitude https://islamqa.info/en/118693

Bareilawis and their beliefs https://islamqa.info/en/1487, https://islamqa.info/en/128322, https://islamqa.info/en/153666, https://islamqa.info/en/148285