to rest, for he was in the distress of worldly life.’ Then it is asked, ‘What has so-and-so done? What has such-and-such a woman done?’ As for the disbeliever, when his soul is taken, it is brought to the earth. The keepers of the earth say, ‘We have never encountered a stench fouler than this,’ and it is taken down to the lowest earth.”

These hadiths and others like them describe the soul and body sharing in the bliss and torment of the grave. As for what the soul experiences on its own, some of that has already been discussed.

Kaʿb ibn Mālik, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The believer’s soul is a bird that feeds among the trees of Paradise until Allah returns it to its body on the day He resurrects him.”

This was narrated by al-Nasā’ī, and also by both Mālik and al-Shāfiʿī. The word “yaʿlaqu,” read with a u vowel, means “to eat.” This has also been reported in other hadiths. These texts tell us that the soul enjoys bliss together with the body in the grave—if Allah wills—whereas it enjoys bliss in Paradise on its own. Both are true.

Ibn Abī al-Dunyā narrated in his book Dhikr al-Mawt (The Remembrance of Death) that Mālik ibn Anas said:

“It has reached me that the soul is released to go wherever it wishes.”

This agrees with the report that “the soul may be in the open spaces around the graves.” As Mujāhid said, “Souls remain at the graves for seven days from the day the deceased is buried, without departing; and the soul may be returned to the body at times other than the questioning.” This is illustrated by the hadith that Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr authenticated, in which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“No man passes by the grave of a man he knew in this world and greets him with peace without Allah restoring the deceased’s soul to him so that he may return the greeting.”