The Grave and Beyond

[m4rouf]

I'm a bit confused (not doubtful - just confused) about something and would really appreciate some insight (Sunni perspective, please). I've been searching for answers for hours. I just have so many questions about what happens once we die; all the different things I'm reading online isn't helpful, since everyone seems to be saying something different. Here are some of the main questions that I have:

1. What is the difference between the day of judgement and the questioning at the grave by the Angels?
2. If one receives the blessings of Tan’eemu Ahlit-Taa’ah Fil Qabr in Barzakh, is Jannah guaranteed?
3. If it is guaranteed, what more happens on the Day of Judgement?
4. Is the Day of Judgement the day to fear or the grave? I always hear people talking about the DOJ but rarely ever about the grave.
5. Everyone gets punished in the grave, from what I understand, but for believers, is this until completely cleansed of sins or until the next Friday?
6. If until Friday (I read this somewhere) or if only partially cleansed, what happens to remaining sins?
7. If we are cleansed of sins in the grave, will we be free from the punishment of Jahannam?
8. Would we be taken to Tan’eemu Ahlit-Taa’ah Fil Qabr after cleansing?
9. A loved one passed away recently on a Friday night but after Maghrib - does this count as a Friday death?
10. How does Jannah compare to Barzakh (Tan’eemu Ahlit-Taa’ah Fil Qabr)?
11. How does Jahannam compare to Barzakh (Azhaabul-Qabr)?
12. Do all Muslims have to enter Jahannam (temporarily) in the Sunni view?
13. If we visit someone’s grave and read the Quran or even just make dua for them in general, will they know? What if we give charity on their behalf or accomplish something great that we wish they could know about? Is it okay to ask Allah to let them know?
14. Is it fine to plant flowers on a grave and put a fence around it? Can non-Muslims visit a Muslim grave (someone complained about a Hindu visiting)?

I’m so sorry for all the questions - I probably even have more that I just can’t remember right now. I really hope that someone with the knowledge and time could clarify these things for me. Thank you very much in advance; may Allah reward you greatly for your time and effort.


Please also make dua for my grandmother who passed away recently; she was such a good-hearted and faithful person subhanallah - I realised so much and so suddenly after she left and now I just wish to do all I can to bring myself and others closer to Islam. May Allah protect us all both now and in the hereafter.

 

[LaSorcia]

Hello.

I am interested in hearing the answers to your questions as well.

I am so sorry for the loss of your grandmother. I recently lost a relative as well. I am glad though that this has drawn you closer to God.

 

[m4rouf]

Thank you and sorry for your loss, too.

I see that you're a Christian. It's really nice to see you here in the forums and looking to expand your knowledge. You may have realised this by now, but we share many beliefs; it's really interesting to see how the religions of the book tie together. I myself briefly studied the basics of Christianity and its origin recently. I hope the best for you and your ever-expanding faith in God, be it through Christianity or Islam .

 

[m4rouf]

I posted the questions on a different forum too and received the following answers (special thanks to AbdullahiG from the Ummah forums):

1. The grave questioning and subsequent consequences is a preliminary judgement and the day of judgement one is a full one; basically as Allah knows all you did, therefore the consequences of the former one is equivalent to as if it were a full judgement

2. Yes, if one passes the test in grave then he has already gone to jannah, i.E, he stays in a meadow of jannah [that grave is turned into] and enters the garden on day of judgement

3. One could still be judged on judgement day, but it will be a easy one and verdict will be just affirming the one already given; judgement will be for reasons of honouring in front of everyone for the righteous on that day will wear crowns, sit on comfortable couches, have brightened faces etc and all his good deeds will be shown to the humanity audience, but if a person has been a pious person on earth always mindful of their daily salaahs etc, then there will be no judgement and such people will be given an advance and free pass to jannah and they'll cross the bridge of siraat like lightening!

4. Death is the moment to fear, for from the moment of death the angel of death comes and either beats the soul or takes it out to a state of bliss, so heavenly bliss or hellish torture starts from moment of death

5. Only the believers that Allah has not forgiven gets punished in grave so not all muslims will be punished; some will go out to heavenly bliss from moment of death

6. The punishment of grave continues until one is forgiven ... Relatives praying for the deceased could get one forgiven .. Or if the person is a really evil and great sinner, punishment continues until judgement day and it is possible he could be forgiven then [such as by intercession of Prophet [saw] or a relative who is a hafiz etc or if the person is very unlucky, then he'll have a spell in hell too!

7. Yes once someone is completely forgiven by Allah or his sins are totally purged by the punishment then from thereon it's jannah ...

8 i though i knew quite a lot but aint got a clue what that is lol!

9. No that dont count as friday death for saturday comes in at magrib time, but since friday is blessed and he died close to that blessed day, some of the blessings of that day could still be with him

10. In barzakh, different things could happen, e.g., if a person didn't marry yet and wished to marry but he died before then, allah could send him a beautiful hourine to spend time with him in grave, or a person could choose to remain awake and worship Allah etc, but generally i think people fall into a really comfortable and blissful sleep until judgement day and when they're woken up they will be annoyed for it will be like they slept for only a couple of hours and someone woke them up; the grave is expanded to as far as eye can see and air from jannah enters.

Jannah is obviously the 'full deal' yee ha!

11. I can only assume jahannum is much much more awful but barzakh punishment is pretty awful too; there would be poisonous snakes, even fire in the grave; angels will beat evil person with hammer.

12. No, only muslims that Allah has not forgiven will enter jahannum

13. When one makes duas for a deceased person i heard that angels take it to the deceased and say to him 'this dua is from such and such person', and if we make dua by their grave sides or want any message conveyed to them, yes we can tell Allah to convey to them. Or basically we can say to Allah, 'oh allah convey this message to ...' and thereafter we can just talk to the deceased as if they could hear us

14. Not sure about that. Heard that grave should be unmarked and level, but also heard [iirc] that a plant on ther grave will pray for its inmate; if grave is in danger of being dug up by fox etc then consult a scholar as to whether a fence can be put around it

 

[noraina]

Assalamu Alaykum,

Ma'sha'Allah, so many questions! I thought I knew a good amount about the punishment of the grave and the Day of Judgement but some of those questions left me thinking (I'm going to have to research them myself).

I was going to start replying to all of your questions but it seems the brother has covered most of it. It is true that many focus little on the punishment in the grave and barzakh - perhaps because this is more an intermediary stage between the two more decisive events of a souls life, their life on earth beforehand and the ultimate judgement afterwards. I have also read that someone who is punished in the grave will not necessarily be punished in jahannam then, because that may be all the punishment they required to cleanse them of their sins.

Inna lillahi wa Inna ilayhi rajioon, may Allah SWT grant your grandmother with Jannat al-Firdous and give you and your family sabr and strength for your loss. She sounded like a wonderful person and she would be happy to know that you have come closer to your Deen and to Allah SWT.