Muslims believe that the present life is a trial in preparation for the next realm of existence. 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 Holy Prophet is reported to have said that when the corpse is put in the bier and the people carry the dead body to the graveyard, if the deceased is a pious person, he/she requests them to carry him/her as fast as they can and if the deceased is a wrongdoer, he/she curses the wretchedness in store for him/her and asks where he/she is being led to.
The Holy Prophet is also reported to have said that except human beings everything else hears the cries of the dead body. If a person were to hear the cries of the dead body, they would faint. The interval between death and the Day of Resurrection is called Barzakh (the life in the grave). This is the beginning of life after death.
There are very convincing reasons to believe in life after death. Firstly, all the prophets of God have called their people to believe in it. Secondly, 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. Thirdly, history bears witness that whenever this belief is rejected collectively by a group of people in spite of the repeated warning of the prophet, God even in this world has punished the group as a whole. Fourthly, moral, aesthetic and rational faculties of man endorse the possibility of life after death. Fifthly, God's attributes of Justice and Mercy have no meaning if there is no life after death.
When the idolaters of Makkah denied even the possibility of life after death, the Qur'an exposed the weakness of their stand by advancing very logical and rational arguments in support of it:
“And he has coined for us a similitude, and has forgotten the fact of his creation, saying: who will revive these bones when they have rotten away?” Say: “He will revive them who produced them at the first, for He is the knower of every creation. Who has appointed for you fire from the green tree, and behold! You kindle from it. Is not He who created the heavens and the earth, able to create the like of them? Yes, and He is indeed the Supreme Creator, the All-knowing. [36: 78-81]
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 again the dead will be resurrected to stand before God. That day will be the beginning of the life that will never end, and that Day every person will be rewarded by God according to his or her good or evil deed.
On the Day of Qiyamah (Doomsday) the feet of the human being will not be able to move till he/she is questioned about five matters (and give a reasonable account): 1) On what they spent their life, 2) In what pursuits they passed their youth, 3) From where did they earn wealth, 4) On what they spent their wealth and 5) How much they acted upon the knowledge they required.
It will be a hard day for the disbelievers - a heavy day. They bear a heavy burden, and are not permitted to put forth any excuse. The wrongdoer will bite his hands. All wrongdoers will be assembled with their companions and idols. It will be destruction with deep regrets, sorrows and despair. There will be no fear for believers, and all believers will be in the shade, and amongst springs and fruits. Angels will be sent down with a grand descending.
The judgment of Allah is just and fair enough. One will be rewarded according to what they had done on the worldly life and the final destination will be Paradise or the Hellfire, based on the judgment of The Almighty, Allah. 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 Qur'an says:
“Is he, then, to whom we have promised a goodly promise the fulfillment of which he will meet, like the one whom We have provided with the good things of this life, and then on the Day of Resurrection he will be of those who will be brought arraigned before God?” [28: 61]
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. 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.
The Holy Prophet is reported to have said that when the corpse is put in the bier and the people carry the dead body to the graveyard, if the deceased is a pious person, he/she requests them to carry him/her as fast as they can and if the deceased is a wrongdoer, he/she curses the wretchedness in store for him/her and asks where he/she is being led to.
The Holy Prophet is also reported to have said that except human beings everything else hears the cries of the dead body. If a person were to hear the cries of the dead body, they would faint. The interval between death and the Day of Resurrection is called Barzakh (the life in the grave). This is the beginning of life after death.
There are very convincing reasons to believe in life after death. Firstly, all the prophets of God have called their people to believe in it. Secondly, 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. Thirdly, history bears witness that whenever this belief is rejected collectively by a group of people in spite of the repeated warning of the prophet, God even in this world has punished the group as a whole. Fourthly, moral, aesthetic and rational faculties of man endorse the possibility of life after death. Fifthly, God's attributes of Justice and Mercy have no meaning if there is no life after death.
When the idolaters of Makkah denied even the possibility of life after death, the Qur'an exposed the weakness of their stand by advancing very logical and rational arguments in support of it:
“And he has coined for us a similitude, and has forgotten the fact of his creation, saying: who will revive these bones when they have rotten away?” Say: “He will revive them who produced them at the first, for He is the knower of every creation. Who has appointed for you fire from the green tree, and behold! You kindle from it. Is not He who created the heavens and the earth, able to create the like of them? Yes, and He is indeed the Supreme Creator, the All-knowing. [36: 78-81]
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 again the dead will be resurrected to stand before God. That day will be the beginning of the life that will never end, and that Day every person will be rewarded by God according to his or her good or evil deed.
On the Day of Qiyamah (Doomsday) the feet of the human being will not be able to move till he/she is questioned about five matters (and give a reasonable account): 1) On what they spent their life, 2) In what pursuits they passed their youth, 3) From where did they earn wealth, 4) On what they spent their wealth and 5) How much they acted upon the knowledge they required.
It will be a hard day for the disbelievers - a heavy day. They bear a heavy burden, and are not permitted to put forth any excuse. The wrongdoer will bite his hands. All wrongdoers will be assembled with their companions and idols. It will be destruction with deep regrets, sorrows and despair. There will be no fear for believers, and all believers will be in the shade, and amongst springs and fruits. Angels will be sent down with a grand descending.
The judgment of Allah is just and fair enough. One will be rewarded according to what they had done on the worldly life and the final destination will be Paradise or the Hellfire, based on the judgment of The Almighty, Allah. 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 Qur'an says:
“Is he, then, to whom we have promised a goodly promise the fulfillment of which he will meet, like the one whom We have provided with the good things of this life, and then on the Day of Resurrection he will be of those who will be brought arraigned before God?” [28: 61]
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. 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.
