Why do you believe in the torment of the grave when it is not explicitly mentioned in the Qurʾān?

To begin with, it should be understood that the Sunnah not only serves to confirm and clarify the Qurʾānic text, but can also function as an independent source of legislation. In other words, there are many rulings established by the Sunnah that have no prior reference in the Qurʾān. This, however, does not imply that the Prophet (PBUH) is the legislator, for whether a ruling originates in the Qurʾān or in the Sunnah, the sole legislator is Allāh. Indeed, the torment and bliss of the grave are established realities, supported by evidence from both the Qurʾān and the Sunnah. As ibn Taymiyyah stated: “As for the ḥadīths (Prophetic traditions) which prove the bliss and torment of the grave and the test of Munkar and Nakīr (in Islamic eschatology, two angels who question the dead in their tombs regarding their Lord, religion, and Prophet), they are numerous and mutawātir (mass-narrated and multi-chained) from the Prophet (PBUH).”¹ It was narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) passed by a walled garden in al-Madīnah or Makkah and heard the voices of two people being tortured in their graves. The Prophet (PBUH) said, “They are being tortured, and they are not being tortured for a major sin [in your view, yet their sins are great in the sight of Allāh] …”² It was also narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said: “When one of you completes the [final] tashahhud—the portion of the prayer in which a Muslim sits, glorifies Allāh, sends blessings upon His Messenger and the righteous, and then recites the two testimonies, namely, affirming the Oneness of Allāh and the apostleship of His Prophet Muḥammad (PBUH)—he should seek refuge in Allāh from four things, saying: ‘O Allāh, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of the Hell-fire, from the punishment of the grave, from the trial of life and death, and from the evil of the trial of al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl (the Deceitful Messiah).’”³ Moreover, the Prophet (PBUH) said: He said: “Were it not that you would cease to bury [your dead], I would ask Allāh to let you hear the punishment of the grave that I hear.” Then he turned his face toward us and said: “Seek refuge in Allāh from the punishment of the Fire.” They said: “We seek refuge in Allāh from the punishment of the Fire.” He said: “Seek refuge in Allāh from the punishment of the grave.” They said: “We seek refuge in Allāh from the punishment of the grave.” He said: “Seek refuge in Allāh from the trials, both apparent and hidden.” They said: “We seek refuge in Allāh from the trials, both apparent and hidden.” He said: “Seek refuge in Allāh from the trial of the Dajjāl.” They said: “We seek refuge in Allāh from the trial of the Dajjāl.”⁴ The reports from the Messenger of Allāh (PBUH), which affirm the torment and bliss of the grave as well as the questioning by the two angels, reach the level of tawātur (mass transmission). Therefore, we are obliged to accept them as real and believe in them. However, we should refrain from discussing how they will occur, because the human mind cannot comprehend them; they are matters unknown in this world. In other words, we have not witnessed anything like them in this life, and thus cannot fully understand them through reason. The Sharīʿah (Qurʾān and Sunnah) does not present matters that are logically impossible, though it may convey realities that challenge or perplex the mind—that is, matters that are difficult to grasp.⁵ Ibn al-Qayyim [may Allāh have mercy on him] explained that it should be understood that the punishment of the grave occurs in Barzakh—the intermediate stage between death and resurrection. He further stated that every person who dies and deserves punishment will be punished, regardless of whether or not they are buried. This applies even if the person was devoured by carnivorous animals, reduced to ashes and scattered in the air, crucified, or drowned in the sea—both their soul and body will experience punishment in the same manner as that of a buried person.⁶

The torment and bliss of the grave are undeniably real. This is an established truth, supported not only by the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH) but also by the Qurʾān. Allāh says: {and a woeful chastisement encompassed Pharaoh’s people. They are exposed to the Fire ˹in their graves˺ morning and evening. And on the Day the Hour will be established ˹it will be said˺, “Admit Pharaoh’s people into the harshest punishment ˹of Hell˺”} (Qurʾān 40:45–46). These verses clearly demonstrate that punishment will occur in the grave prior to the Day of Judgment. Allāh also says:{So leave them until they face their Day in which they will be struck dead—the Day their scheming will be of no benefit to them whatsoever, nor will they be helped. Also, the wrongdoers will certainly have another torment before that ˹Day˺, but most of them do not know} (Qurʾān 52:45–47). This verse also establishes that the first punishment will take place in the grave. It cannot be understood as referring to punishment in worldly life, as many tyrants die without ever being punished. Accordingly, aṭ-Ṭabarī narrated on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the verse {Also, the wrongdoers will certainly have another torment before that ˹Day˺…} (Qurʾān 52:47), that he said, “It is the punishment of the grave before the punishment of the Day of Resurrection.” One may object by citing verse 36:52 of the Qurʾān, in which the disbelievers, on the Day of Resurrection, express astonishment at being raised up from their graves, which they describe as their place of rest, and question how the numerous Prophetic traditions concerning the torment of the grave can be reconciled with this. Therefore, let us examine the context of this frequently misrepresented verse. Allāh says: {The Trumpet will be blown ˹a second time˺, then—behold!—they will rush from the graves to their Lord. They will cry, “Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of rest? This must be what the Most Compassionate warned us of; the messengers told the truth!” It will only take one Blast, then at once they will all be brought before Us} (Qurʾān 36:51–53). The exegetes explain that there is no contradiction between verse 36:52 and the Prophetic traditions concerning the torment of the grave, for the verse does not imply that the graves of the disbelievers are places of mercy or that they have not experienced punishment in their graves. Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ states in his interpretation of verses 36:51–52: “In verse 52, it was said: {they will cry, “Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of rest?’’}. Though the disbelievers were already having their punishment in their graves with no sign of any relief, yet this punishment will appear as nothing when compared with the punishing circumstances of the day of Qiyāmah (Resurrection), therefore, they will cry out as to why they had to be taken out of their graves, for it would have been better if they had stayed right there. A response to this will come from either the angels or the common believers. This response appears immediately next in verse 52: “This must be what the Most Compassionate warned us of; the messengers told the truth!” to which they paid no attention….’’⁷ Ibn Kathīr explains in his interpretation of verses 36:51–53 that this refers to the third blast of the trumpet, after which people will emerge from their graves, and that the expression “place of sleep” in the verse {they will say, “Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep?”} refers to their graves, which they had assumed in this world they would never be raised from. When they witness with their own eyes that which they had denied, they will cry out, “Woe to us! Who has raised us from our place of sleep?” This does not negate the reality of punishment in the grave, but in comparison to what comes afterward, it will seem like a brief nap. ʿUbayy ibn Kaʿb, Mujāhid, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, and Qatādah stated that they (disbelievers) will sleep before the Resurrection. Qatādah further explained that they will sleep between the two blasts of the trumpet, which is why they will say, “Who has raised us up from our place of sleep?” When they utter this, the believers will respond, “This must be what the Most Compassionate warned us of; the messengers told the truth!” This was the view held by more than one of the Salaf (the first three generations of Muslims—the Companions, the Successors, and the Successors of the Successors). However, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī held that it is the angels, not the believers, who will reply in this manner, and there is no contradiction between these views, since both are possible. ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Zayd, on the other hand, held that all of these statements will in fact be spoken by the disbelievers themselves.⁸ Ash-Shawkānī stated in his interpretation of verses 36:51–52 that they—that is, the disbelievers who deny the resurrection—regard themselves as having fallen asleep because of the bewildered state of their minds resulting from witnessing the horrors of the Day of Resurrection with their own eyes and being overtaken by fear.⁹ Some scholars held that the Trumpet will be blown three times: the first blast will strike everything in the heavens and on the earth with terror, the second will cause all to fall down dead, and the third will bring about resurrection, after which all will rush toward their Lord to be gathered in the place of assembly known as al-Maḥshar. However, the majority of scholars maintain that the Trumpet will be blown twice: the first blast will strike everything in the heavens and on the earth—except whom Allāh wills—with terror and death, and the second will bring about resurrection, after which all will hasten toward their Lord to be gathered in al-Maḥshar. During the interval between the two blasts of the Trumpet all of Allāh’s creatures will sleep. The believers may receive glad tidings that their life in the grave will pass swiftly and that the long and dreadful Day of Resurrection will be made brief and light for them, as Allāh says: {˹But˺ on that Day the residents of Paradise will have the best settlement and the finest place to rest} (Qurʾān 25:24). Saʿīd ibn Jubayr said: “Allāh will complete the Judgment by midday, and the people of Paradise will take their midday rest in Paradise, while the people of Hell will take theirs in Hell.” The Prophet (PBUH) said: “For the believer, the Day of Resurrection will be like the interval between ẓuhr (noon) and ʿaṣr (afternoon) prayers.”¹⁰ By the time of the midday rest, the people of Paradise shall be seated on couches facing one another. May Allāh make us among them.