Three questions in the grave

Can you please tell me what are the trials of thegrave that we ask
allah (saw) to save us from.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
When the son of Adam dies and his soul departsand 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 beworse 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 thanit." (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 himand 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 ofthe 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
whitegarment 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 andwe 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 Angelof 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 ofSo and so, calling him bythe best names
by whichhe 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 nextheaven 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 Iwill 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 clothehim
from Paradise, and open for him a gate to Paradise.' Then there comes
to him some of itsfragrance, 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 whichbrings glad tidings.' He says, 'I am your
righteous deeds.' He says, 'O Lord, hasten the Hour so that I may
returnto 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 andso 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 ofMy slave in Sijjeen in
the lowest earth, and return him to the earth, for from it I created
them, toit 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 asif he had fallen from
the sky, and the birds had snatched him, or the wind had thrown him
toa 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 callsout 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 someof 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.'
Hesays, '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 inhis grave about matters of Tawheed (monotheism) and
'aqeedah (belief). This is quite clear.
And Allaah knows best.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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