What the Believer and Disbeliever will See (Before Dying) — Hadith 1

t as well. He is then told, ‘Sleep as a newly-wed bride sleeps on her [soft] bed, and receive the glad tidings of ease, serenity, a blissful paradise, and a Lord who is not angry [with you]! ’ Then he visits the family of the Prophet in the Gardens of delight, eating with them from their food, drinking with them from their drink, and speaking with them in their gatherings. [This will continue] until the Riser (qāʾim) from the Ahl al-Bayt rises. When our Riser rises, Allah will resurrect them so they will come together responding to his call in throngs. At that time, the followers of falsehood will doubt while those who violate the sacred will dwindle and only very few will remain. Those who seek to hasten it are destroyed and those who consider it near are saved. For this reason, the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said to ʿAlī (a), ‘You are my brother, and my rendezvous with you will be at wādī al-salām. ’” He (a) said, “And when a disbeliever is on his deathbed, the Messenger of Allah (ṣ), ʿAlī (a), the Imams (a), Jibraʾīl, Mīkāʾīl, and the Angel of Death (a) all come to him. Then Jibraʾīl draws near to him and says, ‘O Messenger of Allah, this person used to hate you, the Ahl al-Bayt, so hate him. ’ So the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) says to him, O Jibraʾīl, verily this individual used to hate Allah and His Messenger, and the family of His Messenger, so [tell the Angel of Death to] hate him and be harsh with him. ’ And Jibraʾīl in turn says, ‘O Angel of Death, this person used to hate Allah and His Messenger, and the family of His Messenger, so hate him and be harsh with him. ’ Thus the Angel of Death approaches the person and says, ‘O servant of Allah, have you procured your emancipation and your security [from hellfire]? Have you held on to the Great Protection in the life of this world? ’ He replies, ‘No. ’ So he says, ‘Then receive tidings, O enemy of Allah, of the wrath of Allah, the Almighty, His chastisement and the Fire! As for what you hoped for, you have missed it, and as for what you feared, it has descended upon you. ’ Then he extracts his soul violently, after which three hundred devils are assigned to remain with his soul, each of them spitting on his face and causing him discomfort. When he is placed in his grave, one of the doors of Hell is opened for him, so from it enters [into his grave] some of its stench, its [purulent] discharge, and its flames. ”