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PUNISHMENT OF THE GRAVE (AZAB-E-QABR)

!opyright " #$$% &oseph A 'slam: Article last modified ()th *ovember #$((

According to the +uran, there is o s!"h "o "ep# as a $p! %shme # % #he &'a(e). This is a concept completely alien and unsupported by the +uran. This concept is found primarily (with all its details in 'slamic secondary sources. -rom a +uran.s perspective, the evidence seems overwhelming that at the point of death, one will become aware of the /truth0. Then one will enter /1ar2akh0, a quintessential state of /sleep0 where all concept of time will be lost. 3hen one finally awakes, they will be confronting the 4ay of &udgment. The time lapse will feel as if one had o l* slept for a small part of the day when in truth, they would have tarried all the way to the 4ay of &udgment. 1efore we take a look at the verses, an immediate question should arise: +ha# ,o!l- .e #he p!'pose o/ a appo% #e- 0a* o/ J!-&me # %/ a/#e' -ea#h1 o e ,e'e #o 'e"e%(e #he%' p! %shme # % #he%' &'a(es .e/o'e #he #'%al ha- e(e #a2e pla"e3 !onviction before trial is not a concept of 5ustice and 6od is the most &ust. 'n effect, this would render the 4ay of &udgment meaningless, a fundamental belief posited by the +uran underscored by numerous Surahs and verses. 6od repeatedly informs 7is creation that 7e will never be un5ust to his slaves and not an atom.s weight of in5ustice will take place. All actions will be recorded in a clear record (($:8(9 :;::9 %%:<=)9 ;:;$ -urthermore, we note the following from the +uran.

FROM THE MOMENT ONE 0IES AN0 ARE SUBSEQUENT45 RAISE01 IT +I44 FEE4 4I6E A MOMENTAR5 TIME 4APSE
789:7;< >'t will be on a 4ay when 7e will call you, and you will answer (7is call with (words of 7is praise, and you will think #ha# *o! #a''%e- .!# a l%##le ,h%le=> 7>7?7;;-;@ A?n the 4ay that the 7our (of @eckoning will be established, the transgressors will swear that they #a''%e- o# .!# a ho!': thus were they used to being deludedA 1ut those endued with knowledge and faith will say: BI -ee- *e -%- #a''*1 ,%#h% Go-Cs 0e"'ee1 #o #he 0a* o/ Res!''e"#%o , and this is the 4ay of @esurrection: but you = you were not awareB 787:7D; C?ne day 7e will gather them together: ('t will be as if they had tarried .!# a ho!' o/ a -a*: they will recognise each other: assuredly those will be lost who denied the meeting with 6od and refused to receive true guidanceB 7D@:7>; >Therefore patiently persevere, as did (all messengers of determination9 and be in no haste about the (Dnbelievers . ?n the 4ay that they see what they were promised, (%# ,%ll .e) as %/ #he* ha- o# #a''%e- mo'e #ha a ho!' % a s% &le -a*? (Eours is but to proclaim the Fessage: but shall any be destroyed eGcept those who transgressH> 79E:7D@ B?n the day that they see it, it will be as though they had not #a''%e- .!# #he la##e' pa'# o/ a -a* o' #he ea'l* pa'# o/ %#> Similar wisdom is imparted in other verses:

The sleepers of the cave slept for many hundreds of years (6od knows best the eGact period but they felt they had only slept for a little while (8F:8E) A man slept for a ($$ years but he only felt like that he slept for a part of a day (<:<;E)

THE 0A5 OF JU0GMENT IS ON45 A B4IN6ING OF AN E5E A+A5

'n the conteGt of the above verses, it becomes clear what is meant by the following verse which completely resonates with the theme of the +uran. At the point of death (which can come upon any of us at a stroke and till the 4ay of 'a%s% &, it is but a blink of an eye. 78@:799 CAnd to 6od belongs the Dnseen of the heavens and the earth, and the matter of the 7our (of 4oom %s .!# as a #,% 2l% & o/ #he e*e, or %# %s ea'e' s#%ll? 'ndeedA 6od is Able to do all thingsB

+HEN ONE 0IES1 THE5 ENTER CBARZA6HC - HUMAN GONGEPT OF TIME IS 4OST
7<>:877 >That ' may do right in that which ' have left behindA 1ut nayA 't is but a word that he speaks9 and behind them is a barrier (A'a.%": Ba'Ha2h! ) until the day when they are raised.>

'llustration = &oseph 'slam

787:7D; CAnd on the day when 7e shall gather them together, (when it will seem as though they ha- #a''%e.!# a ho!' o/ #he -a*, recognising one another, those will verily have perished who denied the meeting with 6od and were not guidedB

AT THE POINT +HEN 5OU 0IE1 THE AGTUA4 TRUTH (OF PURPOSE) +I44 BE 6NO+N ESPEGIA445 FOR 0ISBE4IEVERS
77@?7E> >And who is more un5ust than he who forges a lie against 6od, or says: 't has been revealed to me9 while nothing has been revealed to him, and he who says: ' can reveal the like of what 6od has revealedH and if you had seen when the un5ust shall be in the agonies of death and the angels shall spread forth their hands: 6ive up your souls9 today *o! shall .e 'e"ompe se- ,%#h a %& om% %o!s "has#%seme # .e"a!se *o! spo2e a&a% s# Go- o#he' #ha #he #'!#h a - (.e"a!se) *o! sho,ep'%-e a&a% s# H%s "omm! %"a#%o s>

A MISQUOTE0 VERSE
@egrettably, without reconciling the +uranic narratives in full and due to beliefs stemming from popular traditions, one often finds use being made of isolated +uranic verses to authenticate doctrines not taught by the +uran. 3ith regards the eGample of Pharaoh, the following verse is often cited to 5ustify the concept of /punishment in the grave0.

7D7:7D@ C'n front of the -ire will they be brought, morning and evening: and (the sentence will be on the 4ay that &udgment will be established: >!ast ye the People of Pharaoh into the severest PenaltyB I/ 'ea- % "o #eI#1 %# .e"omes a.sol!#el* "lea' #ha# #h%s %s a 'e/e'e "e #o #he 0a* o/ J!-&me #? 7D7:7D9 CAnd when they shall contend one with another in the fire, then the weak shall say to those who were proud: Surely we were your followers9 will you then avert from us a portion of the fireHB -or this reason given the conteGt, it is difficult to accept ;$:;8 as a reference to a /punishment in the grave0. Futual disputes between the people of Pharaoh in the fire clearly indicate a state of communal punishment and not a punishment in separate graves. The very neGt verse provides further clarity: 7D7:7DF CThose who were proud shall say: Surely we are all in it: s!'el* Go- has J!-&e- .e#,ee #he se'(a #sB This 5udgment can only be one made on the 4ay of &udgment. -urthermore, given the descriptive traditions which deal with punishments % the grave, one has to acknowledge that Pharaoh actually drowned but was later preserved in .o-* (($:%# and has no grave in the sense one would commonly understand it. So the difficulty with traditional understanding continues in so much as how one then reconciles Pharaoh.s punishment in the grave when his body was never buried. !learly, the verses are misquoted out of conteGt. The key to understanding any +uranic theme is to remain consistent with all the +uranic verses.

FINA4 THOUGHTS
'n keeping with all the +uranic verses and with a view to remain consistent, it is clear that the +uran informs the reader that death can approach one at any point. At the point of death, one will come to know the #'!#h, the possible 'eal%#* of his actual purpose on earth. ?ne will then enter a state of /1ar2akh0 where all human concept of time will cease. ?nce awoken, one would be face to face with the 4ay of 5udgment and it would have felt that one had tarried 5ust a short while (regardless of actual time . This is when the /% al 5udgment would then begin, where o# a a#omCs ,e%&h# of in5ustice would take place (%%:<=) . 6od0s concept of time is completely different from our own (##:;<9 :#:I9 <$:;

SOME QUESTIONS:

's it possible that mankind, impatient as they are, have devised stories to attribute punishment to disbelieving dead ones to cover the period of eGistence of manH After all, why should one wait for the 4ay of @esurrection when it is far more comforting to know that a disbeliever is being punished incessantly till the 4ay of @esurrectionH This is in stark contrast with the consistent message from the +uran that mankind will only be raised on the 4ay of @esurrection. There is no intermediate rising which will be a necessary precursor in order to feel the punishment of the grave (after death and before the 4ay of &udgment . 'f there was such an un5ust concept of grave punishment, how could one reconcile the period of the A2aab (punishment of someone who died as a disbeliever I$$$ years ago and one that dies # minutes before the 4ay of @esurrectionH 't seems awfully un5ust that someone who dies I$$$ years ago should receive a greater period of punishment in the grave than someone who died moments before the 4ay of @esurrection and who may actually be a greater sinner. 'n parallel, it seems equally unfair to the individual born I$$$ years ago that due to his period of birth, his punishment would be prolonged. *ot everyone is buried in a grave, some are cremated, some are fro2en on the tips of mountains (e.g. unsuccessful climbs , some die in aviation accidents and of course in many others ways. -or those who would wish to reconcile this, a plausible eGplanation would be to introduce the concept of punishment in /1ar2akh0, a state not confined to graves. 'f this line of argument is to be followed, then why is the +uran absolutely silent about punishment within this state of 1ar2akh. -urthermore, why does most of the Ahadith corpus dealing with this topic allude to a physical punishment in the graveH The +uran clearly states that from the point of death to one.s awakening, it will feel like a mere part of a day.

Jvery night we are put to sleep (which in +uranic terms is eGpressed as death :%:;# and every morning there is a new rising. Jvery night, we are reminded of this /practice run0 akin to death and the final awakening, yet sadly, many remain oblivious to 6od0s portents. 7>E:7D< C6od takes the souls at the time of their death and the one that does not die in their sleep. Then 7e withholds those on whom 7e has passed the decree of death and sends the others back till an appointed term. I -ee- % #ha# s!'el* a'e s%& s /o' a people ,ho 'e/le"#?B

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