Punishment of the Grave: Difference between revisions

'''Punishment of the grave''' (Arabic: {{ia|عذاب القبر}}) consists in postmortem hardships and pressures suffered by humans in the world of [[barzakh]] (the intermediary world between this world and afterlife). According to [[hadith]]s, punishments of grave are occasioned by acts such as gossiping, carelessness about cleanliness and uncleanliness, a man’s mistreatment of his wife, mistreatment of one’s family, and taking the prayers lightly. On the other hand, punishments of the grave are removed by [[Ziyara|pilgrimage]] to [[Imam al-Husayn]]'s [[Holy Shrine of Imam al-Husayn (a)|shrine]], being buried in [[Najaf]], [[Tawalli|love of the Prophet’s household]], dying between Thursday noon and [[Friday]] noon, and so on.

Except [[Dirar b. 'Umar]], a student of [[Wasil b. 'Ata']], all Muslims unanimously believe in punishment of the grave. To prove such punishment, [[theologian]]s have made recourse to the [[verse]], “They will say, ‘Our Lord! Twice did You make us die, and twice did You give us life’.”<ref>Qur'an 40:11.</ref> There is a dispute over whether one’s imaginal body suffers the punishment or one’s this-worldly body does so, but the majority of theologians believe that punishment of the grave is suffered by one’s body in barzakh.

[[Muhammad b. Isma'il al-Bukhari]], a [[Sunni]] scholar, cites a hadith from the [[Prophet (s)]] in his book, ''[[Sahih al-Bukhari|Sahih]]'', to the effect that a deceased person would be punished when his or her relatives and friends cry for him or her. According to Yahya b. Sharaf al-Nawawi, a commentator on ''[[Sahih Muslim]]'', the hadith has been interpreted away by Sunni scholars, since punishment of the dead on account of the living’s weeps would be at odds with verse 18 of [[Sura al-Fatir]] according to which no bearer shall bear another’s burden. Moreover, according to [[Ayisha]], this hadith was not accurately transmitted from the Prophet (s).

Punishment of the grave consists in hardships and pressures suffered by man after death. The world of grave is the same as the world of barzakh, which begins since the burial of the dead and lasts until the [[day of resurrection]].<ref>Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 15, p. 68; Ardabīlī, ''Taqrīrāt-i falsafa'', vol. 3, p. 239-240.</ref> In hadiths, instances of punishment of the grave are mentions such as the heat of fire, pressure of the Earth, being bitten by insects, and enormous horror.<ref>Qummī, ''Manāzil al-ākhira'', p. 137-149.</ref>

According to a hadith from [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] cited in ''[[Kitab Man la yahduruh al-faqih (book)|Man la yahduruh al-faqih]]'', punishment of the grave is not limited to those who are buried in the Earth. Indeed, it includes all those who die, even if they are not buried under the ground.<ref>Ṣadūq, ''Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh'', vol. 1, p. 279.</ref> Moreover, according to another hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a) cited in ''[[Bihar al-anwar]]'', most humans suffer punishment of the grave.<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 6, p. 261.</ref> In some supplications transmitted from the [[Infallibles (a)]], the suppliant takes refuge to God from punishment of the grave.<ref>See: Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 2, p. 526; Ibn Ṭāwūs, ''Iqbāl al-aʿmāl'', vol. 1, p. 338, 439.</ref> Based on certain hadiths, when the Prophet (s) buried his daughter [[Ruqayya Daughter of the Prophet (s)|Ruqayya]], he prayed for the removal of her punishment in the grave.<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 6, p. 261.</ref> In her will to [[Imam ʿAli (a)]], [[Fatima al-Zahra (a)]] asked him to recite the [[Qur'an]] and supplicate to [[God]] over her grave after her burial.<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 79, p. 27.</ref>

In collections of hadiths, there are sections in which hadiths concerning punishment of the grave are compiled. In the section on “states of barzakh and the grave and its punishment and interrogation and other pertinent amtters” of his ''Bihar al-anwar'', [[Allama al-Majlisi]] cited 128 hadiths in this regard.<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 6, p.1-282.</ref>

In reference to these hadiths, [[Shaykh 'Abbas Qumi]] believes that much of punishment of the grave arises from these three factors.<ref>Qummī, ''Manāzil al-ākhira'', p. 138</ref> Other things that might occasion such punishment include:

In books of hadiths, factors are mentioned which contribute to alleviation of, or emancipation from, punishment of the grave, including:

* '''Recitation of the Quran:''' there are hadiths about virtues of [[Quran]]ic [[sura]]s to the effect that recitations of certain suras remove punishment of the grave, including the persistent recitation of [[Sura al-Zukhruf]] and [[Sura al-Nisa']] on each Friday<ref>Qummī, ''Safīnat al-biḥār'', vol. 2, p. 397.</ref> and recitation of [[Sura al-Takathur]] when sleeping.<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 89, p. 336.</ref>

* A child’s good deeds after his or her parents’ death.<ref>Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 6, p. 3-4.</ref>

There is a controversy over whether punishment of the grave is suffered by the worldly body or by a [[barzakh body]]. According to the majority of theologians and philosophers, upon death the human soul will attach an imaginal body (a body resembling the worldly body, except that it lacks its matter and its features such as weight and mass).<ref>Malāyirī, ''Naẓarīyya-hā-yi badan-i barzakhī - barrasī wa naqd'', p. 109-115.</ref> Nevertheless, [[Sayyid al-Murtada]] and Sadid al-Din Himmasi al-Razi, two [[Imami]] theologians, allegedly hold that upon death the soul returns to the physical body, and the pressure of the grave is experienced by the worldly body.<ref>Malāyirī, ''Naẓarīyya-hā-yi badan-i barzakhī - barrasī wa naqd'', p. 1113-115.</ref> According to [['Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji]], those who believe that the soul does not survive the physical death hold that punishment of the grave is solely experienced by the body, but those who believe that the soul survives the physical death maintain that upon death the soul returns to the body, and punishment of the grave is either experienced by the soul only or by the soul and the body both.<ref>Lāhījī, ''Gawhar-i murād'', p. 649-650.</ref>

According to [[Abu l-Hasan al-Ash'ari]], the founder of [[Ash'arite]] School, there is a dispute among Muslims as to punishment of the grave. In his view, the majority of Muslims believe in such punishment, while he attributes the denial of this punishment to [[Mu'tazilite]]s and [[Khawarij]].<ref>Ashʿarī, ''Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn'', p. 430.</ref> In his ''Tabaqat al-Muʿtazila'', [[Ibn Abi l-Hadid]] quotes Qadi-l-Qudat as saying that since [[Dirar b. 'Umar]], a student of [[Wasil b. 'Ata']], did not believe in punishment of the grave, the view came to be attributed to all Muʿtazilis, while they generally endorse such punishment, with only a few of them having doubts about punishment of the grave. However, the majority of Muʿtazilis who believe in punishment of the grave attribute it to the soul rather than the physical body.<ref>Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, ''Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha'', vol. 6, p. 273.</ref>

According to what [['Allama al-Majlisi]] has quoted from [[Shaykh al-Baha'i]], the following verse has been adduced in books of theology as evidence for punishment of the grave: “They will say, ‘Our Lord! Twice did You make us die, and twice did You give us life’.”<ref>Qur'an 40:11</ref> The argument runs as follows: the first death is in this world and the second death is in the grave, and the first case of giving life is in the grave and the second case is on the [[day of resurrection]].<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 6, p. 211.</ref> According to ʿAllama al-Majlisi, some Quranic [[exegete]]s such as ʿAbd Allah b. ʿUmar Baydawi and [[Fadl b. Hasan al-Tabrisi]] in his ''[[Jawami' al-jami']]'' interpret the above verse as follows: the first death is before the formation of the sperm and the second is after its formation.<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 6, p. 214.</ref> The first account is also attributed to Fadl b. Hasan al-Tabrisi in his ''[[Majma' al-bayan]]'' and to Fakhr al-Razi.<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 6, p. 214.</ref>

Moreover, in ''Majma' al-bayan'' (written in sixth/twelfth century) some exegetes are quoted as saying that in the verse “We will punish them twice, then they shall be consigned to a great punishment”<ref>Qur'an 9:101.</ref> one of the two punishments is that of the grave and the other is that of the resurrection.<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 5, p. 100.</ref> According to [['Allama Tabataba'i]], a Shiite exegete of the Quran (d. 1981), the verse “the Fire, to which they are exposed morning and evening. On the day when the Hour sets in, Pharaoh’s clan will enter the severest punishment”<ref>Qur'an 40:46.</ref> implies that Pharaoh’s clan would be exposed to the fire first, and then they would enter the fire, where the former can be interpreted as punishment of the grave and the latter as punishment after the resurrection.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 17, p. 335.</ref>

Punishment of the grave has been discussed in books such as Shaykh 'Abbas Qumi’s ''[[Manazil al-akhira]]'' (Stations of the afterlife), Muhammad Shuja'i’s ''ʿUruj-i ruh'' (The ascent of the spirit), and Niʿmat Allah Salihi Hajiabadi’s ''Insan az marg ta barzakh'' (Man from death to barzakh). Moreover, independent works have been devoted to punishment of the grave, including:

* ''ʿAlam qabr: raz buzurg'' (The world of grave: the great mystery), by Jabir Ridwani.