سورة ابراهيم

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whenever the time of death approaches one of our followers and Shia, Satan comes to his bedside from the right and from the left to divert him from what he believes in, but Allah the Mighty and Majestic prevents that and does not allow it, and this is the very saying of Allah the Exalted: يُثَبِّتُ اللهُ الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِی الحَیاةِ الدُّنْیا وَ فِی الْآخِرَةِ [Allah confirms those who believe with the sure word in this world's life and in the hereafter].

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Bara ibn Azib said that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), regarding the verse: يُثَبِّتُ اللهُ الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِی الحَیاةِ الدُّنْیا وَ فِی الْآخِرَةِ [Allah confirms those who believe with the sure word in this world's life and in the hereafter] [that is, this steadfastness of foot and firmness of belief], said: "It is at the time of questioning the dead in the realm of the grave."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Bara ibn Azib said: We went with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) for the funeral procession of a man from the Ansar. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) sat beside his grave and had lowered his blessed head, then he said three times: "O Allah! I seek refuge in You from the punishment of the grave!" Then he said: "When a believer is heading toward the hereafter, Allah assigns to him angels whose faces shine like the sun, and his hanut (embalming) and shroud are also with them. So they sit before his eyes. When the soul leaves his body, all the angels between the heavens and the earth and all the angels of the heavens send salutations upon him, and the gates of heaven are opened to him, and there is no gate among the gates of heaven except that it wishes his soul to enter through it. When his soul is raised up, they say: 'O Lord! It is Your servant so-and-so!' The address comes: 'Return him so that I may show him the blessings I have prepared for him, for I have promised him this; مِنْها خَلَقْناکُمْ وَ فِیها نُعِیدُکُمْ وَ مِنْها نُخْرِجُکُمْ تارَةً أُخْری [From it (the earth) We created you, and to it We return you, and from it We shall bring you out once again (at the resurrection)].' And he hears the footsteps of those who bore him at his funeral when they turn back, until the angels of Allah ask: 'O so-and-so! Who is your Lord? Who is your Prophet? And who is your Imam?' He answers: 'The One Allah is my Lord, and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is my Prophet, and Ali (peace be upon him) is my Imam,' and he enumerates the Imams one by one." [The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)] said: "Those two angels leave him with a loud voice, and this is the last danger that comes to him, and after he gives those answers a caller calls out: 'You have spoken the truth!' And this is the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted, who said: يُثَبِّتُ اللهُ الَّذینَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِی الحَیاةِ الدُّنْیا وَ فِی الْآخِرَةِ [Allah confirms those who believe with the sure word in this world's life and in the hereafter]."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): If the son of Adam is a friend of Allah ... when he enters his grave, the two angels of the grave come to him, dragging their hair behind them and cleaving the ground with their steps, their voices like crashing thunder and their eyes like swift, flashing lightning, and they ask him: "Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your Prophet?" He answers: "Allah, Mighty is His majesty, is my Lord, my religion is Islam, and my Prophet is Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)." Then the two angels say to him: "May Allah keep you firm in what you love and in what pleases you." Concerning this, Allah has said: يُثَبِّتُ اللهُ الَّذِینَ آمَنُواْ بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِی الحَیَاةِ الدُّنْیَا وَ فِی الآخِرَةِ [Allah confirms those who believe with the sure word in this world's life and in the hereafter]. Then they widen and extend his grave as far as the eye can see, and they open from his grave a door toward Paradise.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: When the body of a believer is carried out of his house toward the graveyard, the angels escort his bier to the grave, and then they gather around him and crowd together until he is placed in the grave. At that moment, the earth says to him: "Welcome! By Allah, I loved that people such as you should tread upon me and walk. Without doubt, you shall see what I do for you." Then, as far as the eye can see, the earth is spread out before him, and the two angels of the grave, who sit in the grave and are named Munkar and Nakir, enter his grave and breathe the spirit into him up to his waist, seat him, and ask him: "Who is your Lord?" He says: "Allah, Glorious is His Glory." They ask: "What is your religion?" He says: "Islam." They ask: "Who is your Prophet?" He answers: "Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)." They ask: "Who is your Imam?" He answers: "So-and-so." [The Imam (peace be upon him) said]: "At this moment, a caller from the heavens calls out that My servant has spoken the truth. Spread out for him the carpet of Paradise in his grave, and open from his grave a way to Paradise, and clothe him in the garments of Paradise, until the time when he comes to Us; and indeed what is with Us is far better and more exalted for him." Then he is addressed: "Sleep like a bride, a sleep in which there is no disturbance." He said: "But if he is a disbeliever, the angels escort him from his house to the graveyard while cursing him, and when he is placed in the grave, the earth addresses him: 'May this place not be pleasant for you! By Allah, I swear that I detested that people such as you should set foot upon me, but there is no escape. Without doubt, today you shall see what I will do to you.' Then the earth constricts the grave upon him so tightly that his two sides meet. Then the two angels of the grave, named Munkar and Nakir, who sit in the grave, enter upon him." Abu Basir said: "May I be your ransom! Do these two angels enter upon the believer and the disbeliever in the same form?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "No." Then he said: "They seat the disbeliever in his place and breathe the spirit into him up to his waist, and say to him: 'Who is your Lord?' He falters and says: 'I heard people saying.' The two angels say to him: 'You have not understood and do not know who your Lord is?' Then they ask him: 'Who is your Prophet?' He falters and answers: 'I heard people saying.' The two angels say to him: 'You have not understood and do not know?' After that, they question him about the Imam of his time." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "At this moment, a caller from the heavens cries out that My servant is a liar. Spread out for him the carpet of Hell in his grave, and clothe him in a garment of fire, and open from his grave a door to Hell, until the day when he comes to Us; and what We have prepared for him on that day is far worse than that in which he now dwells. Then those two angels strike him with a heavy mace three blows, and with each blow his grave is filled with fire. That mace is such that if the mountains of the region of Tihama were struck with it, they would be reduced to dust." Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Allah imposes upon him in the grave venomous snakes that tear him to pieces, and Satan grieves and saddens him severely." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "The sound of his torment and punishment is heard by all of Allah's creatures except the jinn and mankind." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "He hears the sound of their footsteps and the movement of their hands." Allah the Exalted has said concerning this: يُثَبِّتُ اللهُ الَّذِینَ آمَنُواْ بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِی الحَیَاةِ الدُّنْیَا وَ فِی الآخِرَةِ وَ یُضِلُّ اللهُ الظَّالِمِینَ وَ یَفْعَلُ اللهُ مَا یَشَاءُ [Allah confirms those who believe with the sure word in this world's life and in the hereafter, and Allah causes the unjust to go astray, and Allah does what He pleases].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): When a person is placed in his grave, two angels come to him — one on his right side and one on his left — and Satan is also stationed before him, his eyes made of copper. They say to him: "What do you say about this man who was raised up as a messenger from among you?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "This question terrifies that person, and [if he is a believer] he says: 'Are you asking me about Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)?' At that moment the two angels say to him: 'Sleep, a sleep in which there is no distress.' His grave is expanded for him by seven cubits, and he sees his place in Paradise. But if he is a disbeliever, he is asked: 'What do you say about this man who was raised up as a messenger from among you?' He answers: 'I do not know.' Then he is left alone with Satan, and he is struck on the head with an iron mace whose sound is heard by all creatures. Allah has said concerning this: يُثَبِّتُ اللهُ الَّذِینَ آمَنُواْ بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِی الحَیَاةِ الدُّنْیَا وَ فِی الآخِرَةِ وَ یُضِلُّ اللهُ الظَّالِمِینَ وَ یَفْعَلُ اللهُ مَا یَشَاءُ [Allah confirms those who believe with the sure word in this world's life and in the hereafter, and Allah causes the unjust to go astray, and Allah does what He pleases]."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): The meaning of [bi'l-qawli'l-thabit — with the sure word] is the wilayah of Ali (peace be upon him).

Imam Jawad (peace be upon him): Hadrat Abd al-Azim al-Hasani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I came to my master Imam Hadi (peace be upon him). When his eyes fell upon me, he said: "O Abu'l-Qasim! Welcome; you are truly our friend." I said: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), I wish to present my religion to you; if it meets with your approval, I will hold firm to it until I meet Allah." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "State your beliefs, O Abu'l-Qasim!" Abd al-Azim presented his beliefs ... Then the Imam (peace be upon him) said: "O Abu'l-Qasim! By Allah, this is the religion which Allah the Exalted has approved for His servants. فَاثْبُتْ عَلَیْهِ ثَبَّتَکَ اللهُ بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِی الحَیاةِ الدُّنْیا وَ فِی الْآخِرَةِ [So hold firm to it; may Allah keep you firm with the sure word in this world's life and in the hereafter]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, on the Day of Resurrection causes the wrongdoers to stray from the abode of His honour, and guides the people of faith and righteous deeds to His Paradise, just as the Mighty and Majestic has said: وَ یُضِلُّ اللهُ الظَّالِمِینَ وَ یَفْعَلُ اللهُ ما یَشاءُ [And Allah causes the unjust to go astray, and Allah does what He pleases]. And Allah the Mighty and Majestic has [also] said: Those who believe and do righteous deeds — their Lord guides them by their faith; beneath [the palaces of] them rivers flow in the gardens of bliss. (Yunus / 9)

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, sent no prophet except with the prohibition of wine, and with the acknowledgement that Allah does whatever He wills, and that frankincense be part of his legacy.