Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked about Munkar and Nakīr questioning the deceased:

“When a person dies, his soul enters his body, and he sits up and answers Munkar and Nakīr. Would this require him to die a second time?”

He replied:

The soul’s return to the body of the deceased in the grave is not like its return to the body in this worldly life, although that return may be more complete in certain respects. Likewise, existence in the Hereafter is not like existence in this world, although it is more complete. Indeed, each state—in this world, in barzakh (the intermediate realm), and at the Resurrection—is governed by rules of its own.

Thus, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, explained that the deceased’s grave is made spacious for him, that he is questioned, and other such matters, even though the soil may remain unchanged. Souls are returned to the bodies of the deceased and depart from them.

Is this called death? There are two views. Some have said that it is called death, and have interpreted the words of Allah Most High accordingly:

“Our Lord, You made us die twice and gave us life twice.”

It has been said that the first life is in this world and the second life is in the grave.