Resurrection in Quran

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Resurrection in Quran Author:
Translator: Sayyid Akhtar Husain S.H. Rizvi
Publisher: Ansariyan Publications – Qum
Category: Day_of_Resurrection
ISBN: 978-964-219-160-4

Resurrection in Quran

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Author: Ayatullah Ibrahim Amini
Translator: Sayyid Akhtar Husain S.H. Rizvi
Publisher: Ansariyan Publications – Qum
Category: ISBN: 978-964-219-160-4
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Download: 2081

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Resurrection in Quran

Resurrection in Quran

Author:
Publisher: Ansariyan Publications – Qum
ISBN: 978-964-219-160-4
English

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Resurrection in Quran

Author: Prof. Ibrahim Amini

Translated by: Sayyid Athar Husain S. H. Rizvi

Publisher: Ansariyan Publications

First Edition 1389 - 1432 - 2011

ISBN: 978-964-219-160-4

www.alhassanain.org/english

Notice:

This work is published on behalf of www.alhassanain.org/english

The typing errors are n’t corrected.

Table of Contents

Introduction 5

Evidences of resurrection 8

1- Nature 9

2- History 10

3- Desire for Perpetuity 12

4- Immortality 13

5- Reward and punishment 15

6- Abstract nature of the soul 17

Meaning of Abstractness 17

Definition of the self 17

Evidences of the abstractness of the soul 18

Innate Knowledge 18

Acquired Knowledge 21

Soul in the Quran 24

Death and its hardships 28

Throes of Death 29

In the Grave 33

Questioning in the Grave 33

Squeeze of the Grave 34

Purgatory (Barzakh) 37

Barzakhi Body 38

Barzakhi Body in different opinions 40

Viewpoint of Imam Khomeini 42

Abode of Barzakh and Life in it 44

Aim of Punishment and Rewards of Barzakh 45

Perpetual Charity 46

Classes of Barzakh 47

Punishments of Barzakh 48

Bounties and Punishment of Barzakh 48

An incident by Allamah Tabatabai 49

Statement of Imam Khomeini 49

Signs of the Judgment Day 50

Blowing of the Trumpet 50

Collapse of the Solar System 52

Judgment Day in Quran 55

Gathering of humans (Hashr) 58

Scroll of deeds 60

Statement of Imam Khomeini 63

Scale of deeds 64

Process of weighing the deeds 66

Accounting of deeds 68

Kinds of people on Judgment Day 68

Matters that would be questioned in Qiyamat 70

Most Difficult Stages of Accounting 72

Difference in accounting 74

Swiftness in accounting 75

Intercession (Shafa’ah) 78

Definition of intercession 78

Intercession in Quran 78

First Group: Verses that apparently negate intercession 79

Second Group: Negation of intercession for a Special Category 79

Third Group: Verses that limit intercession to Allah 79

Fourth Group: Proof of intercession by the approval of Allah 80

Reconciling the different types of verses 80

Who all would be included in intercession? 81

Who would intercede? 84

Siraat Bridge 86

Hell 90

Punishments of Hell 90

Food of the folks of Hell 91

Dress of the folks of Hell 91

Statements of Imam Khomeini 93

Threatened with chastisement of Hell 93

Paradise and its bounties 97

Grades of Paradise 101

Access to Paradise and enjoying its bounties 102

Bibliography 104

Epilogue 105

Notes 106

Introduction

Where do I go after death? Would I return once again? What was the aim of my creation? Is it necessary to ponder upon these points? What is imminent would definitely come to pass; so why to worry about it? Imagination of death and the events after it make ones life disagreeable, so why should I worry about it and lose sleep over it?

Yes, these questions arose throughout the ages and occupied the minds of people in the past and still do so; and are on the verge of getting convincing replies. Therefore intellectuals and philosophers tried to answer these questions to realize the truth; satisfy themselves and that they may hand over the conclusions of their researches to others.

Divine messengers believed in resurrection and based the foundation of their call on it. In heavenly religions, life after death is considered a necessary principle of faith and hundreds and thousands of books are written in different languages on this subject. The Messenger of Allah (s) and the Holy Imams (`a) hold a very eminent position in propagating and proving faith in resurrection. The Holy Quran has stressed on this matter more than other heavenly scriptures, and has explained its various aspects in many verses. Deep contemplation on the verses of this heavenly Book, along with their interpretation through the sayings of the Messenger of Allah (s) and the Holy Imams (`a) can enable us to understand life after death, which is an unseen world; as without that it would have been impossible for us to do so. That is why we have based this book on verses of Quran; with the hope that it would be useful for all those who are in search of truth and especially that it may benefit the youth.

Before actual discussion, we think that it is necessary to mention some features about the two convergent views on resurrection: the view of believers and the view of disbelievers.

Life, according to the two views

Faith in resurrection sometimes does not go beyond the limit of words and imagination, as it is not actual faith and does not have the qualities of the world and the hereafter and sometimes it goes beyond the stage of meaning and reaches to genuine faith. This is in fact true faith in resurrection and it will have the traces of the world and the hereafter with it according to the resolution of the person in carrying out the duties made incumbent on him and depending on the strength of his faith.

Views of the believers about resurrection

Those who have real faith in resurrection do not consider their lives limited to a few years in this world; on the contrary, they have a broad view and they know that it is only a beginning; and that it is going to continue forever in the hereafter.

They don’t regard death as annihilation and the end of life; on the contrary they consider it to be a means of being transferred to the world of the hereafter and an eternal life in that world. They consider themselves to be travelers, who have come into this world to equip themselves for the perpetual life of the hereafter. Such persons, just as they follow a detailed plan and make efforts in this limited life of the world, in the same way they are also not unmindful of their life in the hereafter. They consider the world to be a harvest field for the hereafter and consider their lives to be the best provision of obtaining the means of building a prosperous after life. They do not waste the most valuable capital in useless ways, lest they should face regret on the day of resurrection. They know this and they believe in the sayings of the prophets that man is a being having a free will and is answerable for his good and bad deeds in the hereafter. His success and misfortune in the hereafter will depend on his beliefs and morals in this world. Paradise and the bounties of Paradise and Hell and the chastisements of Hell in the hereafter will be based on his good or bad deeds in this world. Such a person would be aware of his duties, have a good nature, is a well wisher, trustworthy, truthful and justice loving. And he will avoid bad morals and evil deeds. In face of the calamities of the world and difficulties of life, which are there for everyone, whether one likes them or not, he does not evade and does not protest; on the contrary he remains absolutely patient and says: Indeed we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.

During old age and the last period of his life, he does not abandon patience and hope; and he is not afraid of death as he has the good news of the future and he knows where he is going.

In this condition, faith in resurrection does not impel man to go into isolation and give up social duties; on the contrary it prepares him to obtain knowledge, and to discover the secrets of nature, his life, population of the world, social service, defense of human values and martyrdom; since it is with faith in resurrection and rewards of the hereafter that sacrificing ones life in the path of truth can be justified. How peaceful and pleasing is life in the shade of belief in resurrection! Alas, if all the people had faith in hereafter and accounting of deeds! What is the beauty in such a supposed world?

But what is the life of the deniers of resurrection like? It is very short and death means the end of life and decline into the valley of non-existence. For them, life in this world is regrettably full of sorrow and grief; it is futile and aimless and without logical justification. During calamities, the denier of resurrection is discouraged by difficulties of life that befall everyone intentionally or unintentionally and he is not comfortable in them. And any sort of pleading is also not effective. Sometimes, in order to comfort his inward pains, he resorts to alcoholic drinks and other drugs, so that he may for sometime forget himself and his painful thoughts. But temporary intoxication is also of no use. Sometimes he is so much affected by the severity of discomfort and feelings of discouragements that he commits suicide. When a denier of resurrection witnesses injustice of oppressors on himself or others, and their successful escape from legal punishments, he becomes despondent and is convinced that there is no justice in this world and no sort of reward and punishment. Denial of resurrection necessitates that practicing good morals, doing good to others, defending the rights of the deprived, sacrifice and martyrdom in defense of truth etc. should not have rational justification and practical cover. The most difficult period of the life of a denier in resurrection is when he is down with an incurable disease or extreme old age when he knows that death is imminent; at that time he despairs of life and can only imagine himself falling into a deep oblivion of nothingness. Alas! How terrifying is the imagination of annihilation into nothingness and inexistence! How difficult and unbearable is life without faith in resurrection! The cause of most oppressions, battles, and violation of rights, killings and murders, crimes, cruelties, corruptions is denial in resurrection. If all the people of the world become deniers in resurrection, accounting, rewards and punishments; what a terrible world it would be!

Evidences of resurrection

Resurrection is one of the important and difficult problems of philosophy and scholasticism. In books of scholastic theology, it is discussed in detail and hundreds of books are written on this subject. Since the books of this present series are supposed to be compact and simple, we would try to prove this belief through basic arguments that may be clearly understood by all:

1- Nature

2- History

3- Desire for Perpetuity

4- Immortality

5- Reward and punishment

6- Abstract nature of the soul

1- Nature

Nature is in the meaning of a special creation. Innate features are matters of natural characteristics embedded in the nature of human beings, which arise from the conscience of every perfect human being and do not need reasoning and evidence. Attention to conscience and waking up of nature to accept them is sufficient. Recognition of beauty is natural. Every sane and mature person can understand beauty. He considers some things to be beautiful and some he finds lacking in beauty. All are having this nature, although it is possible that there might be difference in their applications and manner. The goodness of equitability, truthfulness and the evil of injustice and falsehood and betrayal of truth are also like this. The origin of attention to God, humility to Him and His worship are also natural matters present in the being of every human. Awakening of the nature in faith in them is sufficient, although it is possible that some persons would commit a mistake in recognition of its aims and get deviated; such as the origin of idol worship, which came into being in this way.

Misunderstanding of idolaters and followers of nonsense lies in the fact that in specifying the applicability or sense of God, about which the innate nature testifies, they fell into an illusion and in ignorance went into deviation.

Desire for perpetuity and life after death is also an established matter and is present in the innate being of every man and from that springs the God-given source and it shows its effects; even though throughout history and in some communities and sects, they are mixed with a number of nonsensical matters.

2- History

All this leads us to conclude that belief in the perpetuity of human soul and life after death is deeply rooted in human history and even in pre-historic man and communities that are now extinct.

So much so, that history and excavations of ancient graveyards show and archeological studies like the pyramids of Egypt and other communities and nations, which have come down to us that most people of the past had belief in perpetuity of soul and life after death. Therefore they buried their dead with their personal effects, belongings and things, which they might need; continued to perform rituals to honor the dead for a long period of time and sending offerings and charities on their behalf.

Regarding this, Will Durant says:

Since Sumerians (524 B.C.) buried with their dead, provisions and objects of their use, we can conclude that they had belief in life after death.[1]

He also writes:

The body, Egyptians believed, was inhabited by a small replica of itself called the ‘ka’, and also by a soul that dwelt in the body like a bird flitting among trees. All of these: body, ka and soul – survived the appearance of death; they could escape mortality for a time in proportion as the flesh was preserved from decay; but if they came to Osiris clean of all sin they would be permitted to live forever in the “Happy Field of Food” – those heavenly gardens where there would always be abundance and security.[2]

Then he writes:

The Mycenaean himself, as well as most of his art, is found in the tombs; for he folded and buried his dead in uncomfortable jars, and seldom cremated them as the Heroic Age would do. Apparently he believed in a future life, for many objects of use and value were placed in the graves.[3]

He further writes:

According to Egyptian belief, these Elysian Fields, however, could be reached only through the services of a ferryman, an Egyptian prototype of Charon; and this old gentleman would receive into his boat only such men and women as had done no evil in their lives. Or Osiris would question the dead, weighing each candidate’s heart in the scale against a feather to test his truthfulness. Those who failed in this final examination would be condemned to lie forever in their tombs, hungering and thirsting, fed upon by hideous crocodiles, and never coming forth to see the sun.[4]

From what is stated above and from hundreds of other examples, we can conclude that belief in life after death is an ancient phenomenon present in the innate nature of man, in such a way that the ancient man even through his simple understanding was able to obtain and have faith in it. Although priests and temple assistants had role in promoting this belief and in order to misuse it, invented nonsense and rumors, but the actual belief in life after death was not their creation; on the contrary they took advantage of the belief present in the innate nature of man. Will Durant writes in this regard as follows:

The priest did not create religion, he merely used it, as a statesman uses the impulses and customs of mankind; religion arises not out of sacerdotal invention or chicanery, but out of the persistent wonder, fear, insecurity, hopefulness and loneliness of men.[5]

Although prophets throughout the history of whom Prophet Adam (`a) was the first; and who is also called as the father of humanity had a role in formation of belief in God and life after death, but they did not invent this belief; on the contrary they only tried to awaken the innate nature of man, to strengthen the beliefs and to purify and train the self. And since their call was based on innate nature they also had divine support.

Therefore it can be said: Since belief in resurrection existed throughout the ages in the nature of human beings, it can be counted as an innate and original belief. It should also be mentioned that we don’t claim that all human beings in all the ages had belief in life after death and acted according to it. On the contrary, throughout the ages and even today there are persons who because of ignorance, rebellion and selfish desires suppress their human nature in their acts; sometimes they almost deny resurrection verbally. As attributed to Assyrians and ancient Babylonians that they had no faith in resurrection, heaven or hell.[6]

But this type of doubts even leading to verbal denial is natural and it does not harm faith in resurrection in any way. Deniers of resurrection have no evidence to support their claim. On the contrary since their reality had not become clear to them and the selfish desires overcame them, they denied resurrection till they became free from following the base desires. And in the terminology it can be said that they preferred immediate joy instead of the promise of future enjoyments.

Will Durant has quoted the statement of a denier of resurrection as follows:

Saddest of all is a poem engraved upon a slab now in the Leyden Museum, and dating back to 2200 B.C. Carpe diem, it sings: None cometh from thence. That he may tell us how they fare; that we may content our hearts; until we too depart to the place whither they have gone.[7]

Will Durant has presented the above statement in his book as an evidence of denial of resurrection while the fact is that it does not at all show any such denial; on the contrary the opening lines say that no one has returned from that side to explain its existence to us; he has expressed doubt about it and has preferred immediate pleasure to the promise of Paradise and said that he wanted instant happiness. Today also we see most deniers of resurrection using the same argumentation.

3- Desire for Perpetuity

One of the signs of nature is to desire perpetuity and inclination to live forever. Man always makes efforts to continue to live as long as possible. And since he knows that his death is imminent, he tries to leave behind his influence. He trains his children, writes books, performs acts of charity, and makes bequests with regard to commemoration assemblies and offerings at the place of his burial. He wants his plans and aspirations to endure forever and sometimes he even gives up his life to defend them. All these are signs of a desire for perpetuity and eternality. If he considered death as the end of his life and annihilation, what will be the use of commemoration assemblies, presence of children and a respectable place of burial? If he has faith in death of annihilation, how will he justify sacrificing his life for the defense of his views and aims. All this leads us to conclude that desire to live forever after the death is present in the being of every man and it is a natural factor. These natural desires must be beyond investigation and if not, the presence of such desires in man would be meaningless and none of the actions of the all-knowing and wise God is meaningless.

4- Immortality

In the discussion of knowing God, it was proved that the wide world is having the being of God, who is the creator and controller of the creatures. His knowledge, power and wisdom were also proved and also that He never does anything illogical and aimless. But His aim in the creation of the world was not to satisfy any of His needs since He is needless; on the contrary His aim was to benefit and perfect. He bestows perfection to every phenomenon according to its capability. His gracefulness is in His being and miserliness is not present therein. Between the phenomena of the world, man is having an extraordinary and a distinctive position in his capability.

His body is from the material world and his soul is from the spiritual and the celestial world. The material world, throughout years and extremely long centuries, has developed the capacity through perfections of actions and reactions so that it may assume the form of an astounding man. His physical constitution is composed of digestive system, organs of hearing, sight, smell, speech, reproduction, blood circulation and other organs, which operate through astonishing niceties, some of which are mentioned in books of science.

More important than all this is especially the creation of the celestial soul of man; his reasoning power and intelligence; and an extraordinary mechanism of his thinking faculty consisting of his learning ability and memory retention. Man is created in such a way that he is able to remove the curtain from the secrets of the world through contemplation, reasoning and his experience and controls the material world one after another. He inhabits the world and makes it useful for himself and other human beings. Therefore, all the phenomena of the material world, different types of plants and animal, earth, mines, atmosphere, light and elements are practically at the disposal of man and he has the power to control and use them at present or in the future.

In conclusion, we can define man as the by-product of rotation and search of the material world and the pick of the whole lot of the system of creation. Aim of creation of the world should also be searched in him.

Now this important question arises that can we consider that the aim of creation of this world and most important of all, creation of man whose life is at the most a hundred years, which is filled with various types of hardships, calamities and unhappiness is short in comparison to the seeking of pleasures and to say: Death is the end of life of man and his complete annihilation? Your reply is an absolutely negative. If it was so, creation and running of the material world; its coming into existence and life of man would all have been meaningless. An absurd action is not expected from any sane person; how can we expect it from the Almighty Allah, who is all-powerful, all-knowing, wise and needless?

Therefore it can be said that man is created for an everlasting life in the hereafter and not for destruction and annihilation. The aim of the Almighty Allah in creation of man is that he should live in this world and train himself in good manners and good deeds and prepare for an everlasting good life in the hereafter. He created him with this aim, equipped him with ability for perfection programmed for his personal success of the hereafter. He also sent prophets to guide man. In this way, creation of world and man can be justified rationally.

This is indicated in the verses of Quran; as for example:

وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَآءَ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا لَاعِبِينَ‏

And We did not create the heaven and the earth and what is between them for sport. (21:16)

أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَكُمْ عَبَثاً وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ

What! did you then think that We had created you in vain and that you shall not be returned to Us? (23:115)

وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَوَ تِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَآ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَإِنَّ السَّاعَةَ لَأَتِيَةٌ فَاصْفَحِ الصَّفْحَ الْجَمِيلَ

And We did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them two but in truth; and the hour is most surely coming… (15:85)

5- Reward and punishment

In the discussion about the cognition of God, it was proved that the Almighty Allah is just and the creation of man and the world was based on justice. He bestows perfection to everything according to its capacity and does not allow the right of any phenomenon or man to be violated. Since injustice is due to ignorance or needfulness of one who commits it and the creator of the world is pure from every defect.

Injustice is an evil deed, and the Almighty Allah never commits an evil deed. Not only the Almighty Allah does not commit injustice, on the contrary He also desires to be kind and just to man. And He has not allowed them to act unjustly with each other. In the Holy Quran He says:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَنِ وَإِيتَآىِ ذِى الْقُرْبَى‏ وَيَنْهَى‏ عَنِ الْفَحْشَآءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ وَالْبَغْىِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ‏

Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good (to others) and the giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful. (16:90)

The Almighty Allah has fixed laws and duties for the purification of the life of man, which is surrounded by injustice and oppression, so that he may lead a life of peace and success. And through the messenger prophets and His selected representatives they should be kind to each other and keep away from injustice and sins. He has fixed good rewards for the doers of good, and decreed severe punishments for oppressors and sinners. But regrettably all people are not same with regard to social duties; they are of two types: one is group of those who are aware of their duties, well wisher and righteous; they neither oppress others and nor cause harm to anyone. On the contrary, they are seekers of justice for those whose rights have been violated and those who have been oppressed. So much so that those who tread this path have to face deprivations, are subjected to imprisonments and cast themselves into dangers. They are good natured, trustworthy, truthful, having a good character, helpful and who are cognizant of truth. Another group is of those who live in such a way in this world, but they are not rewarded for their good deeds in the world. And sometimes, as a result of their good behavior, they even have to face deprivation and numerous hardships. As a result of truthfulness and seeking justice they are subjected to torture and imprisonment at the hands of tyrants and oppressors and sometimes they sacrifice their lives. Should there not be another world where the doers of good receive rewards for their good deeds. If the hereafter and good rewards had not been there, would it have been according to the justice of the Almighty Allah?

If earth is the end of life, what will be the rational justification of righteousness and piety and holy war (Jihad) and martyrdom on the path of seeking justice?

Another group is that of oppressors; who have no qualms in causing harm to others and in violating the rights of people. They are power hungry, tyrannical and greedy. They prefer their own good and the good of those who are related to them over the good of others. They do not refrain from any injustice in order to gain power and wealth. They subject their opponents to prison and torture and even eliminate them: they usurp their properties and do not refrain from any crime. Not only individuals, they even eliminate communities and nations through imperialism and dictatorship. They have no qualms about committing even the most shameless crimes. On the contrary, they enjoy it and exalt themselves. Such criminals were numerous throughout history and are still present in the world. Although some of them received some punishment in this world, but it was definitely less than the crime that they committed, but most of them did not receive any punishment for their crimes.

The righteous and sinners will be rewarded and punished according to their good deeds and crimes after a short while. Should not there be a world, where each of them is exactly accounted for with regard to his or her deeds? And that the doers of good receive his or her rewards and the sinners are punished in accordance to their crimes? If the world of the hereafter had not been there, what would have been the rational justification of the creation of this world, which is full of injustice and crime? Is this compatible with divine justice? If there is no other world of reward and punishment, why God has commanded observing justice and refraining from injustice? What is the decision of your intellects with regard to this? All would definitely reply: The righteous and sinners are not equal. There is another world after this world, in which the deeds of people will be verified. The righteous will be given a good recompense and sinners will be awarded a severe punishment. The same thing is implied in the verses of the Holy Quran:

أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّالِحَاتِ كَالْمُفْسِدِينَ فِى الْأَرْضِ أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الْمُتَّقِينَ كَالْفُجَّارِ

Shall We treat those who believe and do good like the mischief-makers in the earth? Or shall We make those who guard (against evil) like the wicked? (38:28)

أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ اجْتَرَحُواْ السَّيِّئَاتِ أَن نَّجْعَلَهُمْ كَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَ عَمِلُواْ الصَّالِحَاتِ سَوَآءً مَّحْيَاهُمْ وَمَمَاتُهُمْ سَآءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ‏ * وَخَلَقَ اللَّهُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بِالْحَقِ‏ّ وَلِتُجْزَى‏ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ‏

Nay! do those who have wrought evil deeds think that We will make them like those who believe and do good that their life and their death shall be equal? Evil it is that they judge. And Allah created the heavens and the earth with truth and that every soul may be rewarded for what it has earned and they shall not be wronged. (45:21-22)