—because purification from impurity is one of its prerequisites.
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Most of the torment of the grave stems from neglecting to guard against urine. The two Ṣaḥīḥs relate that the Prophet ﷺ once passed by two graves and said, “They are being punished, yet they are not being punished for something difficult to avoid: one of them used not to cleanse himself from urine, while the other used to walk about spreading malicious gossip.”
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This also affirms that the punishment of the grave is real. In al-Bukhārī (1372) and Muslim (586) ʿĀʾishah said: “I asked the Prophet ﷺ about the punishment of the grave. He replied, ‘Yes, the punishment of the grave is real.’” According to Ahl al-Sunnah, that punishment befalls both the soul and the body. Shaykh al-Islām [Ibn Taymiyyah] said: “Punishment and bliss affect both the soul and the body together, by consensus of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah.”
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The text further confirms recompense in the Hereafter: the very first stage of the next life is the grave, which is either a garden from the gardens of Paradise or a pit from the pits of Hell.
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Shaykh al-Islām also stated: The sound position is that it is permissible, when there is a need, for impurity to touch a person, provided he purifies his body and clothes before the prayer. In the sounder of the two narrations this is not disliked, and it is the opinion held by the majority of jurists.
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The author added, concerning the Prophet’s ﷺ words, “for he did not protect himself from his urine,” that proper cleansing relates only to one’s own urine, which commonly splashes onto the thighs and calves. A person may take its removal lightly and thus fail to perform istinjāʾ thoroughly.