One day, every person in the world is going to die. And death is not an end to our existence. But it is a passage that takes us from this world to the next world.
Muslims believe that when they die, they will stay in their graves until the Day of Judgement. On that day, they will be raised from their graves and brought before Allah and judged on how they lived their earthly lives.
Those who have performed good deeds will enter Jannah (Paradise). Jannah is a place described as a “garden of everlasting bliss” and a “home of peace." Those who have performed bad deeds will enter Jahannam (Hell). This is a place of physical and spiritual suffering.
One day, every person in the world is going to die.
Allah SWT said in the Quran :
Every soul is going to taste of death,... (Quran 21 : 35)
Death is not an end to our existence, but it is a passage that takes us from this world to the next world.
Muslims believe that when they die, they will stay in their graves until the Day of Judgement. On that day, they will be raised from their graves and brought before Allah SWT and judged on how they lived their earthly lives.
In Surah Hud, verse number 7. Allah SWT said:
..."You will (all) be raised up after death,"... [Quran 11:7]
Every soul will be (held) to account for its deeds. [Quran 74:38]
In another verse of the Quran, Allah SWT said about being raised up after death.
Surely We will give new life to the dead... [Quran 36 : 12]
...souls will be joined (with their bodies) (Quran 81:7)
That is, men will be resurrected precisely in the state as they lived in the world before death with body and soul together.
The disbelievers of Makkah argue about humans rising again after death.
They say, "Are we to be restored to the original condition"? After we have turned into decayed bones? [Quran 79 : 10 - 11]
The disbelievers say ˹mockingly to one another˺, “Shall we show you a man who claims that when you have been utterly disintegrated you will be raised as a new creation? [Quran 34 :7]
The disbelievers of Makkah says,
How can it be possible that the people who died hundreds of thousands of years ago, whose bodies have disintegrated into particles and mixed in the dust, whose bones decayed and were scattered away by the winds, some of whom were burnt to ashes, others devoured by the beasts of prey, and still others drowned in the seas and swallowed by fish, the material constituents of their bodies should reassemble and every man should rise up as the same person that he once was ten or twenty thousand years before? Allah has given its very rational and highly forceful reply in the form of this brief question:
Does the human being think that We will not reassemble his bones? Yes indeed. We are able even to reshape his fingertips. (Quran 75 : 3 - 4)
That is, not to speak of building up your skeleton once again by gathering together the major bones?
We are able to make the most delicate
parts of your body, even your fingertips, as they used to be before.
And in a few other verses of the Quran where Allah SWT said about the recreation of mankind.
And man (the disbeliever) says: "When I am dead, shall I then be raised up alive?". Does not man remember that We created him before, while he was nothing? (Quran 19:66-67)
He it is Who creates for the first time and He it is Who will create again, (Quran 85:13)
... Your Lord says, It is easy for Me for I created you when you were nothing before. (Quran 19:9)
Nothing is difficult for Allah; everything is easy for Him.
How people will be recreated on the day of Resurrection.
On the day of judgment, you will be recreated with coccyx bone.
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:
The earth would consume all of the son of Adam except his tailbone. From it he was created, and from it he will be recreated (on the Day of Resurrection).
[Sahih Muslim 2955b]
...The Prophet added: 'Everything of the human body will perish except the last coccyx bone (end part of the spinal cord), and from that bone Allah will reconstruct the whole body. Then Allah will send down water from the sky and people will grow like green vegetables'."
[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].
[Riyad as-Salihin 1836]
And among His Signs (in this), that you see the earth barren, but when We send down water (rain) to it, it is stirred to life and growth (of vegetations). Verily, He Who gives it life, surely is Able to give life to the dead (on the Day of Resurrection). Indeed! He is Able to do all things. (Quran 41:39)
Just look at the traces of Allah’s Mercy! How He gives life to the earth after its death. Surely the same way He will give life to the dead; for He has power over all things. (Quran 30:50)
Anyway, let us come back to the main point:
What happens after death?
When one of you dies, the soul leaves the body and the deceased's soul sees everything around him, including his dead body, family members and relatives etc. Initially, the dead person does not realize that he has died. He feels himself dreaming of death. When he begins to realize that he is really dead and that what he is experiencing is not a dream, if he is a sinner, he shouts as loudly as possible and calls his relatives, who, according to him, could save him: dad, mom, brother and sister etc. No one answers him. He then remembers that Allah is the only hope right now. He weeps for him and implores him to ask His forgiveness. "Yaa Allah! forgive me, Yaa Allah! forgive me, Yaa Allah! forgive me, Ya Allah! please forgive me...
He will make a humble request to Allah, O Allah please give me one more chance. Give me life again, I will pray, I will fast, I will give charity, I will repent, O Allah please give me another chance (life).
Allah SWT said in the Quran:
When death approaches any of them, they cry, “My Lord! Let me go back, so I may do good in what I left behind.” Never! It is only a ˹useless˺ appeal they make. And there is a barrier behind them until the Day they are resurrected. [Quran 23:99-100]
However, crying at such a moment will not help. He screams in an incredible fear that he had never felt before in his lifetime. If he is a good person, two angels with a smiling face will sit him down to comfort him, then do him the best service. If he is a bad person, two angels will increase his fear and torture him according to his ugly acts.
Ya Allah, don't take my life until I'm at my best and ready to meet you, Ya Allah.
After you have died, your family and Muslim community will conduct your Ghusl (full-body ritual purification) and then proceed to your Janazah (funeral prayer), which is a part of the Islamic funeral rituals.
Burial in the Grave
After this [funeral prayer], your body is then buried six-feet underground, now only you and your deeds stay in your grave.
Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Three (things) follow a dead person: Members of his family, his property and his deeds. Two of them return; and one remains with him. The people and his wealth return; his deeds remain with him".
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
[Riyad as-Salihin 460]
When your body is buried, two angels named Munkar and Nakir arrive. They sit you upright in your grave and ask you the following questions:
Who is your Lord, what is your religion, and who is your Prophet?
It may seem easy for you to answer now, but in the grave it all depends on the life you lived. Only true believers who die in a state of faith will be able to answer these questions in the grave. In shaa Allah.
Narrated Al-Bara' ibn Azib:
We went out with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) accompanying the bier of a man of the Ansar. When we reached his grave, it was not yet dug. So the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sat down and we also sat down around him as if birds were over our heads. He had in his hand a stick with which he was scratching the ground.
He then raised his head and said: Seek refuge with Allah from the punishment in the grave. He said it twice or thrice.
The version of Jabir adds here: He hears the beat of their sandals when they go back, and at that moment he is asked: O so and so!
Who is your Lord, what is your religion, and who is your Prophet?
Hannad's version says: Two angels will come to him, make him sit up and ask him: Who is your Lord?
He will reply: My Lord is Allah. They will ask him: What is your religion? He will reply: My religion is Islam. They will ask him: What is your opinion about the man who was sent on a mission among you? He will reply: He is the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). They will ask: Who made you aware of this? He will reply: I read Allah's Book, believed in it, and considered it true; which is verified by Allah's words: "Allah's Book, believed in it, and considered it true, which is verified by Allah's words: "Allah establishes those who believe with the word that stands firm in this world and the next."
The agreed version reads: Then a crier will call from Heaven: My servant has spoken the truth, so spread a bed for him from Paradise, clothe him from Paradise, and open a door for him into Paradise. So some of its air and perfume will come to him, and a space will be made for him as far as the eye can see.
He also mentioned the death of the infidel, saying: His spirit will be restored to his body, two angels will come to him, make him sit up and ask him: Who is your Lord?
He will reply: Alas, alas! I do not know. They will ask him: What is your religion? He will reply: Alas, alas! I do not know. They will ask: Who was the man who was sent on a mission among you? He will reply: Alas, alas! I do not know. Then a crier will call from Heaven: He has lied, so spread a bed for him from Hell, clothe him from Hell, and open for him a door into Hell. Then some of its heat and pestilential wind will come to him, and his grave will be compressed, so that his ribs will be crushed together.
Jabir's version adds: One who is blind and dumb will then be placed in charge of him, having a sledge-hammer such that if a mountain were struck with it, it would become dust. He will give him a blow with it which will be heard by everything between the east and the west except by men and jinn, and he will become dust. Then his spirit will be restored to him.
[Sunan Abi Dawud 4753]
Now, the dead person has entered the life of Barzakh.
The life between the grave and the day of resurrection is called barzakh.
The people who die will wait in the barzakh till the day of judgment. If the person who dies is a believer and a righteous person, the realm of barzakh will be a garden of paradise for him and he will feel as if one day has passed even if he stays there for thousands of years.
However, the barzakh will be a place of torture for unbelievers and sinners and their one moment can be as long as thousands of years.
Life and time in the realm of barzakh are not like this world. The boons and tortures there form based on the deeds of a person.
After spending the life of Barzakh, Qiyamah [Day of Judgment] will happen.
Everyone will be brought back to life (resurrection) on an appointed day (bodies will be reconstructed and the souls will be returned to them) to face Allah’s judgment based on what they did in the world and the intentions behind them.
According to Saudi scholar Salih bin Abdullah al Humaid, Quranic exegesis (tafsir) states that Israfil will blow the trumpet two times. The first blow will kill all creatures and creations. Later, Israfil will blow the trumpet for the second time, and then all creatures will be revived and wait for judgment.
This view is based on verse 68 of Surah Az-Zumar as well as other narrations.
And some other Quranic verses inform us about it. Allah states the following verses about Qiyamah:
With the first blast of sound from the trumpet the earth and mountains will be raised up high and crushed all together On that day, the inevitable event will take plac and the heavens will be rent asunder and will turn frail, losing all force… [Quran 69 : 13 - 17]
The Trumpet will be blown and all those in the heavens and all those on the earth will fall dead, except those Allah wills ˹to spare˺... [Quran 39:68]
The Trumpet will be blown ˹a second time˺, then—behold!—they will rush from the graves to their Lord. [Quran 36:51]
And the true promise (Day of Resurrection) shall draw near (of fulfillment). Then (when mankind is resurrected from their graves), you shall see the eyes of the disbelievers fixedly staring in horror. (They will say): "Woe to us! We were indeed heedless of this; nay, but we were Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrong-doers)."
(Quran 21 : 97)
All bodies will be resurrected and all persons are called to account for their deeds and their faith during their life on earth.
The day all mankind will stand before the Lord of all the worlds. [Quran 83 : 6]
Every soul will be (held) to account for its deeds. [Quran 74:38]
So, whoever has done an atom's weight of good deeds will see it
and whoever has done an atom's weight of evil will see it.
(Quran 99 : 7 - 8)
After accounting, Allah SWT will send the sinful people to hellfire and the pious believers to paradise.
The pious will surely be in heaven, The wicked certainly in Hell: (Qur’an 82 : 13 - 14)
Those who believe and do good deeds, they are residents of Paradise... [Quran 2:82]
And whoever comes with the bad deed, their faces will be cast in Hell... [Quran 27 : 90]
...Every person is paid for what he did. [Quran 52 : 21]
Hell is a place of terror and torment,
this is the place where the person with the worst deeds enters, is tortured, and is punished for their sins. Sinful souls are punished in different ways. However, the most common way of punishment in Hell is that of burning in fire.
Hell is the place of torture, there will be no escape, there will be no relief.
Whoever disobeys God and His Messenger and breaks His rules will be admitted to the fire wherein they will live forever, suffering a humiliating torment. [Quran 4:14]
And whoever comes with the bad deed, their faces will be cast in Hell. Are you not being rewarded for what you used to do. [Quran 27 : 90]
Whoever comes to his Lord as a sinner, for him indeed is Hell. He shall not die therein, nor shall he live. [Quran 20 : 74]
Verily, the sinners will be in the punishment of Hell, to live in there (for ever). [Quran 43:74]
and when they are thrown, shackled together, into a narrow place therein, they will pray for death. [Quran 25 - 13]
The Fire will sear their faces, distorting them horribly and painfully. [Quran 23 : 104]
They will wish to come out of the fire, but they will not come out of it. It will be an everlasting punishment. [Quran 5 : 37]
They will cry, “I wish I had sent forth ˹something good˺ for my ˹true˺ life.” [Quran 89:24]
However, sobbing at such a moment will not help. O Allah, protect us from the torment of hell, it is a great loss.
Heaven is a place of joy, and
this is the reward for pious people. No one can imagine or understand the beauty of paradise until they arrive. Allah has described the beauty of paradise in the Quran, where everyone will be happy and fully satisfied.
...those who obey Allah and His Messenger will be admitted to paradise... [Quran 4:13]
Surely, those who believe and do righteous deeds, for them are gardens of delight (Paradise) [Quran 31:8]
Indeed, the righteous will be amid Gardens and springs, ˹joyfully˺ receiving what their Lord will grant them. Before this ˹reward˺ they were truly good-doers ˹in the world˺: (Qur'an 51 : 15 - 16)
They will have whatever they desire with their Lord. That is the reward of the good-doers. (Qur'an 39 : 34)
And your Lord is sure to give you [so much], and you will be satisfied. [Quran 93 : 5]
All will be awarded ranks according to their deeds... [Quran 6 : 132]
Just imagine how happy you will be when you see yourself in paradise. O Allah, make me and my family one of the inheritors of paradise. Ameen ya Rabbul Alameen.
People say that people with a lot of money, big houses, and big degrees are successful, but the Quran says differently.
...so, whoever has been kept away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has really succeeded... (Quran 3 : 185)
Success is not attaining something from this world; real success is being saved from hellfire and entering paradise.
Every success is temporary, but getting Jannah is the real success. The day we enter Paradise is the day we can truly say we have succeeded. May Allah forgive us and grant us "Jannatul-Firdaus." Ameen Ya Rabbul Alameen.
Allahu Akbar
