FURTHERMORE ABOUT BARZAKH IN THE HOLY BOOK OF MUSLIMS: THE QURAN

FURTHERMORE ABOUT BARZAKH
IN THE HOLY BOOK OF MUSLIMS: THE QURAN

 Read ONLY,  IF AND WHEN you have time and mood for: 

 “An Ayah of the Quran for 30 Days” -- December 2012

From the Pen and Perspective of a self-styled PPK Muslim (Proud, Practicing, Knowledgeable) with a humble submission that Islam totally rejects Blind Following BUT vigorously focusses on the Limitations of Pure Human Reasoning..............and clearly and comprehensively AlLAH knows best.

In the beginning of the seventh century C.E., the folks of Mecca and Medina had a fascinatingly unique window: they had direct access to the Heavens through one of their own. They were blessed with a regular stream of Divine counseling and guidelines. Question and answer sessions were part of the program. Even individual questioner was graced by an answer. In the short Introduction to this scheme they were assured that at the end of this twenty-two year project, Divine Directions and Admonitions will continue through the agency of the PEN. The whole discourse has been preserved and archived till eternity under the guarantee of our Lord and Creator. This record in known as the Quran. 

It should sound unbelievable but factually appears to be true: Many of our prevalent, widespread and important concepts and opinions about religious matters do not have a basis in the Quran and sometimes even appear to be in obvious conflict with the teachings of the Quran. It would be very educative and helpful to discuss an Ayah once a month to see if it supports or rejects our views and actions in our daily life. I wish and hope this email generates a fruitful interactive discussion. 

What follows is not a sermon; I do not feel qualified to give one, anyhow. I wish, it may provide a food for thought.

Surah 40, Ayah 46:

(Continued from the previous. We were deliberating last month on the Quranic teachings on al-Barzakh; the same topic is resumed today.

 There are many verses in our Holy Book which indicate that during the period between his Death and Resurrection humans are endowed with a sort of life in which he speaks, has feelings of pleasure and pain and can enjoy a sort of happy life.  These verses may be divided into several categories.

1. First, there are verses which quote some conversations between the righteous or the wicked men on the one hand and the angels on the other. These conversations take place immediately after death. Such verses are many. I had cited two in the previous installment, namely: 

"So that I may do good in that which I have left behind!" No! It is but a word that he speaks, and behind them is Barzakh (a barrier) until the Day when they will be resurrected.⁶ 

“Indeed, those whom the angels take [in death] while wronging themselves - [the angels] will say, "In what [condition] were you?" They will say, "We were oppressed in the land." The angels will say, "Was not the earth of Allah spacious [enough] for you to emigrate therein?" For those, their refuge is Hell - and evil it is as a destination.”¹²    

(ii) Second, there are other verses in the Quran wherein the angels talk to the righteous and tell them to enjoy the bounties of Allah from that time onward. It sounds as if they do not keep them waiting for the Day of Resurrection. The following two verses illustrate this point:

“It was said to him (after his death): Enter paradise. He said: "Would that my people knew that my Lord had pardoned me and made me of the honoured ones: "For that my Lord has granted me Forgiveness and has enrolled me among those held in honour!"¹⁴      

It is pertinent to note that Immediately following his martyrdom, this man was given the good news of Paradise. As soon as he entered the Next World through the gate of death, there were the angels to receive him, and they gave him the good news that Paradise was awaiting him. It obviously contradicts the basic notion of the day of judgement. Even the commentators appear to be disputing the meaning of this ayah. Qatadah says, "AIlah admitted him into Paradise straightway and he is living in it and receiving his sustenance. On the other hand Mujahid states, "This was told him by the angels as a good news; he will enter Paradise on the day of Resurrection along with the other believers." 

Maudoodi has commented prudently on the other significance of this ayah: “This verse also is one of those verses which clearly prove the existence of barzakh. This shows that the period of time between death and Resurrection is not a period of non-existence altogether, as some ignorant people think. But in this period the spirit lives without the body, speaks and hears speech, has feelings and desires, feels happy and unhappy, and also continues to be concerned about the people of the world. Had it not been so, the believer would not have been given the good news of Paradise after death, and he could not have wished that his people became aware of his good end.” 

The second ayah as an example of this category (quoted earlier):¹¹     

 “(Namely) those whose lives the angels take in a state of purity, saying (to them), "Peace be on you; enter ye the Garden, because of (the good) which ye did (in the world)."   

I have found one interesting explanation by a scholar for this apparent contradiction of announcing the verdict of Jannah  before the day of Judgement: “Incidentally it may be noted that for the righteous after their death there are several paradises, not one single paradise. In the next world they vary according to degree of their inmates' proximity to Allah. Besides these paradises, there are some other paradises, as reported by the chosen descendants of the Holy Prophet which relate to the world of Barzakh, not to the Day of Judgement. Hence the paradise mentioned in the above quoted two verses should not give the wrong impression that it relates to the Day of Judgement.”

(iii) Third, there are a  group of verses that do not report any conversation between the angels and the men. They describe the happy life of the righteous and the miserable life of the wicked during the period between death and Resurrection. Thus they stand out as Quranic proof for the life in Barzakh.The following verses belong to this category:

(a) And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision. They rejoice in the bounty provided by Allah: And with regard to those left behind, who have not yet joined them (in their bliss), the (Martyrs) glory in the fact that on them is no fear, nor have they (cause to) grieve.¹⁵ 

(b)The ayah of the month under discussion here ( Surah 40/46) is another example. Interpreting this verse, Hazrat Ali has said “that the first punishment is meted out in the Barzakh where the same system of morning, evening, year and month prevails as in this world. In contrast, the second punishment relates to the post-Resurrection world where there is no morning, evening, week, month or year.”  Mufti Mahmood quotes  Abdullah Ibn Masud to explain this verse: "Spirits of people from the House of Pharaoh are presented before the Jahannam in the form of black birds, twice every day, morning and evening, and by pointing out to the Jahannam, it is said to them: This is your abode." He further adds that “this verse is a proof of punishment in graves.” I must point out that this is the verdict of the hadith literature. The Quran is not vocal about punishment in grave.

(c)And do not say about those who are killed in the way of Allah , "They are dead." Rather, they are alive, but you perceive [it] not.^15a   

The very moment of death itself starts the life of barzakh. With the approach of death, a believer is pleased because he is about to meet his Lord. His soul departs with ease, emitting beautiful odors that delight the angels. A disbeliever on the other hand, is terrified to realise that his great punishment is imminent. His soul is “extracted” from his body. The Quran declares: 

“And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah or says, "It has been inspired to me," while nothing has been inspired to him, and one who says, "I will reveal [something] like what Allah revealed." And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the overwhelming pangs of death while the angels extend their hands, [saying], "Discharge your souls! Today you will be awarded the punishment of [extreme] humiliation for what you used to say against Allah other than the truth and [that] you were, toward His verses, being arrogant."¹⁶ 

The Quran declares repeatedly that the living have no way of communicating with the dead e.g.: 

“Indeed, you will not make the dead hear, nor will you make the deaf hear the call when they have turned their backs retreating” and 

“And not equal are the living and the dead. Indeed, Allah causes to hear whom He wills, but you cannot make hear those in the graves” and again 

“They are, [in fact], dead, not alive, and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected.”¹⁷       

In contrast there is the well known Hadith of the Ditch¹⁸ wherein our beloved Prophet addresses the bodies of dead kuffar in there graves at Badr on the third day. According to one report this is a week hadith. However even those who regard it as Sahih regard this as a miracle and therefore cannot be used to form a general rule.

 The dead cannot hear us, so it seems. Can they benefit from our deeds, though?  Allah Ta’aala has declared repeatedly that man will get only what he strives for: 

“That man can have nothing but what he strives for.”¹⁹     

“And to all are (assigned) degrees according to the deeds which they (have done), and in order that (Allah) may recompense their deeds, and no injustice be done to them.”^19a   

“That is a nation which has passed on. It will have [the consequence of] what it earned, and you will have what you have earned. And you will not be asked about what they used to do.”^19b  

“Whoever does good, it is for his own soul, and whoever does evil, it is against it; and your Lord is not in the least unjust to the servants.”^19c   

Thus the Quran is stating in fact that the present life is the season for cultivation or effort, and the life after death will be the period of harvest or the result. This life, is for creating causes for effects in the hereafter. As one sows now, so then shall he reap. Commenting on first ayah, Ibn Kathir said:  “Imam Shafi’i concluded from this Ayah that reciting Quran does not benefit the dead, because it is not from their doing and earning. For this reason, Allah’s Messenger did not recommend it to his Ummah, encourage them to do it, or guide them to do it with a text or a hint. Nor was such a thing reported from any of the sahabah. Had this been any good, they would have preceded us in doing it. Matters of worship must be limited to the texts, and are not liable to modifications base on analogies and opinions.”(Emphasis is mine)

The Qur’an clearly states that each and every human being will be judged and compensated (tormented or rewarded) for his own deeds performed during his life. So each individual will reap the harvest of what he had sown in this world.

Not withstanding this general rule that one cannot benefit from other people’s deeds after death, the following activities on our part, God willing can help our departed souls:

Janazah prayer

Deeds of renewed benefit

Charitable deeds from a child

Fulfilling the deceased vows

Payment of his debts

Supplications of the Muslims

Guarding in Allah’s way

Reviving the Sunnah

Ibn Taymiyyah said: “It was not the practice of the Salf, when they performed a voluntary prayer, fasting, hajj or Quranic recitation, to dedicate the rewards of that to the dead Muslims. Thus one should not abandon the way of the Salf, because it is better and more complete.”

I have come across a methodical and balanced description of the life in Barzakh by a Shia Aalim. It makes very good but rather a lengthy reading.²⁰  

Sleep and dreams seem to have a significant place in our theology. Apart from the dreams of Prophets and Saints, those of a “buzurgh”-- pious Muslim -- are often quoted as a source of proof in matters of Islamic Law. It invariably comes up in discussions of the life in al-barzakh; and I am following the same pattern. As Yousuf Ali puts it “ In poetic imagery, Sleep is "twin-brother to Death." What is the basis for this view? It is the Quranic verdict in the following verse: 

“It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death; and those that die not (He takes) during their sleep: those on whom He has passed the decree of death, He keeps back (from returning to life), but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed verily in this are Signs for those who reflect.”²¹   

 In other words our nightly sleep, besides performing the function of rest to our physical life, gives us a foretaste of what we call death and that our daily rising from Sleep is probably as wonderful as our Resurrection. A special type of Dream needs to be mentioned. It should be emphasized that this is rare.  Here the dreamer sees things as they actually happen or comes on some spiritual truth. Yousuf Ali explains this phenomenon thus: “It is suggested that our soul or personality - that something which is above our animal life - is then in a plane of spiritual existence akin to physical death, when we are nearer to God. The hadith literature reads much more into this ayah; more about it later.

May Allah Ta’aala Subhahoo guide me to correctly summarise the features of the life in Barzakh as gleaned from studying some exegesis --tafaseers -- of the Holy Quran on this subject and a literature search in the Web.  I usually consult the tafaaseers of Dr. Mohammed Asad and Yousuf Ali -- modern scholars (not to be confused with Western), Maudoodi -- conservative/modern scholar and lastly Muti Mohammed Shafi --  conservative and traditional scholar ( who allows a woman to expose only one eye when she is forced to venture out of her home in her head to foot burqua.) This gives me a wide spectrum of Muslim scholarly opinion on any topic. 

The image of the al-Barzakh as visualised in the light of the Holy Quran:

• The existence in barzakh starts right at the beginning of the process of death itself.
• The soul is separated from the body and immediately leaves for the universe of Barzakh; the grave serves as the place for a hygienic disposal of the physical body.
• The angels have already been briefed about fate of the deceased.
• Hence the process of death itself is either simply pleasant or very painful.
• During sleep the soul leaves the body and travels to barzakh.
• There is a conversation between the angels and the deceased.
• The (soul of) deceased is aware of the world, inquires about it and gets a response from the angels.
• The dead cannot hear what takes place in the world.
• The deceased is made fully aware of heaven and hell and gets a good idea of his place on the day of judgement.
• The deceased enjoys either the bliss of a happy dream or the torment of a nightmare.
• There is no mention of Munkar or Nakeer in the Quran or their interrogation in the grave.

TO BE CONTINUED

We will discuss next time the Hadith Literature on al-Barzakh

.....and Allah knows best. 

May Allah Ta’aala bless us with true understanding--“fahm”--of our Deen, Aameen.

FOOTNOTES:

(6) Surah 23/100

(11) Surah 16/32

(12) Surah 4/97

(14( Surah 36/26-27

(15) Surah 3/169-170

Surah 2/154

(16) Surah 6/93:

(17) Surah 30/52

        Sruah 35/22

        Surah 16/21

(18) The Ditch of Badr: Ibn Umar, Abu Talha and Anas (combined report) reported that, after the battle of Badr, the Prophet commanded his followers to cast twenty four of the most disdainful among the dead of the Quraysh into a very filthy ditch in Badr. Then, as was his practice after victory, he spent three nights in the neighborhood of the battle ground. On the third day, he had his animal prepared for departure, and then went and stood with his companions at the verge of the ditch. He called out the dead men with their names and the names of the parent saying: “ Oh such and such, son of such and such! O such and such, son of such and such!... Don’t you wish that you had obeyed Allah and HIS Messenger? Indeed we have found our Lord’s promise to us true; have you found your Lord’s promise true?  Whereupon Umer (and others) exclaimed, “ Are you addressing them after having been dead for three nights, and when these bodies have no souls in them? Can they hear? Allah says: “ Verily, you cannot make the dead hear you.” He replied: “ By HIM in whose hand is Muhammed’s soul, They can hear me NOW; and you cannot hear what I am saying better than they can! But they cannot respond. “

(19) Surah 53/59

  (19a) Surah 46/19

(19b) Surah 2/141

(19c)

(20) There are three groups in Barzakh:

The true perfect believers;

The confirmed unbelievers and hypocrites;

Those who are neither perfect believers nor confirmed unbelievers.

1. The true believers:

This group of people are perfect in their Faith and virtuous in their deeds. They lived a blameless life, and if there was some mistake or sin, their worldly troubles like, illness, poverty, death of near and dear ones, troublesome neighbours, and/or agony at the time of Death were sufficient to be counted as-payment for the sins they committed.

Allah knows that they deserve reward; but since the Day of Judgement has not yet come, they cannot be sent to Paradise. By the rule of the law they should be left without any reward until they are resurrected; but by the Mercy of Allah, they are questioned about their beliefs and on giving correct answers, they enter a state of Bliss, which gives them the satisfaction of knowing that their future is secure. They find pleasure and happiness in their grave and wait eagerly for the Day of Resurrection.

2. The confirmed unbelievers and hypocrites:

These are the people whose lives were devoid of good deeds, or if there were any good deeds performed, the worldly blessings of health, wealth, good family and friends, prestige and power, etc and/or the ease at the time of death were sufficient rewards.

Allah knows that there place is in Hell; but He does not send them there before the Day of Judgement. So, to give a fore-taste of their punishment, they are questioned about their beliefs, and when they do not give correct answers, their graves are turned into cells of punishment; and they wish that the Day of Judgement would not come at all.

Note:

The reward or punishment of Barzakh is different from that of Paradise or Hell. The reward or punishment of Barzakh is for the Soul only. It is for this reason that we do not see anyone being rewarded or punished in the grave. In the tradition of Ma'soumin (AS) it has been compared to happy dreams or nightmares.

3. Neither perfect believers nor confirmed believers:

These are the children, the insane, those who for some reason or another could not differentiate the right path from the wrong path, those who were so far out of the Islamic Environment that they were not aware of the truth of Islam, those who did not know about Islam but yet were not enemies of Islam, those whose religious beliefs were not based upon logical understanding but just followed what their families were following, those nonbelievers who love the Holy Prophet (S) and the Ahlul-Bayt (AS) without knowing that they were the True Guides sent by Allah.

Such people will not be subjected to the questioning and squeezing in the grave. They will left in a state like deep slumber, and Allah will decide about them on the Day of Judgement. Until then, there is neither reward nor punishment for them.

After these main groups, there still remains a group in between.

This group is of those believers who had committed so many sins that could not be wiped out by the worldly troubles and agony of death. If Allah decides that such a believer should come on the Day of Judgement clean from all blemishes and free from all sins, then He may put him under punishment during Barzakh. It is this punishment which has been referred to in the Hadith by Imam Ja'far as-Sadeq (AS):

"We will intercede on your behalf on the day of judgement but, by Allah, I am worried about you whilst you would be in Barzakh."

On the other hand, if Allah decides to leave this case in suspense until the Day of Judgement, then it will fall under the third group.

All these things depend upon the justice and mercy of Allah. We have not been told enough to know all the details about all the groups. It is about the 1st, 2nd and last group of people who will be punished in Barzakh, that the Holy prophet (S) has said:

"When one dies, his Day of Judgement starts."

(21) Surah 39/42