Punishment even on the Night of Qadr

Sayyidunā ibn Ḥajar Haytami Makki رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه said:

A similar incident occurred with myself. When I was young, I would punctually visit the grave of my noble father رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه and recite the Quran. One Ramadan, I went to the graveyard right after fajr salah. I believe it was the last ten days; in fact, it was the Night of Qadr. Nobody else was in the graveyard besides me, so I proceeded to sit near the grave of my father. I had recited a portion of the Quran, when I suddenly heard an intense wailing voice. The crier was shrieking again and again.

The voice was coming from a grave that had been covered with white, shining chalk, and it caused me severe panic. I stopped reciting the Quran and began listening to it. I then began to hear the sound of punishment occurring within the grave. The person being afflicted with it was wailing in such a manner, that it was causing panic and anxiety in my heart.

This continued until the morning, when the voice faded entirely. A person passed by me, and I asked, “Whose grave is this?”, to which he replied, “The grave of so-and-so.”

Hearing the name of the person in the grave, I remembered I had seen him in my childhood. He would come to the masjid frequently, offer salah in its time and refrain from futile speech. My recognition of the person came from the fact I had seen him myself. Seeing his current state (being subject to punishment in the grave on the Night of Qadr) affected me deeply.

I realised that this person only performed good deeds as outward attire. After this incident, I approached people who knew of the person’s actual matters, and they told me, “He would take interest, and he was a businessman. His wealth had