on time and reincarnation: an inquiry from islamic thought

On Time and Reincarnation: An Inquiry from Islamic Thought

Al-Qasemi Journal of Islamic Studies, volume 5, issue. 2 (2020), 29


Müfit Selim Saruhan1

Abstract:

In this article, two essential matters of debate in the history of philosophy, the

concepts of time and reincarnation, are discussed. The concept of time continues

to stand at the center of philosophical discussions, with its obviousness on the one

hand and its complete ambiguity on the other.

The subject of reincarnation has sometimes been a way of thinking developed in

the face of the fear of death. This article will discuss the grounds on which debates

over reincarnation are dealt with in Islamic philosophy. In Islamic thought,

reincarnation is discussed critically in the areas of history of religion, theology,

and the mystical disciplines, as well as in philosophy.

Keywords: Time, Eternity, Immortality, Reincarnation, Aristoteles, İbn Sina

(Avicenna)

Introduction

On the Nature of Time "What is time? Who can define it simply and easily? Who

can mentally grasp it or put it into words? We only understand it when we speak,

and when we hear it. So what is the time? I know what it is as long as no one

asks, but I do not know when an explanation is requested. Like everyone who

tries to define time.

1 Prof. Dr. Müfit Selim Saruhan, Faculty of Divinity Islamic Philosophy Division,

Ankara University, Turkey.

Al-Qasemi Journal of Islamic Studies, Volume 5, Issue 2 (2020), 29-48

Müfit Selim Saruhan


In his words above, St. Augustine (d.430) expresses2 our inability to express

time. Of course, the difficulty with these definitions does not necessitate an

attempt at definition. Time is a determination principle of real existence." It takes

all that is real into time. This absorption continues in case of occurrence. Time

defines this occurrence. Time can be considered in two ways; "Physics and

Anthropology."

We, these two types are intertwined with time. Physically, time is a one-

dimensional continuum and flows. It does not have the attributes of speed and

slowness. It also does not refer to a yesterday, a present or a tomorrow. Physics

time cannot be measured.

Human life continues with uninterrupted behaviors. We call this time

point where our actions begin, stop, ask and try to understand "now". These

actions do not end in now. The name of the present in human practical life is

"today". Past present are called "yesterday". This flow goes on. This flow

connects us to the time that is coming. The name given to this coming is

"tomorrow".3

Human actions take place in a three-dimensional time. There are goals

and goals that these actions want to achieve. Another aspect of the incident;

before science, the concept of biological time is the first to play a role in thought.

The flow of life from childhood to old age and death generates this concept of

time.

According to Ibn Rushd (d.1198) time must be considered together with

movement in order to understand time. The "displacement movement" is

2 St. Augustines, The City of God, (trans. Marcus Dods), New York 1950,) V.VI, 500.

3 Henderıch, Ted, The Structure of Time, (Routledge (1980, International Library of

Philosophy) 10-30.



important for understanding time. There is priority and postponement in the

movement of displacement. According to his statement;

If we consider that a group has been kept closed in a cave on earth from an early

age, we can definitely say that they perceive time, even though they cannot

perceive any movement perceived by the senses in the realm". He sees time as a

psychological phenomenon related to consciousness.

Being is in two groups in terms of its relation to movement and time. According

to Ibn Rushd, it is God, the eternal being that has no relation with movement and

time. The other is the universe surrounded by time, whose existence depends on

movement.

For Ibn Rushd, time is a separate concept from motion, the relationship

between them is similar to the relationship between number and the things we

count. Just as the number does not increase with the increase of the numbers, the

location of the number cannot be determined by determining the places of the

numbers.

He thinks that there is time without movement, just as number can exist, even if

we do not count. As the number measures the counted objects, time also

measures the moving entities in terms of their movements and their mobility. If

there is a movement that existed afterwards, it expresses the necessity to find a

time before it.

The point that Ibn Rushd wants to emphasize, quoting the verse "His

throne was above water", is that even before the existence of the universe, there



must have been a time before a known time because there was an throne and

water. 4

"A day with your Lord is like a thousand years from what you count."

His statement shows us the relativity of time. It shows that there is one more time

that exceeds the time system we are used to.

It was Dâwûd al-Qaysarî who best identified and summarized common views

on time in Islamic thought. In his work "Nihâyatü'l Bayân fî Dirâyeti'z-Zaman",

he explains two original views in the history of philosophy. One of these is

Aristotle's view. Time is the number of action by priority and after. Time exists

where there is movement. (time is measure of motion)5

The other view is voiced by Abu'l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī. According to him, time

has nothing to do with movement and cannot be described in terms of movement.

He says that even if there is no movement, there can be time. It determines the

time as the number and duration of the being. Dâwûd al-Qaysarî, who

summarizes the views before him in this way, describes time as the relations of

4 Ibn Rushd Tahafut al-Tahafut. (S. Van Den Bergh (trans.). (Oxford: Oxford University

Press, 1954) 43.; Ibn Rushd, Treatise Concerning the Substance of the Celestial

Sphere. A. Hyman (trans.), Philosophy in the Middle Ages (Cambridge: Hackett,

1973); Ibn Rushd, Decisive Treatise & Epistle Dedicatory. C. Butterworth (trans.).

(Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 2001); O. Mohammed, Ibn Rushd’s

Doctrine of Immortality: a Matter of Controversy (Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier Press,

1984); Leaman, “Ibn Rushd” Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy vol. 4. E. Craig

(gen. ed.) (London: Routledge, 1998); D. Black, “Memory, Time and Individuals in

Ibn Rushd’s Psychology.” Medieval Theology and Philosophy 5 (1996): 161-187

5 Chittick, W. C. “Śadr al-Dīn al-Ķūnawī”, EI² (İng.), VIII, 754; Bayrakdar, Mehmet,

Dâvudu’l Kayserî, (Ankara 1998); Richard Todd, The Sufi Doctrine of Man, Sadr al

din Al Qunawi’s Metaphysical Anthroplogy, (2014 Brill.)



the phenomena in beings with each other and the duration and measure of this

relationship. The description of time with priority and later requires another time.

This is not possible6

Eternity and Immortality

In Western sources, the concept of infinity finds its equivalent as

"Eternal". It derives from "aevism" which is abbreviated from the Latin

"aeternus, aluiternus". In English, "ever", "aye" (always, forever) derive from

this word. All adjectives containing the same meaning expressly express the

maintenance of existence. However, for the thought of continuity of existence in

absolute philosophical content, the word "Sempiternal" is used for the

expressions of eternal, eternal, eternal and timelessness.7

The word used for human is "Immortality". When it comes to the immortality of

man, it is obvious that man is mortal. There is no escape from death for all living

things. However, what we mean by our expression of immortality is whether a

person can attain a more free and powerful life style without pain and separation

even after death.

Does a person have an energy, a soul that creates him with his emotions? Or will

we just live immortal with the soul? In other words, can body and soul, or one or

6. Abu’l Berakat el Bağdadi, Kitabu’l Mu’teber fi,’l Hikme,( Haydarabad, 1938, II; 34-

36, III) 13-133; Tunagöz T. Ebû’l-Berakât el-Bağdâdî’nin Hudûs Deliline Yönelik

Eleştirileri. Çukurova Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi (ÇÜİFD). 2012; 12(1):

65-97; Sözen, Kemal, “Ebu’l-Berekât el-Bağdâdî’nin zaman teorisi” Dinî

Araştırmalar, 2000, cilt: IV, sayı: 10, s. 161–186.

7 Hastıng, James, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, (New York 1951) vol. 5. p.401;

The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, (New York 1967), vol. III, 63.



both, attain eternal life? The answer to this question has been addressed and

discussed from two different angles.

While living the eternal life with the body symbolized by Adam, man is

condemned to the finite life of the world (Subject of All Holy Books).

Can human matter be freed from finitude and perpetuate the body?

In ancient times, it was believed that humans lived endlessly in bodily

form. Later, with the development of the concept of "Spirit", this theory changed

and it was believed that only the spiritual could live forever. At this point, if we

classify the concepts of immortality in terms of the achievement of an immortal

life in terms of the history of thought, we will encounter the following

understandings. Some of these understandings are religious, some legendary and

some mystical.

The eternal life of the unborn and the one who will not die. We come across

this kind of understanding in the understanding of God of monotheistic

religions.

The understanding of the eternal life of those who were born but will not die.

There is a beginning of existence here. This starting point has no end. We

encounter this kind of feature in the understanding of God of the polytheistic

religions. At some point, they create their gods themselves and attribute

immortality to those Gods.

The understanding that the soul entering a born body and leaving the dead

body continues to live endlessly. The Indian understanding of Spirit migration

is exemplified.

The understanding of the eternal life of those who were born but will not die.

In some monotheistic religions, besides the eternity that belongs to God, the

souls of the members of that religion live forever. We come across such

beliefs for some saints (Christianity) and saints (Islamic mysticism).



The understanding of living an eternal life without a body. We encounter this

kind of understanding in the understanding of Hades of the Ancient Greeks.

Some kind of ghost understanding. It is frequently emphasized in

mythologies and tragedies.

The understanding of living endlessly as dead and bodily. It appears as a

belief that sees man, which is the classification of the beliefs of the Egyptians,

as an eternal prisoner in the grave.

The understanding of living eternal life through resurrection after death. This

is what Islam's understanding teaches

Greek mythology can be cited as an example to the belief of eternal life,

which is realized by dying at certain times and resurrecting at certain times.

With expressions such as "life after death", "resurrection after death" and

"immortality of the soul", it is certain that another life is meant to be told, the

nature of which we cannot fully envision after this life.

Here, death is considered as a transition point "The Spanish philosopher Miguel

de Unamuno says "I" with the hope of eternity, the greatest and oldest of human

desires;

“I came to the conclusion that there is only one tough job that is the same for one

and all people. The real question of human concern is what will happen to my

consciousness after each of us dies.” Again, the same philosopher says that he is

willing to burn in hell forever rather than perish, because nothing looks as terrible

as nothingness itself. What is really meant by immortality is personal

immortality; In other words, the individual's personality, his ego, and his

memory remain intact for an infinite time after death, being aware that his

memory and identity remain intact. As stated by C. Lamont in his book The

Illusion of Immortality, it is the waking of the human being in the afterlife as he

wakes up every day.” In short, we wonder whether our consciousness will be

open. We want to know if we can keep thinking. The man we want to be immortal



is flesh and blood, with his pains, hopes, dreams, memories, desires and moral

demands."8

Knowledge about existence after death begins with Plato in a philosophical

context. He takes part in his dialogues, especially Phaedo. Plato asks Socrates,

who is approaching death in Phaedo, with the mouth of Crito.

"How are we going to bury you?" Socrates is very clear on this question,

“bury it as you wish, I am not going any farther than you, my friends, Crito thinks

that I will soon become a corpse. That's why he asked how I was buried. After

drinking the poison, I will be going to the land of the happy people, not yours”.9

Spirit is eternal in Plato. According to him, eternity comes from the

simple structure of the soul that is dissolved and not dispersed. It has two age

theories. “Those who leave this world, a period of turmoil, will be born as an old

person in the new age and will continue their lives by getting younger from now

on. On the other hand, the same issue is something gained by al Fârâbî, (d.950)

one of the Islamic philosophers, as a result of long-term, theoretical and practical

studies after death.

The desire and effort to live is the common aspect of all living things. This desire

manifests in man in many ways. The sense of parenthood actually supports being

immortal. A father who hears a statement about his son, "just like his father,

perhaps forgets his own mortality to a certain extent and finds comfort by seeing

that his life continues in another living being, even to a certain extent." The desire

for immortality is not enough to solve the problem of immortality. Desire is

8 Tıtus, H.H., Living Issues in Philosophy, (New York 1970,)542,

9 Hıck, John, Classical and Contemporary Readings in the Philosophy of Religion,

(Englewood Cliffs, N. Y. 1964) 25-60



something different, and the realization of the object of the desired thing is

something else. If we look at Plato: According to this, there is a reciprocal

transformation between opposites such as heat and cold, fast and slowness.

Based on this, there is also a contrast and transformation between life and death.

Life comes from death just as death comes from life. During this transformation,

we can only see the transformation from life to death. We cannot see a

transformation from death to life.

When Aristotle's views are examined, it is seen that according to him, the world

is finite in space but infinite in time. The motion of the realm is permanent with

the motionless mover.10

Al Kindî (d.870) discussed the idea of infinity in a mathematical

language.

- Material bodies are made up of matter and form (form). They move in space.

There are five gems in every material body (matter, shape, space, motion, and

time). Material objects are finite. They cannot exist unless they are limited.

If we examine al Kindi's works he first presents four determinations on this issue.

Based on these, he tends to prove that every object composed of matter and form,

limited by space and moving in time is finite. The eternal that has no beginning

is only God.

It is seen in these evaluations of al Kindi that he does not regard anything actual

as infinite, he accepts infinity only as a potential. He tries to show and justify the

10 Barnes, J., The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle, Cambridge: (Cambridge

University Press, 1995); Bostock, David, 1980/2006, ‘Aristotle’s Account of Time‘,

in Space, Time, Matter, and Form: Essays on Aristotle’s Physics, (Oxford: Oxford

University Press), 135–157.



finitude of the body, the finitude of the verb, and the finitude of time in terms of

its essence, respectively. According to him, body, time, motion and space are

finite since they do not have real existence.11

Reincarnation Belief in Terms of Eastern Religions and Philosophy

While Arnold Toynbee and Daisaku Ikeda express their views in the

form of dialogue on various issues, they address the issue of Eternal Life.

Ikeda: ... They converge when life continues after death, but doctrines

about the nature of life after death vary widely between religions.

Toynbee: Buddhists and Hindus agree that there can be more than one

rebirth. This belief makes us think the universe is infinite. The four

Western religions accept that the universe has a beginning and that

there will be an end. They believe that there will be only one

reincarnation after death. But because they say that this reincarnation

will be eternal, they also suggest that the universe will continue

forever in a different way than it does today.12

Ikeda: Religious views on immortality can be divided into two general classes.

As taught by the Buddhist and Hindu religions, the immortal soul dictated by

Western religions, with transmigration and Christianity in the center.

the Buddhist explanation allows man to be responsible for his own destiny,

avoiding the idea of a supernatural being that directs human actions ... Toynbee

and Ikeda summarize very well what we said about religions and the desire for

11 Abu Rida, M.‘A.H. Al-Kindi, Rasa’il al-Kindi al-Falsafiyya,( (ed.), 1950/1953, 2

volumes, Cairo: Dar al-Fikr al-‘Arabi.)

12 The Toynbee-Ikeda Dialogue Man Himself Must Choose (Richard L. Gage, 1976).



immortality. Could the belief in reincarnation, which we encounter in Eastern

religions, be a defense mechanism that man produces against the obscurity of

death and disturbing consciousness? Could there be a psychological relief and

suppression? To answer this question, let's look at the systems of Hinduism and

Buddhism. There is a key concept first in these religions. "Karma" is a law.

According to this, whatever man has done will see him in the future and find his

response. Good for good, bad for bad. Actions taken in this life affect the fate of

the creature. If the condition of a good creature is getting worse, it is the

equivalent of the bad things in its previous life, and if it is getting better, it is the

return of the good in its previous life. Karma means not expecting a banana from

a tree that produces a poisonous fruit. It is to act without waiting for reward.

This belief in Karma revealed a belief that the soul passed from one body to

another. Man can be born in the form of animals, plants, human beings or gods,

according to what he does. Death should not be feared. Death is not an absence;

it consists of passing from one state to another. We can find such a belief in the

Pythagoreans, ancient Egypt, Manichaeism, Orphism and Gnosticism as well as

Indians. In Buddhism, transmigration is different from Hinduism. A person's

karma comes from his will, not from the caste layer he lives in. Until the person

leaves bad deeds and reaches nirvana, he rises and descends in various stages of

existence and continues his life beyond death. There is no selfishness in Nirvana

anymore. Nirvana means extinction, extinction, stillness, serenity, peace, purity,

immortality.

When we examine both philosophical, mythological and religious texts, we see

that we come across various evaluations about post-death.13

13 Parrınder, E.G., Asian Religions, (London 1977) 35; Tomlın, F., The Life of Buddha,

(London 1975); Leaman, Oliver. Key Concepts in Eastern Philosophy. Routledge

(1999); Swami Bhaskarananda. The Essentials of Hinduism. Viveka Press (1994)



Surely we have no precise information about any of these. According to a belief,

we live once; we will die and be resurrected. During this resurrection, we will

have both body and soul. Believing that we will be resurrected, there are also

those who say that only our souls are immortal and that they will attain the whole

soul. The body will rot and become earth. The soul will find itself in a holistic

environment in an environment we do not know. According to one

understanding, life is like a shining star. Just as our life has no purpose, death is

an end altogether. Time and the universe grind us too. Reincarnation belief can

also be considered at this stage as a relaxation mechanism produced by human

consciousness. With such a belief, a person can expand the blockage and

discomfort he feels in the face of death. This understanding, which we encounter

in the Eastern religions and rapidly finds support in the western world, aims to

be moral in a way and to ensure the world order with such a sanction. If it is up

to these views that claim that soul migration can occur into the upper as well as

the lower species, the human spirit can even enter an animal and plant. As a

result, it seems that the belief in reincarnation is seen as a belief that man has

produced to comfort himself in the face of death.

These views have become widespread in the history of Islamic culture. Those

who try to make some of the verses of the Quran as a basis for their own opinions

have always been in the past and present. Among these verses, the most used by

reincarnation supporters" How do you deny God, who raised you from the dead?

Then he will kill you, and then resurrect you, and eventually you will be returned

to him.”14 In this verse, the phrase "you were dead, Allah brought you back to

life" is the common expression of the commentaries, indicating the creation of

man from the dead land and the resurrection of life.

14 2/18 Baqara



Ibn Hazm (d.1064) Al-fasl fil al-Milal wal-Nihal also examines those who tend

to such views in the history of Islamic thought under the title "Believers in

Tanasuh". Accordingly, a group believes that the soul passes into another body

after leaving one body.

Another group defending the reincarnation/tanasuh belief with the determination

of Ibn Hazm is the school of Dahrıyya, (holders of materialistic opinions of

various kinds): Souls can only enter the corpses of the type of the bodies they are

separated from.

When we look at the quotes of Zakariyyā al-Rāzī,(d.925) transmigration is a

punishment or reward. The spirit of an evil person can pass into the bodies of

killed, rancid, filthy and wicked animals. It is also accepted within the framework

of this understanding that the spirits of the bad people will pass to the devils, and

the souls of the good people to heaven first and then to the angels.

Abd al-Raḥmān al-Jawzī (d.1201), under the title of "Believers in Tanasuh",

states that the devil mislead this group and they believe that "the spirits of good

people pass into better bodies, and evil spirits into evil bodies."

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d.1350) summarizes the views of those who believe in

transmigration in his work named Kitaab ar-rooh as follows: “The souls

separated from the body enter the appropriate bodies as a result of the good or

bad behavior they have gained in the life of the world. Thus, every soul enters

the bodies of animals that shape itself. Spirits with predatory characteristics enter

the bodies of predatory animals, natural spirits enter the bodies of natural

animals, and low and wretched spirits enter the bodies of insects.

According to Muhammad Ala Ibn Ali al Tahanawi (d.1158) if this migration of

soul is transmitted from person to person, the "Nash", which is from the same

root as transmigration, sometimes from the human body to a suitable animal



body, its "Mash", if this transition passes to vegetative beings "Rash ”Indicates

that if it passes to inanimate beings, it can be named as“ Fash ”15

Aristotle criticizes the belief in transmigration in De Anima, About the Soul. He

tries to show the falsity of the pythagoreans views based on transmigration.

According to him, the statement of the pythagoreans that they do not establish a

relationship between soul and body and that the soul does not exist separately

without the body is not acceptable. When we compare Ibn Sînâ's al-Shifa ', (The

Book of Healing) with Aristotle's De Anima (On the Spirit), we see systematic

similarities in terms of method.

The movement of the body depends on the movement of the soul. If the

movement of the soul was connected to the body, when the body moves by

shifting, the soul must move with the body as a whole or in parts. But this is not

possible. Because it would also be possible for the soul to move away from the

body and return to it. He concluded that dead animals could be resurrected

however, the realization of such a situation makes it possible for the soul to move

away from the body and return to it .According to Aristotle, and reincarnation is

not possible because we cannot observe such a thing. Based on Aristotle's

analogy of the soul-body relationship to the matter-form relationship; with the

disappearance of matter, the thought arises that it will disappear in the soul,

which is a form attached to it.16

15 İbn Hazm, Kitabu’l-Fasl fi’l-Milel ve’l-Ehvâi ve’n-Nihal, (Mısır 1317, cV I, p. 90);

İbnu’l-Cevzi, Abdurrahman, Telbisu İblis, (Lübnan 1989) 120; İbn Qayyım el-

Cavziyye, Kitâbu’r-Rûh, (Beyrut 1983) 84): Tahanevi, Keşşâfu Istılâhâti’l-Funûn,

(Kalküta 1863) 1380.

16 Aristotle, Physics, 256a 13-21, ed.: W. D. Ross, in The Works of Aristotle, Oxford

1949, I-II, trans. W. Charlton, 1970; III, IV trans. E. L. Hussey, 1983; Judson, L.,

Aristotle’s Physics, Oxford 1991.



One of the most important criticisms of the belief in transmigration in the history

of Islamic philosophy was brought by Avicenna/ Ibn Sina; Stating that there is a

union between soul and body and that this is not a coincidence, he emphasizes

that everybody must have a special soul since it exists once. Everybody requires

a special soul; the genera of a species do not show the same thing in their essence.

Each body needs a special spirit. Other types or the same types of bodies do not

need a soul. When we assume a soul capable of migrating into many bodies, we

have to admit that two souls exist together. The relationship between the soul

and the body does not mean that the soul is hidden in the body, but that the soul

governs the body so that the soul is conscious of the body and the body is affected

by its actions. Every living creature is conscious of a soul.

If the living being has another soul that is not conscious of it, otherwise how is

the relationship between the soul and the body?

The acceptance of such a situation leads to the conclusion that this living being

is concerned neither with its own consciousness nor with its body.

According to the philosopher, there is no priority and postponement between

soul and body. Both occur at the same time. Each soul descends into the body

that has reached the consistency of accepting itself. Spirits are personal. That is,

personality has individuality. Since spirits are specific to bodies, it is not possible

for a soul, which we describe as soul migration, to pass into another body.

Moreover, even if this is not so, there is the possibility that more than one soul

can enter anybody at the return of the soul. However, we do not see this at all.

According to Avicenna, why should the soul return to the previous body and not

to another substance after leaving the first body? In fact, it establishes a

relationship with a delectable body, but gains different temperaments as it eats

different foods at different ages. For this reason, there may be other bodies

similar to the previous one.



While the first reason for Avicenna's rejection of transmigration is related to the

nature of the soul, the second and most fundamental reason is the specificity of

souls to bodies, that is, the individuality of personality. However, reincarnation

is also against the philosopher's philosophy of happiness. That is to say, the

purpose of the soul, that is, being happy, basically depends on its liberation from

material pleasures, which depends on getting rid of the body that represents

material pleasures. The soul freed from the body does not need to return to the

lower category of body.17

Conclusion

Man is the mysterious traveler of the mysterious universe. This mysterious

passenger is engaged in an environment called the world. He makes the effort to

reach a place; to reach an eternal presence and peace. The world is man's

laboratory. In order to know himself and his God, he must know and evaluate

the world. Man also observes that the universe is a world of opposites. It turns

day and night, into cold and heat, and finally life into death.

Philosophical and religious knowledge prepares human being for death as the

satisfaction and peace of the soul. Death and afterlife, the common destiny of all

living things, are common issues of philosophy and religion. The fear of being

17 İbn Sina, (part of The Cure). Text in F. Rahman, ed., Avicenna’s De anima, London:

Oxford University Press, 1959; The Salvation (al-Najāt). Text in M.T. Dāneshpaǰūh,

ed., Al-Najāt, Tehran 1364Sh/[1985]. English translation of the logic part in A.Q.

Ahmed, Avicenna’s Deliverance: Logic, Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2011.

English translation of parts on the soul in F. Rahman, Avicenna’s Psychology. An

English Translation of Kitāb al-Najāt, Book II, Chapter VI, London: Oxford University

Press, 1952.



dissolved and dispersed by the desire to live is inherent in every person. One of

the reasons for our fear of death is ignorance. Unknown thing scares us. A person

who learns about death forgets to be a slave. Philosophy and religion, as two

systems that rise above mystery, interpret death and beyond death in their

domains of knowledge.

It can be easily said that there are two most emphasized points in the Quran. The

unity of God (not associating anything with Him, reaching an unshakable

integrity in our inner world and not falling into duality) is that death is not an

end. It is frequently stated in the Quran that death is not an end but a beginning,

a transition point. The Quran is the source of the interpretations of Islamic

thinkers.



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