Discussions on Resurrection and life after death from Islamic perspective.[divider]
[box type=”note” align=”aligncenter” width=”400px” ]Name: Resurrection in the Quran
author: Ayatullah Ibrahim Amini
Translated By: Sayyid Athar Husayn S.H. Rizvi[/box]
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What is for sure is that resurrection, as is with the belief of God, is a common notion to the followers of all religions and faiths[1], thus whomever believes in a wise creator –regardless of whether he follows a particular religion or not – will, as a result of listening to the voice of the conscience and intuitive understanding, accept this common idea (resurrection) although there may be a difference of opinion amongst people regarding the details, such as whether the day of resurrection is physical or spiritual? And if it were to be physical, are we given the same body we’ve had in this world or one with a more delicate structure known as the mithali and barzakhi one?
In brief, we will mention the different views there are and finally state the popular vote[2]:
1. Some theologians believe that resurrection is merely physical and has nothing to do with the soul.
2. Some philosophers especially from the Masha’ school of thought conceive resurrection to be merely spiritual and say: After death, all entanglements between the soul and the body are removed, and since the soul itself is an immaterial entity it is as a result, immortal, so even after separating from the body it will not die. However, the reality behind this theory is that these philosophers were compelled to believe in spiritual resurrection due to the fact that they were unable to introduce a rational explanation for physical resurrection.
3. Most philosophers, mystics and Shiite theologians, such as Sheikh Al-Mofid, Sheikh Al-Tusi, Khajeh Nasir, etc., believe in a combination of both and say: on the day of resurrection the soul will return to the body, making resurrection physical, meaning that the body is accompanied by the soul, rather than it being alone .The followers of this theory are divided into two groups:
A. Some believe that on resurrection the soul will return to a materialistic body which adheres to the laws of nature and chemistry.
B. The other group perceives that in the other world the soul will enter a more delicate and swift body referred to as the mithali body which does not consist of material substance, but has volume and shape. In one way this body is very similar to the body we currently posses to the extent that whomever sees it thinks it is the same person and body that lived in this world, but at the same time, it is dissimilar because it is without material substance and therefore free of all nature-related and chemical laws; something similar to the bodies we see when dreaming.
Even though logical reasoning proves the existence of a world other than the one we live in, the power of reason cannot reveal whether it is a spiritual or physical world, and in the case of it being physical, whether the body will be materialistic or mithali? Thus the great philosopher Bu Ali Sina states: “It must be said that a part of resurrection has been mentioned through religion and there is no way of proving it (by logic and reason) except by accepting what the prophet (pbuh) has said regarding it. We must certainly accept the statements religion has made describing the details on physical resurrection, offered to us by the prophet, for he is the most reliable means to finding the truth.”[3]
Therefore it is necessary to refer to the Quran and hadiths in order to acquire precise knowledge regarding physical resurrection.
Quran and physical resurrection
The Quran clearly verifies that resurrection is not solely spiritual, but rather both physical and spiritual. The Quran also verifies that the physical body in which the soul returns to is the same materialistic body we posses in this world. A lot of verses bring us to this conclusion as of which a few will be mentioned:
1. A number of verses address those who deny the revival of the bones of our bodies; such as: “He will give life to them Who created them for the first time!”[4], “Does man (a disbeliever) think that We shall not assemble his bones? Yes, We are Able to put together in perfect order the tips of his fingers.”[5]
2. Some verses verify that man will arise from his grave to be judged; they say: “Knows he not that when the contents of the graves are brought out and poured forth (all mankind is resurrected).”[6] and “And the Trumpet will be blown (i.e. the second blowing) and behold! From the graves they will come out quickly to their Lord”.[7]
3. The Quran also reminds us of the possibility of physical resurrection in the hereafter by making reference to it in this world, such as the amazing story of Uzair (A.S.)[8] and Ibrahim (A.S.), when asking God about how they were going to be resurrected.[9] By considering how the Quran mentions stories about reviving the dead (from physical death), like the story of Uzair (A.S.) and the companions of the cave (Ashab Al-Kahf) and moreover reminds us of how we were initially created, we can deduce that resurrection is totally possible with our physical body.
We can draw the same conclusion from Imam Ali’s sayings in the Nahjul-Balaghah. Concerning physical resurrection, he says: “Be wary, for this thin layer of skin cannot bear the heat of fire, so have mercy on yourselves…”.[10] Or where he says: “Allah (swt) will take them out from the corners of the graves…they hasten towards His command and run towards the place fixed for their final return…”.[11] He also states in another sermon: “He will take out everyone who is in it [the earth], will refresh them after they had been worn out and collect them after they had been separated.”[12]
4. Another reason to why resurrection must be physical is that various blessings that have been promised to righteous people such as fruits[13], bird meat[14], marriage with hurul-’in[15], and …., are hard to be pictured without physicality factoring in.
Conclusion: With respect to the Quran and hadiths, most of the theologians, philosophers, and scholars, believe that resurrection is physical.
For further information on this topic, you can refer to Question 125 (site: 2404).
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[1] For further information regarding this matter, you can refer to Question 1916 (website: 1917), Material resurrection according to the people of the book.
[2] Ahmad ibn Muhammad Al-Huseini Ardekani and Abdullah Nourani, Mulla Sadra, Mabda’ va Ma’and, pp. 433-436; Jafar Subhani, Elahiyyat va Ma’arefe Eslami, pp. 290-297.
[3] Abu Ali Sina, Elahiyyate Shifa, Ayatullah Hasan Hasanzadeh Amoli, article 9, pg. 460.
[4] Yasin:79 “قُلْ یُحْییهَا الَّذی أَنْشَأَها أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَ هُوَ بِکُلِّ خَلْقٍ عَلیم”
[5] Qiyamah:3-4 “أَ یَحْسَبُ الْإِنْسانُ أَلَّنْ نَجْمَعَ عِظامَهُ * بَلى قادِرینَ عَلى أَنْ نُسَوِّیَ بَنانَه”
[6] Adiyat:9 “أَفَلا یَعْلَمُ إِذا بُعْثِرَ ما فِی الْقُبُور”
[7] Yasin:51 “وَ نُفِخَ فِی الصُّورِ فَإِذا هُمْ مِنَ الْأَجْداثِ إِلى رَبِّهِمْ یَنْسِلُون”
[8] Baqarah:259 “أَوْ کَالَّذی مَرَّ عَلى قَرْیَةٍ وَ هِیَ خاوِیَةٌ عَلى عُرُوشِها قالَ أَنَّى یُحْیی هذِهِ اللَّهُ بَعْدَ مَوْتِها فَأَماتَهُ اللَّهُ مِائَةَ عامٍ ثُمَّ بَعَثَهُ قالَ کَمْ لَبِثْتَ قالَ لَبِثْتُ یَوْماً أَوْ بَعْضَ یَوْمٍ قالَ بَلْ لَبِثْتَ مِائَةَ عامٍ فَانْظُرْ إِلى طَعامِکَ وَ شَرابِکَ لَمْ یَتَسَنَّهْ وَ انْظُرْ إِلى حِمارِکَ وَ لِنَجْعَلَکَ آیَةً لِلنَّاسِ وَ انْظُرْ إِلَى الْعِظامِ کَیْفَ نُنْشِزُها ثُمَّ نَکْسُوها لَحْماً فَلَمَّا تَبَیَّنَ لَهُ قالَ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلى کُلِّ شَیْءٍ قَدیر”
[9] Baqarah:260 “”وَ إِذْ قالَ إِبْراهیمُ رَبِّ أَرِنی کَیْفَ تُحْیِ الْمَوْتى قالَ أَ وَ لَمْ تُؤْمِنْ قالَ بَلى وَ لکِنْ لِیَطْمَئِنَّ قَلْبی قالَ فَخُذْ أَرْبَعَةً مِنَ الطَّیْرِ فَصُرْهُنَّ إِلَیْکَ ثُمَّ اجْعَلْ عَلى کُلِّ جَبَلٍ مِنْهُنَّ جُزْءاً ثُمَّ ادْعُهُنَّ یَأْتینَکَ سَعْیاً وَ اعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزیزٌ حَکیم
[10] AbdulHamid Ma’adkhah, Khorshide bi Ghurube Nahjul-Balaghah, sermon 182, pg. 218.
[11] Ibid, sermon 82, pg. 80.
[12] Ibid, sermon 108, pg. 125.
[13] Mursalat:42, Mu’minun:19, Saffat:42, Dukhan:55, etc.
[14] Waqi’ah:21, Tur:22 etc.
[15] Rahman:72, Waqi’ah:22 etc.
We most often see that coming to know about God is within the primordiality and nature of a human being.
If we search into the awakened and non-awakened consciences of the human being, his faith and desire in a source which is metaphysical, we come upon a metaphysical source which is gained through knowledge, program and goal which created this world.
But this issue is not limited to monotheism and coming to know about God. All of the principles and practices which are basic to religion must be seen within this very primordial nature. Otherwise, the harmony which is necessary to exist between creation and the Divine Law will not be found. (Pay special attention here).
If we take a look at our heart and we discover the depths of the spirit and our soul, we hear these whisperings from the world that life does not end with death, but rather death is a window upon the world of survival.
In order to understand this truth, we must turn to the points below.
1. Love of Survival
If the human being has been created for annihilation and non-being, that person should desire non-being, and receive pleasure from death at the end of life whereas we see that this is not the case. Instead we see that death is in no time or era a pleasure and that many people flee from it with all of their being.
Looking for ways to lengthen one’s life, looking for the Fountain of Youth, the Elixir of Life, the Water of Life are all signs of this truth.
This love for survival shows that the human being was created to survive and if we had been born for being and annihilation, this love would have no meaning.
All of the basic loves which are within our being are completed by it and the love for survival is a love which completes or perfects our being.
Note that we discuss the issue of the Resurrection after we have accepted the existence of God, the Wise, the Knower.
We believe that whatever He created in our bodies is based on a known measure and because of this, the love and desire of a human being for survival must also have an accounting and that can be nothing other than the existence of a world after this one.
2. Resurrection Among the Tribes of the Past
The history of humanity, as it bears witness, in a general sense, in the tribes of the past, from the earliest of times shows clear proof of the clear belief of the human being to life after death.
The traces which have remained from the human beings of the past, even those who existed before written records, in particular, the method of making graves for the dead and how they buried the dead, all bear witness to this truth that they believed in life after death.
This rooted belief which has always existed in humanity, cannot be believed to be a simple idea or only a habit.
Whenever a belief is found in the form of something which has roots, and throughout history, we see it in human society, we should know that it is part of primordial nature because it is only primordial nature which can persevere with the passage of time and social and intellectual changes and remain in its place. Otherwise, customs will be forgotten.
The wearing of a special type of clothes is either a question of habit or a form of custom, which, over time, either changes or is destroyed.
But the love of a mother for her child is instinctive. It is a part of nature and a symbol. Thus, with the passing of time, the flame of love does not decrease in various environments. Whatever efforts are made in this way are reasons why this is part of the primordial nature of a human being.
When scholars say that careful study has shown that the earliest of people had a kind of religious belief because they buried their dead in a special way and they placed their tools of work beside them, and in their own way and with their particular belief, they showed that they believe in the existence of another world.
We can then well see that they had accepted life after death, even if they were in error. They thought that life there was just like life in this world and that they would need those very same tools.
3. The Existence of the Inner Trial
The existence of the inner trial or court called the Conscience is another reason for the resurrection being primordial.
Just as we have previously said, we all well sense that there is a trial or a court within us which judges what we do. It gives rewards for good deeds. We feel satisfied and our spirit overflows with joy and happiness in such a way that the feeling is incapable of being described. In relation to evil deeds, and, in particular, great sins, they are felt in such a way that life becomes bitter.
It has often been seen that individuals, after committing a great crime, like murder and trying to escape from the scales of justice, voluntarily give themselves up. They surrender to the hangman’s noose and the reason is the torture which the conscience gives.
A human being, on bearing witness to this trial or court, asks himself or herself, “How can I, who am but a small creature, have such a conscience but the great universe and the world of creation not have a trial or court which it is worthy of?”
In this way, we can prove that the belief in the resurrection and life after death is primordial in three ways:
1. Through love of survival.
2. Because of the existence of this belief throughout history.
3. Through a small example of that in our own selves.
Think and Answer
1. How can one distinguish that which is primordial from that which is not primordial?
2. What is the reason why a human being has a love for survival and what reason can this be for the primordiality of the resurrection?
3. Did the early people believe in the resurrection? Why?
4. How does the condemnation by our conscience encourage or punish us? Give examples of that.
5. What relation is there between the trial by one’s conscience and the great Day of Judgment?
If we take this world into consideration, without concerning ourselves with any other, it will be meaningless and empty.
It is similar to the time of life when a fetus is not in this world, but is in the womb.
A child who is within its mother’s womb and who is imprisoned for months in this darkness and narrowness, if it was to have wisdom and intellect, and was to think about its being a fetus, it would be very surprised.
Why am I imprisoned in this dark prison?
Why do I have to move in water and blood?
What result will the end of my life have?
When did I come, why have I come?
But if one is made aware of the fact that this is a Preliminary stage, that their organs are formed here, they gain strength and become prepared for movement in this great world.
After the passing of 9 months, it is freed, it moves into a world in which the sun shines, the moon reflects, green trees and streams of water flow and multiple benefits are attained; then it takes a deep breath and says, “Now I have understood the philosophy of my existence here.”
This is a preliminary stage; this is a place to fly from; this is a class to pass through in order to move towards a great university.
But if the life of a fetus is cut off from life in this world, everything will become dark and meaningless – a frightening prison with purposeless and harmful results.
This is exactly the point in the relation of life in this world with life after death.
What is the point in our living more or less 70 years in this world?
For a time, we are immature and inexperienced and by the time that we become mature, our life ends.
For a time, we must study and work and by the time that we study and learn, we have reached old age.
Why are we alive? To eat, wear clothes and sleep? And repeating this life day after day.
Is this extensive universe, this expansive world and the storing of all of this knowledge and experience, all of these teachers and instructors, all repeated for eating, drinking and putting on clothes?
It is here that the meaninglessness of this life will be clear to those who do not believe in the next world because they cannot reckon this small issue to be the goal of life and they do not believe in the next world either.
Thus, it can be seen that a group of them try to commit suicide and end this absurd life. But if we believe that this world is a pasture for the after life or that it is a field which must be planted and then be taken as eternal life, that the world is a university in which we must learn and prepare ourselves for life in an eternal world, and that the world is a bridge which we must cross over, in this case, the world will not appear to be absurd and futile Rather it will be the beginning for an eternal life and no matter what efforts we make towards it, are small.
Yes. Faith in the resurrection gives meaning to human life and frees a person from anxiety, worry and absurdity.
Faith in the Resurrection is an Important Factor in Training
In addition to this, belief in the existence of a Court of the Day of Judgment is most effective in our daily lives.
Assume that it were to be announced in a country that there will be no punishment for such and such a crime and no records will be kept, that people can, with a clear conscience, live the day as they so desire. They give the day off to the police, the army and security forces. They lock the doors of the courts and until the next day when life will begin as normal, no crimes will be punished.
How do you think that society will spend that day? Belief in the resurrection, faith in the Day of Judgment, is in no way comparable to this world.
The details of this Court are as follows:
1. It is a trial, in which explanations are ineffective, nor can relations rule over norms nor can false statements be presented to change the decision.
2. It is a court which does not need the facilities of this world and because of this, it is not extended to take more time; it is studied like lightening and a decision is given immediately.
3. It is a court in which the file or record of people is their own deeds, that is, their deeds will themselves be present and made known by their actions in such a way that there is no way to deny them.
4. The witnesses in that court are his or her hands and feet, eyes and ears, tongue and skin and even the earth and the walls of a house in which there was sin or good deeds were committed will be there, witnesses which are like the effects of nature and cannot be denied.
5. This court is one whose Judge is God Almighty, God Who is Aware of all things, is Needless of all and Who is more Knowing than all others.
6. Beyond this, the punishments there are not contractual; it is our acts themselves which take form and will be alongside us and they will punish us or draw us into blessings.
Faith in such a court takes a person to the point that Hadrat ‘Ali says, “I swear to God that if I were to spend from night to the morning upon thorns and if my hands and feet were to be chained in the day and I were to be pulled through the streets and the bazaars, I am more willing to have this happen than to present myself to God’s Court if I have committed an oppression against one of God’s creatures or if I have usurped the rights of another.” (Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 224)
Can a Person with such Faith be Deceived?
It is faith in this Judgment that makes a human being place his brother’s hand near the fire to burn when he has extended it into the public treasury. And when the brother screams in pain, he advises him, “You are screaming from the flame of a toy fire which is in the hands of human beings whereas you take your brother to a fire which is extremely frightening and which is lit by the anger of the Creator?” (Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 224)
Can a person with such faith be deceived?
Can one buy his conscience with bribery?
Can he, with encouragement of threats, be made to deviate from the way of truth to the way of oppression?
The Holy Qur’an says when the scroll of deeds is shown to sinners, they cry out:
“Ah! Woe to us! What a book is this! It leaves out nothing small or great but takes account thereof!” (18:49)
In this way, powerful waves of the sense of responsibility grows towards the spirit of the human being which controls the human being from deviating, going astray, committing oppression and aggression.
Think and Answer
1. If there was nothing after this limited life and the situation of this world, what would happen?
2. Why does a group of those who deny the Resurrection deviate?
3. What are the differences between the Court of the Day of Judgment and the courts of this world?
4. What effects does faith in the Resurrection have upon the deeds of a human being?
5. What did Amir al-Mu’minin, ‘Ali, peace be upon him, do to his brother Aqil? What did he want and what response did ‘Ali give him?
Faith in the Resurrection is an Important Factor in Training
Can a Person with such Faith be Deceived?
Think and Answer