Three Questions in the Grave: The Grave is the first of the stages of the Hereafter When the son of Adam dies and his soul departs and he is placed in his grave , then he is in the first stage of the Hereafter, because the grave is the first of the stages of the Hereafter . Haani, the freed slave of ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, said: when ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan stood by a grave he would weep until his beard became wet. It was said to him, “You remember Paradise and Hell and you do not weep, but you weep because of this?” He said, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘The grave is the first of the stages of the Hereafter; whoever is saved from it, whatever comes afterwards will be easier for him, but if he is not saved from it, what comes afterwards will be worse for him.’” And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “I have never seen any scene but the grave is more frightening than it.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2308; Ibn Majah, 4567; classed as hasan by al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami’, 1684).