Tafseer Ibn Kathir of IBRAHIM [27]

27. Allah will keep firm those who believe, with the word that stands firm in this world, and in the Hereafter. And Allah will cause the wrongdoers to go astray, and Allah does what He wills. Al-Bukhari recorded that Al-Bara bin `Azib, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah said,

(When the Muslim is questioned in the grave, he will testify that, `La ilaha illallah', and that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger, hence Allah's statement, (Allah will keep firm those who believe, with word that stands firm in this world, and in the Hereafter.) Muslim and the rest of the Group recorded it. Imam Ahmad recorded that Al-Bara bin `Azib said, ”We went with the Messenger of Allah to attend a funeral procession of an Ansari man. We reached the grave site when it had not yet been completed. The Messenger of Allah sat, and we sat all around him, as if there were birds hovering above our heads. The Prophet was holding a piece of wood in his hand, poking the ground with it. He next raised his head and said twice or thrice,

(Seek refuge with Allah from the punishment of the grave.) He said next,

(When a believing slave is reaching the end of his term in the life of this world and the beginning of his term in the Hereafter, a group of angels, whose faces are white and as radiant as the sun, will descend onto him from heaven. They will carry with them white shroud from Paradise, and fragrance for enshrouding from Paradise. They will sit as far from him as the sight goes. Then, the angel of death, will come until he sits right next to his head, saying, ”O, good and pure soul! Depart (your body) to Allah's forgiveness and pleasure.'' So the soul flows (out of its body), just as the drop flows out from the tip of the jug, and the angel of death captures it. When he captures the soul, they (the group of angels) will not leave it with him for more than an instance, and they will seize it and wrap it in that shroud, and in that fragrance. A most pleasant musk scent ever found on the earth, will flow out of the soul, and the angels will ascend it (to heaven). They will not pass by, but they will say, ”Whose is this Tayyib (good) soul'' They (the angels who are ascending the soul) will reply, ”Such person, the son of such and such person,'' -- calling him by the best names that he used to be called in the world. They will reach the lower heaven and will ask that its door be opened for him, and it will be opened for them. The best residents of every heaven will then see him to the next heaven, until he is brought to the seventh heaven. Allah, the Exalted and Ever High, will say, ”List my servants record in `Illiyyin and send him back to earth, for I have created them from it, and into it I shall return them, and from it I shall bring them out once again.'' The soul will be joined with its body, and two angels will come to him, sit him up and ask him, ”Who is your Lord'' He will say, ”Allah is my Lord.'' They will ask him, ”What is your religion'' He will say, ”My religion is Islam.'' They will say to him, ”What do you say about this man (Prophet Muhammad) who was sent to you'' He will say, ”He is the Messenger of Allah.'' They will ask him, ”And what proof do you have about it'' He will say, ”I read the Book of Allah (the Qur'an), and had faith and belief in him.'' Then, a caller (Allah) will herald from heaven, ”My servant has said the truth. Therefore, furnish him from Paradise, and let him wear from (the clothes of) Paradise, and open a door for him to Paradise.'' So he is given from Paradise's tranquillity and good scent, and his grave will be expanded for him as far as his sight can reach. Then, a man, with a handsome face and handsome clothes and whose scent is pleasant, will come to him, saying, ”Receive the glad tidings with that which pleases you. This is the Day which you were promised.'' He will ask him, ”Who are you; for yours is the face that carries the good news'' He will reply, ”I am your good works.'' He will say, ”O Lord! Hurry up with the commencement of the Hour, hurry up with the commencement of the Hour, so I can return to my family and my wealth.'')

فَيَقُولُ اللهُ: اكْتُبُوا كِتَابَهُ فِي سِجِّينٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ السُّفْلَى، فَتُطْرَحُ رُوحُهُ طَرْحًا ثُمَّ قَرَأَ

(And when the disbelieving person is reaching the end of his term in the world and the beginning of his term in the Hereafter, there will descend onto him from heaven angels with dark faces. They will bring with them Musuh, and will sit as far from him as the sight reaches. Then the angel of death will come forward and sit right next to his head, saying, ”O impure, evil soul! Depart (your body) to the anger of Allah and a wrath from Him.'' The soul will scatter throughout his body, and the angel of death will seize it as when the thorny branch is removed from wet wool. The angel of death will seize the soul, and when he does, they (the group of angels) will not let it stay in his hand for more than an instance, and they will wrap it in the Musuh. The most putrid smell a dead corpse can ever have on earth will emit from the soul, and the angels will ascend with it. Whenever they pass by a group of angels, they will ask, ”Whose is this evil soul'' The angels will respond, ”He is such person son of such person,'' -- calling him by the worst names he was known by in the world. When they reach the lowest heaven, they will request that its door be opened for him, and their request will be denied. ”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﴾ Allah will declare, ”List his record in Sijjin in the lowest earth.'' The wicked soul will then be thrown ﴿from heaven﴾. ”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﴾ His soul will be returned to his body, and two angels will come to him, sit him up and ask him, ”Who is your Lord'' He will say, ”Oh, oh! I do not know.'' They will ask him, ”What is your religion'', and he will say, ”Oh, oh! I do not know.'' They will ask him, ”What do you say about this man (Prophet Muhammad) who was sent to you'' He will say, ”Oh, oh, I do not know!'' A caller (Allah) will herald from heaven, ”My servant has lied, so furnish him with the Fire and open a door for him to the Fire.'' He will find its heat and fierce hot wind. And his grave will be reduced in size, until his bones crush each other. Then, a man with a dreadful face, wearing dreadful clothes and with a disgusting smell emitting from him will come to him, saying, ”Receive the glad tidings with that which will displease you! This is the Day that you have been promised.'' He will ask that man, ”And who are you, for yours is the face that brings about evil'' He will say, ”I am your evil work.'' He will therefore cry, ”O, my Lord! Do not commence the Hour!'') Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah collected this Hadith. In his Musnad, Imam `Abd bin Humayd recorded that Anas bin Malik said that the Messenger of Allah said,

(Verily, when the servant is placed in his grave and his friends (or family) depart, as he hears the sound of their shoes, two angels will come to him. They will sit him up and ask him, `What do you say about this man (Muhammad)' As for the believer, he will say, `I bear witness that He is Allah's servant and Messenger.' He will be told, `Look at your seat in the Fire, Allah has replaced it for you with a seat in Paradise.') The Prophet said next,

(So he will see both seats. ) Qatadah added, ”We were told that his grave will be enlarged up to seventy forearms length and will be filled with greenery for him until the Day of Judgement.'' Muslim collected this Hadith also from `Abd bin Humayd, while An-Nasa'i collected it from Yunus bin Muhammad bin Al-Mu'addah. Al-Hafiz Abu `Isa At-Tirmidhi, may Allah grant him mercy, recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

(When the dead - or one of you - is buried, two dark and blue angels will come to him; one is called `Munkir' and the other is called `Nakir'. They will ask him, `What did you say about this man (Muhammad)' He will reply, `What he used to say, that he is Allah's servant and Messenger. I bear witness that there is no true deity except Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.' They will say, `We know that you used to say that,' and his grave will be made larger for him to seventy forearms length by seventy forearms length and will be filled with light for him. He will be told, `Sleep,' but he will reply, `Let me go back to my family in order that I tell them.' They will say, `Sleep, just like the bridegroom who is awakened by the dearest of his family, until Allah resurrects him from that sleep.' If he was a hypocrite, his answer will be, `I do not know! I heard people say something, so I used to repeat what they were saying.' They will say, `We know that you used to say that.' The earth will be commanded, `Come closer all around him,' and it will come closer to him until his ribs cross each other. He will remain in this torment, until Allah resurrects him from his sleep.) At-Tirmidhi said, ”This Hadith is Hasan, Gharib.'' Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said,

(Allah will keep firm those who believe, with the word that stands firm in this world, and in the Hereafter.)

(When he will be asked in the grave, `Who is your Lord What is your religion Who is your Prophet' He will reply, `Allah is my Lord, Islam is my religion and Muhammad is my Prophet who brought the clear proofs from Allah. I believed in him and had faith in him.' He will be told, `You have said the truth; you have lived on this, died on it and will be resurrected on it.') Ibn Jarir At-Tabari recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Prophet said,

(By He Who owns my life! The dead person hears the sound of your slippers (or shoes) when you depart and leave him. If he is a believer, the prayer will stand by his head, Zakah to his right and the fast by his left; the righteous deeds, such as charity, keeping relations with kith and kin and acts of kindness to people will stand by his feet. He will be approached from his head, and the prayer will declare, `No entrance from my side.' He will be approached from his right, and Zakah will declare, `There is no entrance from my side.' He will be approached from his left, and the fast will declare, `There is no entrance from my side.' He will be approached from his feet, and the acts of righteousness will declare, `There is no entrance from our side.' He will be commanded to sit up, and he will sit up while the sun appears to him just like when it is about to set. He will be told, `Tell us about what we are going to ask you.' He will say, `Leave me until I pray.' He will be told, `You will pray, but first tell us what we want to know.' He will ask, `What are your questions' He will be told, `This man who was sent among you, what do you say about him and what is your testimony about him' He will ask, `Muhammad' He will be answered in the positive and he will reply, `I bear witness that he is the Messenger of Allah and that he has brought us the proofs from our Lord. We believed in him.' He will be told, `This is the way you lived and died and Allah willing, you will be resurrected on it.' His grave will be made wider for him seventy forearms length, and it will be filled with light. A door will also be opened for him to Paradise. He will be told, `Look at what Allah has prepared for you in it.' He will increase in joy and delight and then his soul will be placed with the pure souls, inside green birds eating from the trees of Paradise. The body will be returned to its origin, dust. So Allah said, o

(Allah will keep firm those who believe, with the word that stands firm in this world, and in the Hereafter.)) Ibn Hibban collected this Hadith, and his narration added the disbeliever's answer and his torment. `Abdur-Razzaq recor- ded that Tawus said,

(Allah will keep firm those who believe, with the word that stands firm in this world,) is in reference to La ilaha ilallah, while,

(and in the Hereafter) is in reference to the questioning in the grave. Qatadah commented, ”As for this life, Allah will make them firm on the way of righteous- ness and good deeds,

(and in the Hereafter.) in the grave.'' Several others among the Salaf said the same.