The Grave's Discourse to the Living and the Dead

Abu Haamid al-Ghazaali

June 3, 2014

The tongue of the Spiritual State is even more eloquent in communicating with the dead than is that of speech when communicating with the living. The Messenger of God –God bless him and grant him peace- said, ‘When the dead man is laid in his grave it speaks to him, saying, “Woe betide you, O son of Adam! What distracted you from contemplating me? Did you not know that I am the house of trial, of darkness, and of solitude as well as of worms? What distracted you from me? You used to pass me by, strutting on (1) !” Now if he had worked well, then someone will reply to the grave on his behalf, saying, “Do you not see that it was his practice to enjoin good and forbid evil?” And the grave replies, “Then for him shall I turn to verdure, and his body shall become radiance, and his spirit shall soar up to God (Exalted is He!)”.’

Said ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr al-Laythi –God have mercy on him-, ‘Not a single man dies without being called by the pit in which he is buried, which declares, “I am the house of gloom, and of loneliness and solitude! If you were obedient to God during your lifetime then today I shall be a source of mercy for you, but if you were rebellious then I am an act of vengeance against you. The obedient who enter me shall come forth joyful, while the rebellious who enter me shall emerge in ruin”.’

Said Muhammad ibn Sabīḥ -God gave mercy on him-, ‘I have heard that if a man is laid in his tomb to be tormented or afflicted by something which is odious to him, his dead neighbors call out to him, saying, “O you who was left behind his brethren and neighbors in the world! Was there never any lesson for you in us? Was there no clue for you in our preceding you? Did you not see how our actions were severed from us while you still had some respite? Why did you not achieve that which passed your brethren by?” Then the regions of the earth call out to him, saying, “O you who were beguiled by the outer aspect of the world! Did you not take heed from your relatives who had vanished into the earth’s interior? Those who were beguiled by the world before you and then met their fate, and entered into their graves? You watched them being borne aloft, availed in nothing by those they loved, and taken to the abode which they could not escape.”

Said Yazīd ar-Ruqashī –God have mercy on him-, ‘I have heard that when the deceased is set in his tomb his works amass around him and are given to speak by God, so that they say, “O bondsman, alone in his pit! Your family and friends are now separated from you, so that today we are your sole companions”.’

Said Ka‘b [al-Aḥbār], “When the righteous bondsman is laid in his tomb he is surrounded by his righteous acts, such as his prayer, his fasting, his pilgrimage, his engagement in jihād, and the charity he used to distribute. Then the Angels of Chastisement approach him from the direction of his feet, but are told by Prayer, “Get back from him, you have no authority over him, for [upon those feet] he stood in me at length for the sake of God”. Then they approach him from the direction of his head, but Fasting says, “You have no authority over him, for in the world’s abode he thirsted at length for the sake of God”. Next they draw near to him from the direction of his trunk, but Pilgrimage and Jihād say, “Get back from him, for he exhausted himself and wearied his body when he accomplished the Pilgrimage and the Jihād for the sake of God; no authority do you have over him”. Then they approach him from the direction of his hands, but Charity says, “Back! Retreat from my master, for how many an act of charity issued from those two hands to fall into the hand of God (Exalted is He!), acting only for His sake; no authority, therefore, do you have over him”. Then he shall be told, “Rejoice! Good you have been in life and in death!” Next, the Angels of Mercy come, and spread a heavenly cloth and resting-place out for him, and his grave is widened around him for as far as his eye can see. A lamp is brought from Heaven, and from it he has light until God resurrects him from his grave.’

Said ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr at a funeral, ‘I have heard that the Messenger of God –God bless him and grant him peace- once declared, “The dead man sits up and hears the footsteps of those that are present at his funeral, but none addresses him save his tomb, which says, ‘Woe betide you, O son of Adam! Did you not fear me and my narrowness, and my dirty, terrors and worms? What have vou prepared for me?’

References

References
1TN : According to the narrator, ‘strutting’ [faddad] is to take large strides.