Nakir and Munkar, (Arabic: منكر و نكير ) in Islamic eschatology, are angels who test the faith of the dead in their graves. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Islamic eschatology is concerned with the al-Qiyāmah "Last Judgement" Angels in Islam are light-based creatures created from light by God to serve and worship Him ^[1]

According to Islam, 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). In Islamic eschatology, Barzakh (برزخ is the Intermediate state in which the Soul of the deceased is transferred across the boundaries of the ^[2] The questioning will begin when the funeral is over and the last person of the funeral congregation has stepped 70 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?" Sufi Muslims claim there will be a total of five, not three, questions, which will also include: "Who is your Shaykh?" and "What is your madhab?" A righteous believer will respond correctly, saying that their Lord is Allah, that Muhammad is their prophet and that their religion is Islam. Allah ( Arabic: الله, ʔalˤːɑːh) is the standard Arabic word for ' IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. 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. ^[3]

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). ' The Book of the Dead' is the common name for the Ancient Egyptian Funerary text known as ' Spells of Coming' (or ' Going') ' Forth By Day' Not to be confused with Imam, a prayer leader in Islam Iman (إيمان is an Islamic term usually translated as " belief or Ṣalāt ( Arabic: صلاة‎, pl ṣalawāt, Qur'anic Arabic: صلوة ṣalawah) (also munz in Pashto and The Shahada ( Arabic: ar الشهادة, from the verb ar شهد "to testify" is the Islamic Creed.

Munkar is sometimes transliterated as Monkir.

Cultural references

But thou, false Infidel! shalt writhe

Beneath avenging Monkir's scythe;

And from its torment 'scape alone

To wander round lost Eblis' throne;

The Giaour - Lord Byron

References

1. ^ Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, Entry: Munkar and Nakir
2. ^ "Life after death" at www.al-islam.edu.pk
3. ^ The Encyclopedia of Death and Dying, Entry: Islam