We shall now present what clarifies what we have said. The hadiths concerning punishment in the grave and the questioning by Munkar and Nakīr are numerous and mass-transmitted from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Among them is the report in the two Sahīh collections from Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with them both):

“The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) passed by two graves and said, ‘Both of them are being punished, yet they are not being punished for anything great. One of them used to go about spreading malicious gossip, while the other did not protect himself from his urine.’ Then he asked for a fresh palm frond, split it in two, and planted one half in each grave. They asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, why have you done this?’ He replied, ‘Perhaps their punishment will be lightened so long as these two do not dry out.’”

In Sahīh Muslim, Zayd ibn Thābit said:

“While the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was riding a mule in a garden belonging to Banū al-Najjār, with us accompanying him, it suddenly swerved and nearly threw him off. There were six, five, or four graves there. He asked, ‘Who knows about these graves?’ A man replied, ‘I do.’ He asked, ‘When did these people die?’ The man replied, ‘They died in a state of polytheism.’ He said, ‘This community is indeed put to trial in its graves. Were it not that you might cease burying one another, I would ask Allah to let you hear some of the punishment of the grave that I hear.’

“Then he turned to face us and said, ‘Seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of the grave.’ They said, ‘We seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of the grave.’

“He said, ‘Seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of the Fire.’ They said, ‘We seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of the Fire.’

“He said, ‘Seek refuge in Allah from trials, both manifest and hidden.’ They said, ‘We seek refuge in Allah from trials, both manifest and hidden.’

“He said, ‘Seek refuge in Allah from the trial of the Dajjāl.’ They said, ‘We seek refuge in Allah from the trial of the Dajjāl.’”

In Sahīh Muslim and the other Sunan collections, Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet