If a man is buried in the grave, is his soul returned to him, or where does it go, and how is the soul returned to the grave?
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The questioner : The death of a human being means the soul leaving the body. When he is buried in the grave, is the soul returned to his body, or where does it go? And if the soul is returned to the body in the grave, how does that happen?
The Shaykh : It is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that when a person dies, his soul is returned to him in his grave, and he is asked about his Lord, his religion, and his Prophet: so[Ibrahim 14:27] The believer says: My Lord is Allah, my religion is Islam, and my Prophet is Muhammad.
As for the disbeliever or the hypocrite, when he is asked, he says: "Ugh, ugh, I do not know. I heard people saying something, so I said it."
This return, meaning the return of the soul to the body in the grave, is not like the presence of the human soul in the body in this world, because it is a life of the barzakh (the interval between death and resurrection), and we do not know its essence, for we have not been informed about the essence of this life. And all matters of the unseen about which we have not been informed, our duty toward them is to refrain from asserting anything, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Isra 17:36].
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : It is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that when a person dies, his soul is returned to him in his grave, and he is asked about his Lord, his religion, and his Prophet: so
Allah keeps firm those who believe, with the firm word, in worldly life and in the Hereafter
يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الآخِرَةِAs for the disbeliever or the hypocrite, when he is asked, he says: "Ugh, ugh, I do not know. I heard people saying something, so I said it."
This return, meaning the return of the soul to the body in the grave, is not like the presence of the human soul in the body in this world, because it is a life of the barzakh (the interval between death and resurrection), and we do not know its essence, for we have not been informed about the essence of this life. And all matters of the unseen about which we have not been informed, our duty toward them is to refrain from asserting anything, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned.
وَلا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُوْلَئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولًاThe questioner : May Allah bless you.