I have heard that following the Day of Resurrection or the Day of Reckoning, some people enter Paradise as a reward for their good deeds, and some others enter Hell as a punishment for the bad deeds they have committed in this world. In other words, it is either the Paradise or Hell they go to. Thus, they are either rewarded or punished. My question does not revolve around the bounties and punishment in the Afterworld; rather it has to do with divine bounty and punishment in the grave after one passes away and before the Day of Resurrection. Do the believers receive any rewards or divine bounty in the grave? What about the disbelievers? Are they punished therein?In his Tafsir al-Kashif volume 1 page 407, Allamah Muhammad Jawad Mughniyah (may Allah bless him) discusses the punishment which a dead person receives in the grave. The author divides mankind into four groups. I request you to throw some light on those four groups especially the third and the fourth ones.When it comes to the third group of people, Shaykh Mufid (r.a) describes them as doubtful. What is meant by 'doubtful' here? As for the fourth group, he says that they are dead and they will remain dead until the Day of Resurrection. Kindly, explain the fourth group of people as to who they are? Shaykh Mufid uses as evidence a tradition from the Infallible Imams who said: "Some of the dead people are not punished in the graves."

In his book Awael al-Maqalat, Shaykh Mufid sorts out human individuals based on their beliefs and deeds into four groups:1. Pious believers;2. Disbelieving, stubborn and grudging sinners;3. Believers who have committed major sins and not done Tawbah. They are people who have not committed sins out of grudge and stubbornness; rather they have committed sins on account of their being under the influence of their whims and carnal desires.4. Those who lack the luminous inner vision and precise religious understanding (Mustaz'afin) irrespective of whether they are apparent believers or unbelievers.Given that Shaykh Mufid (r.a) had access to religious sources and references, he had reached a decisive conclusion as to the first, second and fourth group. Therefore, he held that the first and second groups have a barzakh life (between death on Earth and resurrection) – albeit one in divine bounty and the other in punishment.The fourth group of people also does not have a barzakh life according to him but he has not reached a clear and decisive conclusion in regards to the third group. That is why he has given some probabilities and has, with uncertainty, described the third group as 'doubtful'. .

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Created in 1400/12/21

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