for the intellect cannot grasp how it takes place, for it has no prior acquaintance with anything like it in this abode. The revealed Law never contains what sound minds deem impossible, yet it may contain matters before which minds are left bewildered. Thus the soul’s return to the body is not like the familiar return we know in this life; rather, it is restored in a way altogether different from the customary reunion experienced here…
He went on to say: “Know that the punishment of the grave is the punishment of the barzakh. Everyone who dies while deserving torment receives his allotted share of it, whether he is buried or not: whether wild beasts consume him, or he is burned until he becomes ashes that are scattered in the air, or he is crucified, or drowned in the sea—it will nevertheless reach his soul and the like. One must understand the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in accordance with what he intended, neither with exaggeration nor with negligence. Do not burden his words with meanings they cannot bear, nor truncate them so that they fall short of the guidance and elucidation he meant to convey. How much misguidance and deviation from the truth—known only to Allah—has arisen because people have ignored this principle or turned away from it.”
He further said: “In sum, there are three abodes: the abode of this world, the abode of the barzakh, and the abode of permanence. Allah has assigned to each abode its own rulings. He fashioned the human being from body and soul, and He made the rulings of this world apply primarily to bodies, with souls following them; He made the rulings of the barzakh apply primarily to souls, with bodies following them; and when the Day arrives on which bodies are gathered and people rise from their graves, judgment, bliss, and torment will befall both souls and bodies together.
When you contemplate this matter with due reflection, you will see that the grave being a garden from the gardens of Paradise or a pit from the pits of Hell is entirely consistent with reason, and that it is a truth beyond doubt. In this way those who believe in the unseen are distinguished from others.
It must also be understood that the fire and bliss found in the grave are not of the same order as the fire and bliss of this world, even though Allah, exalted is He, may cause the very earth and stones above the deceased—and those