Today I have question on what is happening in graves to dead people. Now I am confusion in my mind, because I heard that even good peple die they don’t go straight to jennah if they die, they are still in grave waiting for day of qiyamoh. So what about theose die like sahabahs and prophets, are they not in jennah now?
are they dead waiting for qiyamoh day to go jennah? You know I learnt in masjid about the sahabh jefar the prophet, he say that this man jefar he is in jennah flying with wings because he die a martyr, so if he die and go straight to jennah? And evil people they go to jahannam straight after they sould leaves this wordl when they die?
May you please explain to what happens to good and bad people when they die , what is prophet say about this issue?
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
The various Quranic verses and prophetic sayings which discuss the affairs of the barzakh establish that there is a life between the worldly life and the hereafter. These texts are true and their purports will be manifested as Allah Ta‘ālā wills. The questioning of Munkar and Nakīr in the grave, the bliss or punishment which will be experienced in the grave as per one’s faith and actions, etc. will occur. However, we are merely mukallaf (responsible) of having īmān ijmālī (faith without delving into details) upon their occurrences and are not mukallaf of understanding the subtleties of the rūh (soul) and barzakh (transitory life between this life and the hereafter), as these are not from the necessities of dīn. Delving into such intricacies may be detrimental to one’s īmān and becomes an obstacle in focusing on one’s objectives.
The question of mustaqarr al arwāh (abode of the souls) is also from the details of the barzakh. Yes, the nusūs (sacred texts) do mention various conditions/affairs of the rūh. However, ascertaining their exact modality is not possible nor necessary. Nevertheless, the most balanced opinion is that of Al ‘Allāmah Ibn Al Qayyim quoted by Al ‘Allāmah Al Suyūtī in Sharh Al Sudūr (pg.242, Dar Al Madanī). He says after mentioning various opinions of ‘ulamā’,
ولا يحكم على قول من هذه الأقوال بعينه بالصحة ولا غيره بالبطلان بل الصحيح أن الأرواح متفاوتة في مستقرها في البرزخ أعظم تفاوت ولا تعارض بين الأدلة فإن كلا منها وارد على فريق من الناس بحسب درجاتهم في السعادة أو الشقاوة فمنها أرواح في أعلى عليين في الملأ الأعلى وهم الأنبياء وهم متفاوتون في منازلهم كما رآهم النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ليلة الإسراء ومنها أرواح في حواصل طير خضر تسرح في الجنة حيث شاءت وهي أرواح بعض الشهداء لا جميعهم فإن منهم من يحبس عن دخول الجنة لدين أو لغيره كما في المسند عن محمد بن عبد الله بن جحش أن رجلا جاء إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال يا رسول الله ما لي إن قتلت في سبيل الله قال الجنة فلما ولى قال إلا الدين سارني به جبريل آنفا ومنهم من يكون على باب الجنة كما في حديث إبن عباس ومنهم من يكون محبوسا في قبره كحديث صاحب الشملة أنها تشتعل عليه نارا في قبره ومنهم من يكون محبوسا في الأرض لم تصل روحه إلى الملأ الأعلى فإنها كانت روحا سفلية أرضية فإن الأنفس الأرضية لا تجامع الأنفس السماوية كما أنها لا تجامعها في الدنيا فالروح بعد المفارقة تلحق بأشكالها وأصحاب عملها فالمرء مع من أحب ومنها أرواح تكون في تنور الزناة وأرواح في نهر الدم إلى غير ذلك فليس للأرواح سعيدها وشقيها مستقر واحد
“…And no one specific opinion mentioned will be considered correct and another incorrect. Rather, the correct opinion is that souls are extremely variant in their abode of the transitory realm. And there is no inconsistency in the proofs. For each one of them apply to a certain group of people based on their rank in good and bad fortune.
- Some are in A‘lā Illiyyīn in Al Mala’ Al A‘lā and they are the Prophets whilst they also differ in their abodes. As Nabī (salla Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) saw them in the Night of Al Isrā’.
- Some are in the bellies of green birds flying in Jannah wherever they want. However, this is for some of the martyrs, not all. For verily some of the martyrs will be barred from entering into paradise due to debts, etc. as is mentioned in Al Musnad (Ahmad)…
- Some of them will be by the door of Jannah as in the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbās.
- Some of them will be their graves like the hadith of Sāhib Al Shamlah (he stole a piece of cloth from the spoils of war)…
- Some will be upon the earth, their soul shall not reach Al Mala’ Al A‘la…
- Some will be in the oven of the fornicators.
- Some souls in the river of blood, etc.
Therefore, there is no one abode for both the fortunate and wretched souls…”
This opinion is also adopted by Mufti Mahmood Gangohi (rahimahu Allah).[1]
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Hisham Dawood
Student, Darul Iftaa
Chicago, USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net
فتاوى محمودية ج-٣ ص-٣٤٦ إلى ٣٥٢، مكتبة محمودية