Life in the Grave means the life of Barzakh.


What is Barzakh?

The life between the grave and the day of resurrection is called barzakh.


The people who die will wait in the barzakh till the day of judgment. If the person who dies is a believer and a righteous person, the realm of barzakh will be a garden of paradise for him and he will feel as if one day has passed even if he stays there for thousands of years.


However, the barzakh will be a place of torture for unbelievers and sinners and their one moment can be as long as thousands of years. Life and time in the realm of barzakh are not like this world. The boons and tortures there form based on the deeds of a person.


...The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: 'The grave is but a garden from the gardens of Paradise, or a pit from the pits of the Fire. [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2460] [Grade: Da'if (Darussalam)]


If you want to sleep peacefully in the grave, you need to wake up in this world.

I'm not afraid of death, but I am afraid of the grave. Our first day in the grave, we have no idea how it feels to be in the grave. A new life, a new home and a new environment, grave is the first part of meeting with Allah SWT. Let's ask ourselves, if we are to die now? What deeds do we have to show before Allah ? Good or Bad?


Grave is the first of the stages of the Hereafter; whoever is saved from it, whatever comes afterwards will be easier for him, but if he is not saved from it, what comes afterwards will be worse for him.


Hani' the freed slave of 'Uthman said: When 'Uthman would stop at a grave he would cry until his beard was soaked (in tears). It was said to him: 'The Paradise and the Fire were mentioned and you did not cry, yet you cry because of this?' So he said: 'Indeed the Messenger of Allah said: "Indeed the grave is the first stage among the stages of the Hereafter. So if one is saved from it, then what comes after it is easier than it. And if one is not saved from it, then what comes after it is worse than it." And the Messenger of Allah said: "I have not seen any sight except that the grave is more horrible than it." [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2308]


Ibn Umar narrated that: The Messenger of Allah said: "When a person dies, he is shown his place [both in the morning and the evening]. If he is one of the people of Paradise; he is shown his place among the people of Paradise, and if he one of the people of the Fire; he is shown his place among the people of the Fire. Then it is said to him: 'This is your place until Allah resurrects you on the Day of Judgment.'" [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1072]

Abu Sa'eed narrated: " The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) entered his Musalla and saw the people who looked as if they were smiling. So he said: 'Indeed, if you were to increase in remembrance of the severer of pleasures, then you would find yourselves too busy for what I see. So increase in remembrance of death, the severer of pleasures. For indeed there is no day that comes upon the grave except that it speaks, saying: "I am thee house of the estranged, I am the house of the solitude, I am the house of dust, and I am the house of the worm-eaten." When the believing worshipper is buried, the grave says to him: "Welcome, make yourself comfortable. Indeed, to me, you are the most beloved of those who walked upon me. Since you have been entrusted to me and delivered to me today, you shall see what I have arranged for you." It will then widen for him so that his sight extends, and the door to Paradise is opened for him. And when the wicked worshipper or the disbeliever is buried , the grave says to him: "You are not welcome, do not get comfortable. Indeed, to me, you are the most hated of those who walked upon me. Since you have been entrusted to me and delivered to me today, you shall see what I have arranged for you.'" He said: 'It will begin closing in on him(squeezing him) until his ribs are crushing each other.'" He said: " The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) clasped some of his fingers between others and said: 'Seventy giant serpents will constrict him, if even one of them were to hiss on the earth, nothing upon it would grow as long as it remained. They will chew on him and bite him until he is brought to the Reckoning.'" He said: " The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: 'The grave is but a garden from the gardens of Paradise, or a pit from the pits of the Fire.'" [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2460] [Grade: Da'if (Darussalam)]


Ya Allah, make our graves be more comforting than our beds and please save us from the punishment of the grave. Ameen

Are you ready for these four questions to be asked in our grave when you die? Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is this man who was sent among you? What is your [source of] knowledge?


It may seem easy for you to answer now, but in the grave, it all depends on the life you lived. Only true believers who die in a state of faith will be able to answer the four questions in the grave. In shaa Allah


Al-Bara' b. ‘Azib said : We went out with the Prophet to the funeral of a man of the Ansar and came to the grave. It had not yet been dug, so God’s messenger sat down and we sat down around him quietly. He had in his hand a stick with which he was making marks on the ground. Then he raised his head and said, “Seek refuge in God from the punishment of the grave saying it twice or thrice.

He then said, “When a believer is about to leave the world and go forward to the next world, angels with faces white as the sun come down to him from heaven with one of the shrouds of paradise and some of the perfume of paradise and sit away from him as far as the eye can see.

Then the angel of death comes and sits at his head and says, 'Good soul, come out to forgiveness and acceptance from God.' It then comes out as a drop flows from a water-skin and he seizes it; and when he does so, they do not leave it in his hand for an instant, but take it and place it in that shroud and that perfume, and from it there comes forth a fragrance like that of the sweetest musk found on the face of the earth.

They then take it up and do not bring it past a company of angels without their asking, “Who is this good soul?' to which they reply, ‘So and so, the son of so and so,’ using the best of his names by which people called him on the earth. They then bring him to the lowest heaven and ask that the gate should be opened for him. This is done, and from every heaven its archangels escort him to the next heaven till he is brought to the seventh heaven, and God who is great and glorious says, ‘Record the book of my servant in ‘Illiyun (Cf. Qur’an, lxxxiii, 18) and take him back to earth, for I created mankind from it, I shall return them into it, and from it I shall bring them forth another time.'

His soul is then restored to his body, two angels come to him, and making him sit up say to him, ‘Who is your Lord?’ He replies, ‘My Lord is God.’ They ask, ‘What is your religion?’ and he replies, ‘My religion is Islam.’ They ask, ‘Who is this man who was sent among you?’ and he replies, ‘He is God’s messenger.’ They ask, ‘What is your [source of] knowledge?’ and he replies, ‘I have read God’s Book, believed in it and declared it to be true.’

Then one cries from heaven, ‘My servant has spoken the truth, so spread out carpets from paradise for him, clothe him from paradise, and open a gate for him into paradise.’ Then some of its joy and fragrance comes to him, his grave is made spacious for him as far as the eye can see, and a man with a beautiful face, beautiful garments and a sweet odour comes to him and says, ‘Rejoice in what pleases you for this is your day which you have been promised.' He asks, ‘Who are you, for your face is perfectly beautiful and brings good?” He replies, ‘I am your good deeds.’ He then says, ‘My Lord, bring the last hour; my Lord, bring the last hour, so that I may return to my people and my property.’

But when an infidel is about to leave the world and proceed to the next world, angels with black faces come down to him from heaven with hair-cloth and sit away from him as far as the eye can see.

Then the angel of death comes and sits at his head and says, ‘Wicked soul, come out to displeasure from God.’ Then it becomes dissipated in his body, and he draws it out as a spit is drawn out from moistened wool. He then seizes it, and when he does so they do not leave it in his hand for an instant, but put it in that hair-cloth and from it there comes forth a stench like the most offensive stench of a corpse found on the face of the earth.

They then take it up and do not bring it past a company of angels without their asking, ‘Who is this wicked soul?’ to which they reply, ‘So and so, the son of so and so,’ using the worst names he was called in the world. When he is brought to the lowest heaven request is made that the gate be opened for him, but it is not opened for him. (God’s messenger then recited, ‘The gates of heaven will not be opened for them and they will not enter paradise until a camel can pass through the eye of a needle.)(Qur'an, vii, 40) God who is great and glorious then says, ‘Record his book in Sijjin (Cf. Qur’an, Ixxxiii, 7 ff) in the lowest earth,’ and his soul is thrown down. (He then recited, ‘He who assigns partners to God is as if he had fallen down from heaven and been snatched up by birds, or made to fall by the wind in a place far distant.')(Qur’an, xxii, 31).

His soul is then restored to his body, two angels come to him, and making him sit up say to him, ‘Who is your Lord?’. He replies, ‘Alas, alas, I do not know.’ They ask, ‘What is your religion?' and he replies, ‘Alas, alas, I do not know.’ They ask, ‘Who is this man who was sent among you?' and he replies, ‘Alas, alas, I do not know.’ Then one cries from heaven, ‘He has lied, so spread out carpets from hell for him, and open a gate for him into hell.’ Then some of its heat and hot air comes to him, his grave is made narrow for him so that his ribs are pressed together in it, and a man with an ugly, face, ugly garments and an offensive odour come to him and says, ‘Be grieved with what displeases you, for this is your day which you have been promised.’ He asks, ‘Who are you, for your face is most ugly and brings evil?' He replies, ‘I am your wicked deeds.’ He then says, ‘My Lord, do not bring the last hour.’ ”

In a version there is something similar containing an addition:

“When his soul comes out every angel between heaven and earth and every angel in heaven invoke blessings on him, and the gates of heaven are opened for him, no guardians of a gate failing to supplicate God that his soul may be taken up beyond them. But his soul, i.e., the infidel’s, is pulled out along with the veins and every angel between heaven and earth and every angel in heaven curse him, and the gates of heaven are locked, no guardians of a gate failing to supplicate God that his soul may not be taken up beyond them.

[Mishkat al-Masabih 1630]


One day, I'll be in my grave, being questioned by angels. May Allah make it easy for me and all Muslims to answer these grave questions. Ameen

There is another hadith on the same topic.


It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “The dead person ends up in his grave, then the righteous man is made to sit up in his grave with no fear or panic. Then it is said to him: ‘What religion did you follow?’ He said: ‘I was in Islam.’ It is said to him: ‘Who is this man?’ He says: ‘Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He brought us clear signs from Allah and we believed him.’ It is said to him: ‘Have you seen Allah?’ He says: ‘No one is able to see Allah.’ Then a window to Hell is opened for him, and he sees it, parts of it destroying others. Then it is said to him: ‘Look at what Allah has saved you from.’ Then a window to Paradise is opened to him, and he looks at its beauty and what is in it. It is said to him: ‘This is your place.’ And it is said to him: ‘You had certain faith and you died in that state, and in that state you will be resurrected if Allah wills.’ And the evil man is made to sit up in his grave with fear and panic. It is said to him: ‘What religion did you follow?’ He says: ‘I do not know.’ It is said to him: ‘Who is this man?’ He says: ‘I heard the people saying something and I said it too.’ Then a window to Paradise is opened to him, and he looks at its beauty and what is in it. It is said to him: ‘Look at what Allah has diverted away from you.’ Then a window to Hell is opened for him, and he sees it, parts of it destroying others, and it is said to him: ‘This is your place. You were doubtful; in this state you died and in this state you will be resurrected, if Allah wills.’” [Sunan Ibn Majah 4268]

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Remember more often the destroyer of pleasures - death." [At-Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan]. [Riyad as-Salihin 578]


It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Visit the graves, for they will remind you of the Hereafter.” [Sunan Ibn Majah 1569]


Allah SWT said in the Quran, And continue to remind, for surely the reminder profits the believers. [Quran 51:55]


Abu Huraira reported: The Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) visited the grave of his mother and he wept, and moved others around him to tears, and said: I sought permission from my Lord to beg forgiveness for her but it was not granted to me, and I sought permission to visit her grave and it was granted to me so visit the graves, for that makes you mindful of death. [Sahih Muslim 976b]

When death approaches any of them, they cry, “My Lord! Let me go back, so I may do good in what I left behind.” Never! It is only a ˹useless˺ appeal they make. And there is a barrier behind them until the Day they are resurrected. [Quran 23:99-100]


...“My Lord! If only You would give me respite for a little while (return to the worldly life), then I would give in charity, and be among the righteous.” [Quran 63 : 10]


If only you could see when they will be detained before the Fire! They will cry, “Oh! If only we could be sent back, we would never deny the signs of our Lord and we would ˹surely˺ be of the believers.” [Quran 6:27]


If only you could see the wicked hanging their heads ˹in shame˺ before their Lord, ˹crying:˺ “Our Lord! We have now seen and heard, so send us back and we will do good. We truly have sure faith ˹now˺!” [Quran 32:12]


They will cry, “I wish I had sent forth ˹something good˺ for my ˹true˺ life.” [Quran 89:24]


However, sobbing at such moment will not help.


And those who live in this world take note: You may be not happy in your life, but there are millions of people in grave who are extremely yearning to live a life like yours. Be grateful.


Over a 151,000 people die in this world everyday, I thanks to Allah for still giving me time to fix my Akhirah.

Just as we realize when we grow up that our parents were right in advising us not to waste valuable time just playing games but instead focus on studying for a better life, similarly, when we die, we will come to know that the Qur'an was indeed saying right. Do not chase after the fleeting pleasures of this worldly life; instead, read the Qur'an and act upon it. The hereafter will be better.


May Allah grant us the ability to prepare and concern ourselves with the hereafter in this life. Ameen, summa ameen.

Whoever recites Surah al-Mulk every night will be protected from the punishment of The Grave.


[Kindly check the referenc]

Abu Ishaq As-Sabi'i said: "Sulaiman bin Surad said to Khalid bin Urfutah - or, Khalid said to Sulaiman - 'Did you hear the Messenger of Allah saying: "Whoever is killed by his stomach then he will not be punished in the grave"?' One of them said to the other: "Yes." [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1064]

Abdullah bin Amr narrated that: The Messenger of Allah said: "No Muslim dies on the day of Friday, nor the night of Friday, except that Allah protects him from the trials of the grave." [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1074]

Narrated Al-Miqdam bin Ma'diykarib: That the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "There are six things with Allah for the martyr. He is forgiven with the first flow of blood (he suffers), he is shown his place in Paradise, he is protected from punishment in the grave, secured from the greatest terror, the crown of dignity is placed upon his head - and its gems are better than the world and what is in it - he is married to seventy two wives along Al-Huril-'Ayn of Paradise, and he may intercede for seventy of his close relatives." [Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih. [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1663]


O Allah, please protect us from the punishment of the grave. Ameen