After establishing the fact that mankind shall be Resurrected by his Lord Glory be to Him based on the text of the Quraan and the Sunna of the Messenger [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him], it is necessary to also explain tile fact that resurrection is minor (as-Sughra) and major (al- Kubra).
Minor Resurrection
At death mankind exists in the state in between this dunya and the Hereafter (Aakhirah) whether buried or eaten up by bigger mammals or burnt to ashes. This existence is referred to al-hayaatul-barzakhiyah or Daarul-Barzakh. Here, life is restored to the servant and he is resurrected. Concerning this, the Messenger [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] said, "Whoever dies, his resurrection has commenced." Baraa bn Aazib [RA] reported in a very lengthy narration that:
"We were at a place of preparing a corpse for burial at Baqeeul-Garqad when the Messenger Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him came to us. He sat and we sat beside him and (we were so silent) as if birds were on our heads while it (the dead) was been entombed and he said, I seek refuge in Allaah from the Punishment of the grave (thrice) ... Allaah will say Return it (the soul of man) to the earth for from it I created them and to it I shall return them and from it I shall raise them the last time. So, the soul returns to the body ..." (Ahmad)
The Questioners In the Barzakh after life is restored, the two angels appear to him. Abu Hurayrah [RA] reported that the Messenger [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him said:
"When any of you is buried or any man, two black-blue angels appear to him one of them is called al-Munkar and the other - an-Nakeer." (Tirmidhee and Ibn Hibban).
Anas bn Maalik RA also reported that the Messenger [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] said, "When a servant is put in his grave and his people turn away from him such that he still hears the sound of their sandals, two angels appear to him, sit him up and say to him What did you believe about this man Muhammad Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him? For the believer he says, I testify that he is His Slave and Messenger. And it is said to him, Look at your place in the hell, Allaah has replaced it with an abode for you in al-Jannah and he sees them both. But for the kaafir or the Hypocrite he says, I do not know, I used to say what the people say. It will be said to him, You did not know and you did not read. I Then he will be severely hit with a hammer made of iron in between his ears such that he wails (so loudly) that he is heard by all around him except man and jinn. "
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited