Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Sayyidah Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with her) made this supplication: O Allah! Grant me the opportunity to benefit from my husband, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), my father Abu Sufyan, and my brother Mu'awiyah. But the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: You have asked Allah for matters whose times and days have already been appointed, and their sustenance has already been distributed. Nothing can be advanced or delayed from its appointed time. If you had supplicated to Allah that He protect you from the punishment of the Fire and the grave, that would have been better and more virtuous for you.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said: Ninety-nine serpents are set upon the disbeliever in the grave, which continue to bite him until the Day of Resurrection. (They are so venomous that) if one of those serpents were to blow on the earth, it would never produce vegetation.

It is narrated from Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Two snakes are let loose upon the disbeliever, one from the direction of his head and the other from the direction of his feet. Both keep biting him repeatedly; when they finish once, they return again. This continues until the Day of Resurrection.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Once, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went to the date orchard of Sayyiduna Abu Talha (may Allah be pleased with him) to relieve himself. Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him), out of respect for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), was walking behind him, not side by side. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by a grave and stopped there, until Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) came close to him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Bilal! You would be destroyed, are you hearing what I am hearing?" He replied: "I am not hearing anything." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The occupant of this grave is being punished." Then, when inquiry was made about him, it was found that he was a Jew.

Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that once the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went outside after sunset and, upon hearing a sound, said: The Jews are being punished in their graves.

Sayyida Umm Mubashir (may Allah be pleased with her) says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) came to me while I was in one of the gardens of Banu Najjar. There were some graves in that garden, and those buried there had died in the pre-Islamic (Jahiliyyah) period. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) heard the sounds of their punishment, so he left saying: "Seek Allah's refuge from the punishment of the grave." I asked: "O Messenger of Allah! Are these people being punished in their graves?" He (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) replied: "Yes, they are being punished in such a way that animals can hear it."

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went to a garden of Banu Najjar in Madinah Munawwarah. There, he (peace and blessings be upon him) heard a sound from a grave and asked, "When was this man buried?" The companions replied, "O Messenger of Allah! This man was buried in the pre-Islamic era of ignorance." Upon hearing this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) felt somewhat reassured and said, "If I did not fear that you would stop burying your dead, I would pray to Allah Almighty to let you hear the punishment of the grave."

(Second chain of narration) They say: The Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, entered a deserted place belonging to Banu Najjar, where he, peace and blessings be upon him, used to relieve himself. One day, he came out from there in a state of distress and said: If I did not fear that you would stop burying your dead, I would pray to Allah Almighty to let you hear the sounds of the punishment of the people of the graves that I hear.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in a garden in Madinah, where there were also some graves. The mule on which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was riding suddenly became startled and was about to throw him off. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: Who knows about the people of these graves? A man said: O Messenger of Allah! These people died in the period of ignorance before Islam. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If I were not afraid that you would stop burying your dead, I would have prayed to Allah that He let you hear the sounds of the punishment of the grave. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us: Seek refuge with Allah from the punishment of Hell. We said: We seek refuge with Allah from the punishment of Hell. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Seek refuge with Allah from the trial of the False Messiah (Dajjal). We said: We seek refuge with Allah from the trial of the False Messiah. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Seek refuge with Allah from the punishment of the grave. We said: We seek refuge with Allah from the punishment of the grave as well. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Seek refuge with Allah from the trials of life and death. We said: We seek refuge with Allah from the trials of life and death.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by two graves. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: These two are being punished, and they are not being punished for a major sin. One of them did not protect himself from his urine, and the other used to carry tales (gossip). After that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took a twig, split it into two parts, and placed each part on a grave. The companions asked: O Messenger of Allah! Why did you do this? He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: Perhaps their punishment will be lightened as long as these do not dry up.