The pious personality, late Dr. Ahmad Ahsan, lived in Karbala Moalla for many years and during his last days, he was the caretaker of Qom mausoleum. He died there and was also buried in the same place. He has narrated an incident, which he witnessed in Karbala twenty-five years ago. One day he saw a coffin being carried to the tomb of Imam Husai n (‘a) for blessings. He also started walking with the coffin. Suddenly he noticed that a dark and horrible dog was perching on the coffin.

He says: I was absolutely shocked and in order to find if other people were able to see it too, asked a person walking to my right: What type of cover is there on the coffin? He replied: It is a Kashmiri shawl. I asked him if he was able to see anything else, but he replied in the negative. I posed the same question to a person walking to my left, but he also gave the same reply.

Thus, I understood that except from me, no one was aware of that. When they reached the mausoleum courtyard, the dog left the coffin. When they brought the coffin out again after encircling the sepulcher, that dog climbed upon the coffin once more. I accompanied the corpse to the graveyard to see what unfolds. The dog was with the corpse all the time. When they buried the corpse, that dog also disappeared from my sight into the grave.

A similar incident is mentioned by Qadi Saeed Qummi in Arbeenaat, quoting from Shaykh Bahai (a.r.).

Its gist is that a scholar and a pious man was the caretaker of the Isfahan cemetery. Shaykh Bahai visited him once. He said: I saw a strange spectacle that day. People arrived with a corpse, which they buried at so and so spot and then went away. After some time a nice smell was perceived from there and it was not from the fragrance of this world. I looked around myself to find out its origin.

Just then I saw an extremely beautiful form, which went near the grave and disappeared. Not much later I perceived a very severe stench, which was worse than all the stinks of the world. When I looked around, I saw a dog ambling to that grave and as soon as he reached it, he disappeared. I was confused and astounded. Just then I saw a youth in an injured condition and he was returning from the grave. I followed him and asked him about his condition. He said: I was the good deed of this deceased and was supposed to be his companion in grave; and the dog you saw were his bad deeds. Since they were more in number, they trounced me and did not allow me to remain with him; they expelled me from there.

The Shaykh says: This incident is true, because it is our belief that in Purgatory (Barzakh), the deeds of man assume a form according to their quality and their personification is confirmed.

Hurting Others

Respected readers, you should understand that whatever is mentioned in the above two realizations, and in the same way whatever Shaykh Bahai (r.a.) said, is a reality and a definite matter in the view of a man of faith.

That if one treads the path of dogs and wild beasts; hurts others through tongue and other organs, is merci less, unjust and proud; is not affected by truth and displays pharaonic qualities and in other words commits sinful acts and dishonesty, then after death his form will be like that of a dog. wolf, pig or cheetah, although not like beasts of this world, on the contrary more horrible, poisonous and harmful. So much so that his own spiritual and inner form would be as such.

On the other hand, every person who has led a life of piety and who did good turns to others, who was kind and humble to them; lived a life of a slave; refrained from every mischief and corruption, and the effulgence of good deeds surrounded his being, after death he would be in the most elegant form, like angels. On the contrary, he would himself be an angel or higher than angels.

But those who performed worship acts and good deeds and committed sinful acts at the same time and died without repenting, in Purgatory, sometimes they would enjoy the nice forms of their good deeds and sometimes be tortured and distressed by the bad forms of their evil deeds.

However, sometimes the punishment of a sinner is complete in the Purga tory itself as his sins were very less, and he becomes content there only. His account is clear; the period of his distress ends in such a way that when he enters the field of accounting, the effects of his sins would not accompany him as mentioned in some traditions.

For further emphasis only one traditional report is mentioned here:

In Bihar ul-Anwar quoting from Al-Kafi it is narrated from Imam Ja 'far as-Sadiq ('a) that he said: During the time of the Messenger of Allah (S). a person was in the agony of death. When people informed the Prophet, he came to see him along with a companion.

The patient was in a swoon. The Messenger of Allah (S) said: O angel of death, give him some respite, so that I may ask him something. When the man regained consciousness, the Messenger of Allah (S) asked: What can you see? He replied: Many whiteness and a lot of blackness (pleasing forms and terrifying dark faces).

He asked: Which one is nearer? He replied: Blackness. The Prophet said: Say: O Allah, forgive me my excessive disobediences and accept a little obedience from me. He repeated this and then swooned again. The Messenger of Allah (S) said the second time: O angel of death, give him some respite, so that I may ask him something more.

When the man regained consciousness again, the Messenger of Allah (S) asked: What can you see now? He replied: The same whiteness and blackness. He asked: Which one is nearer? He replied: Whiteness. The Messenger of Allah (S) said: The Almighty has forgiven him.

In the end, Imam as-Sadiq ('a) said: When you are with someone who is in the agony of death, you must remind this supplication to him, so that he may recite it.