Location of souls after death
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
It is common belief among hindu's in
our country, that a person has to undergo cycle of rebirths till moksh is
attained. That is a person is born again after he/she dies.
It is possible under deep hypnosis, that a person
regresses in time. It is possible that he counts his memories which were
burried deep inside. He can remeber his childhood, time of infancy, even when
he was in his, mother's womb. By regressing even further it is possible to
rember his previous birth. He can be even regressed to his births before that
and before that, and on and on.
According to Islamic point of view a person will
go to heaven or hell according to his deeds, which will be judged by Allah on
the day of judgement. One wonders, if one denies the Hindu belief, where
does one's sole goes after death. Because qayamat is Allah alone's choice, when
it will come no one know, it does seem a fair question to me, where does one go
after death, and where are people who have died.
It is said after anyone dies that may god give him
jannat. But jannat will be given after qyamat.
I think in Quran itself God talks of
raising the dead somewhere. I'm not sure exactly where.
Is it possible that this may refer to
rebirth instead of judgment day?
Your opnion in this matter will be valuble.
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Answer:
Location of souls
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 none worthy of worship but Allah
Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the
seal of His Messengers.
Respected brother, whatever
happens to the soul after death in the grave, on the Day of Judgment, etc. is
what is known as the knowledge of the ‘unseen’; and none possesses the
Knowledge of the unseen except Allah Subhanah, the Lord of the Worlds,
Alone. Thus to know what exactly
transpires after death or in the grave, we must rely on only what
is Declared by the All-Knowing Lord in His Glorious Quran, or what Allah
Subhanah made known to Prophet Mohamed (saws) through inspiration, and he
(saws) narrated it to the believers in his authentic traditions.
One cannot of himself say ‘I
think…’, ‘I suppose…’, ‘I assume….’, or ‘it is said….’ etc. when it comes to
knowledge of the unseen! The Only One
Who has the Absolute Knowledge of the Seen and the Unseen is none other than
the One Who Created everything in existence; and He Alone has the Right to
declare in Truth what exactly transpires in the events of the ‘unseen’. Thus for any information of the ‘unseen’ the
believers must rely only on what is declared by the All-Knowing
Lord in His Glorious Quran, or what He Willed to make known to the Last
Messenger (saws) through inspiration, and he (saws) narrated it to the
believers.
The Islamic principle and
guidance on this particular matter is absolutely straightforward: ie. the
‘soul’ of every human being basically goes through these four stages:
The very concept of one having a
re-birth, whereby the soul of one is returned back after death to another body
is categorically rejected and denied by the Laws of the One Who created
everything in existence!
Allah Says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 23 Surah Muminoon verses 12-16:
12 Man We did create from a quintessence (of
clay);
13 Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm
in a place of rest firmly fixed;
14 Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that
clot We made a (foetus) lump; then We made out of that lump bones and clothed
the bones with flesh; then We developed out of it another creature: so blessed
be Allah the Best to create!
15 After that at length ye will die.
16 Again (only) on the Day of Judgment will
ye be raised up!
Allah Says in the Holy
Quran Chatper 58 Surah Mujadila verse 6:
6 (Only) On the Day (of Judgment) that Allah will
raise them all up (again) and show them the Truth of their conduct. Allah has reckoned its (value) though they
may have forgotten it: for Allah is Witness to all things.
Allah Says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraaf verses 24-25:
24 …On earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood
for a (prescribed) time."
25 He (Allah) said: "therein shall ye live and therein shall
ye die; and from it shall ye be taken out (for the Day of Judgment)."
Islam Declares in Truth that
each individual will be born only once, sent to live one life as a test on this
earth; and each and every human being will taste the element of death only
once…..and then all will be raised up to life again on the Day of Judgment to
give a full accounting for their deeds in the Presence of their Lord Creator,
Most Majestic, Most Supreme.
Your Question: ….One wonders, if one
denies the Hindu belief, where does one's sole goes after death. Because
qayamat is Allah alone's choice, when it will come no one know, it does seem a
fair question to me, where does one go after death, and where are people who have
died.
Allah Says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 23 Muminoon verses 99-103:
99 (In Falsehood will they be) until when death comes to one of them he
says: "O my Lord! send me back (to life)
100 In order that I may work righteousness in the things I
neglected." By no means! It is but a word he says; before them is a ‘Barzakh’
(Veil or Partition) till the Day they are raised up.
101 Then when the Trumpet is blown, there will be no more relationships
between them that day nor will one ask after another!
102 Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy they will attain
salvation:
103 But those whose balance is light will be those who have brought loss
upon themselves; in Hell will they abide.
The
literal meaning of the term ‘barzakh’ is something of a barrier or a veil, or
something which is kept hidden. In
Quranic terminology, the period between one’s death on earth and when one will
be granted life again by Allah on the Day of Resurrection , is known as ‘Al-Barzakh’.
What happens immediately to the
soul of the deceased is narrated in truth by the Messenger of Allah (saws):
Sunan of Abu-Dawood
Hadith 4735 Narrated byAl-Bara' ibn Azib
The Prophet (saws)
said: “When a believer is buried in the
grave two angels will come to him (Munkar and Nakir, both have dark faces and blue eyes), make him sit up, and ask :
‘Who is your Lord?’ He will
reply: ‘My Lord is Allah.’ They will ask him: ‘What is your religion?’ He will reply: ‘My religion is Islam.’ They will ask him: ‘What is your opinion about the man who was
sent on a mission among you?’ He will
reply: ‘He is the Messenger of Allah
(peace be upon him).’ They will ask: ‘
Who made you aware of this?’ He will
reply: ‘I read Allah's Book, believed in
it, and considered it true.’ Then a
crier will call from Heaven: ‘My servant
has spoken the truth. So spread a bed
for him from Paradise, clothe him from
Paradise, and open a door for him into
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith
5352 Narrated by Abu Sa'id
The Prophet (saws)
said: "The grave (or the life of
the soul between one’s death and one’s resurrection on the Day of Resurrection)
is (as if) one of the Gardens of Paradise, or one of the pits of Hell!"
Whatever written of
Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever
of error is of me alone. Allah Alone
Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan