بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
“Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned.” 21:35
This is a topic many of us try to forget or put to the side. It’s a reality we must remind ourselves of regularly. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Say, ‘Indeed, the death from which you flee – indeed, it will meet you. Then you will be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, and He will inform you about what you used to do.'” 62:8
No matter what we try to do, death is the only guarantee given to mankind and it can either be a huge torment or a great gift.
When death comes to the person they will be in the “agony (or intoxication) of death” (sakrat ul mout). This is a state when one will not be fully conscious of the surroundings. Allah says:
“And the intoxication of death will bring the truth; that is what you were trying to avoid.” 50:19
Once the moment comes Allah will remove the “veil” covering the eyes and one will see the previously unseen – angels.
There are many narrations regarding what happens after we pass away and the grave. The death of the mu’min, the true believer is explained in the following narration:
Imam Ahmad narrated that al-Bara’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
“Verily, when the believing slave is about to depart this world and enter the hereafter, angels from heaven with white faces will come down, faces as bright as the sun. They will bring with them one of the shrouds of Paradise and some of the perfume of Paradise. They will sit with the soul as far as the eye can see.
Then the Angel of Death comes to him and sits by his head and says, ‘O pure soul, come out to the forgiveness and pleasure of Allah.’ Then his soul comes flowing out like water flowing from a cup. Then he takes the soul, and no sooner does he seize it but the angels take it and place it in that shroud and perfume.
Then out of it comes the most excellent fragrance of musk to be found on the face of the earth. Then they ascend with it and they do not pass by any group of angels but the angels ask, ‘Who is this pure soul?’ and they reply, ‘It is so and so the son of so and so’ – using the best names by which he was known on earth.
Then they bring it to the lowest heaven, and ask for it to be opened, and it is opened for him. Those who are of high rank in each heaven accompany it until they approach the next heaven, and so it goes until it reaches the seventh heaven.
Then Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says: ‘Record the book of My slave in ‘Illiyoon (the highest heaven) and take him back to the earth, for I created them from it, and I shall return them to it, then I shall take them out from it again.’
Then his soul is returned to his body and two angels come and make him sit up.”
The soul of the disbeliever is narrated as follows:
“The soul of a non-Muslim or evil soul is removed like a multi-pointed skewer is removed from wet wool that causes the veins and nerves to sever”. [Abu Dawud]
Allah says in the Qur’an:
“And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the overwhelming pangs of death while the angels extend their hands, [saying], “Discharge your souls! Today you will be awarded the punishment of [extreme] humiliation for what you used to say against Allah other than the truth and [that] you were, toward His verses, being arrogant.” 6:93
Note that Allah here uses the word “mujrimun” meaning “wrongdoers” so this is not limited to disbelievers.
“And if you could but see when the angels take the souls of those who disbelieved… They are striking their faces and their backs and [saying], “Taste the punishment of the Burning Fire.” 8:50
The narration continues:
“Then the angels ascend with it and they do not pass by any group of angels but the angels ask, ‘Who is this evil soul?’ and they reply, ‘It is So and so the son of So and so’ – using the worst names by which he was known on earth. Then they bring it to the lowest heaven, and ask for it to be opened, and it is not opened for him.”
Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) 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” 7:40
Then he said, “Then Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says: ‘Record the book of My slave in Sijjeen (the lowest Hell) in the lowest earth. Then his soul is cast down.” (some scholars mention the soul is dropped to the earth and the pain is felt).
Then he (ﷺ) recited (interpretation of the meaning):
“… and whoever assigns partners to Allah, 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.” 22:31
He said, “Then his soul is returned to his body and two angels come and make him sit up”. “
[Classed authentic by Sheikh al’Albaani].
The returning of the soul to the body is not as it is when the person is alive but in a different form. The stage between death and the day of resurrection is named “al barzakh” translating to “interval” or “barrier” between two things.
The two angels will then question the soul:
We must realise brothers and sisters, that on that day our tongues will only speak that which is in the heart. Whether we worshipped Allah in this world will determine what we say to these angels and will then determine our fate in the grave.
We will discuss specific narrations of the punishment and bliss in the grave in another post. For now, let remind ourselves of where we are inevitably going to end up. We must prepare ourselves for that moment from now.
Allah mentions the regret of the soul many times in the Qur’an – let us not be of one of them. These are a few:
“And spend [in the way of Allah ] from what We have provided you before death approaches one of you and he says, ‘My Lord, if only You would delay me for a brief term so I would give charity and be among the righteous.'” 63:10
“[For such is the state of the disbelievers and wrongdoers], until, when death comes to one of them, he says, ‘My Lord, send me back
That I might do righteousness in that which I left behind.’ No! It is only a word he is saying; and behind them is a barrier until the Day they are resurrected.” 23:99-100
“If you could but see when the criminals are hanging their heads before their Lord, [saying], ‘Our Lord, we have seen and heard, so return us [to the world]; we will work righteousness. Indeed, we are [now] certain.'” 32:12
The fact that we are still in this world is a gift of Allah – let us never forget his mercy upon the people who turn back to Him in this life:
“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.'” 39:53
Allah know best.