Punishment of the Grave
Also known as Torment of the Grave.
This is a Judeo-Islamic concept about the time between death & resurrection of the Day of Judgment. According to some hadiths, the souls of the unrighteous are punished by 2 angels in the grave. While the righteous find the grave “peaceful & blessed.”
Punishment of the grave isn’t explicitly stated in the Quran. Although it’s mentioned in the hadiths (Hadiths are the Islamic equivalent of Jewish midrashs.) & shows up as early as the 9th century, still present among the majority of Sunnis & Shias.
The Quran does mention that certain individuals, such as martyrs, are alive & not dead in 2:154. Also, that is already in Hell in 71:25.
The term Barzakh indicates that the deceased & the living are entirely separated & cannot interact with each other. Otherwise, Barzakh refers to the whole period between the Day of Resurrection & death & is used synonymously for “grave.”
Others regard barzakh as a world dividing & simultaneously connecting the realm of the dead & the living. Therefore, some Muslim traditions argue about possibilities to contact the dead by sleeping in graveyards. Despite the non-existent or, at most, the brief mentions in the Quran.
Islamic tradition discusses elaborately, almost in graphic detail, as to what exactly happens before, during, & after death, based on certain hadithic narrations.
After burial, each person is interrogated in the grave by 2 angels, called Munkar & Nakir, appointed by God to question the dead in order to test their faith. The righteous believers answer correctly & live in peace & comfort. While the sinners & disbelievers fail & punishments ensue.
In the life of Barzakh, the souls of the sinners & disbelievers are kept & punished in a place called Sijjin, which is said to be located at the lowest level of the earth (traditionally Hell, before the Day of Resurrection or underworld). The books containing the full deeds are also kept here.
On the other hand, the souls of the righteous believers are kept in a place called Illiyin. Their books of deeds are also kept here.
According to some accounts, Illiyin is located in Heaven. There is a belief that the fire which represents one’s own bad deeds can already be seen during the Punishment of the Grave, & that the spiritual pain caused by this can lead to purification of the soul.
Rabbinic literature offers many traditions about angels chastising the dead. In Jewish religious books, the souls of the wicked are punished in the hereafter by Dumah & 3 subordinated Angels of Destruction. They’re only released from their suffering on Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath).
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דער קערפער פֿון השם
Reverend Elvis
M. Grégoire
Spirituality & Religious Studies
Don Hornsby
Greg Johnson
