the grave.’ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, is there punishment in the grave?’ He replied, ‘They are indeed being punished in their graves with a punishment that animals can hear.’”

Some have said: This is why people take their animals, when they suffer from colic, to the graves of Jews, Christians and hypocrites, such as the Ismā‘īlīs, the Nusayrīs and the other Qarmatians, including Banū ‘Ubayd and others in Egypt, Syria and elsewhere. Horse owners deliberately visit their graves for this purpose, just as they visit the graves of Jews and Christians. The ignorant suppose that they are descendants of Fātimah and among Allah’s righteous allies, whereas this is merely an instance of what has just been described. For it has been said that when horses hear the punishment of the grave, they develop a heat that dispels their colic.

There are many hadiths on this, more than the scope of this question permits us to discuss. There are also many hadiths concerning this matter, including the report in Sahīh al-Bukhārī, Sahīh Muslim and the Sunan collections from al-Barā’ ibn ‘Āzib (may Allah be pleased with him), who reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:

“When a Muslim is questioned in his grave, he testifies that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. This is what Allah Most High means by His words: ‘Allah keeps firm those who believe, with the firm word, in worldly life and in the Hereafter.’”

Another wording states:

“This was revealed concerning the punishment of the grave. He is asked, ‘Who is your Lord?’ He replies, ‘My Lord is Allah, my religion is Islam, and my prophet is Muhammad.’ This is what Allah Most High means by His words: ‘Allah keeps firm those who believe, with the firm word, in worldly life and in the Hereafter. And Allah sends astray the wrongdoers. And Allah does what He wills.’”

The compilers of the Sunan and Musnad collections have narrated this hadith at length, as in Sunan Abī Dāwūd