Lessons from Quraan – Between Life and Death

format_quote Originally Posted by wiino

Q. Is there any life after death; if so, what kind of life is it?

A. Praise be to Allaah.

Allaah has decreed that this world will come to an end, and He has decreed that its people will die. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Whatsoever is on it (the earth) will perish.

And the Face of your Lord full of Majesty and Honour will remain forever”

[al-Rahmaan 55:26-27]

“Everyone shall taste death. Then unto Us you shall be returned”

[al-‘Ankaboot 29:57]

Then Allaah will resurrect His slaves and give them eternal life to which there will be no end. He will bring them to account for their deeds, and He will reward those who did good deeds and punish those who did evil deeds. Mankind will be divided into two groups, one in Paradise and one in Hell. The people of Paradise will abide therein forever, and the kaafir people of Hell will abide therein forever also.

There are many verses and ahaadeeth which clearly state that, for example:

1 – Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“But those who believe (in the Oneness of Allaah — Islamic Monotheism) and do deeds of righteousness, We shall admit them to Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), abiding therein forever. Therein they shall have Azwaajun Mutahharatun (purified mates or wives), and We shall admit them to shades wide and ever deepening (Paradise)”

[al-Nisa’ 4:57]

Al-Tabari said:

“abiding therein forever” means, they will stay there forever, and it will never end or cease; they will remain there forever.

Tafseer al-Tabari, 5/144

2 – Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Allaah will say: This is a Day on which the truthful will profit from their truth: theirs are Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise) — they shall abide therein forever. Allaah is pleased with them and they with Him. That is the great success (Paradise)”

[al-Maa'idah 5:119]

3 – Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, those who disbelieve and did wrong; Allaah will not forgive them, nor will He guide them to any way.

Except the way of Hell, to dwell therein forever; and this is ever easy for Allaah”

[al-Nisa’ 4:169]

4 – Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, Allaah has cursed the disbelievers, and has prepared for them a flaming Fire (Hell).

Wherein they will abide for ever, and they will find neither a Wali (a protector) nor a helper”

[al-Ahzaab 33:64-65]

5 – Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“(Mine is) but conveyance (of the truth) from Allaah and His Messages (of Islamic Monotheism), and whosoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger, then verily, for him is the fire of Hell, he shall dwell therein forever”

[al-Jinn 72:23]

Ibn Katheer said:

“he shall dwell therein forever” means, he will stay there and remain there, he will have no way out of it and that will never cease for him.

Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 3/520

6 – Allaah tells us that the kuffaar will not die in Hell and they will never have a good life. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, whoever comes to his Lord as a Mujrim (criminal, polytheist, sinner, disbeliever in the Oneness of Allaah and His Messengers), then surely, for him is Hell, wherein he will neither die nor live”

[Ta-Ha 20:74]

“There he will neither die (to be in rest) nor live (a good living)”

[al-A’laa 87:13]

al-Qurtubi said:

“There he will neither die (to be in rest) nor live (a good living)” means, he will never die so as to find a respite from the torment, and he will not live a life that will be any good.

Tafseer al-Tabari, 20/21

7 – It was narrated that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Death will be brought forth in the form of a black and white speckled ram, and a caller will cry out, ‘O people of Paradise!’ They will crane their necks and look, and he will say, ‘Do you recognize this?’ They will say, ‘Yes, it is death,’ and all of them will have seen it. Then he will cry out, ‘O people of Hell!’ They will crane their necks and look, and he will say, ‘Do you recognize this?’ They will say, ‘Yes, it is death,’ and all of them will have seen it. Then the ram will be slaughtered, and he (the caller) will say, ‘O people of Paradise, it is eternal and there will be no death; O people of Hell, it is eternal and there will be no death.’” Then he recited (interpretation of the meaning): “And warn them (O Muhammad) of the Day of grief and regrets, when the case has been decided, while (now) they are in a state of carelessness, and they believe not” [Maryam 19:39]

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4453; Muslim, 2849

According to the version narrated from Ibn ‘Umar in Muslim (2850): “And the joy of the people of Paradise will be increased, and the grief of the people of Hell will be increased.”

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

This ram and the action of laying it down and slaughtering it whilst the two groups are looking on is something real; it is not something illusionary or symbolic, as some people made the serious mistake of suggesting. They said that it is a description, but a description cannot take a physical shape, let alone be slaughtered.

That view is not correct, for Allaah will cause death to appear in the form of a ram which will be slaughtered, just as He will cause deeds to appear in visible forms by which people will be rewarded or punished. Allaah can cause descriptions to appear in physical forms the substance of which is the description, and He can create characteristics from physical beings, and He can create descriptions from descriptions and physical beings from physical beings. All four categories are possible for Allaah, and there is no contradiction in any of that. It is not something impossible, and there is no need for far-fetched interpretations such as saying that it refers to the slaughter of the Angel of Death. All of that is a misinterpretation of the words of Allaah and His Messenger and a false understanding that is not dictated by reason or the reports, which is caused by lack of understanding of what the Messenger said.

Haadi al-Arwaah, p. 283, 284

8 – It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The people of Paradise will enter Paradise and the people of Hell will enter Hell, then a caller will stand between them and will say, “O people of Hell, there is no death; O people of Paradise, there is no death. It is eternal.”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6178; Muslim, 2850)

9 – It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri and Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A caller will cry out (i.e., to the people of Paradise): ‘You will be healthy and will never fall sick; you will live and will never die; you will remain young and will never grow old; you will feel ease and will never be miserable.’ This is what Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): ‘And it will be cried out to them: “This is the Paradise which you have inherited for what you used to do”’ [al-A’raaf 7:43].

Narrated by Muslim, 2827

So hasten to do righteous deeds in this world, for it is only a short time before you will move to the realm of eternity, either to Paradise whose delights will never end or to Hell whose heat is eternal… so hasten and beware of procrastinating, for most of the pain of the people of Hell will be because of procrastination.

May Allaah make us and you among the people of Paradise. Ameen.

Islam Q&A

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Jazak Allah Khair
سبحان الله والحمد لله ولااله الاالله والله اكبرولاحول ولاقوة الابالله العلى العظيم

Is there any life for death; if so, what kind of life is it

This question lies far beyond
the ken of our perception

We do not have the eyes with which we could see beyond
the frontiers of worldly life and find out what lies on beyond it.
We do not have the
ears with which we could hear anything from beyond these frontiers.

Nor do we have
any instrument by which we could determine with certainty whether there is any life
beyond death.

Therefore, the question whether there is any life after death lies
completely outside the province of scientific knowledge which is concerned with the
classification and interpretation of sense data. Anyone who asserts in the name of
science that there is no life after death, therefore, makes a very unscientific
statement. Merely on the basis of scientific knowledge, we can neither affirm that
there is a life after death nor deny it. Until we discover a dependable means of
acquiring knowledge about this matter, the correct scientific attitude would be neither
to affirm nor to deny the possibility of life after death. The question is beyond its
jurisdiction.

But can we possibly maintain this attitude in life? Can we afford to adhere to this
neutrality? Theoretically speaking, this may hold good, but looking to the hard realities
of life which we have to face on every turn and pass, our answer would be: certainly
not. If we do not have the means to know a thing directly, it is of course possible for
us, from a purely rational point of view, to refrain from either affirming or denying it.
But if the thing is directly concerned with our everyday life, we cannot maintain that
attitude and must either affirm or deny its existence. In order to live a full life on the
earth we must have a definite attitude towards such problems. These questions
simply cannot be avoided. For instance, if you do not know a person with whom you
do not have any dealings, you may refrain from forming an opinion about his integrity
and trustworthiness; but if you have to deal with him, you must do so either on the
assumption that he is an honest man or on the supposition that he is not. You may
also proceed with the idea that, until his honesty is either proved or disproved in
practice, you will deal with him on the assumption that his integrity is doubtful. But
this manner of dealing with him would, in effect, be no different from the way you
would deal with him if you were convinced of his dishonesty. Therefore, a state of
doubt between affirmation and denial is possible only as an abstract idea; it cannot
form the basis of practical dealings, which require a positive attitude of either
affirmation or denial.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LIFE AFTER DEATH:

A little reflection should help us to see that the question of life after death is not
merely a philosophical question; it is deeply and intimately related to our everyday
life.

In fact our moral attitude depends entirely upon this question. If a person is of
the view that the life of this world is the only life and that there is no life of any kind
after that, he must develop a particular type of moral attitude. A radically different
kind of attitude and approach is bound to result if he believes that this life is to be
followed by another life where one will have to render account of all one’s acts in this
world and, that one’s ultimate fate in the Hereafter will depend upon one’s conduct in
worldly life. Let us try to understand this through a simple example. A person
undertakes journey from Lahore to Karachi on the assumption that he is traveling to
his final destination, where he will be beyond the reach of the police that could haul
him up for an offence, and the jurisdiction of the courts of justice that could bring him
to book. Another person undertakes the same journey knowing that it is only the first
stage of a longer journey which will carry him, beyond Karachi, to a land overseas
which is ruled by the same sovereign as that of Pakistan. He also know that the court
of that sovereign has complete secret dossiers of his activities in Pakistan and that
this record will be fully examined there in order to decide what position and treatment
he deserves by virtue of his past performance. Now, it should be easy to realize how
different the conduct of these two travelers of the same train will be. The former will
prepare himself only for the journey up to Karachi, whereas the latter will keep in view
also the requirements of the further stages of the long journey. The former will
assume that all the gains that he can possibly make, or all the losses or harms that he
might suffer, will be confined to the journey up to Karachi, and that will be the end of
it. The latter, on the other hand, will know that the real gains or losses of the journey
will be realized in its last stages and not in the first. The former will keep in view only
those results of his actions as are likely to manifest themselves up to the time that he
reaches Karachi; the latter’s visit will extend to the long term results likely to unfold
themselves in the distant overseas lands where his journey will eventually take him.

Now it is obvious that this difference between the approaches and attitudes of the two
travelers results directly from their view of the nature of their journey and its end.
Similarly, a person’s views in regard to life after death have a decisive influence upon
his moral conduct in this world. The direction of every step that he takes in his
practical life will depend upon whether he treats this worldly life as the first and last
stage of life, or whether he also has in view the Hereafter and consequences of his
conduct in this world or the next one. He will move in one direction in the first
instance, and in exactly the opposite direction in the other instance.

From this I should be clear that the question of life after death is not merely a fruitless intellectual or philosophical exercise but a question that intimately concerns and vitally affects our everyday life. There is, therefore no justification for any skepticism in this matter. Any attitude that is determined by skepticism in regard to the Hereafter could not in effect be any different from the one based on a definite rejection of the idea of a life after death. We are, therefore, obliged to make up our minds whether there is a
life after death or not. If science can not help us here, we must seek the aid of
rational thinking and logical reasoning.

Where Reason Leads to?
But what is the material upon which we could base this logical reasoning?

There is, first, man himself, and then the system of the Universe. We shall,
therefore, try to study man against the background of the Universe and see whether
all his requirements are fulfilled within this system or whether some of them remain
unsatisfied and need some other kind of system for their satisfaction.

Now man has various aspects. First of all, he has a body, which is composed of
various minerals, salt, gases and water. The Universe is a vast system containing,
from tiny specks of dust to the large planets moving in their orbits. We find ourselves
dazzled with the spectacle of a plethora of things: the earth, stones, metals, salts,
gases, rivers, oceans, and an unending array of things of the kind. These things need
a set of laws to govern their existence and operation, and all these laws are at work
within the Universe. They provide a free opportunity for the various elements and
forces of nature to play their part in the Universe; similarly the human body has a full
and free opportunity to live and work under these laws. Secondly, man is a being who
has grown through nourishment derive from the things around himself. Similarly,
there are various kinds of trees, plants and herbs in the Universe which are governed
by the laws that are essential for growing bodies.

Moreover, man is a living being who moves and acts of his own free will; he procures
food for himself, protects himself and ensures the preservation of the species. Again,
there are various other beings of this kind in the Universe: on land, in water and in
the air, there are myriads of animals whose lives and functions are governed
completely by the laws what are sufficient to cover the whole gamut of their activities.

Above all, there is the moral aspect of man’s being, which is endowed with the
consciousness of good and evil, the faculty to discriminate between the two, and the
power to do good as well as evil. Man’s nature demands that good deeds should have
good results and evil deeds should lead to evil consequences. He can discriminate
justice from tyranny, truth from falsehood, right from wrong mercy from cruelty,
kindness from arrogance, generosity from meanness, trustworthiness from breach of
trust and so on and so forth. These qualities are not abstract ideas but are actually
experienced in human life and have a deep and far- reaching effect on human
culture. Therefore, the nature with which man is endowed strongly demands that his
acts should lead inexorably to their moral consequences; in the same way as they lead
to their physical effects.

But let us look around and reflect a little deeply upon the system of the Universe. Can
the moral consequences of human actions fully unfold themselves in the system? On
the basis of the body of knowledge that we possess we can confidently assert that this
is not possible, because, for all that we know, there is no other creature in the
Universe which is endowed with moral consciousness. The whole system is governed
by the physical laws of the Universe, and the moral laws of the human realm are not
at work anywhere in their full measure. For instance, money carries both value and
weight in human affairs but truth often lacks both. The mango seed always ultimately
yields mangoes; the devotee of truth, on the other hand, sometimes receives
bouquets but sometimes, rather often, brickbats. The material objects in the world
are governed by laws which always lead to certain pre-determined results, but within
the dynamics of the working of these laws the operation of the moral forces in the
human world is not so manifest. The laws of nature often fail to ensure; and even
where we find such consequences they occur only to the extent the law of nature
permit. It is a physical world that we live in. And it often happens that the actual
consequences of an act under the laws of nature are simply contrary to what the law
of ethics demands. Through cultured and civilized life and political organization, man
has no doubt striven to some extent to ensure that the acts of man lead to set and
pre-ordained moral consequences according to a code of ethics. But these efforts
have been on to a code of ethics. But these efforts have been on a very limited scale
and extremely deficient. They have been vitiated, on the one hand, by the operation
of natural laws, and on the other by man’s own weaknesses and shortcomings.

Let us try to understand this with the help of a few examples. If a person sets fire to
the house of an enemy, the house will be gutted; this will be the natural result of the
act. The moral consequence of the act should be the punishment of the criminal
commensurate with the damage that he has caused to the family whose home he has
burnt. But this consequence can come about only if the culprit can be traced and
apprehended by the police, the charge against him is proved, the court can estimate
fully the loss that his offence has caused to the affected family and its future
generations, and then awards to the offender a punishment commensurate with his
crime. If any of these conditions is not duly fulfilled, the moral consequence will
either not manifest itself at all or will unfold itself only partially; nay, it is quite
possible that the culprit may go scot-free and even remain happy and become
prosperous after having ruined his enemy.

Let us take another example. We often find that a few people manage, by hook or by
crook, to acquire a strong hold over a whole community, which begins to follow him.
Taking advantage of this position these leaders bamboozle their people into following
their jingoism and militant imperialism. They lead their people into war with their
neighbours. Several countries are ruined in these wars, millions of men are killed, and
many more are forced to live in misery and degradation. Their misdeeds have far-
reaching effects on human history for countless generations, even many long
centuries. Now is it possible for such criminal manages to be punished sufficiently for

their crimes and follies in this life? Indeed, they would not be adequately punished
even if they were all literally thrown to the wolves, or burnt alive, or subjected to any
other torture of which man is capable. No conceivable punishment could possibly be
measured against the grave harm caused by them to millions of men for countless
generations. Under the natural laws that govern the system of the Universe they
could not possibly be awarded punishment, commensurate with their crimes and
follies. Even if a Chenghiz or a Hitler is torn to pieces, this punishment stands with no
comparison to the wrongs they penetrated on humanity.

Or, on the other hand take the example of the great prophets, the sages and the
pious and virtuous men who called mankind to the truth and the right path and guided
them out of darkness into light, and whose ideas and teachings and practical
examples have benefited millions and men for centuries. And they did all this good to
mankind, bracing all the tempests of adversity that came in their way and suffering
miserably at the hands of the vested interests. It is possible to reward such men
adequately in this short span of life within the limits of the physical laws that govern
the world?
As we have urged above, the laws that govern the present system of the Universe do
not allow an opportunity for the full unfolding of the moral consequences of human
actions.Secondly, the actions of men during their short span of life on earth often

have reactions and effects so widespread and lasting that their full consequences must
take thousands of years to unfold and manifest themselves fully; and it is obviously
impossible for any person, under the present laws of nature, to attain such a long
career on earth. From this it logically follows that while the present physical world
and its natural laws are enough for the material and animal constituents of man, they
are utterly inadequate for the moral element of his being. This component calls for
another world where the law of ethics is the governing law and the laws of nature are
subservient, to it; where life is unlimited; where all the moral consequences of human
actions in the material world that could not manifest themselves there, should
manifest themselves fully and in the proper form. It demands a world where truth
and righteousness, and not gold and silver, carry weight; where fire burns only such
things as deserve to be burned according to the moral law; where happiness and the
lot of the virtuous and plain and misery the plight of the wicked. Both nature and
reason demand such an order.
The light of the Qur’an

So far as logical reasoning is concerned, it only indicates that such a world ‘ought to
be’. But as to the question whether such a world does in fact exist, neither reason nor
knowledge can give us a categorical answer. And it is here that the qur’an helps us.
It assures us that the world that our nature as well as our reason demand shall be a
reality one day. The present system of the Universe, which was created in accordance
with physical laws, will be demolished at one stroke; and it will be replaced by another
world where the earth, the heavens and all other things will be essentially different
from what they are here. God Almighty will then resurrect all the men who were born

from the beginning of creation down to its end, and will make all of them appear
before Himself at one time. The records of all the deeds of individuals, communities,
and mankind at large, will be there without the slightest error or omission. Also there
will be complete reports of the effects and consequences of all human actions in the
material world; and all the generations of men affected by them will be present in the
witness box. Every particle affected in any way by the deeds or words of men will tell
its own story. And the limbs, the ears, the eyes and all other parts of the human body
will stand witness how they were used or abused in life. On the basis of this
unimpeachable evidence and those complete records. Allah, the Supreme Sovereign
of the Universe, will decided each case with perfect justice and pronounce the reward
or penalty as the case may be. The reward as well as the punishment will be of a
magnitude that cannot even be estimated by the limited standards of the material
world. The standards of times and space, and weights and measurements, and the
natural laws, will be essentially different from those prevailing in the present world.
The virtues whose beneficent effect extend over several centuries in this world will be
fully rewarded there, and neither death nor illness nor old age will be able to cut short
the enjoyments of the reward. On the other hand, the evil deeds whose effects and
consequences blight the lives of millions in this world for hundreds of years will be
punished fully, and neither death nor coma will be able to relieve the pain and distress
of the sufferer.

If the existing system of the Universe with its present natural laws is a possibility and a reality,why should another world with a different set of natural laws be regarded as an impossibility?

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