" The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) entered his Musalla and saw the people who looked as if they were smiling. So he said: 'Indeed, if you were to increase in remembrance of the severer of pleasures, then you would find yourselves too busy for what I see. So increase in remembrance of death, the severer of pleasures. For indeed there is no day that comes upon the grave except that it speaks, saying: "I am thee house of the estranged, I am the house of the solitude, I am the house of dust, and I am the house of the worm-eaten." When the believing worshipper is buried, the grave says to him: "Welcome, make yourself comfortable. Indeed, to me, you are the most beloved of those who walked upon me. Since you have been entrusted to me and delivered to me today, you shall see what I have arranged for you." It will then widen for him so that his sight extends, and the door to Paradise is opened for him. And when the wicked worshipper or the disbeliever is buried , the grave says to him: "You are not welcome, do not get comfortable. Indeed, to me, you are the most hated of those who walked upon me. Since you have been entrusted to me and delivered to me today, you shall see what I have arranged for you.'" He said: 'It will begin closing in on him(squeezing him) until his ribs are crushing each other.'" He said: " The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) clasped some of his fingers between others and said: 'Seventy giant serpents will constrict him, if even one of them were to hiss on the earth, nothing upon it would grow as long as it remained. They will chew on him and bite him until he is brought to the Reckoning.'" He said: " The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: 'The grave is but a garden from the gardens of Paradise, or a pit from the pits of the Fire.'"
Hadith Commentary from Jami' at-Tirmidhi
This profound narration from Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2460, found in "Chapters on the description of the Day of Judgement, Ar-Riqaq, and Al-Wara'", offers essential spiritual counsel regarding death's reality and the grave's nature.
The Call to Remembrance of Death
The Prophet's initial observation of people appearing cheerful prompted his instruction to increase remembrance of "the severer of pleasures" - death. This reflects the Islamic teaching that constant awareness of death's inevitability serves as a spiritual discipline that redirects one from worldly distractions toward eternal preparation.
The Speaking Grave
The hadith personifies the grave as speaking to both believers and disbelievers, illustrating how one's deeds in worldly life determine their posthumous experience. For the righteous believer, the grave becomes a place of comfort and expansion, with direct connection to Paradise. For the wicked, it becomes a place of constriction and punishment.
The Reality of Grave Punishment
The detailed description of seventy giant serpents constricting the disbeliever serves as a powerful deterrent from sin. Classical scholars explain this as either literal punishment or metaphorical representation of the torment that corresponds to one's disobedience to Allah.
Dual Nature of the Grave
The concluding statement - "The grave is but a garden from the gardens of Paradise, or a pit from the pits of the Fire" - encapsulates the Islamic understanding that the grave serves as either a preview of heavenly bliss or infernal punishment based on one's faith and deeds.