Life after Death 3

"His soul is then returned to his body and two angels come to him. They make him sit up and say to him, 'Who is your Lord?' He replies, 'My Lord is Allah.' They ask him, 'What is your religion?' He replies, 'My religion is Islam.' They ask him, 'Who is this man who was sent among you?' He replies, 'The Messenger of Allah. Then a Voice from on high declares, 'My slave has spoken the truth, so spread out carpets from the Garden for him and open a gate of the Garden for him!'
"Then some of its fragrance and perfume comes to him, his grave is expanded for him as far as the eye can see, and a man with beautiful garments and a fragrant scent comes to him and says, 'Rejoice in what delights you for this is the day which you were promised.' He asks, 'Who are you? Yours is a face which presages good.' He replies, 'I am your good actions.' Then he says, 'O Lord, let the Last Hour come soon so that I may rejoin my family and my property!'
"When an unbeliever is about to depart from this world and go forward into the Next World, angels with black faces descend from the heavens carrying rough hair-cloth and sit around him in throngs stretching as far as the eye can see. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits at his
head and says, 'Foul soul, come out to the wrath and anger of Allah!' Then his soul divides up in his body and it is dragged out like a skewer is pulled out of wet wool. Then the angel takes hold of it. When he has grasped it, the other angels do not leave it in his hand even for the twinkling of an eye. They take it and wrap it in the rough haircloth and a stench comes out of it like the worst stench of a corpse on the face of the earth.'
"Then they take it up and whenever they take it past a company of angels, they ask, 'Who is this foul soul?' and the angels with the soul reply, 'So-and-so the son of so-and-so,' using the worst names by which people used to call him in this world. They bring him to the lowest heaven and ask for the gate to be opened for him. It does not get opened.'
"The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then recited, 'The gates of heaven will not be opened to them nor will they enter the Garden until the camel passes through the eye of the needle.' (7:40) Then Allah the Mighty and Majestic, will say, 'Register his book in Sijjin in the lowest earth.' Then his soul is flung down. The Prophet then recited, 'Whoever associates anything with Allah, it is as though he has fallen from heaven and the birds snatch him away or the wind sweeps him headlong into a place far away.' (22:31)
"Then his soul is returned to his body and two angels come and say to him, 'Who is your Lord?' He replies, 'Alas, alas, I do not know!' Then a voice calls from on high, 'My slave has lied, so spread out carpets from the Fire for him and open a gate of the Fire for him!' then a hot blast from it comes to him, his grave is made so narrow for him that his ribs are pressed together, and a man with a hideous face and clothing and a foul odour comes to him and says, 'Grieve on
account of what has brought you disgrace for this is the day which you were promised.' He asks, 'Who are you? Yours is a face which presages evil.' He replies, 'I am your bad actions.' Then he says, 'O Lord, do not let the Last Hour come!'"
This life in the grave or Interspace is the next part of our journey. An 'interspace' is something that separates two things: heaven and earth, this world and the Next World or the period between death and resurrection. The bliss or punishment of the Interpsace is not the same as that of the Herafter, but rather something that happens between the two worlds.
In death, the body remains in the ground while the soul is in the interspace or Barzakh between the two worlds. However, the two are still connected and so the bliss or punishment happens to both of them. When Allah desires bliss or punishment for the soul, He connects it to the body. This is dependent on the will of Allah and dependent on a person's own actions. The soul is diffused in more than one place at the same time. The proof of this is that the prophet (saw) saw Musa (as) on the night of the Night Journey standing in prayer in his grave and he also saw him in the sixth and seventh heavens.
During this life in the grave part of our journey the souls are divided into two groups: one group is punished and the other group is in bliss. Usually when we think of the 'grave', it is a word that
inspires fear. We are pained, but not aware of the delight it can contain. Indeed, the bliss of the Grave is better than any delight that this world can offer.
The liberated souls of those who are in bliss visit each other and discuss what happened in the world they have left and the people of that world. Allah says, "Whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, they are with those whom Allah has blessed, the prophets, the sincere, the
martyrs and the righteous. Very excellent companions they are!" (4:69)
As the hadiths narrate, if the soul was a believing one, a door onto the fire is opened and the soul is shown it's place in the Fire had they disobeyed Allah. Then that door is locked and another door onto the Garden is opened and they are shown their place there. This door will remain open until the Day of Rising. Some of the sweetness and fragrance of the Garden reaches them and their grave is made spacious. The believer sleeps in peace just as if they were in one of the meadows of the Garden. Their narrow grave expands and stretches for the soul as far as the eye can see.
This spaciousness, light and greenery in which the believer remains from the time of his death until the Day of Rising is not the same as we know in our world. If a living person were to open a grave, they would not find any expanse, light or greenness there. They would not find an open door through which they could see the Garden. They do not see bliss or torment. It is only the dead person who is aware of these things and sees them. Allah, through His wisdom, has the power to veil this from the living. The proof that this is so is shown by the fact that there are other creatures like the Jinn who live with us on the earth. They converse in raised voices among us but we do not see or hear them. There were angels who fought with the believers (at Badr) and struck down the unbelievers and shouted at them, but the Muslims did not see or hear them. Jibril came to the prophet (saw) in the midst of the people and they did not see or hear
them.
If however the soul was a disbelieving one, a door to the Garden is opened for the unbeliever and they are told to look at what their place would have been in the Garden had they obeyed Allah. Then it is locked and another door is opened and they are told to look at their place in the fire. It stays open and the blast of hot air from it continues to reach them until the Day of Rising. The earth presses in on them and they are crushed to the point that their ribs split apart.
If a righteous person were to be buried in a fiery furnace, their
portion of bliss would still reach their soul and body and Allah
would make the fire cool and peaceful for them. For the wrongdoer,
the cool air becomes fire and hot wind. The elements and the matter
of the universe obey their Lord, Originator and Creator. None of them
are able to do anything except what He wills and everything obeys His
will in humble submission to His decree.
This part of our journey in our graves is still mostly unknown
territory. Outwardly the grave is stillness and quiet while inwardly
it contains secrets and terrors which an ordinary person cannot
percieve. It is a strange fact that animals are able to hear the
punishment in the grave while human beings as a general rule cannot.
The prophet (saw) said, "They are punished and the animals hear it."
Various forms of punishment rain down on a person in the grave
according to the type of wrong actions they committed. There are
hadiths of the prophet (saw) about the Night Journey which contain
descriptions of the many types of punishment he saw in the interspace
between the two worlds.
There are those who are driven like cattle and forced to eat herbage
more bitter than aloes and the bitter fruit of Zaqqum and driven on
to the hot stones of Jahannam because they did not purify their
property by paying Zakat.
There are those who have to eat foul putrid meat because they
fornicated. Some of them have bellies as big as houses and whenever
one of them gets up, they are knocked down and say, "O Allah, do not
let the Hour come!" They are in the path of the people of Pharaoh who
come and trample them while they can do nothing but scream. These are
people who devoured usury.
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