Belief in Life After Death
- From: ISLAM - THE SOLUTION OF MODERN PROBLEMS <faris.bila.jawad@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2007 08:57:28 -0700
Towards Understanding Islam
Belief in Life After Death
The fifth article of Islamic Faith is belief in life after death. The
Prophet Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) has
directed us to believe in resurrection after death and in the Day of
Judgement. The essential ingredients of this belief, as taught to us
by him, are as follows:
That the life of this world and of all that is in it will come to an
end on an appointed day. Everything will be annihilated. That day is
called Qiyamah, i.e. the Last Day.
That all the human being's who have lived in the world since its
inception will then be restored to life and will be presented before
God Who will sit in judgement on that day. This is called Hashr
(Resurrection).
That the entire record of every man and woman - of all their doings
and misdoings - will be presented before God for final judgement.
That one who excels in goodness will be rewarded; one whose evils and
wrongs outweigh his good deeds will be punished.
That those who emerge successful in this judgement will go to Paradise
and the doors of eternal bliss will be opened to them; those who are
condemned and deserve punishment will be sent to Hell - the abode of
fire and torture.
The Need of this Belief
Belief in life after death has always been an integral part of the
teachings of the Prophets. Every Prophet asked his followers to
believe in it, in the same way as the last of the Prophets, Muhammad
(blessings of Allah and peace be upon him), has asked us to do. This
has always been an essential condition of being a Muslim. All Prophets
have categorically declared that one who does not believe in it, or
casts doubts on it, is a Kafir. This is so because denial of life
after death makes all other beliefs meaningless. This denial also
destroys the very sanction for a good life and man is driven to a life
of ignorance and disbelief. A little reflection makes this quite
clear.
In your everyday life, whenever you are asked to do anything, you
immediately think: what is the use of doing it and what harm is
involved in not doing it? This is in the very nature of man. He
instinctively regards a useless action as totally unnecessary. You
will never be willing to waste your time and energy in useless and
unproductive jobs. Similarly, you will not be very eager to avoid a
thing that is harmless. And the general rule is that the deeper your
conviction about the utility of a thing, the firmer will be your
response to it; and the more doubtful you are about its efficacy, the
more wavering will be your attitude. After all, why does a child put
his hand into fire? Because he is not sure that fire burns. Why does
he evade study? Because he does not fully grasp the importance and
benefits of education and does not believe in what his elders try to
impress on his mind.
Now think of the man who does not believe in the Day of Judgement.
Will he not consider belief in God and a life in accordance with His
code of no consequence? What value will he attach to a life in pursuit
«f His pleasure? To him neither obedience to God is of any advantage,
nor disobedience to Him of any harm. How, then, can it be possible for
him to scrupulously follow the injunctions of God, His Prophet, and
His Book? What incentive will there be for him to undergo trials and
sacrifices and to avoid worldly pleasures? And if a man does not
follow the code of God and lives according to his own likes and
dislikes, of what use is his belief in the existence of God, if indeed
he has any such belief? That is not all. If you reflect still deeper,
you will come to the conclusion that belief in life after death is the
most decisive factor in the life of a man. Its acceptance or rejection
determines the very course of his life and behaviour.
A man who has in view success or failure in this world alone will be
concerned with immediate benefits and ills. He will not be prepared to
undertake any good act if he has no hope of gaining thereby some
worldly interest, nor will he be keen to avoid any wrong act if it is
not injurious to his interests in this world.
But a man who believes in the next world as well and is convinced of
the final consequences of his acts will look on all worldly gains and
losses as temporary and transitory and will not put his eternal bliss
at stake for a passing gain. He will look on things in their wider
perspective and always keep the permanent benefit or harm in view. He
will do the good, however costly it may be to him in terms of worldly
gains, or however injurious it may be to his immediate interests: and
he will avoid the wrong, however tempting it may look. He will judge
things from the viewpoint of their eternal consequences and not
according to his whims and caprices.
Thus there is a radical difference between the beliefs, approaches and
lives of the two persons. One's idea of a good act is limited to
whether in this brief temporary life it will bring gain in the shape
of money, property, public applause and similar other things which
give him position, power, reputation and worldly happiness. Such
things become his objectives in life. Fulfillment of his own wishes
and self-aggrandizement become the be-all and end-all of his life. And
he does not draw back even from cruel and unjust means to achieve his
ends. Similarly, his conception of a wrong act is one, which may
involve a risk or injury to his interests in this world such as loss
of property and life, harming of health, blackening of reputation or
some other unpleasant consequence.
In contrast to this man, the believer's concept of good and evil will
be quite different. To him all that pleases God is good and all that
invokes His displeasure and wrath is evil. A good act, according to
him, will remain good even if it brings no benefit to him in this
world, or even entails loss of some worldly possession or injury to
his -personal interests. He will be confident that God will reward him
in the eternal life and will be the real success. Similarly, he will
not fall prey to evil deeds merely for some worldly gain, for he knows
that even if he escapes punishment in his short worldly life, in the
end he will be the loser because he will not be able to escape
punishment from the court of God. He does not believe in the
relativity of morals but sticks to the absolute standards revealed by
God and lives according to them irrespective of gain or injury in this
world.
Thus it is the belief or disbelief in life after death, which makes
man adopt different courses in life. For one who does not believe in
the Day of Judgement it is absolutely impossible to fashion his life
as suggested by Islam.
Islam says "In the way of God give charity (zakah) to the poor." His
answer is: "No zakah will lessen my wealth: I will, instead, take
interest on my money," And in its collection he will not hesitate to
take everything belonging to the debtors however poor or hungry they
may be. Islam says: "Always speak the truth and shun lying, though you
may gain ever so much by lying and lose ever so much by speaking the
truth." But his reply will be "Well, what shall I do with a truth
which is of no use to me here, and which instead brings loss to me;
and why should I avoid lying where it can bring benefit to me without
any risk, even that of a bad name?" He visits a lonely place and finds
a precious metal lying there; in such a situation Islam says: "This is
not your property, do not take it," but he would say: "This is a thing
I have come by without any cost or trouble; why should I not have it?
There is no one to see me pick this up, no one who might report it to
the police or give evidence against me in a court of law, or give me a
bad name among the people. Why should I not make use of this
valuable?" Someone secretly keeps a deposit with this man, and
eventually he dies. Islam says: "Be honest with the property deposited
with you and give it over to the heirs of the deceased." He says:
"Why? There is no evidence of his property being with me; his children
also have no knowledge of it. When I can appropriate it without any
difficulty, without any fear of legal claim, or stain on my
reputation, why should I not do so?"
In short, at every step in life, Islam will direct him to walk in a
certain direction and adopt a certain attitude and course of
behaviour; but he will go in the opposite direction. For Islam
measures and values everything from the viewpoint of its eternal
consequence; while such a person always has in view only the immediate
and earthly outcome. Now, you can understand why a man cannot be a
Muslim without belief in the Day of Judgement. To be a Muslim is d
very great thing; the fact is that one cannot even become a good man
without this belief, for the denial of the Day of Judgement degrades
man from humanity to a place even lower than that of the lowest of
animals.
Life After Death: A Rational Vindication
So far we have discussed the need and importance of belief in the Day
of Judgement. Now let us consider how far the constituents of the
belief are rationally understandable. The fact is that whatever
Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) has told us about
life after death is clearly borne out by reason. Although our belief
in that Day is based on our implicit trust in the Messenger of God,
rational reflection not only confirms this belief but also reveals
that Muhammad's (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) teachings
in this respect are much more reasonable and understandable than any
other viewpoint about life after death.
The following viewpoints are found about life after death:
1.Some people say that there is nothing left of man after death, and
that after this life-ending event there is no other life. According to
these people, belief in life after death has no reality. They say it
is scientifically impossible. This is the view of the atheists who
also claim to be scientific in their approach and bring in Western
science to support their arguments.
2.Other people maintain that man, in order to bear the consequences of
his deeds, is repeatedly regenerated in this world. If he lives a bad
life, he will assume in the next generation the shape of some animal,
such as a dog or a cat, or some tree or some lower kind of man. If his
acts have been good, he will be reborn as a man into a higher class.
This viewpoint is found in some Eastern religions.
3.There is a third viewpoint which calls for belie!' in the Day of
Judgement, the Resurrection, man's presence in the Divine Court, and
the meting out of reward and punishment. This is the common belief of
all the Prophets.
Now let us consider these viewpoints one by one.
The first group, which arrogates to itself the authority and support
of science, alleges that there is no life after death. They say that
they have never seen anybody coming back from the dead. After death a
man is reduced to dust; therefore, death is the end of life and there
is no life after death. But consider this reasoning: is this really a
scientific argument? Is the claim really founded on reason? If they
have not seen a single case of revival after death, they can only say
that they do not know what will happen after death. But, instead of
remaining within this limit, they declare that nothing will happen
after death, at the same time alleging that they speak out of
knowledge! In fact they merely generalize on ignorance. Science tells
us nothing - negative or positive - in this respect and their
assertion that life after death has no existence is totally unfounded.
Their claim is not dissimilar to the claim of an ignoramus who has not
seen an aeroplane and on that 'knowledge' proclaims that aeroplanes do
not exist at all! Because somebody has not seen a thing, it does not
mean that that thing does not exist. No man, not even the whole of
humanity, if it has not seen a thing, can claim that such a thing does
not, or car-not, exist. This claim is out and out unscientific. No
reasonable man can give it any weight.
Now look at the beliefs of the second group. According to them, a
human being is a human being because in his previous animal form he
had done good deeds; and an animal is an animal because previously as
a human being he had behaved badly. In other words, to be a man or an
animal is the consequence of one's deeds in one's former form. One may
well ask "Which of them existed first, man or animal?" If they say man
preceded animal, then they will have to accept that he must have been
an animal before that, and was given a human form for its good deeds.
If they say it was animal they will have to concede that there must
have been before that a man who was transformed into an animal for his
bad deeds. This leads to a vicious circle; the advocates of this
belief cannot settle on any form for the first creature, for every
generation implies a preceding generation so that the succeeding
generation may be considered as the consequence of the former. This is
simply absurd.
Now consider the third viewpoint. Its first proposition is: that "this
world will one day come to an end. God will destroy and annihilate the
universe, and in its place will evolve another higher and far superior
cosmos."
This statement is undeniably true. No doubt can be cast on it. The
more we reflect on the nature of the cosmos, the more clearly it is
proved that the existing system is not permanent and everlasting: all
the forces working in it are limited in their nature, and will one day
be exhausted. That is why the scientists agree that one day the sun
will become cold and will give up all its energy, stars will collide
with one another and the whole system of the universe will be upset
and destroyed. Moreover, if evolution is true in the case of the
constituents of this universe, why may it not be true for the whole of
it? To think of the universe becoming totally non-existent is more
improbable than that it will pass into another evolutionary stage, and
another, much-improved order of things will emerge.
The second proposition of this belief is that "man will again be given
life". Is it impossible? If so, how did the present life of man
become possible? It is evident that God Who created man in this world
can do so in the next. Not only is it a possibility, it is also a
positive necessity, as will be shown later.
The third proposition is that "the record of all the actions of man in
this world is preserved and will be presented on the Day of
Resurrection". The proof of the truth of this proposition is provided
today by science itself. The sounds, which we make, produce slight
waves in the air and die out. It has been discovered that the sound
leaves its impression on its surrounding objects and can be
reproduced. Gramophone records are made on this principle. From this
it can be understood that the record of every movement of man is being
impressed on everything, which comes into contact with the waves
produced by the movements. This shows that the record of all our deeds
is completely preserved and can be reproduced.
The fourth proposition is that "on the Day of Resurrection. God will
hold His Court and, with just judgement, reward or punish man for his
good and bad deeds". What is unreasonable about this? Reason itself
demands that God should hold His court and pronounce judgement. We see
men doing good deeds and gaining nothing in this world. We see other
men doing bad deeds and not suffering for it. Not only this, we see
thousands of cases of good acts bringing trouble on the doer, and of
bad deeds resulting in the happiness and gratification of the guilty
person. When we notice these events happening every day, our reason
and sense of justice demand that a time must come when the man who
does good must be rewarded and the one who does evil must be punished.
If you have a tin of petrol and a match- box, you can set fire to the
house of your opponent, and apparently escape every consequence. Does
this mean that such an offence has no consequences at all? Certainly
not! It means only that its physical outcome has appeared, and the
moral outcome is hidden. Do you really think it reasonable that it
should never appear? If you say it should, the question is, where?
Certainly not in this world, where only the physical consequences of
actions manifest themselves fully, and rational and moral consequences
do not become apparent.
Results and consequences of this higher category can appear only if
there comes into existence another order of things wherein rational
and moral laws reign supreme and occupy the governing position and
where the physical laws are made subject to them. That is the next
world, which, as we have said before, is the next evolutionary stage
of the universe. It is evolutionary in the sense that it will be
governed by moral rather than by physical laws. The rational
consequences of man's actions, which are hidden wholly or partly in
this world, will then appear. Man's stature will be determined by his
rational and moral worth judged in accordance with his conduct in this
life of test and trial. There you will not find a worthy man serving
under a fool, or a morally superior man in a position inferior to a
wretch, as is the case in this world.
The last proposition of this belief is the existence of Paradise and
Hell, which is also not impossible. If God can make the sun, the moon,
the stars and the earth, why should He not be able to make Paradise
and Hell? When He holds His Court, and pronounces just judgments,
rewarding the meritorious and punishing the guilty, there must be a
place where the meritorious may enjoy their reward - honour, happiness
and gratification of all kinds - and another place where the condemned
may feel debasement, pain and misery.
After considering all these questions, no reasonable person can escape
the conclusion that belief in life after death is highly acceptable to
reason and commonsense, and that there is nothing in it, which can be
said to be unreasonable or impossible. Moreover, when a true Prophet
like Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) has stated
this to be a fact, and it involves nothing but what is good for us,
wisdom lies in believing in it implicitly and not in rejecting it
without any sound reasons.
The above are the five articles of faith, which form the foundation
for the superstructure of Islam. Their gist is contained in the short
sentence known as Kalimah-tayyibah. When you declare La illaha
illallah (there is no deity but Allah), you give up all false deities,
and profess that you are a creature of the One God; and when you add
to these words Muhammad-ur-Rasulullah (Muhammad is Allah's Messenger)
you confirm and admit the Prophethood of Muhammad (blessings of Allah
and peace be upon him). With the admission of his Prophethood it
becomes obligatory that you should believe in the divine nature and
attributes of God, in His angels, in His Revealed Books and in life
after death, and earnestly follow that method of obeying God and
worshipping Him which the Prophet Muhammad (blessings of Allah and
peace be upon him) has asked us to follow. That way lies the road to
success and salvation,
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