Ithbat Adhab al-Qabr lil-Bayhaqi
- Author died
- 458 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Furqān
Ithbāt ‘Adhāb al-Qabr (Arabic: إثبات عذاب القبر, lit. 'Affirmation of the Punishment of the Grave') is a theological and hadith treatise by the Shafi'i scholar and traditionist Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi (384–458 AH / 994–1066 CE), dedicated to establishing the reality of the punishment in the grave and the interrogation of the deceased by the two angels.
Scope and Purpose
The full title given to the treatise is Kitāb Ithbāt ‘Adhāb al-Qabr wa-Su’āl al-Malakayn ‘alā mā Waradat bihi al-Sharī‘ah bi-l-Āyāt al-Matluwwah wa-l-Akhbār al-Marwiyyah wa-Aqāwīl Salaf Hādhihi al-Ummah ma‘a Jawāz Dhālika bi-l-‘Aql fī Qudrat Allāh ("The Book of Affirming the Punishment of the Grave and the Interrogation by the Two Angels According to What Has Been Transmitted in the Sacred Law Through Recited Verses, Narrated Reports, and the Sayings of the Predecessors of this Community, Along with Its Rational Possibility Within the Omnipotence of God"). The book was composed to provide a comprehensive evidential defense of post-mortem questioning and bodily or spiritual retribution prior to the Day of Resurrection, combining scriptural transmission (naql) with the assertion that such occurrences are rationally permissible under divine omnipotence.
Structure and Methodology
Al-Bayhaqi arranges the work into topical chapters substantiated by Quranic exegesis, prophetic traditions, and reports from the early generations (salaf). He begins by establishing scriptural foundations through Quranic verses associated with the grave, notably the interpretation of: يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ ("God keeps firm those who believe with the firm word in worldly life and in the Hereafter" [Ibrahim: 27]), providing isnads linking the verse directly to the interrogation and firmness granted to the believer in the grave.
Among the specific chapter headings in the treatise are:
- Bāb mā fī hādhihi al-āyah min al-wa‘īd lil-kuffār bi-‘adhāb al-qabr ("Chapter on the Warning to Disbelievers Regarding the Punishment of the Grave Contained in this Verse"), addressing the divine statement وَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الظَّالِمِينَ وَيَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاءُ ("and God sends astray the wrongdoers, and God does what He wills" [Ibrahim: 27]).
- Bāb ikhbār al-Muṣṭafā ﷺ bi-anna al-mu’min wa-l-kāfir jamī‘an yus’alān, thumma yuthabbatu al-mu’min wa-yu‘adhdhabu al-kāfir ("Chapter on the Chosen Prophet's ﷺ Report That Both the Believer and the Disbeliever Are Questioned, Then the Believer Is Made Firm and the Disbeliever Is Punished").
Methodologically, al-Bayhaqi narrates each report with its complete chain of transmission (isnād) through his prominent teachers, including Al-Hakim al-Naysaburi (Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah), Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, Abu ‘Ali al-Rudhbari, and Abu al-Husayn ‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Bishran. The transmissions trace back to Companions such as Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Abu Hurayrah, and Abdullah ibn 'Abbas. Throughout the text, al-Bayhaqi systematically indicates parallel narrations preserved in canonical hadith works, such as Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī of Muhammad al-Bukhari and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim of Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj.
Printed Editions
The treatise has been issued in modern critical editions, including:
- An edition edited by Sharaf Mahmud al-Qudah, published by Dar al-Furqan in Amman, Jordan (first edition in 1403 AH / 1983 CE; second edition in 1405 AH / 1985 CE).
- An edition published by al-Maktab al-Salafi / Maktabat al-Turath al-Islami.
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