If a servant dies and is then placed in the grave, is his soul returned to him, and is he punished therein according to his deeds in this world?

The questioner : As for the soul.

The Shaykh : Regarding what?

The questioner : After a person dies, does his soul return to him a second time when he is lowered into the grave, and is he punished in the grave according to his deeds?

The Shaykh : There is no doubt that when the deceased is placed in his grave, his soul returns to him at the moment the two angels, Munkar and Nakir, come to question him. If he answers correctly, he returns to being dead as he was before. By this, I mean that when he is placed in his grave, his soul returns to him and inhabits him, such that when he is lying in the grave, he sits up until the question is directed to him, and he answers. The soul inhabits his upper body. When he is finished with the answer, he returns to being dead. Now, the question is: what is the fate of his soul? The answer is: he is either punished or granted bliss through his soul, because his body is dead. The method of granting bliss and inflicting punishment is, of course, among the unseen matters in which it is not permissible for a Muslim to delve deeply, because it is part of the unseen, and we do not know the unseen, nor does anyone know it except Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). However, we have some details that we have learned from the authentic Sunnah. For example, if the soul of the deceased is that of a believer, a window is opened for him in the grave from which he looks out at his home in Paradise. He receives from its spirit, its fragrance, and its bliss, and he continues to enjoy this until the Hour of Resurrection. In another hadith, it is stated that this believing deceased is either among the general believers or a martyr. If he is among the general believers, his soul moves from his grave to the belly of a bird from the birds of Paradise, and he enjoys the food of this bird from the trees of Paradise. If this deceased is a martyr, his soul is in the crop of a bird from the birds of Paradise. The soul of the ordinary believer is in the belly of the bird, while the soul of the believing martyr is in the crop of the bird. Thus, the bliss of the believer’s soul is either in his grave, or he may move in Paradise with his soul, not with his body. As for if, may Allah forbid, he is an open sinner or a disbeliever, a window is opened for him and he sees his home in the Fire, in Hell. A window is opened for him from it, and he receives from its wind, its flames, and its smoke, and he continues to be punished until the Hour stands. From here, we arrive at a very important point related to some of the problems of the present age. You must have heard of people who claim that they summon spirits. Have you heard of this, yes or no?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : I mean that the summoning of spirits today is among the innovations of the present age and the delusions of the European disbelievers and their like. These people do not believe in anything called resurrection and rising, and so on. They claim that they are able to summon the soul of whomever they wish, from doctors, to scholars, to the righteous, to the wicked, and so on. Many Muslims in Egypt, in Syria, and elsewhere have been deceived by them. We know some of them. If we recall this Islamic belief, which is that the soul of the deceased is in the grave, being granted bliss or punished, or moving if he is a believer to Paradise, how is it possible to restore these souls to the world of this life and question them and interrogate them? This is the deception of Satan upon these people today. If you remember this fact, remember with it that the process of summoning spirits is modern deception, modern deception that contradicts the Islamic Shari'ah. Yes.

The questioner : ... A second question ... please allow me ...

The Shaykh: Go ahead.