41 INSPIRATION QUOTES

I adore inspirational quotations– and I’ll admit that I have a rather silly habit of keeping long lists of my favorites.  After spending a considerable amount of time weeding through the bunch, I’m pleased to present 41 tidbits of advice from famous folks who know/knew a thing or two about leadership, determination, and putting your heart into something you’re just crazy about.

Please comment with your own favorite quotations to add to the list. I’d love to hear what gets you up and running, and doing what you do best!

    “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.”

    – Abraham Lincoln

    “Don’t worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.”

    – Abraham Lincoln

    “We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it.”

    – Abraham Lincoln

    “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”

    – Albert Einstein

    “Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.”

    – Albert Einstein

    “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

    – Anne Frank

    “Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.”

    -Barack Obama

    “If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.”

    -Barack Obama

    “When people go to work, they shouldn’t have to leave their hearts at home.”

    – Betty Bender

    “If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.”

    – Betty Reese

    “If I were given the opportunity to present a gift to the next generation, it would be the ability for each individual to learn to laugh at himself.”

    – Charles M. Schulz

    “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It’s not.”

    – Dr. Seuss

    “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”

    – e. e. cummings

    “The leadership instinct you are born with is the backbone. You develop the funny bone and the wishbone that go with it.”

    – Elaine Agather

    “Self-development is a higher duty than self-sacrifice.”

    – Elizabeth Cady Stanton

    “Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it.”

    – Ella Williams

    “I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen”

    – Frank Lloyd Wright

    ”The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men.”

    – George Eliot

    “I found that the men and women who got to the top were those who did the jobs they had in hand, with everything they had of energy and enthusiasm and hard work.”

    – Harry S. Truman

    “Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.”

    – Henry David Thoreau

    “If the laborer gets no more than the wages which his employer pays him, he is cheated, he cheats himself.”

    – Henry David Thoreau

    “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”

    – Henry David Thoreau

    “When a dog runs at you, whistle for him”

    – Henry David Thoreau

    “Goodness is the only investment that never fails.”

    – Henry David Thoreau

    “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

    – John Quincy Adams

    “Each of us has a spark of life inside us, and our highest endeavor ought to be to set off that spark in one another.”

    – Kenny Ausubel

    “What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.”

    – Kurt Vonnegut

    “A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.

    – Mark Twain

    “I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catchers mitt on both hands.  You need to be able to throw something back.”

    – Maya Angelou

    “The world belongs to the energetic.”

    – Ralph Waldo Emerson

    “Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved.”

    – Ralph Waldo Emerson

    “Do not be too timid and squeamish about your reactions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.”

    – Ralph Waldo Emerson

    “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.”

    – Robert F. Kennedy

    “Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we’ve ever known.”

    – Ronald Reagan

    “Find a need and fill it.”

    – Ruth Stafford Peale

    “We can always live on less when we have more to live for.”

    – S. Stephen McKenney

    “We must remember that one determined person can make a significant difference, and that a small group of determined people can change the course of history.”

    – Sonia Johnson

    “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”

    – Theodore Roosevelt

    “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

    -Thomas Edison

    “I’m a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”

    – Thomas Jefferson

    “Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right.”

    – Warren G. Bennis

sources from  http://colleendilen.com

WHAT NEXT AFTER DEATH

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.

The Souls Journey After Death In Islam

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.

The Souls Journey After Death In Islam

By Huma Ahmed

Imagine yourself at the moment of your death.

What thoughts cross your mind? Memories of family and friends? Panic? Regrets? Remembrance of Allah? What is death? What happens to us after we die? What is life in the Hereafter like, this new and strange world after death? Do we lose consciousness of this life? Where does our soul go? Do we feel and think the same?

The ineffable feeling of crossing the boundary between this world and the next cannot be described in words, nor imagined in the mind, but can be understood only through divine revealation and inspiration. Let us for the next few moments seek an understanding of this, death, the only certainty in life.

Sometimes we may not want to know about the processes that occur after we die because we are afraid or don't want to think about it. However, this is not the attitude of a Muslim. We should be foremost in learning and understanding death, so we can live our lives accordingly. The prophet (saw) said, "Live in this world as though you are a stranger or a traveler (passing through it)." [Muslim] We are on a journey and should know about the whole journey's itinerary, not just one part.

Death is inevitable. It is the one thing that we can be certain about in life. We are born to die. Every soul shall have a taste of death no matter who they are. This is confirmed for us many times in the Quran:

"Every soul shall have a taste of death: and only on the Day of Judgement shall you be paid your full recompense." (Quran 3:185)

"Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good, by way of trial. To Us must you return." (21:35)

"Every soul shall have a taste of death: In the end to Us shall you be brought back." (29:57)

Death is not pure annihilation, but rather both the living and dead are aware, but there is a difference that can't be compared. Death is merely movement from one world to another. It can be described as a journey through a wormhole to a separate dimension of existence.

We begin this journey in our mother's wombs. 120 days after
conception the soul is blown into the fetus. Narrated 'Abdullah bin Mus'ud: "Allah's Apostle, the true and truly inspired said, '(The matter of the Creation of) a human being is put together in the womb of the mother in forty days, and then he becomes a clot ofthick blood for a similar period, and then a piece of flesh for a similar period. Then Allah sends an angel who is ordered to write four things. He is ordered to write down his (i.e. the new creature's) deeds, his livelihood, his (date of) death, and whether he will be blessed or wretched (in religion). Then the soul is breathed into him'"[Bukhari]

We have no choice in who our parents are, our race, color or nationality. "He it is Who shapes you in the wombs as He pleases. There is no god but He, The Exalted in Might, The Wise." (3:6) Allah knows all of this before our birth even, but we still continue our journey to fulfill our destiny.

The next part of our trip begins after we are born. This is the life of this world, in which we now reside and are familiar with. We may stay at this station for a few seconds or as long as 100 years or more. Here we grow up and acquire the means to happiness or misery. We are given the ability to make choices after the age of puberty and we will later be punished or rewarded based upon them. Allah gives each of us the natural Fitrah, knowledge of good and bad as well as
right and wrong. The rest is up to us. As the Quran says, "By the Soul, and the proportion and order given to it, and its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right--Truly he succeeds that purifies it, and he fails that corrupts it!" (91:7-10)

In this life, the soul and the body are together except during sleep when the soul may leave the body and come back in the morning or Allah may take the soul at that time. "It is Allah that takes the souls at death; and those that die not (He takes) during their sleep: those on whom He has passed the decree of death, He keeps back (from returning to life), but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed. Verily in this are Signs for those who reflect."
(39:42) It is indeed something to be pondered; that we die each night and Allah gives us another chance at life when we wake up the next day.

We also find continuous biological processes of life and death during this time. In every cell, organ or system of organs, life and death is occuring. There are several hundreds of thousands of enzymatic reactions that take place in the body every fraction of a second. Some of these biochemical reactions are used to synthesize living materials while others are either used to synthesize dead materials or to get rid of living materials. "You (Allah) bring the Living out
of the Dead, and You bring the Dead out of the Living" (3:27)

This part of our journey ends as our death begins.

No one knows where, how and when he or she will die. "Verily, the knowledge of the hour is with Allah (alone). It is He who sends down 

rain

, and He who knows what is in the wombs, nor does anyone know what it is that he will earn on the morrow. Nor does anyone know in
what land he is to die. Verily, with Allah is full knowledge and He is acquainted (with all things.)" (31:34) Nor does anyone have the right to take his or her own life. If they do they will
automatically go to Hell. The One who gave life is the only one who has the right to take life.

When someone begins to die the Angel of Death or Izraeel comes to take the soul out of the body and puts it in a place called the Barzakh. "Say: 'The Angel of Death, put in charge of you, will (duly) take your souls. Then shall you be brought back to your Lord." (32:11) "Wherever you are, Death will find you out, even if you are in towers built up strong and high! " (4:78)

For those who led a life of evil, the removal of the soul is tough and difficult. Sometimes, more than one angel has to work together to beat the face and back of the deceased. But for those who lived a good life, the soul yearns to meet its Lord and leaves the body with ease, like a drop of water pouring out. A light like the sun's ray and a sweet fragrance come out to the soul. Then it ascends amid rows of angels, but those who are there cannot see or smell this. The deceased is questioned, punished, beaten, and wails, and cries out. All this happens while they lie dead and their family is around them, but they neither hear nor see it. The sleeper dreams and enjoys their dream or is tormented by it, while someone awake at their side is not able to perceive what is going on at all.

Allah has given inanimate objects awareness and perception by which they glorify their Lord. The stones fall down out of fear of Him. The mountains and trees prostrate. The pebbles, water and plants glorify Him. All this is going on but we are not aware of it. "There is nothing which does not glorify His praise but you do not understand their glorification." (17:44) The Companions heard the food that was being eaten glorifying Allah. That was because the Companions had a transparency of heart that does not now exist among us. All these things are part of our world and yet we are in complete ignorance of them. It is not too much of an extrapolation to extend this to our being unaware of the things of the Next World.

After the soul is taken, if it is a pure soul and has relatives in the Next World who are people of the Garden, they come to meet the soul with yearning and great joy. They ask it about the condition of those who are still alive and 'suffering' in this world. The angels then bear the soul from one heaven to the next until it comes into the presence of Allah, Then it returns and sees the washing of the body, its shrouding, and the funeral procession. It says either, 'Take me forward! Take me forward!' or 'Where are you taking me?' The living, of course, hear none of this. The soul comes back and stays floating above the body and when the corpse is placed in the
grave, the soul inserts itself between the body and the shroud so that the questioning can take place.

Whenever someone died, the prophet (saw) would stand for awhile at the burial site and then say, "Seek forgiveness for your (Muslim) brother and pray for his steadfastness since he is now being questioned." [Abu Dawud]

The angels pray for the soul of the believer in the heavens just as people pray over the body on earth. The soul hears the receding footfall of the last of the people who followed the funeral and the earth is levelled over them. The earth or even a rock hollowed out and sealed over with lead, would not prevent the two angels, Munkar and Nakir from reaching it.

This is all narrated in the following sound hadith of the prophet (saw): "When the believer is about to depart from this world and go forward into the Next World, angels with faces as bright as the sun descend from the heavens and sit around him in throngs stretching as far as the eye can see. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits at his head and says, "Good soul, come out to forgiveness and pleasure from Allah!" Then his soul emerges like a drop of water flows from a
water-skin and the angel takes hold of it. When he has grasped it, the other angels do not leave it in his hand even for the twinkling of an eye. They take it and place it in a perfumed shroud and fragrance issues from it like the sweetest scent of musk found on the face of the earth.'

"Then they bear it upwards and whenever they take it past a company of angels, they ask, 'Who is this good soul?' and the angels with the soul reply, 'So-and-so the son of so-and-so,' using the best names by which people used to call him in this world. They bring him to the lowest heaven and ask for the gate to be opened for him. It is opened for him and angels who are near Allah from each of the heavens accompany him to the subsequent heaven until he reaches to the heaven where Allah the Great is. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says, 'Register the book of My slave in 'Illiyun and take him back to earth. I created them from it and I return them to it and I will bring them forth from it again.'

"His soul is then returned to his body and two angels come to him. They make him sit up and say to him, 'Who is your Lord?' He replies, 'My Lord is Allah.' They ask him, 'What is your religion?' He replies, 'My religion is Islam.' They ask him, 'Who is this man who was sent among you?' He replies, 'The Messenger of Allah. Then a Voice from on high declares, 'My slave has spoken the truth, so spread out carpets from the Garden for him and open a gate of the Garden for him!'

"Then some of its fragrance and perfume comes to him, his grave is expanded for him as far as the eye can see, and a man with beautiful garments and a fragrant scent comes to him and says, 'Rejoice in what delights you for this is the day which you were promised.' He asks, 'Who are you? Yours is a face which presages good.' He replies, 'I am your good actions.' Then he says, 'O Lord, let the Last Hour come soon so that I may rejoin my family and my property!'

"When an unbeliever is about to depart from this world and go forward into the Next World, angels with black faces descend from the heavens carrying rough hair-cloth and sit around him in throngs stretching as far as the eye can see. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits at his
head and says, 'Foul soul, come out to the wrath and anger of Allah!' Then his soul divides up in his body and it is dragged out like a skewer is pulled out of wet wool. Then the angel takes hold of it. When he has grasped it, the other angels do not leave it in his hand even for the twinkling of an eye. They take it and wrap it in the rough haircloth and a stench comes out of it like the worst stench of a corpse on the face of the earth.'

"Then they take it up and whenever they take it past a company of angels, they ask, 'Who is this foul soul?' and the angels with the soul reply, 'So-and-so the son of so-and-so,' using the worst names by which people used to call him in this world. They bring him to the lowest heaven and ask for the gate to be opened for him. It does not get opened.'

"The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then recited, 'The gates of heaven will not be opened to them nor will they enter the Garden until the camel passes through the eye of the needle.' (7:40) Then Allah the Mighty and Majestic, will say, 'Register his book in Sijjin in the lowest earth.' Then his soul is flung down. The Prophet then recited, 'Whoever associates anything with Allah, it is as though he has fallen from heaven and the birds snatch him away or the wind sweeps him headlong into a place far away.' (22:31)

"Then his soul is returned to his body and two angels come and say to him, 'Who is your Lord?' He replies, 'Alas, alas, I do not know!' Then a voice calls from on high, 'My slave has lied, so spread out carpets from the Fire for him and open a gate of the Fire for him!' then a hot blast from it comes to him, his grave is made so narrow for him that his ribs are pressed together, and a man with a hideous face and clothing and a foul odour comes to him and says, 'Grieve on
account of what has brought you disgrace for this is the day which you were promised.' He asks, 'Who are you? Yours is a face which presages evil.' He replies, 'I am your bad actions.' Then he says, 'O Lord, do not let the Last Hour come!'"

This life in the grave or Interspace is the next part of our journey. An 'interspace' is something that separates two things: heaven and earth, this world and the Next World or the period between death and resurrection. The bliss or punishment of the Interpsace is not the same as that of the Herafter, but rather something that happens between the two worlds.

In death, the body remains in the ground while the soul is in the interspace or Barzakh between the two worlds. However, the two are still connected and so the bliss or punishment happens to both of them. When Allah desires bliss or punishment for the soul, He connects it to the body. This is dependent on the will of Allah and dependent on a person's own actions. The soul is diffused in more than one place at the same time. The proof of this is that the prophet (saw) saw Musa (as) on the night of the Night Journey standing in prayer in his grave and he also saw him in the sixth and seventh heavens.

During this life in the grave part of our journey the souls are divided into two groups: one group is punished and the other group is in bliss. Usually when we think of the 'grave', it is a word that
inspires fear. We are pained, but not aware of the delight it can contain. Indeed, the bliss of the Grave is better than any delight that this world can offer.

The liberated souls of those who are in bliss visit each other and discuss what happened in the world they have left and the people of that world. Allah says, "Whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, they are with those whom Allah has blessed, the prophets, the sincere, the
martyrs and the righteous. Very excellent companions they are!" (4:69)

As the hadiths narrate, if the soul was a believing one, a door onto the fire is opened and the soul is shown it's place in the Fire had they disobeyed Allah. Then that door is locked and another door onto the Garden is opened and they are shown their place there. This door will remain open until the Day of Rising. Some of the sweetness and fragrance of the Garden reaches them and their grave is made spacious. The believer sleeps in peace just as if they were in one of the meadows of the Garden. Their narrow grave expands and stretches for the soul as far as the eye can see.

This spaciousness, light and greenery in which the believer remains from the time of his death until the Day of Rising is not the same as we know in our world. If a living person were to open a grave, they would not find any expanse, light or greenness there. They would not find an open door through which they could see the Garden. They do not see bliss or torment. It is only the dead person who is aware of these things and sees them. Allah, through His wisdom, has the power to veil this from the living. The proof that this is so is shown by the fact that there are other creatures like the Jinn who live with us on the earth. They converse in raised voices among us but we do not see or hear them. There were angels who fought with the believers (at Badr) and struck down the unbelievers and shouted at them, but the Muslims did not see or hear them. Jibril came to the prophet (saw) in the midst of the people and they did not see or hear
them.

If however the soul was a disbelieving one, a door to the Garden is opened for the unbeliever and they are told to look at what their place would have been in the Garden had they obeyed Allah. Then it is locked and another door is opened and they are told to look at their place in the fire. It stays open and the blast of hot air from it continues to reach them until the Day of Rising. The earth presses in on them and they are crushed to the point that their ribs split apart.

If a righteous person were to be buried in a fiery furnace, their
portion of bliss would still reach their soul and body and Allah
would make the fire cool and peaceful for them. For the wrongdoer,
the cool air becomes fire and hot wind. The elements and the matter
of the universe obey their Lord, Originator and Creator. None of them
are able to do anything except what He wills and everything obeys His
will in humble submission to His decree.

This part of our journey in our graves is still mostly unknown
territory. Outwardly the grave is stillness and quiet while inwardly
it contains secrets and terrors which an ordinary person cannot
percieve. It is a strange fact that animals are able to hear the
punishment in the grave while human beings as a general rule cannot.
The prophet (saw) said, "They are punished and the animals hear it."

Various forms of punishment 

rain

 down on a person in the grave
according to the type of wrong actions they committed. There are
hadiths of the prophet (saw) about the Night Journey which contain
descriptions of the many types of punishment he saw in the interspace
between the two worlds.

There are those who are driven like cattle and forced to eat herbage
more bitter than aloes and the bitter fruit of Zaqqum and driven on
to the hot stones of Jahannam because they did not purify their
property by paying Zakat.

There are those who have to eat foul putrid meat because they
fornicated. Some of them have bellies as big as houses and whenever
one of them gets up, they are knocked down and say, "O Allah, do not
let the Hour come!" They are in the path of the people of Pharaoh who
come and trample them while they can do nothing but scream. These are
people who devoured usury.

Some of them are screaming with their mouths gaping open while they
devour hot coals which come out of their anuses. These are people
who consumed the property of orphans.

Some of them cut pieces from their own sides and eat their own
flesh. They are the slanderers and those about whom the prophet
(saw) said, "We saw people cutting flesh from their sides and eating
it. It was said, "As you used to consume the flesh of your brother!"
I asked, "Who are they?" and I was told, "Those of your community who
slandered." Some of them have brass nails with which they scratch
their faces and chests. They are those who were backbiters and
maligned peoples honour.

Part of the hadith of the Night Journey is as follows: "Some people
were cracking open their heads with a stone. Every time they did
this, their heads were restored to what they were like in the first
place. This went on and on without stopping. I said, "Jibril, who
are they?" Jibril replied, "They are the people who turned away from
the prayer."

All of this shows that the Punishment of the Grave is true beyond any
doubt.

"Race to forgiveness from your Lord, and a Garden whose breadth is
like the breadth of the Heaven and the Earth" (57:21)

The intelligent are those who protect themselves against the evil of
this punishment before it is too late. They know with certainty that
sooner or later this day will come and maybe without any warning.
When it does, they will leave behind everything and move to another
world. Only there will they feel regret, but regret then will not
do them any good. In that place, only good actions will be of any
use. They alone will be useful currency on that Critical day. Only
with them will a person be able to purchase a magnificent mansion in
the Garden with all the luxuries and blessings it contains, an
everlasting mansion, not one which will disappear as things do in
this world. The intelligent person is the one who acts for this world
as if they were going to live forever and acts for the Next World as
if they were going to die tomorrow.

The Grave is an embrace from which neither believer or unbeliever can
escape. Our souls stay in the Barzakh and visit the grave regularly
for rewards or punishments. Afterwards, our journey continues and
the believer is relieved of its pressure while the unebliever remains
in punishment.

The next part of our journey includes the rebirth from what is left
of our bodies, the seed and its embryo, called Ajaf of the sacrum.
This method of rebirth of human beings is as simple as the rebirth of
a plant from its own seeds. Plants carry seeds that have their
genetic traits embedded on chromosomes. The genes on the chromosomes
carry everything needed to bring the plant back to its shape, height,
variety, chemical composition and other characteristics. In the same
way, the embryos of human beings germinate and the new life will
start on the Day of Rising.

Allah instructs Angel Israfeel to blow the horn twice. The first is
to ready every seed for germination. Water of Life is then poured
upon these seeds in their graves. The soul comes back from the
barzakh to join its biological entity at this time. The second blow
of the trumpet helps those seeds to germinate and produce every
person back to normal. They come out of their graves in a state of
shock, naked without any clothes or shoes.

"The trumpet will be sounded when all that are in the heavens and in
the earth will swoon except such as will please Allah (to exempt).
Then will a second one be sounded, when, behold, they will be
standing and looking on!" (39:68) "The trumpet shall be sounded,
when behold! From the sepulchres (men and women) will rush forth to
their Lord! They will say: 'Ah! Woe unto us! Who had raised us up
from out beds of repose?' (A voice will say: ) 'This is what Allah,
Most Gracious had promised, and true was the word of the messengers!"
(36:51-52)

Everyone will be raised up with the same identification features down
to our very fingerprints. "Does man think that We cannot assemble
his bones? Nay, We are able to put together in perfect order the
very tips of his fingers." (75:3-4)

After our rebirth our journey continues as each of us is taken to a
place of Assembly. "On that day We shall leave them to surge life
waves on one another. The trumpet will be blown, and We shall collect
them all together. (18:99) All will be waiting for the Court of
Allah, the Court of Justice to decide for them. The Day of Assembly
is a day of fear, agony and anxiety. It is a day when each of us
will be worried about what will happen to us personally. "At length,
when there comes the Deafening Noise--that day shall a man flee from
his own brother, and from his mother and his father, and from his
wife and his children. Each one of them, that Day, will have enough
concern (of his own) to make him indifferent to the others."
(80:33-37)

With the heat of sun, sweating, and presence of too many people next
to one another, the situation will be very scary and chaotic. "O
mankind! Fear your Lord! For the convulsion of the Hour (of
Judgement) will be a thing terrible! The Day you shall see it, every
mother giving suck shall forget her suckling babe, and every pregnant
female shall drop her load (unformed). You shall see mankind as in a
drunken riot, yet not drunk; but dreadful will be the Chastisement of
Allah." (22:1-2)

On this day seven groups of people will be protected by Allah, these
are mentioned in Hadith: "Seven types of people will be under the
shelter of mercy on the Day when there will be no shade other than
that of Allah's mercy: 1) a just imam, 2) a young person who kept
busy in Allah's worship, 3) a person whose heart is attached to the
masjid, 4)two people who loved each other for Allah's sake, gathered
for His sake and parted, remembering Him, 5) a man who was invited by
a beautiful and charming woman but declined her offer, saying "I fear
Allah"; 6) a person who gave charity so secretly that their left hand
did not know what was given by the right hand , and 7) a person who
remembered Allah privately, so that their eyes brimmed with tears."
[Bukhari, Muslim]

Each person shall then be grouped behind his or her leader, prophet,
messenger, mentor, celebrity, etc. All will be put in lines waiting
for the Court of Allah to take place and our journey to continue. "On
the day We shall call together all human beings with their
(respective) Imams" (17:71)

Judgement Day will be our next stop. This is the day when Allah
personally will judge everyone directly with absolute justice. Abu
Hurayrah related that the prophet (saw) said: "Every servant of Allah
will remain standing before Allah on the Day of Judgement until he
has answered five questions about five things: His life--how he spent
it; his knowledge--how much he acted upon it; his wealth--how he
acquired it and how he spent it; and his body (and health)--how he
used it." [Muslim]

Each person will then receive their book that contains each and every
thing they have done from the time of birth till death. This book
includes activites, appearance and intention. Such a book could be
similar to videotape which records all these three paramaters. It is
not unfathomable to think about this in a time in which we have
CDRoms whose glinting thin surface contains encyclopedias full of
information.

"Then he who is given his Record in his right hand, soon will his
account be taken by an easy reckoning, and he will turn to his
people, rejoicing!" (84:7-9) "And he that will be given his Record in
his left hand will say: "Ah! Would that my record had not been given
to me!" (69:25) Their faces will be in gloom and they will be
distressed with fear and anxiety. They will wish and beg to start
their life all over again on the earth

Allah will also select a third group of people: "And those Foremost
(in Faith) will be Foremost (in the Hereafter). These will be those
Nearest to Allah. In Gardens of bliss: a number of people from those
of old, and a few from those of later times. (They will be) on
Thrones encrusted (with gold and precious stones), reclining on them,
facing each other." (56:10-16)

This is where we near the end of our journey. We shall enter the
everlasting domain, which comprises of the Garden and the Fire.
There is no trip after it for it is the Domain of Eternity.

We shall pass over Hellfire, some of us remaining while others
continue on. "Not one of you but will pass over it: this is, with thy
Lord, a Decree which must be accomplished. But We shall save those
who guarded against evil, and We shall leave the wrongdoers therein,
(humbled) to their knees." (19:71-72)

The prophet (saw) said: "The mildest punishment to be inflicted upon
a person in Hell is that he will be made to wear a pair of sandals
made of fire which will be so hot that they will make his brain boil
like things boil on a stove. He will imagine that no one is
undergoing a punishment more severe although his punishment, in
reality, will be the mildest in Hell." [Bukhari, Muslim]

Others who are not qualified to enter Paradise or Hell may be taken
to a waiting station called Al- A'raf, to wait until forgiveness is
given to them through the Mercy of Allah.

Others will finally end their journey with their life in Paradise.
It is the last destination and hope of every person to arrive here.
It is reserved for believers who submitted themselves to Allah and
followed His teachings. They are the ones whose loyalty and obedience
were to Allah. Paradise has all the beauties of life to enjoy
without ever being tired. It is a life of excitement, peace and
happiness. The prophet (saw) said: "Allah, the Almighty, says, 'I
have prepared for My righteous servants that which no eyes have ever
seen, no ears have ever heard and no heart has ever conceieved.'"
[Bukhari, Muslim]

This Life After is called the Real and the True Life. The Quran
explicitly refers to the Life After as the True Life while the life
in this world is a superficial one. "What is the life of this world
but amusement and play? But verily the Home of the Hereafter -- that
is Life indeed, if they but knew." (29:64)

After completing this journey vicariously here, we should rethink our
lives and our deeds as we do them today. We can hide from each
other, and ourselves but we cannot hide from Allah. It won't be long
before we are pushed along to the next part of our journey. Time
passes quickly and is precious. Everything we do now affects our
journey at a later stage. Everything is recorded; our deeds,
appearances and even hidden intentions. As travelers, we can prepare
and change to make our journey and especially our final stop a better
one. Perhaps even one small deed or choice we make can save us if we
keep conscious.

Among the dreams of the early Muslims is one related by Yazid b
Nu'ama who said, "A girl died in the al-Jarib plague. Her father met
her in a dream after her death and asked her to tell him about the
Next World. She replied, 'My father, this is a big subject you have
raised. We know but cannot act. You can act but do not know. By
Allah, one or two acts of glorification and one or two rakats of the
prayer in the book of my actions are preferable to me than the world
and all it contains.'"

The prophet (saw) related in a true dream he had:

" He saw one of the muslims. The Angel of Death came to take his
soul but his correct behavior towards his parents came and drove the
Angel of Death away from him.'

" He saw another of the muslims surrounded by shaytans. Then his
remembrance of Allah came and made the shaytans fly from him.'

"Then he saw a thrid muslim surrounded by the angels of punishment.
His prayer came and rescued him from their hands.'

"The tongue of a fourth muslim was lolling out from thirst and
whenever he approached a pool of water, he was stopped and driven
away. Then his fasting of Ramadan came and gave him water to drink.'

" He saw another man and the prophets sitting in circles. Everytime
the muslim approached one of the circles, he was stopped and driven
away. His ghusl for janaba came, took hold of his hand, and sat him
down in the circle.'

"Another muslim had darkness in front of him, behind him, on his
right, on his left and above him. He was completely lost in it.
Then his hajj and umra came and led him out of the darkness into the
light.'

"Another muslim was being pursued by flames and sparks of fire. His
sadaqa formed a veil between him and the fire and shaded his head.'

"Another muslim was speaking to a group of believers who would not
speak to him. His upholding of kinship came and told the group of
believers that he had maintained ties of kinship and ordered them to
speak to him. Then the believers spoke to him and shook hands with
him.'

"Another muslim was surrounded by the Zabaniyya (angels of Jahannam).
His commanding the right and forbidding the wrong came and rescued
him from them and put him among the angels of mercy.'

"Another muslim was kneeling with a veil between him and Allah. His
good character came, took his hand and Allah let him enter His
presence.'

"Another muslim had received his book in his left hand. His fear of
Allah came and took his book and placed it in his right hand.'

"The scales of another muslim were light in the balance. Those of his
children who had died young came and made the scales level.'

"Another muslim was standing on the brink of Jahannam. His hope in
Allah came and rescued him from it, and he withdrew from it.'

"Another muslim had fallen into the fire. The tears that he had wept
out of fear from Allah came and rescued him from it.'

"Another muslim was standing on the Sirat trembling like a leaf in a
strong wind. His good opinion of Allah came and his terror was
allayed and he was able to go on.'

"Another muslim was crawling on the Sirat, sometimes creeping, and
sometimes just clinging on. His prayer came and put him on his feet
and rescued him.'

"Another muslim reached the gates of the Garden but they were locked
against him. His testimony that there is no god but Allah came and
opened the gates for him and let him into the garden."


Let us pray that we are among those who work to have an easy trip and
have as the end to their journey, the final abode of Paradise. O
Allah, We seek refuge with You from the punishment of the grave. O
Allah, help us to live and die as Muslims and help us to understand
the true object of this life. O Allah, grant us good in this life
and good in the life to come, and save us from the torment of the
Hellfire.


"We hear and we obey. Forgive us, our Lord!
To You is the journey's end." (2:285)
Ameen.


"Every soul shall have a taste of death: and only on the Day of
Judgement shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is save
far from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the
object (of Life): For the life of this world is but goods and
chattels of deception" (3:185)


Sources: "The Soul's Journey after Death" by Layla Mabrouk
"Death and Dying" by Dr. Ahmad Sakr
"The World of the Angels" by Sh. Abdul Hamid Kishk
"A Treasury of Ahadith" by Dr. Mazhar U. Kazi
Quran Al-Kareem trans. Abdullah Yusuf Ali