Nakir and Munkar
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Nakir and Munkar, (Arabic: نكير و منكر ) in Islamic eschatology, are angels who test the faith of the dead in their graves. They are one of the few angels directly mentioned in the Qu'ran.
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.) Nakir and Munkar prop the deceased soul upright in the grave and ask three questions: "Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your Prophet?" A righteous believer will respond correctly, saying that their Lord is God, that their religion is any monotheistic faith before and including Islam, and the main prophet of that religion. A voice from God will resonate down into the grave, confirming that what the person said was true. He or she will then be shown a window to the place he or she could have had in Hell, but are then shown the place that God has given for him or her in Paradise. Then there comes to him some of heaven's breezes and fragrances, and the grave will expand into a comfortable space as far as the eye can see, and his grave will be lit up. The righteous believer will then remain in a state of bliss until Judgement Day.
A non-believer will respond incorrectly and the angels will rebuke him: "Neither did you know nor did you seek guidance from those who had knowledge." They will then show the soul the place he or she could have had in Paradise, and then show that person his or her eternal place in Hell. Then he will be hit with an iron hammer between his ears, and he will cry and that cry will be heard by whatever living being approaches him except human beings and Jinns. That person's grave is tightened until his ribs come over each other like clasped hands, and he or she remains in a state of torture until Judgement Day.
