A. World of earning
This is the present life where one accumulates merit or demerit for his deeds. The Qur’ān (84:6) says, “O man! To the degree that you strive to obey God you will in the end meet your Creator” (cited in Lari, 1992, p. 36). According to two studies (Lari, 1992; Ahmad, 1996) good or bad effects of one’s deeds will act as “poison or panacea” on him in the hereafter (Lari, 1992, p. 143). The “bliss or burden” felt when carrying out an act disappears but it leaves an impression on the heart (p. 150). One cannot escape punishment in the afterlife. Present life is riddled with tests of Allah, who guides people by “showing the good way as well as the one that leads [them] astray” (Sakr, 2001, p. 18). One who corrupts his soul through evils like deceit, immorality and rejection of faith will be punished severely on Judgement Day.
Death is the “opening of the gates of eternity” (Lari, 1992, p.15). Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi recites,
O you who attempt to flee death in your fear, It is yourself that you fear - use your intelligence! It is your countenance that is ugly, not the visage of death; Your soul is a tree on which death is the leaf. (cited in Lari, 1992, p. 18)
When one’s relationship with God weakens and he starts to “distance himself from a firm rooting in faith, the entirety of his being becomes a hunting ground for demons who rob him of all virtue, piety, and the capacity for salvation” (Lari, 1992, p. 153). Therefore, his “ultimate aim and desire” should be to seek “the ultimate perfection” achievable by man, “which is the attainment of union with the sublime origin of all being” (Lari, 1992, p. 36).
B. Intermediate state
This state is known as Barzakh. Here, the soul lives in “another phase of existence” (Haeri, 1997, p. 24) which “falls between present life and resurrection” (Ahmad, 1996, p. 152). The soul departs from the body and is held at Isthmus, a “storage place” for souls. Then, the soul returns to the grave to be questioned by two angels, Munkir and Nakir. They will question regarding Allah, belief in Islam, one’s way of life and other questions to test one’s virtues and piety. If one is righteous, one will be shown heaven. If not, one will be shown hell and tormented in one’s grave.
C. Resurrection
They will blow on the trumpet and everything in the heavens and the earth will be swallowed up by death, save only that which God wishes to preserve. Then another trumpet blast will be sounded and all creatures will suddenly rise up to behold the plain of resurrection.(cited in Lari, 1992, p. 126)
This is how the Qur’ān (39:68) describes resurrection. The first sounding of the trumpet signals every living being to drop dead and the second sounding restores life for everyone to awaken. The trumpet’s function is to call for “universal death” and “universal revival” (Lari, 1992, p. 128). Before resurrection, comes the end of the world. According to the Qur’ān (81:1-6), “When the sun (with its spacious light) is folded up; When the stars fall, losing their luster; When the mountains vanish (like a mirage)” (cited in Sakr, 2001, p. 73) only Allah remains. After forty years, He resurrects all. The Qur’ān illustrates this by saying,
And We send down from the sky rain charted with blessing, and We produce therewith gardens and grain for harvests . . . and We give (new) life therewith to land that is dead: thus will be the resurrection. (cited in Sakr, 2001, p. 82)
III. Judgement Day: Accounting for one’s deeds
With resurrection comes Judgement Day which emphasizes on the Qur’ān’s tenacious stress on the “ultimate moral responsibility and accountability of each believer” (Esposito, 1998, p. 30). Mankind will be led in groups naked to an “uninterrupted plain devoid of any irregularity” where none can escape Allah’s vision (Al-Ghazālī, 1995, p. 177). The blazing sun will make the tightly packed congregation perspire in the sweltering heat according to their sins to atone for the duties they failed to perform. Supporting information in a study by Muslim, he says “some will have sweat up to their ankles . . . and others will have it up to their mouths” (cited in Sakr, 2001, p. 90). The intensity of a sinner’s suffering will be so unbearable that he will request to be sent to hell rather than undergo this torture. The concept of punishment is imminently significant in Islam. All will stand before Him in humility and be answerable for their deeds. Each will be issued his “Book of Records” which chronicles all his actions and intentions and this book is testament to how he led his life. A righteous person will receive the book in his right hand to indicate that Allah is pleased with him. A sinner will receive it in his left hand (Sakr, 2001, p. 101).
Everyone is then interrogated about the way they lived. There is no “intercession”, “prejudice” nor “favoritism” in the judgement (p. 97). In two different works (Hamid, 1996; Sakr, 2001), it is said that nobody can hide their misdeeds since their own “biological organs” testify against them. Similarly, the Qur’ān (24:24) states,
“Their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against them as to their actions” (cited in Sakr, 2001, p. 98). Allah will grant our organs the ability of speech and as mentioned earlier the “bliss or burden” of our actions would have left impressions on all these organs, so they will be able to bear witness. Allah will condemn those who failed to abide by His laws to jahannam. The Qur’ān (9:79) says,
Those who on account of their own evil nature find fault with the contributions of obedient believers, who mock those who do not grudge spending in the way of God whatever they are able, -- God mocks them and He will punish them; a painful torment will be theirs. (cited in Lari, 1992, p. 192)
The Qur’ān (23:102-4) also says that a person whose “scales are heavy” with good deeds are “prosperers” while one whose “scales are light” has “lost [his] soul in [jahannam] dwelling forever” (cited in Coward, 1997, p. 59). After the harrowing interrogation, all will have to walk over the “Bridge of Hell” or the Al- Sirat (Sakr, 2001, p. 108). The path could be very wide for one and very narrow for another. If the path is narrow when one is crossing and he fears hell, angels will either “dump him [in] Hell” (p. 108) or “guide his path” for safe-crossing to heaven. Al-Ghazālī describes the Al-Sirat:
Sharper than sword and more subtle than hair. He who treads on straight and right path in this world will cross it easily and will get salvation. He who is misguided and saddled with sins will slip therefrom at the first step and will fall down into Jahannam (Hell). (cited in Sakr, 2001, pp. 108-109)
The Qur’ān (19:71-72) says that by Allah’s “decree”, nobody escapes passing over hell (Sakr, 2001, p. 112). Only the righteous will be saved from falling into the wrath of the raging fire. The terrified sinners then embark on their “[march] along the ‘Path of Hell’ (sirāt al-jahim)” where they will meet with the wrath of the “Blaze” (Coward, 1997, p. 60). Said Prophet Muhammad,
There is no creature that will not be overtaken by remorse and regret on the day of resurrection, but regret will be of no avail. When the blessed look upon paradise and the infinite bounties that God has prepared for the pure and the Godfearing, they will regret not having performed righteous deeds equal to theirs. As for the wretched, the people of hellfire, they will groan and lament when they see the fire and hear its roar, and they will regret not having atoned for their sins while still in the world.
(cited in Lari, 1992, pp. 210-211)
IV. The chastisement of jahannam
Those condemned to jahannam will yearn for Allah’s absolute love. The sinners will be tormented to an extent unimaginable by mankind. Esposito cites the Qur’ān (18:29), explaining what the “unbelievers” go through: “a fire whose sheets encompass them. If they should ask for relief, then water like molten copper shall be showered upon them to scald their faces. How awful is such a drink and how evil a resting place” (p. 31).
There are different categories of hell where depending upon the sins committed, one could both be banished to jahannam and deprived of Allah’s love for eternity or stay for a period of time till he atones for his sins and earns Allah’s mercy. Similarly, both Sakr and Al-Ghazālī profess that there are seven gates in hell. Al-Ghazālī explains that seven is the “number of the parts with which a man sins” (p. 222). The gates are positioned “one above the other”. The “uppermost” level is [the gate leading to] the “Inferno [Jahannam]”, followed by the “Blaze [Saqar]”, “Flame [Lazā]”, “Furnace [al-Hutama]”, “Fire [al-Sair]”, “Hellfire [al-Jahim] and “Abyss [al-Hawiya]” (Al-Ghazālī, 1995, p. 222). He explains the significance of the infinite depth of the “Abyss” by likening it to that of man’s countless “desires of this world” (1995, p. 222). He also says that pain caused by fire is supreme which explains the blazing fire that consumes the condemned (p. 223).
Sakr explores the various tortures of jahannam. He says that the banished are repeatedly clubbed on their heads with “maces of iron” to experience “pain and humiliation” (p. 116). Sakr explains, that dwellers of jahannam are punished according to the intensity of their sins, by citing a verse from the Qur’ān (15:43-44) proclaiming hell as the “promised abode” for the sinners and unbelievers. “To it are seven gates: for each of those Gates is a (special) class (of sinners) assigned.
For example, one will be chained and hauled along boiling water on his face while another will be made to “drink boiling water” which will sever his intestines (Sakr, 2001, p. 116-117) The Qur’ān warns Muslims by saying, “Indeed, the friendship of Satan earns man perdition and misguidance” (cited in Lari, 1992, p. 210). In general, jahannam is the ultimate torture chamber that executes the most excruciating punishments. Lari (1992) appropriately articulates that these “chastisements function as alarm bells” to warn wrongdoers and cajole them into “reform[ing]” themselves “before it is too late” (p. 44).
V. The bliss of al-janna
God promises the believers, both women and men, that He will cause them to enter a paradise where rivers flow beneath the trees, and have them dwell in splendid palaces. He will also bestow on them His pleasure and satisfaction, which is greater and loftier than material bounties. This spiritual reward is, in truth, the supreme achievement for the pure (Qur’ān 9:72; cited in Lari, 1992, p.140).
Lari (1992) reinforces the reward of being in al-janna by saying that above all, man will “[attain] there the true object of his love” which is being with Allah (p. 148). Leading a righteous life and fulfilling one’s duties as a Muslim wholeheartedly, “merit[s] admission to [al-janna]” (Coward, 1997, p. 51). Unyielding belief in Islam and the “fear of God” are core aspects of righteousness (Lari, 1992, p. 193). Lari defines a good deed as one that develops from a “pure motive” which is done solely to please God and develop the individual morally (p. 190).
The studies of both Hamid and Malik show that there are different categories of heaven. Malik concedes there are seven heavens. “The seventh heaven [is] [t]he Garden of Firdaws - Jannat al Firdaws” (2002, par. 21).
Al-Ghazālī describes heaven as a beautiful garden where souls “rejoice, eating of its various foods, and quaffing its milk, wine and honey from rivers whose beds are of silver, whose pebbles are pearls . . . ” (1995, p. 233).
Just as sinners are tormented according to their varying degrees of sins, the blessed are rewarded according to their righteousness and resolute faith. As the seventh heaven is the closest to Allah and His infinite love, it is the ultimate recompense for leading a life in total submission and of unadulterated love for Him. This will be the paramount motivation to “[walk] in the path of [Allah]” (Coward, 1997, p.51).
VI. The consequence of choice
Man shapes his hereafter based on his positive and negative deeds in this life, so he should always be devoted to Allah in order to stay on His path. Lari says “whenever man falls into the pit of sin, he should immediately feel polluted by his act of rebellion against God” and reform before he gets “the stamp of perdition” (1992, p.167).
Man’s actions shall be weighed in Scales and a final consignment to Heaven or Hell shall be decreed . . . For the Godfearing shall be a triumph-gardens and vineyards, maidens for companions, and a cup overflowing. But man is not to forget that Hell lurks in ambush, a home for the profligate, where they shall abide for ages . . . (Winter, 1995, p. xiii)
(2700 words)
- References
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Esack, F. (1998). Qur’an, liberation and pluralism. Oxford: Oneworld.
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Pearl, D. (1987). A textbook on Muslim personal law. (2nd ed.). NH: Croom Helm.
Said, E. W. (1997). Covering Islam. NY: Vintage Books.
Fathimah Banu Hameed
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~ God is love and love is pure so I will wash my sins ashore~
