What can you bring with you in your afterlife?

[keiko]

Greetings folks,

When we die (I mean physically ok), we leave behind our worldly treasures. We can't even take our bodies with us as they go back to dust.

But what can you take with you in your afterlife?

My brother (real brother ok) is a muslim convert. And he told me that there are two things you can take with you into the afterlife.

First is prayers. The prayers of well wishers who pray for the deceased during a funeral is heard by God.

The second is earthly relationships. That means you will still recognize your parents, spouses, etc when they too depart and join the afterlife.

Is this true and is it mentioned in the Quran?


David

 

[- Qatada -]

Hey.


When we die, we will be in our graves for a temporary while and Allaah will bring us back to life physically. That is easy for Allaah, Allaah brings the dead plants back to life by sending down rain from the skies. He created us out of nothing, so bringing us back to life again is easy for Him.

"How can you deny God, when you were dead and God gave you life? Then God will cause you to die, and then revive you, and then you will be returned to God." (Quran 2:28)


​

We take to the afterlife our deeds, which we will be responsible for. No soul bears the burden of another in islaam. We are responsible for our own actions and deeds.

Namely, that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another; [Qur'an 53:38]


​

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said : "After the death of a person his actions stop, except three things that he leaves behind : First continuous charity, Second a knowledge from which some benefit may be obtained, Third a virtuous son who makes Dua’ (Pray, supplicate) on his behalf "(Recorded in Sahih Muslim).


Charity will benefit the deceased, as the following Hadiths show : " A man came to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and asked him : "My father died leaving wealth but no will, would he be pardoned if a charity is given on his behalf ?", the Prophet (P.B.U.H) answered: "Yes" (Muslim).


Another Hadith : "A man came to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and asked him : "My mother has died without making up for a missed days of fasting in the month of Ramadan, can I fast for her?" , the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said to him : " Would you pay her debt if she owed someone?". The man said : "Yes", then the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said : "Then Allah is more deserving of payment in settlement of his debt" "(Bukhari & Muslim).



So from the previous authentic Hadiths there are generally three things that benefit the dead:


1) Charity; Continuous Charity ;

2) A knowledge left by the deceased from which some benefit may be obtained;

3) A virtuous son or daughter who makes Dua’ (Pray, supplicate) on the deceased’s behalf, or perform duties that the deceased did not do during his/her lifetime such as fasting missed days or Hajj, or pay his/her debts.




In regard to meeting up with one's family members in the afterlife, Allaah Almighty says in the Qur'an:

As to the Righteous, they will be in Gardens, and in Happiness,-

Enjoying the (Bliss) which their Lord hath bestowed on them, and their Lord shall deliver them from the Penalty of the Fire.

(To them will be said: ) "Eat and drink ye, with profit and health, because of your (good) deeds."

They will recline (with ease) on Thrones (of dignity) arranged in ranks; and We shall join them to Companions, with beautiful big and lustrous eyes.

And those who believe and whose families follow them in Faith,- to them shall We join their families: Nor shall We deprive them (of the fruit) of aught of their works: (Yet) is each individual in pledge for his deeds.

[Qur'an Al-Tur 52: 17-21]


​

You can read more Prophetic sayings in regard to that, and the explanation of the verse from here insha'Allaah [God willing]:


The Offspring of Righteous Believers will be elevated to Their Grades in Paradise
http://tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=52&tid=50673



May Allaah make us of those who enter His paradise. ameen.



If you got anymore questions, please don't hesitate to ask.



Peace.
​

 

[Grace Seeker]

Hey.


When we die, we will be in our graves for a temporary while and Allaah will bring us back to life physically. That is easy for Allaah, Allaah brings the dead plants back to life by sending down rain from the skies. He created us out of nothing, so bringing us back to life again is easy for Him.

​

This view in Islam is very similar to the Christian understanding of the resurrection of the body to everlasting life. As I have asked this question of other Christian, I would be interested in how followers of Islam might also respond to see if the answers continue to remain so similar.

With what body will the dead be raised?

Will one be raised with the body they had at the time they died? Will it be the one they had at birth? Will it be the one they had at their prime of life?

And what of people who died disfigured, missing an arm or a leg, will they be raised up whole or not?

What of those who bodies are annhilated in this life at the time of their death? Some are blown apart by bombs, butchured by others, eaten by animals, will their bodies be brought back together from the various places they are scattered?


In bringing us back to life again physically, is it our old self, our old bodies, or does Allah start with something new and put us in that new body?

What of those who share the molecules of their body with more than one person, how will this be handled? (I suggest this if probably actually rather frequent, our bodies are placed in the ground and decay, they fertilize the soil on which plants grow and these plants enter the food chain and eventually their molecules are redistributed widely and thus become part of many more people, over time the molecules which make up our body are probably shared by thousands upon thousands of others.)


Christianity really just ignores the majority of these questions. Does Islam address them?​

 

[Muslim Woman]

Salaam/peace,

....I would be interested in how followers of Islam might also respond to see if the answers continue to remain so similar.

where angels fear fools jump in. With my very little knowlege , let me try :giggling: :hiding:

.......With what body will the dead be raised?

Will one be raised with the body they had at the time they died?

--- i read somewhere that a Shaheed/martyr will be raised as he died ...with his wounds & blood & that's the reason bodies of Shaheeds are not washed.


His wounds/blood will be a proof that he is a shaheed. Don't know if it's mentioned in Hadith or not.


I also heard that Palestines did not wash the body of US girl Rachel Corrie ( sorry if misspelled ) who was murdered by Israeli .

And what of people who died disfigured, missing an arm or a leg, will they be raised up whole or not?

--not sure . If they will be able to enter Jaanah/paradise , then they all will be young & beautiful :statisfie

....Some are blown apart by bombs, butchured by others, eaten by animals, will their bodies be brought back together from the various places they are scattered?

-----there is a verse in Quran that says:


Sura - 75
The Resurrection


Yea! We are able to make complete his very finger tips

[75.4]

Christianity really just ignores the majority of these questions. Does Islam address them?

--- don't know hew

I think , the most imp matter is we will meet our Lord on the Last Day. Those who did not associate partner with Him will be rewarded

others will be in hell but at last will get out of fire if did not commit shirk/blashphemy; others will remain there forever.

It does not matter how we will look like or it will be the old body or new one . In Jannah , we all will be safe , young & beautiful



Let's pray that God , the most kind Ever Merciful will have His mercy on us & allow us to enter in His garden , Ameen.

 

[- Qatada -]

Hey.

This view in Islam is very similar to the Christian understanding of the resurrection of the body to everlasting life. As I have asked this question of other Christian, I would be interested in how followers of Islam might also respond to see if the answers continue to remain so similar.

I'll try, and may Allaah forgive me if i make any mistakes.

With what body will the dead be raised?

Will one be raised with the body they had at the time they died? Will it be the one they had at birth? Will it be the one they had at their prime of life?

I think the people will be resurrected in their last state that they were in, in this world.

And what of people who died disfigured, missing an arm or a leg, will they be raised up whole or not?

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:

A man sinned greatly against himself, and when death came to him he charged his sons, saying: When I have died, burn me, then crush me and scatter [my ashes] into the sea, for, by Allah, if my Lord takes possession of me, He will punish me in a manner in which He has punished no one [else]. So they did that to him. Then He said to the earth: Produce what you have taken-and there he was! And He said to him: What induced you to do what you did? He said: Being afraid of You, O my Lord (or he said: Being frightened of You) and because of that He forgave him.

It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).
​

What of those who bodies are annhilated in this life at the time of their death? Some are blown apart by bombs, butchured by others, eaten by animals, will their bodies be brought back together from the various places they are scattered?

We know Abraham (peace be upon him)'s prayer to Allaah:

When Abraham said: "Show me, Lord, how You will raise the dead, " He replied: "Have you no faith?" He said "Yes, but just to reassure my heart." Allah said, "Take four birds, draw them to you, and cut their bodies to pieces. Scatter them over the mountain-tops, then call them back. They will come swiftly to you. Know that Allah is Mighty, Wise."

[Qur'an 2:260]
​

In bringing us back to life again physically, is it our old self, our old bodies, or does Allah start with something new and put us in that new body?

Our souls are placed inside our bodies once more on the ressurection. Allaah gives us the parable of the dead land. And when He sends down rain, the land is brought back to life again and the beautiful plants grow out of the earth, as sustenance for us, a blessing from Allaah. Our ressurection will be similar.

I think some scholars say that the resurrection will be similar, and Allaah will send down a liquid, almost like rain.. and we will grow into our bodies.


'A'isha reported that she heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The people would be assembled on the Day of Resurrection barefooted, naked and uncircumcised. I said: Allah's Messenger, will the male and the female be together on the Day and would they be looking at one another? Upon this Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: 'A'isha, the matter would be too serious for them to look to one another.

[Sahih Muslim Book 040, Number 6844:]

What of those who share the molecules of their body with more than one person, how will this be handled? (I suggest this if probably actually rather frequent, our bodies are placed in the ground and decay, they fertilize the soil on which plants grow and these plants enter the food chain and eventually their molecules are redistributed widely and thus become part of many more people, over time the molecules which make up our body are probably shared by thousands upon thousands of others.)

I understand your question, however it is easy for Allaah to unite our molecules into one creation, the same way He created us from nothing. And the hadith about that man who ordered his son's to burn him, and those who still do that kind of act today (i.e. in hinduism etc) - so it is easy for Allaah.

Christianity really just ignores the majority of these questions. Does Islam address them?

lol the resurrection is really detailed in islaam.


You can read more from here:

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/040.smt.html


I think it would be better if you read the explanation of saheeh Muslim by Imaam Al Nawawi, but i don't have that so i'm sorry.



And Allaah Almighty knows best.



Regards.

 

[Grace Seeker]

I understand your question, however it is easy for Allaah to unite our molecules into one creation, the same way He created us from nothing. And the hadith about that man who ordered his son's to burn him, and those who still do that kind of act today (i.e. in hinduism etc) - so it is easy for Allaah.

I appreciate the detail the Islam gives to these answers. I wonder if they are meant to be taken as literal descriptions or parables? Here is where that question comes from. As you understand my question about a person's molecules being shared by many people over time, so I understand how the story of the man who ordered his son's to burn him and yet was made whole again answers that. But if the concept is that one is literally restored from one's previous constiuent parts, then we would have many people trying to be made whole from the same parts. So, either there is (a) the sharing of those molecules by many, (b) fighting over those parts so that only the winner can be truly made whole, (c) the story is meant to simply say that Allah is able to accomplish our resurrection even when we cannot imagine how, or (d) the story itself is untrue. Answers a & b imply that Allah is impotent, answer d implies that Allah is a liar; as I don't think those could be true given what I know of the character of Allah, I thus find myself preferring answer c. But for stories such as the man or ordered his sons to burn him, or for the birds that were cut into pieces to be applied to our lives doing so with the very literal pieces (i.e. the constiuent parts) which came from our bodies would return us to scenarios a & b from above. So, it must be that we are to understand the story not only as a parable in its telling, but that it speaks to the metaphorical reconstitution of our bodies. That doesn't deny the reality of a resurrection, but just saying that the very molecules which make up the flesh, bone, and muscles of our body today are not important to the resurrection. The same Allah who created us from the dust of the ground originally, does not need to resue our old parts in the resurrection anymore more than he needed them the first time. Attempting to be too literal in the application of these stories would seem to do an injustice to the power of Allah to do what is indeed best, rather than merely what we are able to best imagine in our own minds.

 

[Woodrow]

Oddly I never thought of it as being my concern as to how Allah(swt) does anything. All I need to do is know that he can and will. When I get into a taxi I really am not concerned with how the engine works, I only need to know that the driver can get me to my destination.

 

[- Qatada -]

:salamext:


I Agree with uncle woody ^ Allaah knows best how the real ressurection will occur. And Allaah is the Best of Creators.

 

[Grace Seeker]

No, I get that one need not be concerned over this and just trust in Allah to take care of it. What I found it interesting that many of the references seemed to be ones that speak to me metaphorically, but then later I see people read it as if describing a literal event. It just had me wondering if Islam generally tends to read things in the most literal way possible?

 

[Woodrow]

It just had me wondering if Islam generally tends to read things in the most literal way possible?

I believe that is an accurate thought. Typically, unless we have done exhaustive study and read with understanding the words of the scholars and the Ahadith, to have a full understanding. We will accept it as literal, unless it can be proven to us that a metaphor is intended.

 

[Malaikah]

I would also like to add- some people are raised with their faces shining bright like the moon (these are the good people)... other people will be raised in disgrace, for example those who were arrogant will be raised as in miniature form as a humiliation for them. They will be so small that the people running around them won't even see them.

 

[Shadow_of_White]

doesnt it say in the Qur'an
(please dont take this as the exact words, because its not)

"There wil be no relationships between them, nor will they ask after another."

(for relationships on Afterlife)

i am just writing this because I remember reading it in a book called "Islam"


and Allah knows best.

 

[- Qatada -]

doesnt it say in the Qur'an
(please dont take this as the exact words, because its not)

"There wil be no relationships between them, nor will they ask after another."

(for relationships on Afterlife)

i am just writing this because I remember reading it in a book called "Islam"

:salamext:


Sister, i think thats in regard to the Day of Judgement. In paradise, those who believed, even if they were of kin will meet with each other, praise be to Allaah as stated in the verses earlier on in the thread. And Allaah knows best.

 

[Grace Seeker]

I would also like to add- some people are raised with their faces shining bright like the moon (these are the good people)... other people will be raised in disgrace, for example those who were arrogant will be raised as in miniature form as a humiliation for them. They will be so small that the people running around them won't even see them.

Really? So there is humiliation in paradise?

 

[- Qatada -]

She's referring to the day of ressurection ^

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

eace:

We can take with us all our good deeds which will show as a handsome beautiful man who will accompany us in our grave till the day of judgement in place of a dirty disgusting foul stinking creature who will accompany us if we commit mostly bad deeds. We can take with us on-going good deeds in forms of the knowledge which we have spread or we can take with us the prayers which are continuosly sent by the pious children we leave behind.

I hope that helped

 

[Malaikah]

Really? So there is humiliation in paradise?

Fi_Sabilillah got it right... I was talking about the Judge of Judgement... when we are raised from our graves we aren't raised into paradise... we are raised onto an open plain... why would evil people be raised up from the dead in paradise...

There is nothing bad in paradise.

 

[Grace Seeker]

Fi_Sabilillah got it right... I was talking about the Judge of Judgement... when we are raised from our graves we aren't raised into paradise... we are raised onto an open plain... why would evil people be raised up from the dead in paradise...

There is nothing bad in paradise.

OK. Thanks for clearing that up.

eace:

We can take with us all our good deeds which will show as a handsome beautiful man who will accompany us in our grave till the day of judgement in place of a dirty disgusting foul stinking creature who will accompany us if we commit mostly bad deeds. We can take with us on-going good deeds in forms of the knowledge which we have spread or we can take with us the prayers which are continuosly sent by the pious children we leave behind.

I hope that helped

Not really. But I certainly hope you mean this metaphorically. I can't really imagine sharing my grave with another corporeal being, or that I would even be conscious of it if I did.

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

Not really. But I certainly hope you mean this metaphorically. I can't really imagine sharing my grave with another corporeal being, or that I would even be conscious of it if I did.

lol i think its nice, Allah doesnt want us to spend all that time Alone gotta love Allah

 

[Grace Seeker]

lol i think its nice, Allah doesnt want us to spend all that time Alone gotta love Allah

Yeah, it's a nice idea, but again, I trust you to still be thinking metaphorically, not literally. If literal, then we are back to all of the problems associated with some of my above questions about what happens with decayed, dismembered, and the reality that our literal physical bodies don't really last very long after we quit using them in this life. It is one thing to talk about Allah pulling them back together in the resurrection, and it is a comforting thought to think that Allah sends us a companion to be with us in the grave. But isn't the reality that our bodies aren't always in that grave. Some are cremated, some are lost at sea unrecoverable and go the way of all flesh, others cannot even be gathered to by buried, and all eventually return to the dust of the ground in one way or another. What you speak of must be taking place on a spiritual plane -- which doesn't make it any less real, in my opinion -- and thus is not something that we can see with our physical eyes, but only with the eye of faith.

I would go so far as to say that even as we await the resurrection that who we are as a person is not connected with a physical body -- indeed even in this life our physical bodies are one thing, but who we are as a person is the soul that Allah created, not what appears before you when you look in a mirror. You want to test that out, look in a mirror today and then either think back 20 years or wait 20 years and think of that body then. Not a single cell from the one time will be present in the other. (In fact, according to science articles I have read, all the cells of our body will be replaced over a span of 3 years, so in a sense you are never more than 3 years old. No matter how healthy we may otherwise be, when our body's cells quit this process we will die of simple old age.) Yet, even as our body's physical make-up changes we still remain the same person that we were 20 years ago. Talk to someone older than you, they will tell you that they feel their body getting old, but they don't really sense that they are any older, any different as a person than they were years ago. This is why I say that the person and the body are not one and the same. The body houses the person, but they are not identical. Losing a limb is a terrible thing, but the person is still the same person. Lose your life and the person continues even after the death of the body. So, to say that Allah sens someone to be with us in the grave, with who or with what? With my body? I am not in the body. I am someplace else (don't know exactly where that is in relation to this physical world, I can't sense it with any of my 5 physical senses), in a world that Allah has prepared for me. If I am there sleeping till the time of the resurrection, then it is in that place (not my grave on earth), that I rest in the arms of a companion that Allah has provided for me.

Just my thoughts on the subject. Curious as to anyone else's thoughts.