Resurrection (Maad)
Question 33
Q.33:
Will all animals, birds and creatures along with humans be gathered on Judgment Day? From the viewpoint of belief in immortality of soul, where will their souls rest?
A: Since information about the particulars of Hereafter in detail cannot be acquired except through revelation, which is based either on Quran and sayings of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) and as neither have specified anything related to animals, a general belief is sufficient. The Holy Quran says:
وَإِذَا الْوُحُوشُ حُشِرَتْ
"And when the wild animals are made to go forth, "(At-Takwir, 81:5)
Some commentators have said that this verse is about what is to happen before Judgment Day and it conveys that wild animals will come out of their abodes and get mixed up with other animals. It is mentioned in Surah Anam:
وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا طَائِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلَّا أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ ۚ مَا فَرَّطْنَا فِي الْكِتَابِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ ۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ
"And there is no animal that walks upon the earth nor a bird that flies with its two wings but (they are) genera like yourselves; We have not neglected anything in the Book, then to their Lord shall they be gathered.” (Al-An’aam, 6:38)
It is mentioned in these verses that the animals will be gathered, but it is not said how it will be effected and how they will be dealt with; and what their end will be. This information is also not available in reliable traditions in detail. Hence, a general belief in it is enough.
Allamah Majlisi in his Haqqul Yaqeen, quotes some narrations and says: Apparently it is understood that some animals will be gathered and that they will seek justice in the matter of the oppression meted out to them by human beings and that some animals will be gathered for some other purposes and some like the she-camel of Prophet Salih (a.s.), the dog of the People of the Cave, wolf of Prophet Yusuf (a.s.) and the donkey of Balam Baaoor will enter Paradise. Reliable narrations do not indicate the gathering of all animals.
Therefore, most Shia scholars have talked about this in general terms without going in detail. It is mentioned in Tafsir Minhaj that after gathering and dispensing justice, the concerned animals will be turned into dust and will not remain alive. But those animals that give pleasure to human beings, like peacock and its like will remain alive and then adds that what is more correct is that they will not remain alive.
But the other creations like angels and jinns and satans will doubtlessly be gathered. The angels will go to Paradise and jinns and satans, except those who had believed, will go to Hell. However, there is a difference of opinion about the abode of the believing ones from them. Some have said that they will live in Paradise, but in a place lower than that of men. Some say that they would live in Araaf. The first words seem to be more likely, especially through verses of Surah Rahman, which speak of the bounties of Paradise. There is an address to both: ji nns and human beings.
Question 34
Q.34:
Who are the 'deprived ones' (Mustazafeen)
? Please explain how they will be gathered and rewarded or punished?
A: This matter has been explained in reply to question 8 regarding divine justice. For further details please refer to what Allamah Majlisi (r.a.) says in his Haqqul Yaqeen. According to him summarily, it must be believed that there are proofs and evidences to show that in the holy verses and narrations that the Almighty Allah is always just and He is never unjust or wrong to anyone and therefore He will never punish those who are minor or insane or those before whom arguments are not completed or whose intellects cannot distinguish between right and wrong. He will make them live in Araaf, which is between Paradise and Hell, or He will place them at a lower level in Paradise or make them servants of the folks of Paradise.
In an authentic tradition, Kulaini has quoted from Zurarah that he asked Imam Sadiq (a.s.): What will happen to children who die before maturity? He replied that the query was put to the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and he replied that God knows better, which means that the matter should be left to Him and no more inquiry is advisable in this regard as God will deal with them as demanded by His justice or grace.
It should also be known that if they are made to serve the people of Paradise, such service will not be hard; but they will get pleasure from it just as angels enjoy their duties. It should be clear that whatever was mentioned about Mustazafeen was about other than the children of believers and apparently it does have any contradiction if in the hereafter they join their parents in Paradise and add to their happiness.
It is also mentioned in Al-Kafi, Faqeeh and Tawhid Sadooq that Imam Sadiq (a.s.) said: Though children of the faithful were unable to do any good themselves, God will make them join their parents and please them in Paradise.
Question 35
Q.35:
Please describe how will be the gathering and reward or chastisement (on Judgment Day) of one who eats up another and one eaten up by another?
A: Some philosophers have raised a doubt regarding reward or punishment in the Hereafter (bodily punishment/ reward) of a person who eats up another and of one eaten up by another. They say that, in such circumstances, the body of one fully becomes a part of the other's body. In this case, if on Judgment Day, the eater's body is made to rise, the one who was eaten up is not raised as his body has become a part of the eater. In case one who was eaten up is raised (had he or she not become a part of another's body) then the eater's body will remain incomplete.
They also say that doubtlessly the parts of everyone's body go on changing from birth till death. So, will all the parts during the whole life be raised or it will be only the parts present at one's death? How will the parts of one who has become part of another be raised for punishment or reward? If only the parts at the time of death are raised, it is possible that one had, after committing wrong in the past, performed good deeds at the last moment. Thus, if they are rewarded, it will be no justice as the earlier evils will remain unpunished. People will not thus get their due!
As for the root of the doubt: Many religions have replied this question in their own ways which are satisfactory. One of them is the reply of Khwaja Nasiruddin Tusi (r.a.) in his Tajreedul Kalam. He writes: Every person has some original parts, which remain his throughout his life and do not change.
There also are some parts other than original ones, which continue to change all the time. They constantly require food. During illness such changes take place. Man becomes weak and feels that some of his physical parts have become diluted. The parts of the body which will be raised in Qiyamat will be the original and unchanging parts, which do not become part of any other body even if one eats up another. It is only the soluble or dilutable parts which mix up with dust (in grave). Parts which have remained unchanged will, by the Omniscient God, be made to come and gather for getting their due.
Question 36
Q.36:
There are some deeds the reward for which seems impossible. One asks how then it would be rewarded. Kindly explain.
A: This misunderstanding mainly arises because we imagine that life of Purgatory (Barzakh) and Hereafter will be just like this worldly life. There are certain things which satisfy our needs in a particular way through particular things in this world. Also some things give tastes.
What one forgets is that the availability of anything more or less in a big quantity or small depends on the size of the place where one is. For example take the case of a baby in its mother's womb. It is living there in absolute comfort. If it is told: Very soon you will be transferred to a place millions of times larger than your present abode. On the contrary you cannot even imagine its vastness; there you will require a house a thousand times bigger than this; you will need food, which will have to be prepared in various ways; you will also need different clothings etc.
If the baby on hearing all this expresses its astonishment and says all this is exaggeration, will it be wrong? It lives comfortably in a small space of a few centimeters and gets its nourishment through the naval even without making any effort or movement. It would ask how it would need the things mentioned, but such imagination is of course incorrect.
Likewise, one who is a prisoner of the material world asks: How is it possible to see and get huge and plentiful palaces and various high class food and clothes etc. promised in Paradise? How man would be able to enjoy those things? Here also what one forgets is that it will be a world, which is so vast that in it, one gets all kinds of tastes and enjoyments instantly and also effortlessly. As long as the soul is imprisoned in this material world, it cannot imagine the vastness of the other world. The Holy Quran says:
فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَا أُخْفِيَ لَهُمْ مِنْ قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ
"So no soul knows what is hidden for them of that which will refresh the eyes..." (As- Sajdah, 32: 17)
Question 37
Q.37:
Please give arguments disproving transmigration of souls (Tanaasukh).
A: Transmigration of souls (Tanasukh) means attachment of souls, after dissolution of the elemental bodies, with other bodies in the same perceptible world. There are many groups which believe in transmigration of souls. Some say that the human soul, after death and decay of his body is transferred to the body of another person and this group is called Nasookhiyah.
Another group believes in transmigration of human soul after death to bodies of animals, beasts or reptiles in accordance with their deeds. For example, souls of auspicious persons to bodies of noble animals, like horse etc. and souls of vicious fellows to bodies of wretched animals like dog or pig; like soul of a brave person to body of a tiger; that of a harmful and brutal fellow to body of a wolf; soul of a greedy and avaricious person to body of an ant or mouse etc. This group is called Mansookhiyah.
Yet another group believes in transmigration of human soul after death to vegetables, trees, grass etc. and this group is called Fusookhiyah.
Yet another group says that souls turn into materials like stone and this group has been named Rusookhiyah.
Thus believers in transmigration of souls are of four kinds:
Nusookhiyah. Mansookhiyah. Fusookhiyah and Rusookhiyah.
Still there also are other absurd beliefs, the description of which will make discussion very lengthy. All these beliefs are wrong.
Firstly, this belief is against essentials of lslam (rather against all heavenly religions) because according to Islam the souls, after death and after questioning in grave and end of Purgatory (Barzakh - after death till Resurrection), will be raised once again with bodies they had in their worldly lives and that in Qiyamat, after accounting of their deeds, will be either rewarded or punished as explained in detail before. Believers in transmigration of souls reject all these essentials: like Paradise, Hell and everything related to them. On the contrary, in
their view, rewards and punishments can be given only in this world. They deny that God-worship and good deeds will lead to heaven and evil deeds will send one to Hell. Thus all arguments based on true religion reject this be lief of transmigration of souls.
Secondly, when body is perfected in the womb and is ready to be connected to the soul, the soul created by Almighty Allah's graceful source joins with it. In these circumstances, if the soul, which departed from a body after death, again joins with this body, it would be joining of two souls in one body, which is wrong both from the viewpoint of essentials and logic, because everyone knows that he or she has only one soul not more.
Thirdly, we say that a body from the time of its creation, advances towards perfection and all its perfections appear in stages of action. Likewise, the soul or spirit, during its connection with the body, advances towards perfection and its faculties acquire abilities. How then is it possible for it to connect with a body, which is merely an embryo and a defective body? It would necessitate that a perfect soul should become imperfect to advance to perfection along with an imperfect body.
There are other reasons as well in rejection of transmigration of souls, but what is said is sufficient here. What is necessary to mention is that in Islam, there are two kinds of deformation (Maskh) and both are contrary to what the above mentioned believers in transmigration of souls believe:
One of them is worldly deformation and the other is disfigurement in Hereafter. The former is one in which Almighty Allah, to admonish all people in the world, punished those who revolted against God, who left God-worship, defied His commands and mean thoughts got rooted in their hearts making them wayward; and who led others on the wrong path. God hastened to disfigure them making their faces according to their inner state. Therefore some changed into monkeys, some dogs and some pigs. The Holy Quran says:
وَجَعَلَ مِنْهُمُ الْقِرَدَةَ وَالْخَنَازِيرَ
"...and of whom He made apes and swine..." (Al- Maidah, 5:60)
In the case of People of Saturday (Ashaabe Sabt) He says:
فَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا قِرَدَةً خَاسِئِينَ
"…so We said to them: Be (as) apes, despised and hated. "(Al-Baqarah, 2:65)
Obviously this is against what believers in transmigration of souls say, because according to them, after death the souls of the deceased enter bodies of similar animals as mentioned earlier and what the Holy Quran mentions is the changing of one's outer appearance into what is in one's interior.
They initially possessed human bodies, but since their deeds were extremely disgraceful and they were adamant, the Almighty Allah changed their bodies into animal forms in such a way that their relatives and acquaintances could recognize them even after they were turned into animals and they themselves also would recognize their acquaintances and even talk to them. Their acquaintances would ask them: Did we not admonish and restrain you from evil? Since they could not justify, they would only weep.
According to numerous narrations, those whom the Almighty Allah had disfigured could not, thereafter, live for more than three days and animals of this world are actually offspring of animals other than the said disfigured ones. The reason why these animals are called disfigured (Mansookhaat) is that some evil human beings were turned into their forms and were destroyed thereafter. ·
As regards disfigurement of hereafter, what is mentioned in a number of traditions of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) is that on the day of Grand Gathering in Hereafter some people will arrive with appearance of what they were internally in their worldly lives, that is, according to what they had earned through the freedom given to them. It will have nothing to do with bodies of other creatures (as believers in transmigration of souls say). They will appear as they were intemally. They will be recognized by others, who will know who he is and how he or she was.
In other words, on Judgment Day, the internal will overcome the external. As a holy verse says:
يَوْمَ تُبْلَى السَّرَائِرُ
"On the day when hidden things shall be made manifest...” (At- Tariq, 86:9)
Hence some people will appear like angels, as they did not do anything in the world but good. Their deeds were like deeds of angels. They worshipped and obeyed only One God and never committed any evil and all benefited from them. Contrary to this, some people whose faces will be like their interior and as ugly as Satan. They will be those who committed only evil in the world and others were only harmed and deceived by them. Their deeds were devilish.
There will be yet another group of people who will appear like pigs and other carnivorous animals; some like quadrupeds and some in form of insects and reptiles etc. as mentioned in a following verse:
وَنَحْشُرُهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عَلَىٰ وُجُوهِهِمْ
"...and We will gather them together on the day of resurrection on their faces ...” (Al-Isra, 17:97)
It is mentioned in some commentaries of Quran that: 'Like animals whose heads are downward'. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) is reported to have said:
"Indeed Allah will gather the people according to their intentions on Judgment Day."
He also said:
"'People will be gathered with their intentions and their inner beings and they will be gathered with the faces worse than that of monkeys and pigs."
It is mentioned in Tafsir Majmaul Bayan referri ng to the holy verse:
يَوْمَ يُنْفَخُ فِي الصُّورِ فَتَأْتُونَ أَفْوَاجًا
"The day on which the trumpet shall be blown so you shall co1ne /orth in hosts. “(An-Naba 78: 1 8)
That the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said: My Ummah will be gathered in ten different forms as distinguished by Almighty Allah from Muslims and with their forms changed. Some are in form of monkeys, some pigs and some upside down. They will be killed in this condition through divine chastisement. Some are blind, some deaf and some dumb and they don't understand anything. Some chew their own tongues. Puss flows from their mouths, which is abhorred by all in the field of Gathering. There also will be some with their hands and feet cut off; some will be hung by branches of fire. Some give out foul smell worse than rotten corpses. Some would wear shirts of tar sticking to their skins.
In the form of monkeys are those who slandered others and created trouble through tale telling; like pigs are those who did not keep away from unlawful acts; walking upside down were usurers; blind are the oppressive rulers and men of power; deaf and dumb are the self-conceited; who chew their own tongue were judges and scholars who acted against their own statements; those who harassed their neighbors would have their hands and feet cut off; fellows hanging on fire branches used to aid oppressive rulers and those who stink worse than corpses are followers of lust and who did not pay God's rights from their property; wearing clothes of fire are the proud and arrogant ones.
There are many traditions of this kind, but this much is sufficient.
Question 38
Q.38:
What will be the state of time in the Hereafter?
A: Time, which means quantum of movement of celestial orbits and revolution of earth around the sun, is not there in the Hereafter. Light in the Hereafter means radiance of good deeds and righteous people and darkness means infidelity and sins. Paradise is always shining
brightly with the light of the believers and Hell is permanently dark due to the injustice of wrongdoers.
Question 39
Q.39:
Is eternal stay in Paradise and Hell until God is Almighty and hence unlimited?
A: One whom Almighty Allah admits to Paradise will never be expelled from it undoubtedly as Paradise is his eternal abode.
جَزَاؤُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا اأَبَدً
"Their reward with their Lord is gardens of perpetuity beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever. " (Al-Bayyinah, 98:8)
But, as regards those who enter Hell, if they have even an iota of faith, they would finally be brought out and admitted to Paradise. They would not remain in Hell forever, but in case of unbelievers and hypocrites, there will be no limit for their stay in Hell.
وَمَا هُمْ بِخَارِجِينَ مِنَ النَّارِ
"...and they shall not come forth from the fire." (Al-Baqarah, 2:167)
If someone says: If punishment is eternal for committing evil deeds in a limited brief life, it would tantamount to injustice, we may reply that their permanent abode in Hell is not due to their limited sins. On the contrary, it is because of an established matter that they earned in the world and which is never ending. It is their personal disbelief, villainy and rebellion. Likewise permanent stay of believers in Paradise is also because of an established truth that they had true and sincere intentions and faith, love and sincerity. It is mentioned in Bihar:
Imam Sadiq (a.s.) said: The reason why people of Hell will remain in Hell forever is that their intention in the world was such that if they had lived in the world forever, they would always remained on disbelief and sins. So also the people of Paradise will remain in Paradise forever only because their intention in the world was that if they were to live in the world forever, they would have always lived with faith and obedience to their Lord. So the intentions of people are the only reasons for permanent dwelling of some in Paradise and some in Hell.
Question 40
قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ لَعَلِّي أَعْمَلُ صَالِحًا فِيمَا تَرَكْتُ كَلَّا
"Send me back, my Lord, send me back. Haply I may do
good in that which I have left.” (Al-Mominoon, 23:99-100)
"Testifier of your Second coming (Rajaa’)."
Q.40:
The above-quoted verse (1) appears in conflict with the sentence (2) in the Ziyarat. Please explain.
A: Second coming (Rajat) is one of the essentials of lmamite belief and it means that some pure believers will come to this world during reappearance of Imam Mahdi (a.s.) and the return of all members of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.). Also the staunch deniers and polytheists will be brought back to the world once again.
Such a thing is logically possible and cannot be rejected in itself, because it is easy, keeping in mind the might of the Lord Creator. The purified Imams have informed us about it. Allamah Majlisi says: There are about twenty traditions about Rajat and so a summary trust in it is obligatory. However, it is not compulsory to know the exact manner of their coming back to this world and their duration of stay here and the names of persons who will come back etc.
The doubt which has been raised here is with respect to the holy verse in which the unbelievers, after their death, say: O God: Send us back to the world, so that we may do good deeds there. In reply, they are told: Never! Which means: You will never go back to the world. The apparent meaning of this holy verse is that one who died will not go back to the world whereas it has been authoritatively said that some infidels will return to the world during the second coming (Rajat).
Our reply is: The desire behind the asking of the disbeliever and which is not acceptable is that (by returning) they want to gain faith and ability to do good deeds and gather provisions for the Hereafter. But the promised second coming will be so that they might witness the rightful kingdom of Aale Muhammad (a.s.) and also that deniers and disbelievers may be killed at the hands of Aale Muhammad. Such return of disbelievers is a kind of punishment for their black deeds and by way of partial revenge. This coming back is also for compensating the grief of some believers to some extent and that they might also see the rightful divine government.
In other words, the second coming of some believers and disbelievers during the period of Rajat is only for attaining some positions or getting some rewards or punishments. It is not to complete their faith or that they may perform good deeds; that is why it is regarded as a part of Qiyamat. The Hour mentioned in some verses of Quran is explained by some commentators to mean second coming (Rajat). It is also said: The Days of God are three: Day of reappearance, Day of coming back and Day of Resurrection. Another narration also mentions: Day of Death and Judgment Day.
Question 41
Q.41:
It is well known that during the reappearance of Imam Asr (a.t.f.s .) the absolute believer and the absolute disbeliever will return to this world. Firstly, the disbeliever, after he dies and comes to know about the situation of Hereafter, how again he will remain a disbeliever when he comes back to this world? The believer also, who passed his time of assigned duties, how will he again be duty-bound?
A: The one to whom, during his entire lifespan, God's arguments and proofs were made available and who observed all signs of Almighty Allah and yet did not believe and who was not influenced by the talks of God's messengers, will not believe even if he is made to die and re-enlivened thousands of times, because was he to believe, he would have done so on the first occasion.
وَلَوْ رُدُّوا لَعَادُوا لِمَا نُهُوا عَنْهُ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَاذِبُونَ
"...and if they were sent back, they would certainly go back to that which they are forbidden ..." (Al-An’aam ,6:28)
The secret behind this is that such a person, it seems, has no human life and that he is no better than an animal:
أُولَٰئِكَ كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ
"...they are as cattle, nay, they are .worse errors...” (Al- A’araaf, 7: 179)
إِنَّ شَرَّ الدَّوَابِّ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الصُّمُّ الْبُكْمُ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ
"Surely the vilest of animals, in Allah's sight, are the deaf, the dumb, who do not understand. (Al-Anfaal, 8:22)
It is wrong to suppose that a disbeliever, after observing the Hereafter, would become a believer in his second coming to this world. Hopefully such doubt is removed from what we have said above. The disbeliever, even after his return to this world, would engage himself, as before, in fulfillment of his lusts, greed and passions and will forget all he had observed during death and thereafter in Purgatory (Barzakh). Even if he recalls it, he will regard it onJy as a fearful nightmare. Summarily, one who is so forgetful will remain an animal as before even if he is made to die and to become alive thousands of times. Likewise, one who preferred to be obstinate in disbelief will remain so in all his future lives.
As far as the condition of a believer during the second coming (Rajat) is concerned: No duty would be incumbent on him, on the contrary it is to enable him to scale some ranks of faith due to his good deeds in earlier life. It is to show him how the rule of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) will be so that he becomes happy by it. It is also likely that for some believers, besides what has been said, it may be a sort of perfection which he or she could not earn in his or her worldly life due to circumstances, like gaining martyrdom in the company of the Holy Imam (a.s.). If such was his desire, it is quite possible that when Imam (a.s.) will appear. he may come back to the world and get his desire fulfilled.
Imam Sadiq (a.s.) is reported to have said that according to the saying of the Almighty Allah:
وَيَوْمَ نَحْشُرُ مِنْ كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ فَوْجًا
"And on the day when We will gather from every nation a party ...” (Al Naml 27:83)
a believer killed before his ‘destined end' may return to this world so that he or she may see the end of his earlier life and may be fortunate. And a believer who could not attain the rank of a martyr in the path of God and who died may return and have his desire for martyrdom fulfilled.
Question 42
Q.42:
ls the world of Purgatory (Barzakh) equal in the case of one who died a thousand years ago and one who dies today? Also please explain what the facsimile body (Qaalibe Mithaali) is.
A: The period of stay of souls in Barzakh till the Great Resurrection is, of course, varying but the souls, in Barzakh (duration between death and resurrection), are not inactive. Rather they enjoy the bounties of Barzakh (if they left the world in a pure and sinless condition), or they are being chastised with the punishment of Barzakh.
If they were Mustazafeen, that is. they did not have ability to distinguish truth from falsehood, or proofs and arguments leading one to truth did not approach them as they should have just like some residents of infidel countries and if they did not know about the difference between religions, or if they did know about it, they were unable to go to other countries to make further inquiries about true faith and likewise children and lunatics. There will be no questioning and punishment or reward in Barzakh for all such persons. Their fate is suspended until resurrection, when Almighty Allah will deal with them through either His justice or grace.
Facsimile body (Qaalibe Mthaali) means a body, which in appearance is just like the worldly body and the human soul gets attached to it after death. Imam Sadiq (a.s.) is reported to have said: "If you see it in Barzakh, you will say: This is the same person."
It means that it is similar in appearance to one's body in the world before death, but only materially. It is extremely pure and subtle. Allamah Majlisi says in Biharul Anwar: It is like angels and jinns in subtlety.
He also adds that what is mentioned in traditions about the amplitude of grave and the movement of the soul and its flying in space and visiting its relatives etc. all of it is related to this facsimile body.
Some researchers have likened the Barzakhi body to an image seen in a mirror; but it is not independent and is also imperceptible, whereas the Barzakhi body is supported by spirit and it possesses feelings and perception.
Question 43
Q.43:
There are some polytheists who perform good deeds and charitable acts. Some may also make discoveries benefiting millions of people. Can such things decrease the punishment due to them?
A: Inventions and discoveries, which provide facilities to God 's servants, can have a lasting effect in the Hereafter only when their inventors or discoverers have faith and if they do not have anything except God 's pleasure in their view and if they do not desire their reward from anyone except Only One God. It is, therefore, obvious that one who denies the existence of God and does not believe in Hereafter and who never thought of this during his work, has, for him, the same reward or remuneration (worldly benefits) which he had in his mind like name and fame and plentiful rights in this world and all other material things.
It goes without saying that there are worldly and other-worldly effects of a deed, which are beneficial for men and even for animals. Sometimes such effects are astonishing, even if the doer of the good is a denier or a sinner. For example, if a denier or a sinner benefits God's creation, as its consequences, some calamities are averted from him or his wealth is increased or his lifespan is prolonged.
Even sometimes that good service to humanity results in a revolution in himself. He changes his belief positively, repents for his past disbelief and dies a faithful believer for a fruitful future life in the Hereafter. If he dies without adopting faith, his beneficence can earn hirn a decrease in his punishment in the Hereafter. It is mentioned about HatimTai , famous for his charity, and about Naushirvan, the Just that they are in Hell, but are not being burnt in Hellfire; on the contrary they are safe. However, the effects may vary in proportion to their beneficence.
Questoin 44
Q.44:
What is 'agony of death' (Ghamaraat) and 'death pangs' (Sakaraat)? Are these conditions faced by those who die suddenly?
A: 'Death pangs' and 'agony of death ' are troubles and hardships faced at the time of death. In 'death pangs' the dying person becomes unconscious and utters meaningless words and makes meaningless and futile movements.
'Agony of death ' is when things worsen and the dying person becomes stunned, bewildered and stupefied. Those who die suddenly or accidentally are saved from 'death pangs ' yet, it is no secret that trial through 'death pangs ' is not an evidence of a bad death. Likewise dying with ease also is no proof of the good state of any person. There is no generalization in either case.
It is quite possible that a believer may be subjected to hardships of 'death pangs' so that he may become clean of his past sins. Similarly, it is also possible that a denier or a sinner may die a comfortable death as a reward of his good deeds in this world and so that he may not get any benefit in the Hereafter. (For further clarification please refer to Shaykh Sadooq 's Shiite Creed).
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Author: Ayatullah Sayyid Abdul Husayn Dastghaib Shirazi
