Is there a hadith saying, “When a person is placed in the grave, his prayers, fasting and good deeds will protect him”?

“When a person is placed in the grave, his prayer will be on his right side, his fasting on his left side, his reading of the Quran and dhikr on his head, and his zakah and charity on his feet in the form of an angel who will protect him from the angels of torment.”

- Is this a hadith; if yes, how should we understand it?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Yes, there are hadiths in this sense:

“When the dead body is placed in the grave, before the footsteps of those who accompanied him stop, the angels come and ask him questions. At that very moment, something luminous comes and sits on his head. It is his prayer. Another luminous thing sits at his feet. It is his other charity and good deeds. Another luminous thing sits on his right side. It is his fasting. Another luminous thing sits on his left side and it is his zakah. They will protect him from the grave from the right and the left, against the grave squeezing his bones and giving him trouble.” (see Abdurrazzaq, Musannaf, 3/582, 583; Haythami, Majmauz-Zawaid, III, 51)

The following is stated in another hadith: “On the Day of Judgment, a person will be protected by the good deeds and charity he has done.” (Musnad, 6/352)

There are also hadiths stating that “one’s various deeds will defend him and conduce to his salvation in the grave, in the gathering place, in the hands of the demons, at the scales (mizan) and on the bridge (Sirat).” (see Ibn Kathir, Tafsir of Ibrahim, verse 27)

“Allah will establish in strength those who believe, with the word that stands firm, in this world and in the Hereafter; but Allah will leave, to stray, those who do wrong: Allah doeth what He willeth.” (Ibrahim, 14/27)

On the other hand, Ibn Kathir narrates many hadiths regarding the issue in the tafsir of the verse above, but he also points out that some of them are weak.

The following is stated in the Quran: “Every man’s fate We have fastened on his own neck: On the Day of Judgment We shall bring out for him a scroll, which he will see spread open.” (al-Isra, 17/13)

The Prophet (pbuh) said,

 “Prayer is a light and sadaqah is evidence.” (Nasai, Zakah 1; Muslim, Taharah 1)

Thus, he states that prayer will appear as a light and charity as a proof, and that they will try to protect the human being like two heroes.

So, “The grave and the realms of the hereafter are the dowry chest of our deeds, our life and everything material and spiritual.” Like the chest in which a bride puts her dowry, when we go to our eternal homeland and motherland, we will find our prayers, fasting, zakah, charity and good deeds represented there.

Accordingly, each of the believer’s deeds will be manifested separately in each of the realms of the Hereafter; in some places, it will protect the believer against misfortunes and calamities, and in other places, it will appear before him as a food of Paradise or one of the other blessings of Paradise.

Every deed of the believer ascends to the heaven. As a matter of fact, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

“Around the Throne of Allah, a sound like the sound of a bee is always heard. Your tasbih, tahlil, takbir and tahmid will buzz around the Throne of Allah like a swarming bee. And their only wish is that their reciters be forgiven. Would you not like to have such intercessors with your Lord?” (Musnad, 4/268-271)

Every word, every sound that comes out of our mouths will ascend to the Throne, and it will surround the Throne; sounding like a bee it will try to intercede for us. If that is the reward for a single word, it is unimaginable how great the reward for doing the fard deeds and avoiding the haram deeds will be.

The hadith above and similar ones, tell us about some signs in the world of similitude, in the grave and in the Hereafter though the exact nature of them is unknown.

Our possessions will be embodied and they will be intercessors for us with their value in the sight of Allah. Our wealth whose zakah and tithe we have not given will be embodied as snakes and centipedes and will be presented to us in the form of paintings from the realm of similitude; and they will torment and punish us. One verse describes this reality as follows:

“And let not those who covetously withhold of the gifts which Allah Hath given them of His Grace, think that it is good for them: Nay, it will be the worse for them: soon shall the things which they covetously withheld be tied to their necks Like a twisted collar, on the Day of Judgment. To Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do.” (Aal-i Imran, 3/180)

“If a believer fails to pay the zakah of his wealth, it will appear before him in the Hereafter as a terrible snake, with a bald head because of its old age and horror.” (Nasai, Zakah, 2),

“It has two teeth. They bite the mouth or cheek of a person.” (Bukhari, Zakah 3)

The hadiths above also draw attention to the issue.

To sum up, we can say that everything we do, every word we speak, every breath we take will appear before us, either as good or bad, either in this world or in the grave, in the gathering place, in the realms of the hereafter. Whoever does anything does it for or against himself. Nothing will be wasted; everything will be rewarded or punished. (see Muhtasarı Tecrîdi Sarih Ter. ve Şerhi, 4/637; Ibn Qayyum, Ar-Ruh; Ihyau-Ulumid-Din, Bayanu Kalamil-Qabri-lil Mayyit)

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