| Answer: The information
regarding punishment in graves mainly appears in some Āhadīth ascribed to
the Holy Prophet (sws). It needs to be appreciated that these traditions do
not add to the beliefs. These only help explain the religious sources: the
Holy Qur’ān and the Sunnah. We need to study these Āhadīth in the light of
the Holy Qur’ān, which is the real yardstick in religious matters. I would
like you to appreciate that in this context ‘grave’ does not stand for the
‘ditch’ in which we bury the dead rather it connotes the life after death
and before the Judgment Day namely Barzakh. The Holy Qur’ān refers to this
life in various places (36:52, 40:45-6, 2:154, 9:101 for example).
The life of Barzakh is
neither identical to the life in this world, nor is it like life in the
Hereafter. This we cannot fully comprehend like most other matters regarding
the life after death and the Hereafter. We only know that some of the
individuals experience a different kind of life and are rewarded or punished
by their Lord in Barzakh but we do not know in what form this reward or
torture is executed. The Holy Qur’ān itself has made it clear that we do not
and cannot comprehend this phenomenon and it has not provided extensive
information on the subject. It says:
And call not those who
are slain in the way of Allah ‘dead’. Nay, they are living, only on perceive
not. (2:154)
It would, therefore, be
wise to avoid imagining details of the matter and to be content with the
information made available by the Almighty.
The Holy Qur’ān informs us
that those who live a life of submission to God and sacrifice their lives,
necessarily merit success in the Hereafter and will be rewarded right after
their death. It says:
Think not of those, who
are slain in the way of Allah, as dead. Nay, they are living. With their
Lord they have provision. (3:169)
The Holy Qur’ān has only
provided this brief information It says that they are not dead like others
rather they are being rewarded. This treatment is exclusive for the martyrs,
the Messengers, Prophets, and other pious people who lived lives of piety
and righteousness.
A similar but contrasting
fate as that of the Shuhadā (witnesses to the truth) awaits those who were
not only clear rejecters of what they understood to be the truth but lived a
life which was evident of their hatred for it, as, for instance, the
rejecters and enemies of the Messengers of Allah. These people, contrary to
the Shuhadā, are subjected to God’s punishments immediately after their
worldly deaths. The Qur’ān says:
The Fire; they are
exposed to it morning and evening; and on the day when the Hour comes [it
will be said]: Cause Pharaoh’s folk to enter the most awful doom. (40:46)
The fate of those whose
status is not clear is left to be decided undecided till the Hereafter. It
will be then when their status will be ascertained and rewards and
punishments will be declared. Many verses of the Holy Qur’ān indicate to
this (36:52 for example).
Now remains the position of
the Āhdīth, which refer to the punishment in grave. As stated earlier these
Āhdīth must be analyzed in the light of the Holy Qur’ān and should only be
accepted if found in conformity with the Qur’ānic information on the
subject. A thorough analysis of these Āhdīth shows that these refer
specifically to the addressees of the Messenger of Allah and we have seen
that the Holy Qur’ān has justified their chastisement in the grave. It would
not be possible to generalize this punishment and reward for it would be a
clear contradiction to the Qur’ānic assertion that the fate of people will
be ascertained after the process of accountability in the Day of Judgment. |