Is the punishment of the grave the same for the believer and the disbeliever?

The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah bless you. Regarding the punishment of the grave, is it the same for the believer and the disbeliever? I mean, it is sometimes said that the two black angels with blue eyes come, their voices like thunder, their gazes like flashing lightning. Is this tremendous, severe scene such that any person who sees it is stunned? Does the believing Muslim in his grave see it just as the disbeliever sees it, and is he stunned?

The Shaykh : The apparent meaning of the hadith that was reported is that this is a matter shared by all those buried, because they come to pose the question.

The questioner : Yes

The Shaykh : However, if one is among the believers and is prepared for the correct answer, that does not distress him, and the opposite is the opposite. But what appeared to me from your question is that you started with one thing and ended with another. You started by asking about the punishment of the grave, and then you ended up asking about Munkar and Nakir, whose function is not to inflict punishment on the deceased, but only to ask the questions. Therefore, you should specify your question: is it, as you said at the beginning of your question, about the punishment of the grave, or is it about the questioning by the two angels?

The questioner : I, may Allah bless you, in my view, I see that seeing this scene of the two angels is considered punishment, because their appearance is hideous. If any one of them were to appear in this world, it would be more stunning than the face of the world. So, does this hideous, tremendous scene, if seen by a Muslim or believer in his grave, mean...

The Shaykh : This, may Allah bless you, is an impermissible expansion in analogizing unseen matters to the senses, comparing them to tangible matters perceived by the senses. The barzakh, the life of the barzakh, is not measured by worldly life, nor by the life of the Hereafter. For example, you undoubtedly know his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): We cannot now imagine in a material way Moses standing in his grave praying, because if we imagine this material imagination, we are struck by the material aspect and we say, how can he pray while standing in his grave?
Therefore, it is not permissible to expand in matters of the unseen. This is of that nature. You built your statement that their coming in this terrifying form, their coming in this terrifying form, is punishment; you named it so. But we say this differs according to the one being questioned. If he is a believer, our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) calms his soul, expands his chest, and he answers the questions without any hesitation, without any stammering or delay in the answer, and the opposite is the opposite.
Then the true punishment is when that blow is struck and his ribs interlock with one another; this is the punishment. As for merely the questioning and coming in that terrifying form, we cannot deduce from that that there is punishment for every buried person or for every deceased person. Yes, the pressure of the grave is a reality, and as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: But merely the questioning in that terrifying form, we cannot necessitate from it that it is punishment. This is the summary of the answer.