Nakir and Munkar
Encyclopedia
Munkar and Nakir, (English translation: "The Denied and The Denier") in Islamic eschatology
, are angels who test the faith of the dead in their graves.. Although there is no reference found in the Quran.
Many Muslims believe that, after death, a person's soul passes through a stage called barzakh
, where it exists in the grave (even if the person's body was destroyed, the soul will still rest in the earth near their place of death). The questioning will begin when the funeral is over and the last person of the funeral congregation has stepped 40 steps away from the grave. Nakir and Munkar prop the deceased soul upright in the grave and ask three questions: "Who is your Lord? Who is your Prophet? What is your religion?". A righteous believer will respond correctly, saying that their Lord is Allah
, that Muhammad
is their prophet and that their religion is Islam
. If the deceased answers correctly, the time spent awaiting the resurrection is pleasant. Those who do not answer as described above are chastised until the day of judgment.
These angels are described as having solid black eyes, having a shoulder span measured in miles, and carrying hammers "so large, that if all of mankind tried at once to move them a single inch, they would fail". When they speak, tongues of fire come from their mouths. If one answers their questions incorrectly, one is beaten every day, other than Friday, until Allah gives permission for the beating to stop.
Muslims believe that a person will correctly answer the questions not by remembering the answers before death (compare with the Egyptian Book of the Dead) but by their iman
and deeds such as salah and shahadah (the Islamic profession of faith).
Munkar is sometimes transliterated as Monkir.
Islamic eschatology
Islamic eschatology is concerned with the al-Qiyāmah . Like the other Abrahamic religions, Islam teaches the bodily resurrection of the dead, the fulfillment of a divine plan for creation, and the judgement of the soul; the righteous are rewarded with the pleasures of Jannah while the unrighteous...
, are angels who test the faith of the dead in their graves.. Although there is no reference found in the Quran.
Many Muslims believe that, after death, a person's soul passes through a stage called barzakh
Barzakh
In Islamic eschatology, Barzakh is the intermediate state in which the soul of the deceased is transferred across the boundaries of the mortal realm into a kind of "cold sleep" where the soul will rest until the Qiyamah . The term appears in the Qur'an Surah 23, Ayat 100.Barzakh is a sequence that...
, where it exists in the grave (even if the person's body was destroyed, the soul will still rest in the earth near their place of death). The questioning will begin when the funeral is over and the last person of the funeral congregation has stepped 40 steps away from the grave. Nakir and Munkar prop the deceased soul upright in the grave and ask three questions: "Who is your Lord? Who is your Prophet? What is your religion?". A righteous believer will respond correctly, saying that their Lord is Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
, that Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
is their prophet and that their religion is Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. If the deceased answers correctly, the time spent awaiting the resurrection is pleasant. Those who do not answer as described above are chastised until the day of judgment.
These angels are described as having solid black eyes, having a shoulder span measured in miles, and carrying hammers "so large, that if all of mankind tried at once to move them a single inch, they would fail". When they speak, tongues of fire come from their mouths. If one answers their questions incorrectly, one is beaten every day, other than Friday, until Allah gives permission for the beating to stop.
Muslims believe that a person will correctly answer the questions not by remembering the answers before death (compare with the Egyptian Book of the Dead) but by their iman
Iman (concept)
Iman is an Arabic term which denotes certitude or adherence to an idea. In Islamic theology, it refers to the inner aspect of the religion, and denotes a believer's faith in the metaphysical realities of Islam. The term Iman has been delineated in both the Quran as well as the famous Hadith of...
and deeds such as salah and shahadah (the Islamic profession of faith).
Munkar is sometimes transliterated as Monkir.