These two hadiths describe what happens to the soul after death and before burial: if the person was a believer, then the angels give him glad tidings, before taking his soul, of the forgiveness and good pleasure of Allah, then they perfume it, then they take it up, in a blessed state, to its Lord, may He be glorified. Then Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says: “‘Record the book of My slave in ‘Illiyyun (the highest heaven) and take him back to the earth.” So the soul is returned to the body in which it was, then the individual is questioned in the grave; Allah makes him steadfast at the time of questioning, and makes his grave spacious for him, as far as his eyes can see. But if it is the soul of a disbeliever , then the angels give him the tidings of Hell and divine wrath, then they take his soul up, cursed, humiliated and afraid, and the gates of heaven are not opened for it, then it is thrown back down to earth, then it is returned to its body, then the individual is tormented in his grave and it is compressed on him, and there comes to him the heat and smoke of Hell. With regard to the period between the departure of the soul and burial and questioning in the grave, for the believer it is the first stage of eternal happiness, as he is given the glad tidings of Paradise and eternal bliss, and his book is recorded in ‘Illiyyun (the highest heaven); then his soul will rejoice and be happy, and will never feel misery again. But for the disbeliever, it is the first stage of eternal torment, as Allah is angry with him and does not give permission for the gates of heaven or the gates of mercy to be opened to him, and his book is recorded in Sijjin (the lowest Hell); then his soul will be wretched and he will never feel happy again. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “All the sahih, mutawatir hadiths indicate that the soul will return to the body; the idea that the questioning will involve the body without the soul was suggested by some scholars, but the majority disagreed with that. Similarly, the idea that the questioning will involve the soul without the body was suggested by Ibn Maysarah and Ibn Hazm, but if that were the case, the grave would have nothing to do with the soul.” (Majmu‘ al-Fatawa, 5/446) (See also: Fatawa Nur ‘ala ad-Darb by Shaykh al-‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) (4/310-311)