HEREAFTER IN ISLAM

In the scheme of God’s creation, man has been given a very high position. God has placed him in his uncorrupted state even above the angels, but in his corruption man makes himself even lower than the beasts. Man, the noble creation of God, was not created in jest but for some definite purpose and that is to serve God.[6] The worldly life is an opportunity for him to make preparation for the eternal life after death when he will be given the rewards for all his actions accomplished in this world. For him, this world is nothing but a place of trial. If he leads his life according to the guidance given by God through His prophets, he is successful in life and if, on the contrary, he disobeys God and becomes a slave of his passions and desires, he is a failure. While a true believer has as his ultimate aim in life the pleasure of God, a non-believer identifies his main objective the satisfaction of worldly desires.

A Muslim in his death-bed clears the dues, if there remains any, which he might owe to others and asks forgiveness from God for all the sins he might have committed in his life. He always wishes to be his last word the Kalimah, the solemn affirmation of his faith in One God pronouncing: There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad (pbuh) is His Messenger. After a Muslim dies, his corpse is ritually washed with scented water and wrapped in simple and clean white sheets. Then it is taken to a mosque or open place and salat al-janazah (funeral prayer) is offered in congregation attended by the local community. In the funeral prayer, God’s forgiveness and mercy is sought for the deceased person. After the prayer is over, the corpse is taken to the cemetery and buried there.

After death, an interval period called barzakh begins and continues to remain till the Day of Resurrection. When at this stage, the spirit of a human being remains in a state of happiness or otherwise, depending on the deeds accomplished by him in the earthly life.

Belief in the life after death plays a key role in determining the behaviour of a man. If he believes that he will be accountable to God in the hereafter, he will try to do things in a just manner but if he does not believe in his accountability before God, he will always be guided by his self-interest and passions in deciding to do anything. God is just and His justice requires that a person be punished for his sin and rewarded for his good deeds. If a person passes his life committing every kind of evil, with total disregard to God’s command, he cannot escape punishment unless he attains forgiveness of God. Similarly, one who has followed the law of God throughout his life must be rewarded. If a despotic ruler or dictator, for instance, inflicts torture on thousands of people which results in the death of many innocent people,[8] and then dies when he is still in power, how can he escape punishment? If such a person will not be punished in the life to come, where can God’s justice be brought into action? If a person manages to usurp the rights of others, by stealing, fraud, telling lies, etc., and all his crimes remain undiscovered until he dies, how could he escape punishment? How could justice be administered to his victims? There is simply no way we can think of administration of justice by God unless we believe in life after death. Similarly, if a person spends his whole life carefully obeying the divine guidance and always keeps himself away from what has been forbidden by God, and remains on the path of piety and virtue till the end of his life, justice requires that his sacrifice should not go in vain.

Life in this earth is very short for a human being and, therefore, the time span one can have here is not enough for his punishment for evil deeds or reward for his pious actions. Moreover, the entire life span of a man is a period for action. A full account of his action cannot be available until the end of his life. It is possible only after his death to make a judicious judgment about his deeds. Therefore, the record of deeds will definitely be judged in the hereafter. The consequences of the evil deeds will be fire and torture in hell and the reward for good deeds will be in the form of eternal bliss in paradise.

The concept of the hereafter plays a significant role in our lives. To one who does not believe in the Day of Judgment, neither obedience to God is of any advantage, nor disobedience to Him of any harm. He will not be prepared to do any good deed, if it does not serve his interest Similarly, he will not hesitate to accomplish any evil deed, if it serves his interest. A person who believes in the final consequences of his actions, on the other hand, would look upon worldly gains or losses as temporary. To him, all that pleases God is good and all that invokes His displeasure is evil. One cannot, therefore, become a good person without belief in the hereafter. The denial to the Day of Judgment may degrade a person from humanity to a place even lower than that of the lowest of animals.

Paradise is a place of eternal peace and happiness; it is a place where there will be blessings of God in its utmost form. Those who obeyed God in this world will attain the blessings of paradise. They will always remain there enjoying all kinds of delights. There they will have all that they desire.[9] God says in a Hadith Qudsi[10] : “I have prepared for My virtuous servants what an eye has not seen, nor has an ear heard, nor has come to the mind of man.”[11]

As indicated in the above hadith, for a man of this world, it is difficult to imagine what will be there in paradise for its inhabitants. However, some idea about the bounty of God that will be there has been given in the Qur’an and also in the hadith. Among the things mentioned in the Qur’an are gardens, fountains, rivers, fruits, pure drinks, maidens and youths. According to the hadith, the inhabitants of paradise will be hairless, beardless, with black eyes.[12] They will be youthful, and will grow neither older nor younger. They will eat and drink there, but will not spit, or pass water, or release the bowels, or blow the nose.[13] All superfluities will be discharged, and carried off by perspiration as odoriferous as musk. Paradise will be a shady place full of perfumes where no one will suffer from fatigue. All kinds of delicious fruits and food will be available there. There will be rivers of sweet smelling water, milk, and clarified honey. The delights of paradise are not solely in bodily and sensual pleasures and enjoyment,’ but include spiritual enjoyments too. The highest spiritual delight enjoyed by the inhabitants of paradise will consist in looking at God’s Face.[14] Nothing will be dearer to them than looking at their Lord.[15]