Munkar and Nakir

They are the angels who will interrogate us in the grave right after we die.

yup, apparently, you will answer with what u lived,
whatever u took to be your rule-maker (your creator/leader/desires, etc)
the way of life you chose
and your role-model in life

If youre good they would shining like the sun. Wings spreading as far as the eyes can see. A radiating beauty spreading from their faces and bodies, with comforting arms stretching forth.

If you're evil ,They have faces and bodies dark and terrifying, faces of extreme horror. Sounds of thunder bursting from their mouths carrying tools of torture within their hands.

Like brother tayib said its only by what you actually believe (so you can't be a disbeliever during your life, and expect to be able to say those answers correctly)
If you were non believer in the dunya you will only be able to say I dont know to all three and if you were a believer you will be able to answer the questions correctly. They will torture the non believer until the day of judgement. The walls of the grave will come together, a window of hell will be open for him, and his rib cages will come inside of each other
As for the believer his grave will be (seventy times) bigger, and a window of heaven will be open for him.

You can't memorize this..
Ibrahim [14:27]

يُثَبِّتُ اللّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الآخِرَةِ وَيُضِلُّ اللّهُ الظَّالِمِينَ وَيَفْعَلُ اللّهُ مَا يَشَاء

Yuthabbitu Allahu allatheena amanoo bialqawli alththabiti fee alhayati alddunya wafee alakhirati wayudillu Allahu alththalimeena wayafAAalu Allahu ma yashao

14:27 Allah will establish in strength those who believe, with the word that stands firm, in this world and in the Hereafter; but Allah will leave, to stray, those who do wrong: Allah doeth what He willeth.


furthermore, the messenger is the prophet Mohammed PBUH, people are asked of the messenger of their time, if you were around the people of A'ad or Thamud your messenger would have been shoaib or Saleh, now the messenger for ALL MANKIND is the prophet Mohammed PBUH...

best,

Sis Munwal is right. The answers come from within, that is if you indeed were practicing your religion correctly.

I remember when I was a kid, and the lady who used to teach us Quran told us about these three questions and their answer to them. I used to tell myself that I should memorize these so I can answer them. Later on, I found out that when we are dead, we do not have the same consciousness that we have in this world so it is impossible to come up with the correct answers just by memorizing.

a lot of ppl recite after the adhan: radito billahi rabban wa bil Islami deenan wa bi Muhammadin rasoolan. Translation: I am pleased with Allah as my Lord and with Islam as my religion and with Muhammad (SAW) as Messenger.
I am unsure if there is a hadith about this statement, whether we should recite it after Adhan, etc. But i heard it in many places including on TV after Adhan in UAE.

Greetings.

format_quote Originally Posted by Darth Ultor

Munkar and Nakir

Who are they? I came across these names in a Muslim story once. They were just mentioned once in a way that implied that we were supposed to know who they are.

format_quote Originally Posted by Darth Ultor

Oh and preferably with a Quranic or Hadith source.

I like how you ask for an authentic source for things.

Abu Hurairah narrated that:
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "When the deceased - or he said when one of you - is buried, two angels, black and blue (eyed_ come to him. One of them is called Al-Munkar, and the other An-Nakir. They say: 'What did you used to say about this man?' So he says what he was saying (before death) 'He is Allah's slave and His Messenger. I testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.' So they say: 'We knew that you would say this.' Then his grave is expanded to seventy by seventy cubits, then it is illuminated for him. Then it is said to him: 'Sleep.' So he said: 'Can I return to my family to inform them?' They say: 'Sleep as a newlywed, whom none awakens but the dearest of his family.' Until Allah resurrects him from his resting place.""If he was a hypocrite he would say: 'I heard people saying something, so I said the same; I do not know.' So they said: 'We knew you would say that.' So the earth is told: 'Constrict him.' So it constricts around him, squeezing his ribs together. He continues being punished like that until Allah resurrects him from his resting place." (Hasan)

at-Tirmidhi English reference : Vol. 2, Book 5, Hadith 1071
Arabic reference : Book 6, Hadith 1092

Source: http://www.sunnah.com/urn/710910

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 and we 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 Angel of 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 of So and so, calling him by the best 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 opened, and (the soul) is welcomed and accompanied to the next heaven 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 I will 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 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.’ 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 and so 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 of My slave in Sijjeen in the lowest earth, and return him to the earth, for from it I created them, to it 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 as if he had fallen from the sky, and the birds had snatched him, or the wind had thrown him to a 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 calls out 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 some of 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.’ He says, ‘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.

Source: http://islamqa.info/en/ref/10403

format_quote Originally Posted by Darth Ultor

M&N: Who is your Lord?
P: God
M&N: What was your faith?
P: Judaism
M&N: Who was your messenger
P: Moses

As sister منوة الخيال said, each messenger is only for the period until the next messenger is sent by God, after which God requires that allegiance be given to the new prophet, who does not come with new beliefs, but confirming the truth of what came before, clearing misconceptions that may have crept in, reinforcing the key beliefs that have always been, with possible small changes in ancillary rules/regulations.

Moses (peace be upon him) was the messenger for the Children of Israel until Allah sent Jesus (peace be upon him), and it became incumbent on the Children of Israel to follow Jesus. Jesus was messenger for the Children of Israel until Allah prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), who is the final messenger, with no new messengers to come after him, and for ALL Mankind, until the end of time. Thus Moses or Jesus are not acceptable answers.

format_quote Originally Posted by WRITER

a lot of ppl recite after the adhan: radito billahi rabban wa bil Islami deenan wa bi Muhammadin rasoolan. Translation: I am pleased with Allah as my Lord and with Islam as my religion and with Muhammad (SAW) as Messenger.
I am unsure if there is a hadith about this statement, whether we should recite it after Adhan, etc. But i heard it in many places including on TV after Adhan in UAE.

See this: http://www.sunnah.com/search/%D8%B1%...B1%D8%A8%D8%A7