In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
LIFE AFTER DEATH
By World Assembly of Muslim Youth1
How Do Muslims View 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:
And he (i.e. man) presents for Us
an example (i.e. attempting to establish the finality of death) and forgets his
[own] creation. He says, “Who will give life to bones while they are
disintegrated?” Say, “He will give them life who produced them the first time;
and He is, of all creation, Knowing.” [It is] He who made for you from the green
tree, fire, and then from it you ignite. 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. (Quran, 36:78-81)
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:
And they say, “There is not but
our worldly life; we die and live (i.e. some people die and others live,
replacing them) and nothing destroys us except time.” And they have of that no
knowledge; they are only assuming. 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.” Say, “God 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, 45:24-26)
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:
But those who disbelieve say,
“The Hour (i.e. the Day of Judgment) will not come to us.” Say, “Yes, by my
Lord, it will surely come to you. [God 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 -
That He may reward those who believe and do righteous deeds. Those will have
forgiveness and noble provision. But those who strive against Our verses
[seeking] to cause failure (i.e. to undermine their credibility) - for them
will be a painful punishment of foul nature. (Quran, 34:3-5)
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:
Then is he whom We have promised
a good promise which he will meet [i.e. 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]?
(Quran, 28:61)
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:
[For such is the state of the
disbelievers], until, when death comes to one of them, he says, “My Lord, send
me back that I might do righteousness in that which I left behind (i.e. in that
which I neglected).” No! It is only a word he is saying; and behind them is a
barrier until the Day they are resurrected. So when the Horn is blown, no
relationship will there be among them that Day, nor will they ask about one
another. And those whose scales are heavy [with good deeds] - it is they who
are the successful. But those whose scales are light - those are the ones who
have lost their souls, [being] in Hell, abiding eternally. The Fire will sear
their faces, and they therein will have taut smiles (i.e. their lips having
been contracted by scorching until the teeth are exposed). (Quran, 23:99-104)
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.
Think of the people of Arabia before the arrival of the Prophet Muhammad
. Gambling, wine, tribal feuds, plundering and murdering were their main traits
when they had no belief in life after death. But as soon as they accepted the
belief in the One God and life after death they became the most disciplined
nation of the world. They gave up their vices, helped each other in hours of
need, and settled all their disputes on the basis of justice and equality.
Similarly the denial of life after death has its consequences not only in the
Hereafter but also in this world. When a nation as a whole denies it, all kinds
of evils and corruption become rampant in that society and ultimately it is
destroyed.
The Quran mentions the terrible end of Aad, Thamud and the Pharaoh in
some detail:
[The tribes of] Thamud and Aad
denied the Striking Calamity [i.e. the Resurrection]. So as for Thamud, they
were destroyed by the overpowering [blast]. And as for Aad, they were destroyed
by a screaming, violent wind which He [i.e. God] 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. Then do you see of them any
remains? And there came Pharaoh and those before him and the overturned cities
(i.e. those to which Lot was sent) with sin. And they disobeyed the messenger
of their Lord, so He seized them with a seizure exceeding [in severity].
Indeed, when the water overflowed, We carried you [i.e. your ancestors] in the
sailing ship (i.e. which was constructed by Noah). That We might make it for
you a reminder and [that] a conscious ear would be conscious of it. (Quran,
69:4-12)
Events of the Day of Judgment
God states in the Quran about the events of the Day of Judgment:
Then when the Horn is blown with
one blast, and the earth and the mountains are lifted and leveled with one blow
[i.e. stroke] - Then on that Day, the Occurrence [i.e. Resurrection] will
occur, And the heaven will split [open], for that Day it is infirm (i.e. weak,
enfeebled and unstable). And the angels are at its edges. And there will bear
the Throne of your Lord above them, that Day, eight [of them]. That Day, you
will be exhibited [for judgment]; not hidden among you is anything concealed
(i.e. any person or any secret you might attempt to conceal). So as for he who
is given his record in his right hand, he will say, “Here, read my record!
Indeed, I was certain that I would be meeting my account.” So he will be in a
pleasant life - In an elevated Garden, Its [fruit] to be picked hanging near.
[They will be told], “Eat and drink in satisfaction for what you put forth
(i.e. literally, advanced in anticipation of reward in the Hereafter) in the
days past.” But as for he who is given his record in his left hand, he will
say, “Oh, I wish I had not been given my record, and had not known what is my
account. I wish it [i.e. my death] had been the decisive one (i.e. ending life
rather than being the gateway to eternal life). My wealth has not availed me.
Gone from me is my authority.” [God will say], “Seize him and shackle him. Then
into Hellfire drive him. Then into a chain whose length is seventy cubits
insert him.” Indeed, he did not used to believe in God, the Most Great. (Quran,
69:13-33)
The Prophet Muhammad taught that
three things continue to benefit a [believing] person even after death -
charity which he had given (which continues to benefit others), beneficial
knowledge which he had left behind (i.e. authored or taught), and supplication
on his behalf by a righteous child (Narrated by Saheeh Muslim).
Thus, there are very convincing reasons to believe in life after death:
1) All the Prophets of God have
called their people to believe in it.
2) Whenever a human society is
built on the basis of this belief, it has been the most ideal and peaceful
society, free of social and moral evils.
3) History bears witness that
whenever this belief is rejected collectively by a group of people in spite of
the repeated warning of the Prophet, the group as a whole has been punished by
God even in this world.
4) Moral, aesthetic and rational
faculties of man endorse the possibility of the life after death.
5) God’s attributes of Justice and
Mercy have no meaning if there is no life after death.
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