Question
When a person dies, do they [immediately] go to Paradise or Hell after their death, or do they remain in the grave until the Day of Judgement? Please clarify this matter and provide some additional information about it.
Answer
Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn ؒ (d. 1421 AH / 2001 CE) said:
The body of the dead will remain on earth, in the place that it was buried in, until the Day of Judgement. Allah said,
وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَإِذَا هُم مِّنَ الْأَجْدَاثِ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَنسِلُونَ
“And the Trumpet will be blown (i.e. the second blowing) and behold! From the graves they will come out quickly to their Lord.” [Q 36:51]
And He said,
وَمِن وَرَائِهِم بَرْزَخٌ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ
“And behind them is a barrier (barzakh) until the Day when they will be resurrected.” [Q 23:100] (excerpt)
Therefore the body (of the deceased person) will remain on earth. As for their soul, then it is either in Paradise or Hell.
Allah said,
الَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ طَيِّبِينَ ۙ يَقُولُونَ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمُ ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
“Those whose lives the angels take while they are in a pious state (i.e. pure from all evil, and worshipping none but Allah Alone) saying (to them): ‘Peace be upon you. Enter Paradise, because of (the good) which you used to do (in the world).’” [Q 16:32]
So Allah has made clear that this statement (of the angels) will be at the time of death, meaning that they will enter into Paradise on the day of their death, and this is only for the soul, not for the body. It has also been reported from the Prophet that, if the dead person in the grave is a believer, a door to Paradise is opened for them, and its comfort and bliss come to them. As for the disbeliever, then their soul is (likewise) taken to the punishment.
Allah said about the people of Firʿawn,
النَّارُ يُعْرَضُونَ عَلَيْهَا غُدُوًّا وَعَشِيًّا ۖ وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ أَدْخِلُوا آلَ فِرْعَوْنَ أَشَدَّ الْعَذَابِ
“The Fire; they are exposed to it, morning and afternoon, and on the Day when the Hour will be established (it will be said to the angels): ‘Cause the people of Firʿawn (Pharaoh) to enter the severest torment!’” [Q 40:46]
And He said,
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ ظَالِمِي أَنفُسِهِمْ قَالُوا فِيمَ كُنتُمْ ۖ قَالُوا كُنَّا مُسْتَضْعَفِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ ۚ
قَالُوا أَلَمْ تَكُنْ أَرْضُ اللَّهِ وَاسِعَةً فَتُهَاجِرُوا فِيهَا ۚ فَأُولَـٰئِكَ مَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ ۖ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا
“Verily! As for those whom the angels take (in death) while they are wronging themselves (as they stayed among the disbelievers even though emigration was obligatory for them), they (angels) say, ‘In what (condition) were you?’ They reply: ‘We were weak and oppressed on earth.’ They (angels) say: ‘Was not the earth of Allah spacious enough for you to emigrate therein?’ Such men will find their abode in Hell. What an evil destination!” [Q 4:97]
And He also said,
وَلَوْ تَرَىٰ إِذْ يَتَوَفَّى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ۙ الْمَلَائِكَةُ يَضْرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمْ وَأَدْبَارَهُمْ وَذُوقُوا عَذَابَ الْحَرِيقِ
“And if you could see when the angels take away the souls of those who disbelieve (at death), they smite their faces and their backs, (saying): ‘Taste the punishment of the blazing Fire.’” [Q 8:50]
So this is evidence that the deceased person who is a believer will meet their reward in Paradise on the day of their death, and the disbeliever will meet their punishment on the day of their death. This is with regard to the soul. As for the body, then indeed it will remain on earth until the Day of Judgement, and the soul may be connected to it, either being punished or blessed, as the narrations indicate.
Source Note: The answer paraphrases the grave narration rather than quoting its complete prophetic wording. Compare Sunan Abī Dāwūd, hadith 4753. The original article gives fuller Qurʾānic passages than portions of the spoken answer; these passages are retained. The broadcast’s intervening correction of a recitation and its additional citation of Q 8:51 were absent from the existing translation.
References
The Qurʾān: 4:97; 8:50; 16:32; 23:100 (excerpt); 36:51; 40:46.
Abū Dāwūd Sulaymān ibn al-Ashʿath as-Sijistānī ؒ (d. 275 AH / 889 CE), Sunan Abī Dāwūd, hadith 4753, the account of Al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib ؓ.
Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn ؒ, Fatāwā Nūr ʿalā ad-Darb, recording 44, final question on the soul and body after death, official transcript.
