পৃষ্ঠা 2: বরযখ জগতের স্বরূপ ও গুরুত্ব সম্পর্কিত লেখকের ভূমিকা

Ata al-Khurasani said: "The Barzakh is the period between this worldly life and the Hereafter."

Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) performed the funeral prayer over a deceased person, and when he was laid into his niche (lahd), Abu Umamah said: "This is a Barzakh until the Day they are resurrected."

It was said to al-Sha'bi: "So-and-so has died." He replied: "He is neither in this world nor in the Hereafter; he is in a Barzakh." And he heard a man say, "So-and-so died; he has become one of the people of the Hereafter." He said: "Do not say 'one of the people of the Hereafter,' but rather say 'one of the people of the graves.'"

Some righteous brethren requested that I compile for them the transmitted reports concerning the Barzakh and the states of the departed dead, for listening to such matters provides admonition to the hearts and awakens the heedless from their slumber. Therefore, I sought the guidance of Allah, the Exalted, in compiling what has been related regarding this from the Book, the Sunnah, the traditions of the righteous predecessors (Salaf) of the Ummah, what has been narrated about taking heed from the graves, and the sayings of the wise in both poetry and prose, all presented concisely, for exhaustive treatment would cause weariness due to prolixity and excess.

And Allah is besought to make us among those who hasten before opportunities are lost, remain ever mindful of death, prepare for the final journey before mortality arrives, and benefit from the admonitions they hear, by His grace and bounty.

I have divided it into thirteen chapters, and Allah is implored to make it a purely sincere and correct deed:

Chapter One: Concerning the state of the deceased upon descending into his grave, the questioning by the angels, the expansion or constriction of his grave, and what he beholds of his abode in Paradise or in the Fire.

Chapter Two: Concerning what the grave says when the deceased descends into it.

Chapter Three: Concerning the gathering of the deceased around the newly deceased person upon his death, and their questioning him.

Chapter Four: Concerning the gathering of the deeds of the deceased around him, whether good or evil, their defending him, their speaking to him, what has been narrated regarding the regret of the deceased over the cessation of their deeds, and those among them who are honored with the continuation of their deeds.

Chapter Five: Concerning the presentation of the abodes of Paradise or Hellfire before the dwellers of the graves morning and evening.

Chapter Six: Concerning the punishment of the grave and its bliss.

Chapter Seven: Concerning what has been reported regarding the meeting and mutual visitation of the souls of the deceased in the Barzakh.