In Islamic belief, the period between a person’s death and the Day of Judgement is called barzakh, a world between life on earth and the hereafter. The life after death begins in the grave. Once relatives have finished the burial and gone home, a different reality begins for the dead person, in which they face a series of trials and questions.
An account of Uthman (RA) is often cited to show the importance of the grave. He would weep when he stood beside a grave. The reason given is that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) called the grave the first stage of the hereafter: whoever is saved there will find the stages that follow easier, and whoever fails there will find the later trials harder.
The first experience and the squeeze of the grave
Hadith relate that when relatives leave the graveyard after the burial, the dead person can hear even the sound of their footsteps. One of the first experiences of life in the grave is then the squeeze of the grave, known in Islamic terminology as dhaghtat al-qabr.
According to Islamic accounts, the earth of the grave presses in on the dead person from every side, and no one is wholly spared. Religious commentaries say, however, that its nature and severity differ for the righteous and the sinful: for the righteous it is like a tender embrace, for the sinner extremely hard. After the death of Sa’d ibn Mu’adh (RA), a prominent companion in Medina, the Prophet (PBUH) said of the squeeze: “The grave has a squeeze; if anyone were to be spared it, Sa’d ibn Mu’adh would have been spared.” (Sunan an-Nasa’i, hadith 2054)
This account suggests the squeeze of the grave is considered an inevitable experience of the life after death.
Questioning by Munkar and Nakir
At the next stage, two angels, Munkar and Nakir, come to the dead person. Hadith describe the sternness of their faces and voices. They sit the dead person up and ask three basic questions: Who is your Lord? What is your religion? And what did you say about Muhammad (PBUH)?
The questioning is described in hadith number 4753 of Sunan Abi Dawud.
In Islamic belief, worldly knowledge, memorised words or an answer spoken only with the tongue cannot pass this test. Rather, Allah will give the ability to answer correctly to the person whose faith was firm in this life and who lived by Islamic guidance.
In the Holy Quran, Allah says: “Allah keeps firm those who believe with the firm word, in this world and in the hereafter (the grave)…” (Surah Ibrahim, verse 27)
Explaining this verse, Imam Ibn Kathir said it refers to Allah keeping believers steadfast and enabling them to answer correctly when they face the questions of Munkar and Nakir in the grave. (Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim, 4/506, Dar Taybah, Riyadh, 1999)
How good deeds stand by a person
A person’s deeds in this world carry special weight in the life of the grave. Islamic accounts present good deeds as a companion that stays beside a person after death and protects them.
According to one account, once the dead person is laid in the grave, their prayer takes its place at the head, fasting on the right, zakat on the left, and good works such as charity and kindness to others at the feet. From whichever side the angels approach, the deeds act to protect the person from that side. (Al-Qurtubi, At-Tadhkirah bi Ahwal al-Mawta wa Umur al-Akhirah, page 154, Maktabat al-Bukhari, Cairo, 2008)
In other words, the good a person does in life can become a source of benefit in the life after death. That is why Islamic teaching stresses, alongside worship, good conduct towards others, charity and an ethical life.
A garden of Paradise or a pit of Hell
Hadith describe in detail the dead person’s state after answering Munkar and Nakir. If they answer correctly, a call comes from the heavens: “My servant has spoken the truth.” Their grave is then widened, a bed from Paradise is spread for them and a door is opened towards Paradise, through which its fragrance and a breeze of peace enter.
If, on the other hand, they fail to answer correctly, their condition in the grave becomes hard. Hadith liken this state to Hell.
The Prophet (PBUH) said of the outcome of the grave: “The grave is either one of the gardens of Paradise or one of the pits of Hell.” (Sunan at-Tirmidhi, hadith 2460)
What relatives should do after the burial
Relatives and those present at the burial also have duties at the start of the dead person’s life in the grave. Islamic guidance says it is sunnah not to leave the graveyard as soon as the burial is over, but to stay for a while and pray for the dead person.
After a burial, the Prophet (PBUH) would stand beside the grave and tell his companions: “Ask Allah to forgive your brother and pray that he stays firm (during the questioning), for he is being questioned now.” (Sunan Abi Dawud, hadith 3221)
For this reason, special importance is given to praying for the dead person’s forgiveness after the burial, and for them to stay firm when answering the questions of the grave.
Life in the grave is an unseen world hidden from human sight. In Islamic belief it is an important chapter of the life after death. Islam therefore teaches that this life should not be confined to worldly gains, and that people should prepare for the hereafter through faith, worship, ethics and responsible conduct towards others.
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