What Happens To The One Who Dies In The State Of Kufr/Shirk

Question: Assalamu Alaikum,

Respected Mufti SB when a non Muslim Kafir passed away is then he realises that Islam is the only true religion, what happens after they are buried if you can give me some detail on disbeliever after death and placed in the grave.

Answer: Wa Alikum As Salaam,

It is narrated in authentic traditions that when an unbelieving person is about to leave the world and move towards the hereafter, black-faced angels come to him from the sky with coarse cloth and sit down as far as his eyes can see. This is followed by the arrival of the angel of death who sits down at the end of the person and says: ‘O wicked soul! Come towards the displeasure and anger of your Lord’. Having heard this proclamation of the Angel of Death, the soul of the unbeliever begins to run and take refuge in different parts of his body. But the Angel pulls it out in a rough and harsh manner, and wraps it in the coarse cloth which is filthy and gives of the stench as the dead and rotten bodies on the earth. When the angels ascend to various levels in the sky (while carrying the soul), groups of angels at different levels ask, ‘Who is this wicked soul?’ The reply is given, ‘This is so and so, the son of so and so’. The doors of heaven remain closed for him as Allah says, ‘The doors of heaven would not be opened for them, nor will they enter paradise until a camel passes through the eye of a needle.’ (Quran 7: 40).

After this, Allah commands the angels to have his name written in the book of the wicked souls. Thereafter, his soul is placed back in his body and two angels come to him. They make him sit up and ask him, ‘Who is your Lord?’ He replies, ‘Ah! Ah! I don’t know.’ The Angels then ask him, ‘What is your religion?’ He replies, ‘Ah! Ah! I don’t know.’ He is further questioned, ‘Who is this man (Muhammad ﷺ) who was sent to you?’ He replies, ‘Ah! Ah! I don’t know.’ After this, a proclaimer from the sky proclaims, ‘He has lied. Spread fire under his body as a bed and clothe him with the clothing of fire. The intense heat and smoke of the fire then comes to him (while he is in the grave). The grave is then straightened upon him. It closes in upon him to the extent that one side of his ribs begin to penetrate the other side. A blind and deaf angel is then entrusted upon him. The angel is given an iron hammer to beat him, that if a mountain is struck with that hammer, it will turn to dust. The angel will then give the unbeliever a blow with the hammer that can be heard by all creatures between the east and the west except men and jinn. With this blow, the person will turn to dust. The soul will again return to the body, and the beating of the angel will continue.’ (Mishkat).

And Allah Knows Best.

Mufti Waseem Khan.

4/3/2015