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Resurrection, Ma'ad

Resurrection, Ma'ad, From the Collection "The Splendid Light of Wisdom"

Author(s): Sayyid Madjid Ali Da'ee Nejad

Translator(s): Sayyid Mehdi Mohammadi

Publisher(s): Neh'zat-e Tardjomeh Iran

www.alhassanain.org/english

The present work discusses the subject of "Resurrection", which is one of the volumes of the "Splendid Light of Wisdom" Collection with the aim to increase the level of knowledge in the young generation’s mind, and will enable them to comprehend and to know more deeply, the clear and erudite thoughts of this learned thinker; so that it may open a new path in front of them.

Miscellaneous information:

Resurrection, Ma'ad, From the Collection "The Splendid Light of Wisdom" By Sayyid Madjid Ali Da'ee Nejad Translated by Sayyid Mehdi Mohammadi Neh'zat-e Tardjomeh Iran-2014

Notice:

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

The composing errors are not corrected.

Table of Contents

Foreword 9

Introduction 12

Notes 13

Chapter 1: Death or the beginning of the journey to eternity 14

The essence of death 14

The transfer made by divine agents 14

God's creature 14

The great sleep 14

The Importance of contemplating about death 14

The agony of death and its cause 15

Notes 16

Chapter 2 17

The Holy Qur'an and purgatorial life 17

The supplication of the damned to return 17

What have you been doing? 17

The world, purgatory, and resurrection 18

Two deaths, two lives 18

Eternity, until heaven and earth shall subsist 19

Fire, each morning and each evening 19

The state of purgatory 20

The realm of the forms 20

The grave’s questioning 20

The pressure of the grave 20

To account for one's deeds and misdeeds 20

Companionship of the souls of the believers 20

The connection between the world and purgatory 21

The opening of one’s book of deeds 21

One’s inner perception of the purgatory 21

The possibility of returning to earth 21

Notes 22

Chapter 3 23

The great Resurrection: The dawn of a new life 23

The difference between Judgment day and purgatory 23

The preparations for judgment day 23

Various names of Judgment day 23

The first blow of the celestial horn or the new life 24

The duration of the Judgment day 25

The relationship between the world and Judgment day 25

The appearance of the angels 26

The embodiment and ever-lasting effects of actions and deeds 26

The similarities and differences between the two worlds 27

Similarities 27

The differences 27

Stability and change 27

The pure and impure life 28

Planting and harvesting 28

Unshared destinies 28

The laws of means and fates 29

The diminishing and/or intensification of the inner perception 29

The attachment and boredom of the heart 29

The ways by which Allah calls mankind to account 29

Notes 30

Chapter 4 32

The Holy Qur'an’s arguments on Resurrection Day 32

The logical reason for the existence of the divine power 32

The arguments of similarity 32

The necessary divine arguments 33

The argument and the proof for the existence of divine justice 33

A- The true meaning of divine Justice 33

B- Aptitudes beyond this world 33

Injustice and deprivation of man from his capabilities 34

The argument which shows Allah’s infinite wisdom 35

A- Disability and incompetence 35

B- Natural annulment and essential imperfection 35

C- The existence of obstacles 36

Resurrection and Allah’s infinite wisdom 37

The true meaning and interpretation of divine wisdom 37

The talent for enjoying immortality 37

The absence of the Resurrection Day, thus the vainness of divine creation 38

Notes 38

Chapter 5: Heaven and Hell 40

The human typology from the Holy Qur'an’s point of view 40

Notes 40

The standard for being a blessed soul or a damned soul 41

Heaven [or Paradise] 41

The spiritual and physical heaven 41

The heaven of “Riz'wan” 42

The pure and heavenly drink 42

The heavenly gates 42

The characteristics of paradise 43

Purity and pureness 43

The divine safety and security 43

Health and well-being 44

Constancy and eternity 44

The inexistence of prohibitions and limitations 44

The divine mercy, favor, and grace 44

Spiritual bounties 45

Physical and material bounties 45

Heavenly food and drinks 45

Heavenly spouses 46

Spectacular sights and wonders 46

Heavenly garments and ornaments 46

Affectionate and sweet relationships 47

Hell 47

The various names of Hell 47

Hell's doors 47

Hell is on the lookout… 48

The uniqueness of man, his deeds and his punishment 49

Different kinds of Torments 50

The mental Torments 50

The spiritual Torments 50

Loneliness and utter solitude 50

The physical torments 51

To be chained and bound together in fetters 51

To be thrown in hell fire 51

A chain with a length of seventy cubits 51

To wander [round] 51

The Garment of Fire 52

The food of the Damned 52

The duration of the torment 53

Notes 53

Chapter 6: Uncertainty and questions 56

The time of the Resurrection Day 56

Physical and spiritual Resurrection 57

Some equivocal thoughts to be considered 57

The secret of insisting on the blessing of the physical form 58

The negation of God's blessings, appearing as bad things 58

Absence of any limitation for all the pleasures, awaiting man in the afterlife 58

Punishment, according to the deed 59

Why is it so? 59

A good deed accomplished by a Non-Muslim 60

Intercession and Justice 62

Contrast between Mercy and Torment 63

Tiredness and frustration 64

Notes 65

Foreword

The young generation of the contemporary society is indeed, in search of truth and asks itself numerous questions to know its religious beliefs, and to deepen its teachings, in order to possess a general perception, concerning the entire problems, issues and questions, whether mental, spiritual, cultural, or social. For that reason, the young generation searches and researches diverse sources.

However, the thirst for a better knowledge along with a greater measure than it already knows, pushes this young generation to a certain aspiration to acquire a better understanding of all these things; this is because it wishes to lean on all these original thoughts with solid tranquility, to form its proper mental geometry.

Among precious works in the Islamic Doctrine, the works of the respected Martyr, Professor Allamah Murtadha Mutahhari, offer us a deep frame, comprehensive, moderate, rational, and formative at the same time, which regroup, encompass, and embrace, gravely and perfectly, the Islamic Thought.

Indeed, his works can guide the young generation of modern time and that of the future era towards a spiritual path, most secure, safest, and empty of peril.

In fact, qualities such as originality, creativity, equity, eloquence, along with a beautiful rhetoric and a fluent pen, which is very easy to follow, and a serious willingness to answer the actual needs of the contemporary society are the particularities and special characteristics that adorn and purify the intellectual mind of this erudite Martyr. Moreover, we can see in his works, a true desire to offer an intellectual ensemble, very concise and clear, with a fair sense of criticism, and a wish to defend all the discoveries and positions, taken by him in an intellectual and mental point of view.

This fact forces the actual generation of the young people of the society and the scientific and scholastic community to wish to study more, and to deepen these exposed opinions and these beautiful Islamic thoughts; this, in order to safeguard and defend them as a written heritage for the future generations.

Young generation’s thoughts Institute has published the collection "The Splendid Light of Wisdom" for the great enthusiasm that the young generation has shown for the thoughts of the learned and erudite Professor Mutahhari, and their willingness to associate themselves more and more with the works of this learned personality. This collection is composed of forty independent booklets.

This beautiful compilation has followed certain regulations:

1- Each booklet of this Collection explains an independent subject of study.

2- The best teachings, offered from the great mind of this erudite should be known to the young and modern generation; and this was accomplished, by taking into account, not only the complete works of this erudite but also his annotations and his other writings, which have been abridged for this very purpose.

3- The efforts of the person responsible for this compilation should appear as charming, attractive, and most interesting; and the adaptation, adjustment, abridgment, composition, construction, compilation, and all the effort put into this work should be in such way as to offer a complete and comprehensive book; and it should be accomplished in a very definite and rigidly precise structure.

4- The person responsible for this compilation had to take into consideration the fact that he should respect the thoughts of this learned erudite, completely and perfectly, without adding or removing anything whatsoever, from the thoughts of this writer. He also had to preserve the style of Professor Mutahhari as it was, and repeat this in a most scrupulous way in every book offered by this respected writer.

5- To honor these works even more, all the written facts had to be well documented with the works of Martyr Professor Mutahhari himself. Thus, the dear readers may actually refer to the footnotes, at the foot of every page, which would guide them either to his Complete Works, and/or his annotations and/or to independent works of this learned personality.

The explanations offered by the writer of this compilation are in the foreword or conclusion of each finished work. They are separated clearly from the text, belonging to the learned Martyr Professor Mutahhari.

“The splendid Light of Wisdom” is solely acting as a "bridge", by connecting people to the green garden of the beautiful thoughts of Professor Mutahhari…!

No doubt, the young readers and the respected researchers will not see themselves free of any need towards the Complete Works of this erudite Martyr. Moreover, they should give themselves the pleasure of studying and reading all those previous works. Therefore, this work should be seen only as an intellectual and literary effort, so that the dear readers may get more interested in reading his other works, and feel a mental and spiritual affinity with him.

The initial efforts to create the chapters and the titles of each part in this beautiful collection belong undoubtedly, to the incessant and meticulous surveillance of the respected, scientific members of “The Splendid Light of Wisdom".

That is, Mr. Abdol Hosseyn Khosro Panah, Mr. Hamid Reza Shakerin, Mr. Mohammmad Ali Da'ee Nejad, Mr. Ali Zou Elm, and Mr. Mohammad Baqir Pur-Amini [the executive editor of this project]. And to the arduous efforts, made by the executive director of this project, who is none other than Mr. Abbas Rezvani Nassab and his respected colleagues: Mr. Reza Mostavi [chief editor] and Mr. Mika'eel Noori.

To all of them, we wish to express our deepest, infinite gratitude.

The present work discusses the subject of "Resurrection", which is one of the volumes of the "Splendid Light of Wisdom" Collection, written by the respected researcher, Mr. Hamid Reza Shakerin. We would like to express our deepest gratitude, to all those men and women, who have helped and assisted us in this compilation. We are ready to receive the opinions and/or critics of the dear readers, with open arms and a warm spirit, full of gratitude.

We dearly hope that this collection shall increase the level of knowledge in the young generation’s mind, and will enable them to comprehend and to know more deeply, the clear and erudite thoughts of this learned thinker; so that it may open a new path in front of them.

The young generation’s thoughts Institute

Introduction

In the Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

Belief in Resurrection Day and the Hereafter are one of the most important and significant pillars of faith and Islamic Principles; they are among the main conditions of being a Muslim. In more than a hundred verses, the Holy Qur'an has spoken about the characteristics of eternal life, and in sixteen verses has officially mentioned that a firm belief in the afterlife is followed inevitably, by having faith in God; in a few cases, it has even included that Certitude [i.e. Certainty-Conviction] in the Afterlife is among the characteristics of true believers.1

Indeed, the Holy Qur'an has spoken about the Resurrection Day, with various interpretations and exegesis; and each one of these interpretations is a separate portal for acquiring a better knowledge of it; one such example is the word “Al-Yaom Al- Akhir” [i.e. Judgment Day - Resurrection Day], which mentions two things:

1. The Human life is divided into two main "periods"; and each one is interpreted as one “Day” per se. The first Period [i.e. the life on Earth] is finite and ephemeral, whereas the second period [i.e. the afterlife] is infinite and eternal.

2. Our spiritual happiness and beatitude in either worlds [or Periods] depends on our faith in the afterlife.

To begin with, our happiness in this world of ours depends on our faith in the Resurrection Day.

This is because in the light of having faith in the eternal life, we come to be aware of the quality of immortality and eternity in our deeds; and of our Judgment by the Powerful Creator; and then of our responsibility towards all these notions and concepts. Therefore, eventually, we attempt to purify, to better our intentions and deeds, and to prevent ourselves from committing all kinds of perversities and wrongdoings. Consequently, to believe in Resurrection Day guides us towards goodness and it appears as a support for all the human values that we cherish most; it also prevents the human being from all kinds of sins, misdeeds, and wickedness. It then makes him understand that without having this deep belief, his life will be tormented by all kinds of darkness, abominations, impurities, and stains…

Secondly, to believe in Resurrection Day saves the human being from absurdity and being absurd at the same time. Similarly, being unfamiliar with the hereafter and eternal life provokes undoubtedly a sentiment of meaninglessness, nonsense and absurdity, so that after a while, the individual, burdened by such feelings of fatuousness and restlessness becomes as such, with lots of empty, foolish ideas in his mind.

On the contrary, belief in Resurrection Day allows man to let go of absurdity and unreasonableness2 .

Thirdly, our happiness and beatitude in the hereafter depend mostly on our belief in the world beyond and in resurrection, because eternal felicity and eternal torment are related to the deeds and misdeeds of each individual in this earthly plane. And the fact that one is endowed with belief and knowledge in choosing the righteous path, in order to attain happiness and beatitude, while at the same time, one is trying one's best to avoid entering the way of perdition and loss. This is a very crucial and important factor for man to remember.

Indeed, the reality of Resurrection Day is the return to God and the ultimate thing that one has to accomplish. However, according to the Holy Qur'an’s point of view, this particular return is not exclusive and restricted to human beings. It also includes all forms of existence in this wide Universe; then again, in regards to the human beings, one should point out that it shall neither be in an absolutely physical form nor in an absolutely spiritual [i.e. ethereal] form; but in all the possible dimensions, which encompass his "human" being.

Notes

1. Please refer to the surah Al-Baqarah 4; An-Naml 3 and Luqman 4

2. Please refer to the Complete Works of Professor Mutahhari, volume 2, page 537

Chapter 1: Death or the beginning of the journey to eternity

The essence of death

From the Holy Qur'an’s perspective, death is a truth with regard to the human life; it is in fact, a special form of transfer from this world to another world. This particular subject has been deeply examined and thoroughly studied, in various verses of the Holy Qur'an, some of which are mentioned below:

The transfer made by divine agents

Some of the verses in the Holy Qur'an have mentioned death as “Tawaffa”1

The word “Tawaffa” comes from the word “Waffa”, which means the complete reception of something. It does not mean “Fow't”, which means to lose something or someone. Indeed, from these verses, one comes to understand that:

Death does not mean inexistence, nothingness, and destruction, but a transition from one world to another world.

Whatever creates the characteristic and the real “Me” is not one's actual physical body, because the physical body will decay and disintegrate gradually, and that which will be transferred to the other world will be the [human] spirit or the soul.

With the arrival of death, the extra-corporeal dimension of the human being will be taken away, and detached from the individual.2

God's creature

The Holy Qur'an considers death as an essential and absolute Truth for all of God's creatures.

The great sleep

The Holy Qur'an compares Death, Sleep, Awakening, and Resurrection on Judgment Day, as identical and announces,

"It is Allah, who takes away the souls at the time of their Death and those that die not during their sleep. He keeps those [souls] for which he has ordained Death and sends the rest for a term appointed. Verily, in this are signs for a people who think deeply." - 39: 42

The Importance of contemplating about death

Indeed, among the subjects that are noteworthy in all the religious instructions, there is the remembrance of death and the fact that one has to be prepared for it.

In regards to the essence of death and the fact that one shall have a re-birth in a far better world, which will be eternal as well, where happiness or unhappiness are the direct effects of the causes one has been responsible for in the earthly plane, one is thus forced to remember death at all times. At the same time, one is made to pay more attention to this matter and to try hard to build oneself a very nice "dwelling-place" in the Hereafter…

Once, a person asked the holy Prophet Muhammad (S)3 , “Who is the cleverest among the believers?”4

The Prophet Muhammad (S) answered him, “He, who remembers death more than anyone else does, and who is also readier; he it is, the cleverest of all…”

It is also reported in another hadith that, "Of the means for Man’s happiness and beatitude is that his life be longer and that God may grant him the Blessing of the Repentance, so that he may be able to go to the Hereafter and Eternity…"5

The agony of death and its cause

In the Holy Qur'an and numerous Ahadith from the holy family members of the venerable Prophet (S) [i.e. the Ahlil Beyt as6 ], there are all kinds of accounts and descriptions of the agony of death. Regarding this subject, the Holy Qur'an announces,

“And at last, the agony of Death [or the numbness which takes over the person, who is on the verge of Death] unveils the Truth before the eyes of Man [and he is told that]: this is the very thing from which, you were trying to escape…” – 50:19

The Arabic word “Sakrat” derives from “Sakrah”, which comes from "Sakr", meaning a state of drunkenness; it refers to the mental state in which, the mind and the reason of man distance themselves from him. The verse mentioned above, explains that the level of intensity of death is such that it disables man’s mind, his reason, and even his sanity.

The lord of the believers, Imam Ali [as] regarding this matter had once declared, "The harshness and the torments of death are far more difficult to be described or measured, by the intellect of the human beings…”7

The difficulty of dying is mainly because mankind is attached to this world, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Indeed, it is for this reason, that it has been announced, “Die, before your Death.”8 or “Before your limbs separate from your bodies [and before you disintegrate], free yourselves [i.e. your hearts] from this earthly plane!"9

A person once asked Imam Hassan [as], “Why have we not a pleasant death…?”

Imam Hassan [as] answered him, "You have ignored and ruined your Hereafter, and built and prospered your earthly world, instead. Therefore, you suffer and are tormented when you are transferred from your prosperous world to the Place of Sorrow and Ruin…”10

This hadith shows that the earthly passions and all the things that one longs for on this earth, can easily shift man’s behaviors towards satisfying the desires and interests of the world, at the cost of ignoring and destroying the Hereafter. Therefore, because of the wild passion towards the world, the desire for the Hereafter decreases more and more, as a sad, desolate consequence… To the extent that as long as this process continues, and the desire for the earthly world increases, in like manner, the bitter sentiment of the soul's transfer from this world to the Hereafter increases and eventually, it will bring on suffering, sorrow, and all kinds of inner torments for the soul's ultimate Journey to the afterlife…

It has been reported in many ahadith that when someone is on the verge of death, there is a particular moment, called “the examination moment”, which is a brief instant, when the dying individual experiences and sees clearly the “other” world. It is similar to the condition of a person, who is standing next to a room, with a closed door in front of him. When the door opens, and just before the individual exits the room where he is standing, he would see the inside environment of the next room that he is to enter soon. In like manner, when the human beings are standing between the borders of the world and the hereafter, they too will have a similar, identical situation; and they can see the world beyond [i.e. the hereafter] with their physical eyes and with the help of their inner vision, they can have a view of the afterlife. It is from here, that everything illuminates before the very eyes of the human beings; and the disbelievers and the sinners would then suffer deeply. For it is only then, that they can see to where they will be heading. In response to those, who tormented incessantly Prophet Muhammad (S), and who used to ask him mockingly, “Tell us, when will the Day of Judgment come, as you are describing it to us?!" the Holy Qur'an gave two answers:

1. Its Knowledge is only beside God and no one else.

2. When those individuals understood that its time was much nearer than what they had thought, the faces of the disbelievers became horrified and turned pale and ugly; and they were told,

“When will this Promise [i.e. the Day of Resurrection] come to pass if you are telling the truth?” – 67:25

Notes

1. Al-An'am, 61; Az-Zumar,42; An-Naml, 28, 32, 70; Al-A'raf, 37

2. Please refer to the Complete Works of Professor Mutahhari, volume 2, page 537

3. It is an abridged form of the sentence “Sallallah Alayhe wa Alehi wa Sallam"

4. Muhammad Baqir Majlisi, “Beharul-Anwar”, volume 1 page 126

5. Idem, page 138

6. It is an abridged form of the sentence:"Alayaheh Salam"

7. “Nahjul-Balaghah”, Sermon 22; From the Selection of Mizanul-Hekmah, volume 12, page 930, hadith 875

8. Kamaluddin Mey'sam Ibn Ali Meysam Al-Bahrani, The Words of the lord of the Believers, Imam Ali [as], page 6

9. Ibn Abel Hadid, “Sharheh Nahjul-Balaghah”, volume 11, page 3

10. Muhammad Baqir Al-Majlisi, “Beharul-Anwar”, volume 6, page 129