Dought & clear - Does the Shaytaan call the dying person to become a Jew or Christian? And what is meant by the “trials of death”?. - Belief in the Last Day and the Signs of the Hour -

Is it true that one of the trials of the grave involves the devils
appearing in the form ofone's parents and saying"We followed Judaism
orChristianity and Allaah admitted us to Paradise"? Does that happen
before Munkar and Nakeer come down?.
Praise be to Allaah.
There is no evidence for this from the Qur'aan or Sunnah, rather this
is what some scholars say, but that does not happen in the grave,
rather it happens when a person is dying, beforethe soul is taken.
Some scholars stated that this comes under the heading of "the trials
of life".
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The presenting of other religions to a person at the time of death
does not happen to everyone,but we cannot say that itdoes not happen
to anyone. Rather some people may not have other religions presented
to them, and some do have them presented to them. All of that is part
of the trials of life from which the Messenger commanded us to seek
refuge when praying. At the time of death, the Shaytaan is most keen
to tempt the sons of Adam. End quote from al-Ikhtiyaaraat, p. 85.
The Shaytaan remains eager to tempt a person so long as his soul is
still in his body, so he comes to him, whispers to him and makes
falsehood appear attractive to him.
It was narrated from AbuSa'eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with
him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "Iblees said: 'By Your glory, I will not stoptempting Your
slaves so long as their souls are in their bodies.' [Allaah] said: 'By
My Glory and Majesty, I will continue to forgive them so long as they
ask Me for forgiveness.'"
Narrated by Ahmad, 10974; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Targheeb, 1617.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to seek
refuge with Allaah from the "trials of life and death," and he
encouraged worshippers to seek refuge from them beforesaying the
salaam at the end of the prayer.
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "When one of you has finished the final tashahhud, let him
seek refuge with Allaah from four things: from the torment of Hell,
from thetorment of the grave, from the trials of life anddeath, and
from the evil of the Dajjaal." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1311; Muslim,
588.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The words "from the trials of life and death" come after the words,
"from the torment of Hell." What is meant by trials (fitnah) here is
the testing of a man with regard to his religious commitment, during
his life and after his death. The trials of life are great and
intense, and very few pass the test except those whom Allaah wills.
They revolvearound two things:
1- Doubts
2- Desires
As for doubts, man is faced with doubts with regard to his knowledge,
so he becomes confused with regard to what is true and what is false,
and hesees falsehood as truth and truth as falsehood. Ifhe sees truth
as falsehood he will avoid it, and if he sees falsehood as truth he
will follow it.
As for desires, he is facedwith them with regard to his will. Because
of hisdesires, he wants something that is forbidden to him. This is a
serious temptation (fitnah); how many are those who see riba as
opportunity and indulgein it; how many are those who see
deceivingpeople as cleverness in buying and selling, and indulge in
deceit; how many are those who see looking at women as pleasure,
enjoyment andfreedom, and they give free rein to their gaze; how many
are those who drink alcohol and itas pleasure and relaxation; how many
are those who watch entertainment and listento music, regarding it as
an art to be studied, for which certificates and awards are to be
given.
As for the trials of death, the scholars differed concerning them and
there are two views:
The first view is that the "trials of death" refers tothe questioning
by the two angels of the deceased in his grave, about his Lord, his
religion and his Prophet,because the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "It has been revealed to me that you will be
put to trial in your graves like or almost like the tribulation of the
Dajjaal." As for the one whose faith is sincere, it will be easy for
him to answer.
When he is asked: Who is your Lord? He will say: My Lord is Allaah.
Who is your Prophet? He will say: My Prophet is Muhammad.
What is your religion? Hewill say: My religion is Islam – it will be
very easy for him.
As for anyone else – Allaah forbid – when he is asked he will say, Oh,
oh, I do not know; I heard the people saying something so I said it
too.
Think about it, how he will say, "Oh, oh," as if heused to know
somethingbut forgot it. What greater loss can there bethan something
that youlearned then forgot, because the one who is ignorant does not
gain anything, but the one who forgot gained something and then lost
it. The result will be that he will say: I do not know who is my Lord,
what my religion is or who my Prophet is. This is a great fitnah; I
ask Allaah to save me and you from it. In fact it depends on what is
in the heart. If the heart truly believes, and sees matters of the
unseen as if with the eye, then he will answer with ease, but if it is
the opposite, then his answer will be the opposite.
The second view is that what is meant by "the trials of death" is what
happens at the time of death, in the last moments of life. This was
mentioned as such –even though it is one of the trials of life –
because of its seriousness and importance, just as the fitnah of the
Dajjaal is also mentioned even though it is one of the trials of life,
but it is also one of the trials of deathbecause it happens closeto
death, and it is singled out for mention because it is the worst that
can happen. That is because when a person is dying and bidding
farewell, his destiny will be either happiness or doom. The Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "One of you may
dothe deeds of the people of Paradise until, when there is nothing
between him and it but a cubit, the decree overtakes him and he does a
deed of the people of Hell." So the fitnah is great indeed.
The Shaytaan is at his most eager to tempt the son of Adam at this
moment, and the one who is truly protected is the one whom Allaah
protects. He comes to him at this crucial moment which no one can
imagine but the one to whom it happens. Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
"Nay, when (the soul) reaches to the collarbone (i.e. up to thethroat
in its exit),
27. And it will be said: Who can cure him (and save him from death)?
28. And he (the dying person) will conclude that it was (the time) of
parting (death);
29. And one leg will be joined with another leg (shrouded).
30. The drive will be on that Day to your Lord (Allaah)!"
[al-Qiyaamah 75:26-30]
It is a critical situation, when a person is weak, lacking in strength
and willpower, feeling anxious, and the shaytaan comes to him to tempt
him, to such a point that it is as the scholars said: he may present
the Jewish, Christian and Islamic religions to a person, appearing the
form of his parents who present the Jewish, Christian andIslamic
religions to him and encourage him to follow Judaism or Christianity.
The Shaytaan may take on the form of anyone except the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), andthis is the greatest of
trials.
But this – praise be to Allaah – does not happen to everyone, as was
stated by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him).
Even if the Shaytaan is not able to gain control over a person to such
a degree,there is still fear for him.
It was said that when Imam Ahmad was dying, he could be heard saying,
"Not yet, not yet." When he came to, he was asked about that and he
said: The Shaytaan was biting his fingertips and saying, "You got away
from me, O Ahmad." He was biting his fingers out of regret that he had
not deceivedImam Ahmad, and Ahmad said to him, "Not yet, not yet" –
i.e., the soul has not yet departed. So long as the soul is in the
body, anything is possible. "Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate
(from the truth) after You have guided us" [Aal 'Imraan 3:8]. In this
situation fitnah is great indeed. Hence the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "… from the trials of life and
death."
Conclusion: There are two interpretations of what is meant by the
trials of death:
1- It is the trials and temptations that happenat the time of death.
2- That they come after death, when the two angels question a man
about his Lord, his religion and his Prophet.
There is no reason why we should not say that itincludes both. It may
refer both to the trials that come before death and at the time of
death,because these are the greatest tribulations thata man ever
faces. Mention is also made of what is feared of a bad end if Allaah
does not save a person from this tribulation.
Based on this, the one who prays for refuge from the trials of death
should bear both situations in mind.
Al-Sharh al-Mumti', 3/185-188
And Allaah knows best.