Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti
Translated by Rashad Jameer

Bushra al-Kaib bi Liqa al-Habib

This 16th century book of Prophetic Traditions and Reports details the states and stages of the intermediary realm (al-barzakh), also known as the life in the grave.

This exceptional work contains 185 reports that takes the Believer on a journey through some of the glad-tidings and comforting reassurances given to surviving family members of the honour and divine care arranged by Allah for their loved one when they pass on from this life to the next. It covers three fundamental stages of the afterlife, namely: Death, the Grave, and the various resting places for souls.

Contents

Chapter One: Death
- The Merit of Death and its Being Better than Life
- Death is a Transition from a Constrictive World to an Expansive World
- The Honour a Believer Receives when His Soul is Taken
- Past-Souls Meet the Deceased when His Soul exits His Body, Gather Around Him and Ask Him Questions
- The Deceased Recognises those Who Wash Him and Prepare His Body- The Heavens and the Earth Weep Over the Deceased

Chapter Two: The Grave
- The Constriction of the Grave will be Lightened for the Believer
- The Expansion of the Grave for the Believer
- The Glad-Tidings Received by a Believer at the Questioning of the Munkar and Nakir
- The Pain of the Believer in His Grave
- The Salah of the Deceased in the Grave
- The Recitation of the Quran by the Deceased in the Grave
- The Angels Teach the Believer the Qur’an in His Grave
- The Garment of a Believer in His Grave
- The Deceased Visit Each Other in the Grave
- The Deceased Recognise their Visitors and Derive Comfort from their Company

Chapter Three: Resting Places
- The Resting Place of the Souls
- Believing-Infants are Suckled and Nursed in Paradise