(53) Chapter: Combining Hope and Fear (of Allah)

Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When a dead body is placed on a bier and men carry it on their shoulders, if the deceased was pious, it (the corpse) will say: 'Take me in haste'; but if he was not, it will say (to its bearers): 'Woe to it. Where are you taking it?' Everything except man hears its voice. Had a human being heard its voice, he would have surely died". [Al- Bukhari]. Commentary: The speech of a dead is a matter of the realm of the Unseen (or Al-Ghaib) which is mentioned in this Hadith. A deceased person will certainly say what has been disclosed here. A Muslim must have absolute faith in it. Almighty Allah is certainly capable of endowing the power of speech on a deceased person as he does speak with the angels (Munkar and Nakir) when they come to the dead in the grave and question him. This Hadith is intended to induce people to virtues so that after death, one has not to say: "Woe to me! Where are you taking me?". One should spend the life in such a manner that after death when he is taken to the graveyard for burial, he should be in a position to say: "Hasten to take me to my grave so that I can enjoy Divine blessings there".