The Grave:
When a righteous person dies, Angel of mercy comes to take his soul. When a hypocrite or a sinner dies, it is the Angel of punishment that comes to take his soul. It is an immensely difficult thing for the soul to leave the body, surely it would be made easier by the angel of mercy and how painful it would be when the angel of punishment is doing so. Each soul will answer three questions in the grave:
Who is your Lord? Who is your Prophet? What is your religion?
When a righteous person answers, Allah is my Lord, Muhammad is my Prophet, and Islam is my religion. A voice from the heavens will tell the angel “my servant answered in truth”. He will be left in peace until the resurrection begins.
When a hypocrite or sinners tries to answer, that, I heard that Allah is The Lord and so on, a voice from the heaven will say that, “he is nothing but a liar”! The angel then slams that person with a hammer until he turns to dust, the grave is filled with fire and this punishment continues till the resurrection. May Allah protect us!
When a man dies he leaves behind 3 things: Family, wealth and his deeds. The only thing that remains with him in his grave are his deeds. These deeds take on the shape of some creation. For the believer it is a beautiful and pleasing being, when he asks ‘who are you?’ The reply is ‘I am your good deeds’. When the person is dealt with good in the grave, than what is ahead is even better. So the person prays ‘O Allah let the day of judgement begin so I may receive the truth’. While the hypocrite/ disbeleiver sees an ugly creature in the grave as his deeds. Their grave is exposed to the hellfire. They say “O Allah do not let the hour begin ” for them what is ahead is far worse.The grave is a very lonely place.
Asma bint Abu Bakr told that she once heard everyone crying and weeping and there was an uproar in the masjid. It was when the Prophet( SAW) was talking about the trials of the grave. He (SAW) said that everyone would be squeezed by the earth. Sa’ad ibn Muadh was a Sahaba who had hosted the Prophet in Madinah. RasulAllah(SAW) said that when he died, the Arsh of Allah Shook, 70,000 Angels accompanied his funeral and that, even he was not spared the squeezing by the earth!
Reasons for the punishment in the grave:
Stealing, Slander and lying – Prophet (SAW) once passing by a 2 graves said, the 2 men in these graves are being punished for something minor one for not cleaning after urinating and the second one because he used to slander other people.
Neglecting the Quran – not reciting or listening.Their head will be crushed with a rock repeatedly until the day of Judgement.
Dealing with Interest, Adultery, Debt not repaid – debt has serious implications in the hereafter, Prophet(SAW) said that a Martyr (Shaheed) would sit by the door of Jannah until his debt is paid off. The longest Ayah in Surah Bakarah (282) is regarding debt it is sometimes known as Ayah Addain. Prophet(SAW) only prayed the janazah prayer of anyone after he made sure that they did not owe any debt.
Having good deeds will save one from the punishment of the grave. These good deeds will come from above, beneath and the sides and will make an argument for the dead
The day of Judgement or Qiyama is known by many names such as:
Qiyama is the Day of standing, referring to the Day of Judgment. The following are some of the names that are used to reference the Day of Judgment:
Yawm al Ba’ath – Day of resurrection
Yawm az Zalzala – Day of Earthquake
Yawm an Nushoor – Day of resurrection
Yawm at Tamma – Day you cannot get out of
Yawm as Sa’akha – Day that hits you
Yawm al Azifa – The Day true news is announced and when it starts there is no stopping
Yawm al Hisab – Day of reckoning
Yawm ul Jamma – Day of gathering
Yawm at Talaaq – Day of meeting
Yawm al Haqq – Day of Truth
Yawm at Tagabun – Day of exchanging deeds(meeting out justice by exchanging deeds)
Yawm ul Wa’eed – Day of warning
Yawm ul Hasrah – Day of regret
Yawm al Ghashiyah – A day that will cover you all over with no escape(overwhelming)
Yawm ud Deen – Day of Judgment
Yawm ul Khuruj – Day of exiting graves
Yawm al Akhirah – The last Day
Yawm as Sa’a – Day of the hour
Yawm al Qaria – Day of the Calamity or striking
Yawm al Fasl – Day of Separation when the final decision is enforced
Yawm al Ma’ab – Day of Return
Yawm al Ard – Day of Exhibition
Yawm al Khafida ar Rafiya – A Day that brings some low and exalts others
Yawm al A’seer – A Day of distress or an immensely difficult day
Yawm al Azeem – A Great Day
Yawm al Mashhood – The Day Witnessed
Yawm al A’qeem – The Day Held
Yawm al Qasaas – Day of revenge
Yawm ul Jiza – Day of compensation
Yawm un Nafkha – Day when the trumpet is blown
Yawm un Naaqoor – Day when the trumpet is sounded
Yawm ul Firaar – Day of fleeing
Yawm at Tublas Sarairah – Day or revealing secrets
After Angel Israfeel blows the first trumpet all of creation will be destroyed and then Allah SWT will ask, “who has the Kingdom today?” Allah SWT will answer, ‘It is for Allah alone, the irrisistible’. Keep the Day of Judgment in your heart at all times.
Say your prayers knowing that:
Allah sees you from above
The Sirat (bridge over hellfire) is below you
The heaven is to your right and
The hell to your left
The Angel of death behind you &
The Kaba’ in front of you