COMING OUT OF THE GRAVE

The time when people will come out of their graves is very horrifying. Allah says in the Qur'an “Therefore leave them alone to go on with the false discourses and to sport, until they come face to face with that day of theirs with which they are threatened. The day on which they shall come forth from their graves in haste, as if they were hastening on to a goal, Their eyes cast down, disgrace shall overtake them, that is the day which they were threatened with”. (Surah-al-Ma'arij : 42-44)

Abdullah ibne Mas'ood says, that once he was in the presence of the Commander of the faithful Ali (A.S.) when He (A.S.) said, “For every man there are fifty haulting stations in Qayamat, and each station will be equal to the span of a thousand years. Here the first haulting place is when coming out of the grave, where every man will have to wait bare feet and naked. He will have to bear the agony of hunger and thirst. But the person who believes in the Unity (Tawheed) of Allah, Proclamation (Be'asat) of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S.), Accounting (Hisaab) and Resurrection (Qayamat), and bears testimony to the Prophethood (Nubuwwat) of Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.S.), and follows the instructions which have been ordained unto him, will be safe from this agony (of hunger & thirst)”.

The Commander of the faithful (Amirul Mo'meneen) Ali (A.S.) says in the ‘Nahjul Balagha’: That day would be such that Allah would collect on it the anteriors and the posteriers, to stand in obedience for giving accounts, and for reward or recompence of deeds. Sweat would flow upto their mouths like reins while the earth would be trembling beneath them. In the best condition among them would be he who has found a resting place for both his feet and an open place for his peath. (Sermon 101)

Shaikh Kulaini narrates from Imam Jafar-as-Sadiq (A.S.) who said that, “On the day of Qayamat people will be standing in the presence of the Almighty like an arrow stretched on the string of the bow”. Just as when we place an arrow on the bow and stretch it, no place remains, in the same way on the day of Qayamat people will be standing besides each other, and there will be no place left to move about for lack of space. The accursed will be recognised by their faces.

It is appropriate to quote here the various states in which people will arise out of their graves.

(1) Shaikh Sadooq quotes from Abdullah ibne Abbas who says that he heard the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S.) as saying, that the one who doubts the greatness and high honour of Ali (A.S.), will arise from his grave in a manner that in his neck will be bound a collar with three hundred thorns in it, and on each thorn satan will be seated who will be spitting on his face with rage.

(2) Shaikh Kulaini narrates from Imam Mohammad-al-Baqir (A.S.) who said that on the day of Qayamat a group of people will be ordered to come out of their graves in a manner that their hands will be bound with their necks such firmly that they would not be able to move even an inch. And for each of them an Angel will be assigned who will be threatening and ridiculing them, and will proclaim “These are the people who wre given immense wealth by Allah, but they acted miserly and refused to spend in the way of Allah”.

(3) Shaikh Sadooq narrates a lenghty tradition from the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S.) in which he said that, “A person who backbites (ghibat) and thus creates mischief and dissension among two people, Allah will fill his grave with fire, which will keep burning him till the day of Qayamat. And as soon as he comes out of his grave (on the day of Qayamat), Allah will senhd a huge python who will keep biting his flesh, and he will ultimately be thrown in hell”.

(4) The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S.) says that a person who looks at non-intimate (na-mahram) woem nwith lust, Allah will make him come out of his grave in a manner that he will be bound in chains of fire. After being pought in this accursed state in front of all the people, Allah will command him to be thrown into the blazing fire of hell.

(5) Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.S.) says that on the day Qayamat drunkards will come out of their graves with a blackened face. Their eyes will be sunken into their skulls, faces shrunk, and puss will be oozing out of them. Their tongues will have been pulled out from their necks. In an authritative narrative in ‘Ilmul Yaqeen’ it is narrated by Mohsin Fayz Kashani that on the day of Qayamat drunkards will be made to come out of their graves in a manner that a goblet of wine will be hung in their necks, and will be holding a glass in their hands. An obnoxious smell worse than a corpse will be coming out of their bodies, and all those passing by will be ridiculing them and invoking Allah's curse upon them.

(6) Shaikh Sadooq relates from the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S.) who said, that on the day of Qayamat the person with two tongues will arise in a manner that he will have two tongues in his mouth, one will have been pulled from behind his neck and the other from the front. Fire will be coming out of the, which will be burning his entire body. It will then be proclaimed that this is the person who spoke with two tongues in the world. (The person referred to here is the one who confronted people in the world with two faces and spoke with two tongues).

(7) It is related that the person who consumes interest will arise on the day of Qayamat in a manner that he will be having a large belly, which will be lying on the ground. He will try to bend and pick it up, but will not be able to do so. Because of this state of his, people will recognise that he is an interest-eater.

(8) It is narrated in “Anwaare No'maniyah” from the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S.) that He said, that the Almighty Allah shall collect the one who beats the tambour (a pass drum) with a tarnished face on the day of Qayamat. And in his hand will be a tambour of fire which he will be hitting on his own head. Seventy thousand Angels shall beat him in the head and face with their clubs of fire. And the musicians & singers, and those who beat the drum shall arise blind & deaf on that day.

“The guilty shall be recognized by their marks, so they shall be seized by the forelocks and the feet”. (Surah-ar-Rahman 41) (Ma'ad)

Those A'mal which are useful for the people in Qayamat.

(1) It is related in a tradition, that for a person who attends a funeral and walks alongwith the bier, Allah appoints Angels to accompany him in his grave till Qayamat.

(2) Shaikh Sadooq quotes Imam Ja'far-as-Sadiq (A.S.) as saying that a person who relieves the troubles and helps a believer pother, Allah will keep him safe from the troubles of the hereafter, and he will arise contented and happy from his grave.

(3) Shaikh Kulaini and Shaikh Sadooq quote in a lenghty tradition from Sadeer Sayrnee that Imam Ja'far-as-Sadiq (A.S.) said that for all the believers who arise from their graves on the day of Qayamat, Allah will appoint a corporeal body (Jisme Misali) who will be walking in front of him. Whenever the believer feels pain or is grieved, it will pacify him and give glad tidings that Allah has forgiven him and blessed him, and it will continue doing so till they reach the place for accounting. Allah will take his account leniently and will order him to enter Paradise. The (corporeal) body will still be walking in front of him. The believer will tell the body, “My Allah bless you, you removed me from my grave and gave me glad tidings about Allah's forgiveness and mercy. You are indeed a sincere friend, for verily I have now witnessed Allah's blessings & mercy (as you said). Now tell me who you are”? And it will reply, “I am that very happiness which you presented to your pother in faith in the world. Hence Allah appointed me to accompany you in this difficult journey and give you glad tidings”.

(4) Shaikh Kulaini quotes Imam Ja'far-as-Sadiq (A.S.) as saying, that if a person gives clothes to his believer pother in the summer or the winter, it becomes incumbent upon Allah to clothe him with the heavenly attires, and to ward off difficulty during death and in the grave. When he will come out of his grave on the day of Qayamat, the Angels will come to greet him and give glad tidings of Allah's mercy.

Allah says in the Qur'an: “The great fearful event shall not grieve them, and the Angels shall meet them: This is your day which you were promised”. (Surah-al-Ambiya : 103)

(5) Sayyed ibne Tawoos writes in ‘Iqbal’ that the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S.) said, that the person who recites the following supplication (du'a) one thousand times in the month of Sha'ban, Allah will write in his account one thousand years of worship, and will forgive his sins of one thousand years. And on the day of Qayamat when he will arise from his grave, his face will be shining like a full moon, and his name will be written among the truthful ones (Siddiqeen):