How Do Muslims View DeathLife after Death ?
Muslims believe that the present life is a
trial in preparation for the next realm of existence. When a Muslim dies, he or
she is washed and wrapped in a clean, white cloth (usually by a family member)
and buried after a special prayer, preferably the same day. Muslims consider
this a final service that they can do for their relatives and an opportunity to
remember that their own existence here on earth is brief.
The question of whether there is life after
death does not fall under the jurisdiction of science, as science is concerned
only with classification and analysis of sense data. Moreover, man has been
busy with scientific inquiries and research, in the modern sense of the term,
only for the last few centuries, while he has been familiar with the concept of
life after death since time immemorial.
All the Prophets of God called their people
to worship God and to believe in life after death. They laid so much emphasis
on the belief in life after death that even a slight doubt in it meant denying
God and made all other beliefs meaningless.
The very fact that all the Prophets of God
have dealt with this metaphysical question of life after death so confidently
and so uniformly - the gap between their ages in some cases, being thousands of
years - goes to prove that the source of their knowledge of life after death as
proclaimed by them all, was the same, i.e. Divine revelation.
We also know that these Prophets of God were
greatly opposed by their people, mainly on the issue of life after death, as
their people thought it impossible. But in spite of opposition, the Prophets
won many sincere followers.
The question arises: what made those
followers forsake the established beliefs, traditions and customs of their
forefathers, notwithstanding the risk of being totally alienated from their own
community? The simple answer is: they made use of their faculties of mind and
heart and realized the truth.
Did they realize the truth through perceptual
consciousness? They couldn’t, as perceptual experience of life after death is
impossible. God has given man besides perceptual consciousness, rational,
aesthetic and moral consciousness too.
It is this consciousness that guides
man regarding realities that cannot be verified through sensory data. That
is why all the Prophets of God while calling people to believe in God and life
after death, appeal to the aesthetic, moral and rational consciousness of man.
For example, when the idolaters of Makkah
denied even the possibility of life after death, the Quran exposed the weakness
of their stand by advancing very logical and rational arguments in support of
it: Quran Surah Yaasin 78-82.
وَضَرَبَ لَنا مَثَلًا وَنَسِيَ خَلقَهُ ۖ قالَ مَن يُحيِي العِظامَ وَهِيَ رَميمٌ
And he presents for Us an example and forgets
his [own] creation. He says, "Who will give life to bones while they are
disintegrated?"
قُل يُحييهَا الَّذي أَنشَأَها أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ خَلقٍ عَليمٌ
Say, "He
will give them life who produced them the first time; and He is, of all
creation, Knowing.
الَّذي جَعَلَ لَكُم مِنَ الشَّجَرِ الأَخضَرِ نارًا فَإِذا أَنتُم مِنهُ توقِدونَ
[It is] He who
made for you from the green tree, fire, and then from it you ignite.
أَوَلَيسَ الَّذي خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضَ بِقادِرٍ عَلىٰ أَن يَخلُقَ مِثلَهُم ۚ بَلىٰ وَهُوَ الخَلّاقُ العَليمُ
Is not He who created the heavens and the earth
Able to create the likes of them? Yes, [it is so]; and He is the Knowing
Creator.
إِنَّما أَمرُهُ إِذا أَرادَ شَيئًا أَن يَقولَ لَهُ كُن فَيَكونُ
His command is only when He intends a thing that
He says to it, "Be," and it is
On another occasion, the Quran very clearly says that
the disbelievers have no sound basis for their denial of life after death. It
is based on pure conjecture:
وَقالوا ما هِيَ إِلّا حَياتُنَا الدُّنيا نَموتُ وَنَحيا وَما يُهلِكُنا إِلَّا الدَّهرُ ۚ وَما لَهُم بِذٰلِكَ مِن عِلمٍ ۖ إِن هُم إِلّا يَظُنّونَ
And they say, "There is not but our worldly life;
we die and live, and nothing destroys us except time." And they have of
that no knowledge; they are only assuming.
وَإِذا تُتلىٰ عَلَيهِم آياتُنا بَيِّناتٍ ما كانَ حُجَّتَهُم إِلّا أَن قالُوا ائتوا بِآبائِنا إِن كُنتُم صادِقينَ
And when Our verses are recited to them as clear
evidences, their argument is only that they say, "Bring [back] our
forefathers, if you should be truthful.
قُلِ اللَّهُ يُحييكُم ثُمَّ يُميتُكُم ثُمَّ يَجمَعُكُم إِلىٰ يَومِ القِيامَةِ لا رَيبَ فيهِ وَلٰكِنَّ أَكثَرَ النّاسِ لا يَعلَمونَ
Say, " Allah causes you to live, then causes you
to die; then He will assemble you for the Day of Resurrection, about which
there is no doubt, but most of the people do not know."(Quran, al
Jathiyah:24-26)
Surely God will raise all
the dead. But God has His own plan of things. A day will come when the whole
universe will be destroyed and then the dead will be resurrected to stand
before God. That day will be the beginning of a life that will never end, and
on that day every person will be rewarded by God according to his or her good
or evil deeds.
The explanation that the
Quran gives about the necessity of life after death is what the moral
consciousness of man demands. Actually, if there is no life after death, the
very belief in God becomes meaningless or even if one believes in God, it would
be n unjust and indifferent God, having once created man and now not being
concerned with his fate.
Surely, God is just. He
will punish the tyrants, whose crimes are beyond count having tortured and
killed hundreds or thousands of innocent people, created great corruption in
society, enslaved numerous persons to serve their whims, etc., because man has
a very short life span in this world and because numerous individuals are
affected by one’s actions, adequate punishments and rewards are not possible in
this life. The Quran very emphatically states that the Day of Judgment must
come and that God will decide the fate of each soul according to his or her
record of deeds:Quran , Surah Saba’3-5:
وَقالَ الَّذينَ كَفَروا لا تَأتينَا السّاعَةُ ۖ قُل بَلىٰ وَرَبّي لَتَأتِيَنَّكُم عالِمِ الغَيبِ ۖ لا يَعزُبُ عَنهُ مِثقالُ ذَرَّةٍ فِي السَّماواتِ وَلا فِي الأَرضِ وَلا أَصغَرُ مِن ذٰلِكَ وَلا أَكبَرُ إِلّا في كِتابٍ مُبينٍ
But those who disbelieve say, "The Hour
will not come to us." Say, "Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to
you. [ Allah is] the Knower of the unseen." Not absent from Him is an
atom's weight within the heavens or within the earth or [what is] smaller than
that or greater, except that it is in a clear register .
لِيَجزِيَ الَّذينَ آمَنوا وَعَمِلُوا الصّالِحاتِ ۚ أُولٰئِكَ لَهُم مَغفِرَةٌ وَرِزقٌ كَريمٌ
That He may reward those who believe and do righteous
deeds. Those will have forgiveness and noble provision.
وَالَّذينَ سَعَوا في آياتِنا مُعاجِزينَ أُولٰئِكَ لَهُم عَذابٌ مِن رِجزٍ أَليمٌ
But those who strive against Our verses
[seeking] to cause failure - for them will be a painful punishment of foul
nature.
The Day of Resurrection will be the Day when God’s attributes
of Justice and Mercy will be in full manifestation. God will shower His mercy
on those who suffered for His sake in the worldly life, believing that an
eternal bliss was awaiting them. But those who abused the bounties of God,
caring nothing for the life to come, will be in the most miserable state.
Drawing a comparison between them, the Quran says:Quran,surah al Qashash 61 :
أَفَمَن وَعَدناهُ وَعدًا حَسَنًا فَهُوَ لاقيهِ كَمَن مَتَّعناهُ مَتاعَ الحَياةِ الدُّنيا ثُمَّ هُوَ يَومَ القِيامَةِ مِنَ المُحضَرينَ
Then is he whom We have promised a good promise which he
will obtain like he for whom We provided enjoyment of worldly life [but] then
he is, on the Day of Resurrection, among those presented [for punishment in
Hell]?
The
Quran also states that this worldly life is a preparation for the eternal life
after death. But those who deny it become slaves of their passions and desires,
making fun of virtuous and God-conscious persons.
Such
persons realize their folly only at the time of their death and wish to be
given a further chance in the world but in vain. Their miserable state at the
time of death, and the horror of the Day of Judgment, and the eternal bliss
guaranteed to the sincere believers are very clearly and beautifully mentioned
in the following verses of the Quran,surah al-mukminun 99-104 :
حَتّىٰ إِذا جاءَ أَحَدَهُمُ المَوتُ قالَ رَبِّ ارجِعونِ
[For such is the state of the disbelievers],
until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "My Lord, send me back.
لَعَلّي أَعمَلُ صالِحًا فيما تَرَكتُ ۚ كَلّا ۚ إِنَّها كَلِمَةٌ هُوَ قائِلُها ۖ وَمِن وَرائِهِم بَرزَخٌ إِلىٰ يَومِ يُبعَثونَ
That I might do righteousness in that which I
left behind." No! It is only a word he is saying; and behind them is a
barrier until the Day they are resurrected.
فَإِذا نُفِخَ فِي الصّورِ فَلا أَنسابَ بَينَهُم يَومَئِذٍ وَلا يَتَساءَلونَ
So when the Horn is blown, no relationship will
there be among them that Day, nor will they ask about one another.
فَمَن ثَقُلَت مَوازينُهُ فَأُولٰئِكَ هُمُ المُفلِحونَ
And those
whose scales are heavy [with good deeds] - it is they who are the successful.
وَمَن خَفَّت مَوازينُهُ فَأُولٰئِكَ الَّذينَ خَسِروا أَنفُسَهُم في جَهَنَّمَ خالِدونَ
But those
whose scales are light - those are the ones who have lost their souls, [being]
in Hell, abiding eternally.
تَلفَحُ وُجوهَهُمُ النّارُ وَهُم فيها كالِحونَ
The Fire
will sear their faces, and they therein will have taut smiles.
The belief in life after
death not only guarantees success in the Hereafter but also makes this world
full of peace and happiness by making individuals most responsible and dutiful
in their activities.
The Quran mentions the
terrible end of Aad, Thamud and the Pharaoh in some detail:Quran, Surah al
Haqqah 4-12 :
كَذَّبَت ثَمودُ وَعادٌ بِالقارِعَةِ
Thamud and 'Aad
denied the Striking Calamity.
فَأَمّا ثَمودُ فَأُهلِكوا بِالطّاغِيَةِ
So as for
Thamud, they were destroyed by the overpowering [blast].
وَأَمّا عادٌ فَأُهلِكوا بِريحٍ صَرصَرٍ عاتِيَةٍ
And as for 'Aad, they were destroyed by a
screaming, violent wind
سَخَّرَها عَلَيهِم سَبعَ لَيالٍ وَثَمانِيَةَ أَيّامٍ حُسومًا فَتَرَى القَومَ فيها صَرعىٰ كَأَنَّهُم أَعجازُ نَخلٍ خاوِيَةٍ
Which Allah
imposed upon them for seven nights and eight days in succession, so you would
see the people therein fallen as if they were hollow trunks of palm trees.
فَهَل تَرىٰ لَهُم مِن باقِيَةٍ
Then do you see of
them any remains?
وَجاءَ فِرعَونُ وَمَن قَبلَهُ وَالمُؤتَفِكاتُ بِالخاطِئَةِ
And there came Pharaoh and those before him and
the overturned cities with sin.
فَعَصَوا رَسولَ رَبِّهِم فَأَخَذَهُم أَخذَةً رابِيَةً
And they
disobeyed the messenger of their Lord, so He seized them with a seizure
exceeding [in severity].
إِنّا لَمّا طَغَى الماءُ حَمَلناكُم فِي الجارِيَةِ
Indeed, when the water overflowed, We carried
your ancestors in the sailing ship
لِنَجعَلَها لَكُم تَذكِرَةً وَتَعِيَها أُذُنٌ واعِيَةٌ
That We might
make it for you a reminder and [that] a conscious ear would be conscious of it.
فَإِذا نُفِخَ فِي الصّورِ نَفخَةٌ واحِدَةٌ
Then when the
Horn is blown with one blast
وَحُمِلَتِ الأَرضُ وَالجِبالُ فَدُكَّتا دَكَّةً واحِدَةً
And the earth and the mountains are lifted and
leveled with one blow -
فَيَومَئِذٍ وَقَعَتِ الواقِعَةُ
Then on that
Day, the Resurrection will occur,
وَانشَقَّتِ السَّماءُ فَهِيَ يَومَئِذٍ واهِيَةٌ
And the heaven will split [open], for that Day
it is infirm.
وَالمَلَكُ عَلىٰ أَرجائِها ۚ وَيَحمِلُ عَرشَ رَبِّكَ فَوقَهُم يَومَئِذٍ ثَمانِيَةٌ
And the angels
are at its edges. And there will bear the Throne of your Lord above them, that
Day, eight [of them].
يَومَئِذٍ تُعرَضونَ لا تَخفىٰ مِنكُم خافِيَةٌ
That Day, you will be exhibited [for judgement]; not hidden
among you is anything concealed.
فَأَمّا مَن أوتِيَ كِتابَهُ بِيَمينِهِ فَيَقولُ هاؤُمُ اقرَءوا كِتابِيَه
So as for he who is given his record in his
right hand, he will say, "Here, read my record!
إِنّي ظَنَنتُ أَنّي مُلاقٍ حِسابِيَه
Indeed, I was certain that I would be meeting my account.
Events
of the Day of Judgment
God
states in the Quran about the events of the Day of Judgment:
TO BE CONTINUE IN SYAA ALLAH...............
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