Ghafir 40:44–50

In verse 44, it was said: فَسَتَذْكُرُ‌ونَ مَا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ وَأُفَوِّضُ أَمْرِ‌ي إِلَى اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَصِيرٌ‌ بِالْعِبَادِ (Soon you will remember what I am saying to you. And I entrust my matter with Allah. Surely, Allah has all (His) servants in sight.). This is what the believer from the House of Pharaoh said at the end of his address to his people inviting them to accept the message of truth. Here, it was said that, should they not listen to him within that point of time, there would come a time when the punishment would seize them, and they would remember what he had told them. But, the remembrance of that particular time will be useless. And when by virtue of this lengthy dialogue, advice and invitation, the 'iman or faith of this believer from the House of Pharaoh stood disclosed before these people, he realized that they might bring some harm to him, therefore, he said that he was leaving his case to rest with Allah, for He is the guardian and protector of His servants. Early tafsir authority, Muqatil says: When the people of the Pharaoh, as he had apprehended, went after him, he escaped towards the mountains and they could not catch him.

This has been mentioned in verse 45 in the following words: فَوَقَاهُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِ مَا مَكَرُ‌وا وَحَاقَ بِآلِ فِرْ‌عَوْنَ سُوءُ الْعَذَابِ (Then Allah saved him from the evils of what they designed, and the House of the Pharaoh was encircled by an evil punishment.), that is, Allah Ta’ ala saved the believer from the harm the people of Pharaoh planned to bring to him, but they themselves were seized by a severe punishment. First of all, Allah Ta’ ala, in His mercy, saved the believer belonging to the House of Pharaoh right here in this world from the aggressive designs of the people of the Pharaoh against him, the details of which have not been mentioned in the Qur'an. But, the words of the Qur'an seem to say simply that the people of the Pharaoh had made many plans to hurt and kill him, and when the people of Pharaoh were drowned, Allah Ta ala saved this believing servant of Allah along with Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) . As for salvation in the Hereafter, it is fairly obvious.

In the last verse cited here, it was said: النَّارُ‌ يُعْرَ‌ضُونَ عَلَيْهَا غُدُوًّا وَعَشِيًّا ۖ وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ أَدْخِلُوا آلَ فِرْ‌عَوْنَ أَشَدَّ الْعَذَابِ. (It is the Fire before which they are presented morning and evening. And on the day when the Hour (of final judgment) will take place, (the order will be released): "Admit the family of the Pharaoh into the most severe punishment."- 46). Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Masud ؓ explained this verse by saying, "Spirits of people from the House of Pharaoh are presented before the Jahannam in the form of black birds, twice every day, morning and evening, and by pointing out to the Jahannam, it is said to them: This is your abode." (Reported by Abd-ur-Razzaq and Ibn Abi Haim - Mazhari)

And according to a narration of Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Umar ؓ appearing in the two Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, (the meaning of which is): "When one of you dies (and is in the universe of barzakh, the post-death - pre-resurrection state) he is shown, morning and evening, the place he is to reach after the reckoning of the Day of Judgment. And this place is shown to him every day, and he is told that he has to reach there finally. If this person is from among the people of Jannah, then, Jannah will be shown to him as his place. And if he is from among the people of Jahannam, then, Jahannam will be shown to him as his place."

Punishment in graves

This verse is a proof of punishment in graves. Uninterrupted reports of ahadith and the consensus (ijma) of the Muslim Ummah confirm it. This humble writer has put together all such material, along with relevant verses from the Qur'an, in a regular treatise entitled: السبر بعذاب القبر As-sabr bi'adhabi-l-qabr. This treatise has been published in Arabic as part of Ahkam-ul-Qur'an.