In the Sunan of Abū Dāwūd and elsewhere, Aws ibn Aws al-Thaqafī reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The best of your days is Friday, so send abundant blessings upon me on Friday and the night preceding it, for your blessings are presented to me.”

They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, how will our blessings be presented to you when you have decayed?”

He replied, “Allah has forbidden the earth to consume the bodies of the prophets.”

There are more hadiths and reports on this subject than time presently permits us to examine exhaustively. They make clear that bodies in their graves experience bliss and torment—if Allah wills it—in whatever manner He wills, and that souls continue to exist after leaving the body, experiencing bliss and torment. For this reason, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded that the dead be greeted with peace, as established in the Sahīh and Sunan collections:

“He would teach his Companions, when they visited the graves, to say: ‘Peace be upon you, believing inhabitants of these dwellings. We shall, if Allah wills, join you. May Allah have mercy on those among us and you who have gone before and those who come after. We ask Allah for well-being for ourselves and for you. O Allah, do not deprive us of the reward associated with them, do not subject us to trials after them, and forgive us and them.’”

This has been disclosed to many people, who have heard the voices of those being tormented in their graves and seen with their own eyes those undergoing torment there, as recounted in numerous well-known reports. However, this need not affect the body continuously at every moment; rather, it may occur at some times and not at others.