3. beliefs_ 5. life after death

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Beliefs: 5. Life after death

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3. Beliefs:

3.5 Life after death

"We have ordained death among you, and We are not to be overcome, so that

We may change your state and make you grow into what you know not." (TheHoly Quran 56:60-61)

"O soul who is at rest, return to thy Lord, well-pleased (with Him), well-pleasing

(Him). So enter among My servants, and enter My garden." (89:27-30)

"It (hell) is the fire kindled by Allah which rises over the hearts." (104:5-6)

48. What does Islam teach about life after death?

It teaches that a human being not only has a body, but also has a 'spirit' given to him orher by God. The spirit is the seed from which a higher form of life grows within man,higher than physical life, just as the body has developed from a small 'seed'. Just as inthe world around us higher forms of life evolve from lower ones, similarly from thelife of the individual in this world is evolved his higher 'spiritual' life. During his life,man's deeds shape and mould his spirit, for better or worse, according to his deeds.When a person dies, the physical body is finished, but the spirit remains, as he or shehad moulded it by their deeds when alive. That is the life after death.

49. How is the spirit shaped during our life here?

Just as our physical actions and habits affect the body and leave their impressions uponit, so does the good or evil of our deeds affect the spirit and leave an impression uponit. Sometimes we can even feel something of the effect of a good or bad deed upon us.If we nourish the spirit through prayer to God and, with the strength we get from this,do good and righteous deeds, the spirit will develop and grow properly. But if the spiritis neglected, and bad deeds are done, it suffers harm. It is as if God has given each

person a piece of soft clay. It is then up to the individual to shape it into somethingbeautiful or ugly by his deeds.

50. Is man rewarded after death for his good deeds and punished for the

bad ones?

As has been said above, good deeds benefit the spirit and evil deeds harm it. Thiseffect upon the spirit is what constitutes the reward or punishment for one's deeds. Inthis life we can occasionally feel this effect, but only very faintly and vaguely. Afterdeath, when only the spirit is left, bearing all the impressions of deeds done throughoutlife, the effects of those deeds will be felt clearly and vividly. It is this which is thereward for good deeds and suffering for evil deeds.

51. What are heaven and hell?

Heaven and hell are not actual places somewhere in the universe, but really our innerconditions or the condition of the spirit resulting from our deeds. Heaven and hell
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begin in this life within a person's heart. The feelings of bliss and contentment at doinggood is the heaven in one's heart. And the guilt, shame and greed felt by an evil doer isthe hell of the heart. After death, the heaven or hell that developed in the heart isunfolded before us and becomes the world in which we live, and we live in it not withthe physical body of this life but the 'spiritual' body made from our deeds.

52. The Holy Quran mentions many blessings and comforts in paradise

and many painful punishments in hell. What is the nature of these?

The exact nature of these things cannot be known in this world because they are in anentirely different world where ours ideas of space, time, feelings, etc. do not apply. Butto describe them to us, physical terms have to be used such as "gardens and rivers" in

paradise, and the "fire" of hell, to give an idea of what they feel like.

However, all these things of the next world actually begin in one's heart in this world.For instance, the "fruits" of paradise are really the fruits of good deeds that a personstarts tasting in his heart in this life, and the "fire" of hell is the same fire of lowdesires and greed that burns in a person's heart here. In the next world, all thesefeelings are unfolded and manifest themselves as comforts of paradise or miseries of

hell.

53. What is the Day of Judgment according to Islam?

Just as the life of an individual has an end, and the life of a nation has an end, so doesthe life of this entire physical world have an end. That is the 'Day of Judgment', whichwill bring the spiritual world into full manifestation, in place of the present physicalone. As said above, immediately upon death a person begins to feel an awakening tothe higher life, made from his deeds in the present life. But this is only a partialrealization. It is on the Day of Judgment that everyone is fully awakened and raised to

the higher, spiritual life. It is called the Day of Judgment because each person shallthen become fully conscious of the effects of his deeds in this life, and have a 'body'(so to speak) made out of his or her own deeds.

54. Is there any other significant point about paradise and hell d isclosed

by Islam?

Yes. It is that the life after death is actually the starting-point of further progress forman. Those in paradise are advancing to higher and higher stages in knowledge and

perfection of faith. Hell is meant to purify those in it of the effects of their bad deeds,

and so make them fit for further advancement. Its punishment is, therefore, noteverlasting.

55. Do Muslims believe in reincarnation, that is, after death a person may

be reborn in this world for another life here, and in this way have several

lives on earth?

No, Islam teaches continuous progress of the soul and so it cannot return to this worldafter death of the body. The theory of reincarnation teaches that if a person is born in

poor or miserable circumstances, or is suffering from some disability or disadvantage,

this is a punishment for him for bad deeds done in his former life; and if anyone isprosperous, healthy, and of a 'high' family, that is his reward for good deeds done inhis former life. If one believes this, it would mean that we should treat the poor, thedestitute, and the suffering as if they deserve their misfortunes, and have no sympathyfor them because they are only getting their just punishment; and we should have high


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regard for the rich and the comfortable because they are receiving their reward for pastgood deeds. Such an attitude would be inhuman and against the basic teachings ofIslam.

Islam teaches that each person is born with a pure soul, without any burden to bearfrom a past life, and that both those people who seem to be facing hardship in thisworld and those who appear to be enjoying comforts are in a state of 'trial' to see howthey behave under those circumstances. These are not punishments or rewards. InGod's eyes the best person is he or she who acquits himself best in the conditions they

meet.

56. What is the significance of the Muslim belief in life after death?

Firstly, it encourages man to do good and restrains him from doing evil. This isbecause he realizes that a good deed will always bring him benefit, even if it may notbe obvious at the time; and he knows that an evil deed, even if no one at all sees himdo it, will have to be answered for, and will have adverse consequences, in the next lifeif not immediately in this one.

Secondly, it teaches man to look at the inner worth of himself and of others, ratherthan the outward appearance (be it wealth, position, beauty, or education). This is

because he knows that it is the inner part of man which is the real thing, and whichsurvives forever, while the outward possessions are certainly lost at death, and ofteneven before then.

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