If our good deeds outweigh our sins, will we still suffer the torment of the grave?

- Will we still suffer the punishment for a sin that was forgiven in the world?
- Will you give information about the questioning in the grave, the torment in the grave and the blessings of the grave?

Dear Brother / Sister,

It is accepted that the torment (punishment) in the grave will continue until the Day of Judgment for believers with many sins and unbelievers while it will be temporary for believers with few sins.

There will be no punishment for a sin that was forgiven in this world.

Questioning in the Grave

It is stated in the hadiths that the person placed in the grave will be questioned. It is narrated that the verse (Ibrahim, 14/27), which states that Allah will establish in strength those who believe, with the word that stands firm, in this world and in the hereafter was revealed about questioning in the grave. (Bukhari, Janaiz, 86; Muslim, Jannah, 73-74)

When the dead person is placed in the grave and the people in the graveyard begin to leave, he is questioned by two angels called Munkar and Nakir, and he is asked specifically about his opinion of the last prophet, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The believer declares that he accepts him as the servant and messenger of Allah; the unbeliever replies, “I do not know, I shared the opinion of the people around me.”

Torment (Punishment) in the Grave

Torment in the grave and the blessings in the grave are among the issues of ghayb (unknown/unseen) that cannot be known through the senses and reasoning, but are certain based on divine revelation. There are indications of some verses and explicit statements of various hadiths regarding the issue:

The verses stating that Pharaoh and his people will be brought in front of the Fire morning and evening and will be cast into the severest penalty on the Day that Judgment (al-Mu’min, 40/46), and that the people of Noah were made to enter the Fire after being drowned in the flood (Nuh, 71/25) are evidences related to the life in the grave according to Ahl as-Sunnah scholars.

In addition, the following verses stating that

- Those who believe and do righteous deeds will not be held equal with those who seek after evil ways (al-Jasiya, 45/21-22),
- Hypocrites will be punished twice and in addition they will be sent to a grievous penalty (at-Tawba, 9/101),
- Unbelievers and hypocrites will taste of the penalty of this life prior to the supreme penalty (as-Sajda, 32/21; at-Tur, 52/47)

are also cited as evidences indicating punishment in the grave.

According to what is stated in hadiths,

- The Messenger of Allah heard the voice of some people who were tormented in the grave (Musnad, III, 103, 104; Muslim, Jannah, 67-69),
- He sought refuge in Allah from the torment of the grave and told his Companions to seek refuge in Allah from it (Musnad, III, 296; Muslim, Jannah, 67),
- He prayed to Allah to protect the dead person whose janazah prayer he led from the torment of the grave (Muslim, Janaiz, 86),
- He also stated that animals heard the voices of those who were tormented (Nasai, Janaiz, 115)

- Backbiting and talebearing (Musnad, I, 225; Bukhari, Janaiz, 88, Wudu, 57),
- Crying by lamenting for the dead (Bukhari, Janaiz, 33; Muslim, “Janaiz”, 16-28),
- Dying as a debtor (Ibn Majah, Sadaqat, 12),
- Telling lies, committing adultery, getting interest (usury), drinking alcohol (Bukhari, Janaiz, 92; “Tabirur-Ruya, 48)

It is also stated in hadiths that the deeds mentioned above and similar ones cause torment in the grave.

It is also stated in hadiths that the following types of punishments exist in the grave:

- The grace squeezing the person (Tirmidhi, Janaiz, 70),
- A person is shown his place in Hell in the morning and evening (Bukhari, Janaiz, 88; Muslim, Jannah, 65-66)

Blessing in the Grave

It is definite based on Quranic verses and hadiths that blessings exist in the grave.

The following is stated in the Quran:

- Those who are slain in the way of Allah are not regarded as dead and that they are alive even though people do not perceive it. (al-Baqara, 2/154)
- They live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord (Aal-i Imran, 3/169)

According to Sunni scholars, those verses are literal and cannot be interpreted in any other way. The phrase in the verse in the chapter of al-Baqara, “You cannot perceive it,” indicates that the life in question takes place in the intermediate realm (barzakh) not in the gathering place in the hereafter because the life in the hereafter is comprehended by all people, since everyone is in the same realm.

The fact that the verses say that martyrs will be blessed is an indication that other believers who are not tormented in the grave will also be blessed since salvation from torment is also a blessing.

The verses in the Quran stating that those who migrated in the way of Allah and were killed in battle or died in the cause of Allah will be granted good sustenance and blessing by Allah and will be placed in a place where they will be pleased (al-Hajj, 22/58-59) indicate that believers who do not reach the rank of martyrdom will also have a good life in the grave.

In addition, in almost all of the hadiths related to the questioning and torment in the grave, it is reported that the graves of the believers who answer the questions will be enlarged and illuminated, transformed into a garden among the gardens of Paradise, and the believer will be shown his place in Paradise in the morning and evening. (Musnad, III, 3-4; Muslim, Jannah, 65-66; Tirmidhi, Janaiz, 71)

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