The Punishment of the Grave

Question : Is the punishment of the grave for the body and the soul, or for the soul only? And how do we reconcile this with what we observe of the ashes of bones, especially in the graveyards of Makkah?

Answer : He asks whether the punishment is for the body or for the soul? We say that the default is that the punishment is for the soul, but it may be connected to the body. However, it is not necessary that this bodily punishment be tangible and visible, because if the punishment of a person after his death were tangible and visible on his body, then believing in it would be belief in the tangible, not belief in the unseen. And if it were belief in the tangible, there would be no benefit in being tested by believing in it. For this reason, a person may be punished in his grave with a punishment on his body, and we would not feel it even if we dug up the grave, because that is not measured by the affairs of this world. The punishment that occurs on the body in the grave is not like the punishment that occurs on the body in this world, because the soul’s attachment to its body after death is not like its attachment to its body in life. I give you an example that clarifies the reality and brings the reality closer, even though there is a difference between what I use as an example and the reality itself. A sleeping person sometimes sees in a dream that he is being beaten, that he is being punished, that he is in distress, and that he is in hardship. He sees that he has stood up and that he has traveled, and yet he is on his bed, under his cover, and has not moved. But this is because the soul’s attachment to the body in the state of sleep is not like its attachment to it in the state of wakefulness. Likewise, its attachment to it after death is not like its attachment to it in the state of life. And on this basis, the body can be punished in the grave, even if we were to investigate it, we would not see that punishment.
It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when the deceased is placed in his grave and his companions turn away from him, until he can hear the sound of their sandals, two angels come to him and make him sit, seating him in his grave in a real sitting, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us of it. And with this, if we were to return to the tangible evidence, we would find that the grave does not have enough space for him to sit in it, because it has been lowered into it and plaster has been poured over it. But the conditions of the Hereafter are not measured by the conditions of this world. Yes.