Chapter 8: Death and Afterlife
The Fixed Term
349. How many types of ajal (term, time, lifespan) are discussed in the Holy Qur’an?
Answer: The Qur’an mentions two types of ajal: One is called “specified term” (al-ajal al-musammá), which refers to the inevitable time of one’s death. Its unchanging nature can be deduced from matching the following verses: The specified term is with Him (); But what is with Allah shall last (). The other is called “conditional term” (al-ajal al-muʿallaq), which is subject to conditions like prayers, giving alms, and beneficence to blood relatives (ṣilat al-raḥim).
350. What is intended by the verse: The specified term is with Him ()?
Answer: “The specified term” is not subject to alteration, since God says: But what is with Allah shall last (). The specified term is also mentioned elsewhere in the Qur’an, such as: When their time (ahajluhum) comes, they shall not defer it by a single hour nor shall they advance it (, , ).
Death According to the Qur’an
351. What is the reality of death?
Answer: God has defined the reality of death in the verse: We have ordained death among you, and We are not to be outmaneuvered from replacing you with your likes and recreating you in [a realm] you do not know (). That is, God is not outmaneuvered by the means and causes. Humans are caused to die, will be replaced with their likes, and will be recreated in [a realm] which is unknown to them. Accordingly, death is recreation rather than annihilation, and the Angel of Death is in charge of conducting this process.
352. The Qur’an says: How can you be unfaithful to Allah, [seeing that] you were dead and He gave you life, then He will make you die, and then He shall bring you to life ()? Does this imply that human existence was preceded by non-existence?
Answer: Humans were “matter” rather than “non-existent.” Death, according to the Qur’an, does not mean turning to non-existence, but it means transition from one stage of existence to another, as reflected in the verse: We have ordained death among you, and We are not to be outmaneuvered from replacing you with your likes and recreating you in [a realm] you do not know. Certainly you have known the first genesis, then why do you not take admonition? (). In this verse, the first genesis refers to this world, and recreating you in [a realm] you do not know refers to the intermediate realm (barzakh).
353. Are we annihilated by death?
Answer: Death means being recreated or leaving one world for another, as reflected in the verses: We have ordained death among you, and We are not to be outmaneuvered from replacing you with your likes and recreating you in [a realm] you do not know. Certainly you have known the first genesis, then why do you not take admonition? ().
Elsewhere, the Qur’an narrates from the polytheists and those who denied the Resurrection: They say, “When we have been lost in the dust, shall we be indeed created anew?” (). They inquired about their resurrection after their death, when their bodies would decompose and scatter. God replies to them as follows: Say, “You will be taken away by the Angel of Death, who has been charged with you” (). These verses imply that you will be entrusted to the Angel of Death until the Day of Resurrection, and will be transferred to another world. You will not be annihilated by death, since your reality (indicated by the pronoun kum, “your”) lies in your everlasting soul. Whatever happens to your body, it does not affect your immaterial soul.
354. Is it the soul which leaves this realm for another?
Answer: It is whatever composes the reality of one as a human being.
355. Will the Angel of Death keep the souls until the Day of Resurrection?
Answer: This is stated in the verse:Say, “You will be taken away by the Angel of Death, who has been charged with you. Then you will be brought back to your Lord” ().
The Grave and the Intermediate Realm
356. God says regarding those who lose their lives in His cause: Do not suppose those who were slain in the way of Allah to be dead; rather they are living and provided for near their Lord (). How are they “living” when we see that they fall on the ground and lose their lives?
Answer: The verse means that they are near God and are divinely provided for, despite the fact that you see them dead on the ground. Further, mawt (death) in Qur’anic usage implies recreation and leaving one realm for another, which is not particular to martyrs. God says: We have ordained death among you, and We are not to be outmaneuvered (), which is then followed by: from replacing you with your likes and recreating you in [a realm] you do not know (). This implies that you will be recreated, or you will leave for another realm: a new realm of which you are unaware.
357. What is intended by the tradition, “The intermediate realm (barzakh) is in exclusively for those who are solely believers or disbelievers”?
Answer: The rest of this narration is: “and the rest will be left alone.” This is particular to being questioned in the grave; otherwise, the intermediate realm is in store for all people, as reflected in the Holy Qur’an. Questioning in the grave is rather brief [compared to questioning on the Day of Judgment]. The soul is prepared [for the transition], will be questioned, and then either a door to paradise or a door to hell will be opened to it. Hence it will either receive the fragrance and breeze of paradise, or it will be scorched by the flames and fire of hell.
358. It is narrated that being questioned in the grave is only particular to pure believers and pure disbelievers, but not others.
Answer: Yes, but there are also other narrations that talk about this as something universal.
359. What is intended by “those who have perfected belief to the utmost” and “those who have perfected disbelief to the utmost”?
Answer: It means those who are perfect believers and perfect disbelievers.
360. If so, then “those who have perfected belief to the utmost” would be only one person [that is, the imam].
Answer: Yet, there would be many instances for the case of disbelief.
361. Are these traditions reliable?
Answer: We cannot reject them because we have no counterargument against them; nor are we able to rely on them, since they are transmitted by only one transmitter. Such solo traditions are only reliable in matters of Islamic law and rituals (aḥkām). Otherwise, solo traditions are not authoritative, even though their chain of transmission may be authentic, unless they are accompanied by indubitable evidence, or are mass-transmitted (mutawātir).
362. Can we deduce the universality of the intermediate realm (barzakh) from verses such as: And ahead of them is a barrier until the day they will be resurrected ()?
Answer: Yes.
363. How should we interpret narrations about dictating (talqīn) the fundamentals of faith to the dead, like saying: “When you will be visited by the two angels…”?
Answer: These traditions also imply the universality of being questioned in the grave.
364. Can we say that some of the traditions about the intermediate realm contradict the universality implied in the Qur’an? For example, the narration which says, “the rest will be left alone” or the one about “those who have perfected belief to the utmost and those who have perfected disbelief to the utmost.”
Answer: “The rest will be left alone” implies that the intermediate realm awaits them, but they are left alone. Therefore, entering the intermediate realm is applicable to all people.
365. Will martyrs enter the intermediate realm? If not, how come we have traditions which describe Jaʿfar al-Ṭayyār and Ḥaḍrat ʿAbbās by saying, “He has two wings wherewith he flies in paradise”?
Answer: Martyrs will be admitted to the intermediate realm as well. The above traditions may be referring to the intermediate paradise [in barzakh].
366. Is there any difference between the system and order that governs the intermediate realm and that of this world?
Answer: The order of the hereafter and that of this world are indubitably different. For instance, in this world one may only eat or drink his fill. If he eats beyond a certain limit, he will die. However, this is not applicable to the hereafter. Other pleasures, such as sexual intercourse, are similar. The order governing the intermediate realm is also different from that of this world.
367. What does the grave’s “pressure” mean? Do the walls of the grave literally come together and press the body?
Answer: This is symbolic. It is a resemblance (tamaththul) which will appear to the soul. While the soul has departed the body, it feels as if it were being pressed in the grave, but the body is not physically pressed. Such metaphorical usages are also found in other traditions about further happenings in the grave, such as sitting in the grave, or hitting the head against the gravestone.
368. Does Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) deny the intermediate realm?
Answer: He argues that what is perceived through the senses (maḥsūsāt) is particular, and particularity is a specific feature of the material world. That is why he considers imagination and the imaginative faculty (khayāl, mutakhayyilah) to be similar to sensory observations. However, Mullā Ṣadrā maintains that the imaginative faculty is divested of matter, but endowed with material effects.
Regarding Resurrection and its details, Ibn Sīnā argues that they may not be proved by demonstration, but they must be accepted because they are reported by a verified, truthful individual (al-ṣādiq al-muṣaddaq).
369. Are there multiplicity of [divine] attributes and names in the intermediate realm (also called the realm of forms)?
Answer: Yes. In the intermediate realm, a wayfarer attains the station of the unity of divine acts, attributes, and names. Then he reaches the unity of the divine essence in the realm of total immateriality (tajarrud). At that level of intellectual and luminous immateriality, he will but observe the divine essence, where all the divine attributes are identical with the divine essence.
That is, after witnessing the unity of actions, attributes and names in the realm of forms (also called barzakh), a wayfarer will proceed to the realm of Oneness (aḥadiyyah), which is the realm of luminosity and unity of the divine essence. Then he will witness the identity of the attributes with one another, and their identity with the divine essence. At that point, he will no longer behold the multiplicity of attributes, names, and essence.
370. Is intellectual immateriality (al-tajarrud al-ʿaqlānī) the same as spiritual immateriality (al-tajarrud al-rūḥānī)?
Answer: Yes. Intellectual immateriality is a loose and inaccurate expression for spiritual immateriality. Otherwise, there is no room for the intellect at that level.
371. Given that the intermediate realm is not subject to temporal change, how is that people receive divine blessings there gradually? How can there be gradual knowledge about such rewards [as one goes through that realm]?
Answer: Knowledge itself is not gradual, but it is the object of knowledge that is gradual. In other words, it is knowledge of graduality, rather than graduality of knowledge.
372. Do the souls grow in perfection in the intermediate realm?
Answer: One’s level of perfection will be according to whatever he acquires in this world of matter. However, he may sow the seeds of divine love and knowledge in his heart, whose sapling will manifest in the intermediate realm. Therefore, the seeds of perfection sown in this world will sprout and grow in the intermediate world. It is in this light that the soul will reap the rewards of the good deeds that he does and the charitable foundations that he initiates in this world.
Signs of the Resurrection
373. God Almighty says: So watch out for the day when the sky brings on a manifest smoke, enveloping the people. [They will cry out:] “This is a painful punishment” (). Has this painful punishment occurred already, or it will occur in future?
Answer: The verse says: So watch out, which shows that it has not occurred yet.
374. Will this occur before the Day of Resurrection?
Answer: Yes. Based on the contextual content of the verse, this is a warning against sending down a manifest smoke from heavens, which will envelope the people. Apparently this event will happen between the time of the Noble Prophet and the Day of Resurrection.
375. A few verses below, God says: but they turned away from him and said, “A tutored madman” (). Does this not imply that the above event [of smoke] has already happened?
Answer: That is also a possibility. However, the apparent meaning of the verse is that this punishment will happen after the lifetime of the Prophet. It has not happened yet, since the verse says: The sky brings on a manifest smoke [in present tense]. Especially because the “smoke” is modified by the adjective “manifest” and is described as enveloping the people, which means that it will cover everyone in the world.
376. Did the bulwark [constructed by Dhū al-Qarnayn] completely block the passage of Gog and Magog, such that they could not launch any further attack?
Answer: It was but one pass against which a great wall was constructed, and iron was also used to fortify it further, as the Qur’an narrates from Dhū al-Qarnayn: Bring me pieces of iron! (). Five great bulwarks were constructed in history: the bulwark of Babylon, that of Daniel in Tbilisi, that of Gog and Magog, and two more. All of them have collapsed by the ravages of time, and this is one of the signs of the Day of Resurrection.
A Completely Different World
377. Are the specific forms (al-ṣuwar al-nawʿiyyah) still endowed with materiality after leaving this world?
Answer: They will be immaterial beings in the intermediate realm (barzakh). Specific forms are never material [in terms of their nature and essence].
378. But Sabzawārī says so in his Manẓūmah [that the specific forms will be tied to matter even after this world].
Answer: There is no such thing there; I don’t think there is. Specific forms are divested of materiality.
379. The Qur’an says: We are able to proportion [even] his fingertips! in the verses Does man suppose that We shall not put together his bones? Yes indeed, We are able to proportion [even] his fingertips! (). Don’t these verses imply materiality?
Answer: Eating and drinking sound even more material, as reflected in these verses: Then indeed, you, astray deniers, will surely eat from the Zaqqūm tree and stuff your bellies with it, and drink boiling water on top of it, drinking like thirsty camels ().
380. Why will the soul, having left the body and becoming perfect, return to the body?
Answer: In order to receive its retribution. One’s actions leave their trace in the soul, and the soul will encounter these effects which it has acquired, both in the intermediate realm (barzakh) and upon the Day of Judgment. In each realm, it will see its deeds in a particular form. The intermediate realm is like a penitentiary before the great court of the Resurrection. There is much Qur’anic evidence for this.
381. Which of these two verses is more indicative of the hereafter: Even as He brought you forth in the beginning, so will you return (); Yes indeed, We are able to proportion [even] his fingertips! ()?
Answer: Both of them! The former is followed by: A part [of humankind] He has guided and a part has deserved [to be consigned to] error (). It means that just as the people were of two groups in the world of pre-existence (ʿālam al-dharr), they will form two groups in their return.
382. Which of the verses is more indicative of the hereafter?
Answer: So will you return () is an explicit reference to the hereafter. Similarly, to proportion [even] his fingertips () is also an explicit reference to the hereafter. The former verse is saying that you shall be returned in the same manner that you were created by God. The question of “return” is connected to that of “beginning.” The same comparison is reflected in the second reference: Does man suppose that We shall not put together his bones? Yes indeed, We are able to proportion [even] his fingertips! ().
A Tree in the Depths of Hell
383. God makes mention of the Zaqqūm Tree elsewhere: Indeed it is a tree that emerges from the depths of hell (). How can there be a tree is that grows in the depths of hell, in the midst of burning fire?
Answer: It can be if God wills.
384. As to the tree of Zaqqūm, the verse following the above verse says: Its spathes are as if they were devils’ heads (). What is intended by this?
Answer: It implies that the fruits of that tree are in the shape of the devils’ head. Similarly, God says: They will surely eat from the Zaqqūm tree and stuff your bellies with it (). In other words, their bellies will be filled with such food and they will be entertained by boiling water in hell. Therefore, as guests who have just arrived, they will be served a drink of boiling water, and the fruits offered to them will resemble the heads of devils.
385. Trees do not grow in fire in this world, do they?
Answer: All the signs of the hereafter are governed by an order which is different from the order which governs our world. For instance, few beings may last more than a century, but people live there for hundreds of thousands of years, and they will even grow younger by doing so. Accordingly, a tree growing and bearing fruit in the depths of hell exhibits the order governing hell, which, by no means, should be compared to this world.
386. A few verses below, the Qur’an says: Indeed they had found their fathers astray (). Is the tree growing in the depths of hell [] related to their obedience to their fathers who were in error? If yes, what is the relation between the two?
Answer: What we can say is that there must be some connection between the two. Overall, the events that occur in the next world have certain relations with what happens here. One should reflect on what these connections could be [to find their specific relation].
387. The pronoun “they” in this verse [] refers to the same group [as described in verses ].
Answer: OK, they refer to the same group.
The Return to God
388. God Almighty says: Lo! To Allah do all matters return! (). How do matters “return” to God on the Day of Resurrection?
Answer: God says: You were certainly heedless of this. We have removed your veil from you, and so your sight is acute today (). Therefore, even right now we can say: Lo! To Allah do all matters return! (). The Resurrection is currently going on. This world is encompassed by the Resurrection, but we are behind a veil which will be removed on the Day of Resurrection.
The verses which apparently refer to the Greater Resurrection (al-qiyāmat al-kubrá) have been classified in our narrations as referring to three events: (1) the Greater Resurrection; (2) the Return (rajʿah); and (3) the rise of Imam al-Mahdī. This is reflected in the verse: The day We shall resurrect from every nation a group of those who denied Our signs, and they shall be held in check (). It is to be noted that “a group from every nation” may not be reconciled with the Greater Resurrection, because another verse says: We shall muster them, and We will not leave out anyone of them ().
389. What is intended by: Indeed we belong to Allah, and to Him we return indeed ()?
Answer: Now and at any time: Indeed we belong to Allah, and to Him we return indeed (). It means that we have nothing of our own; our entire essence and existence belongs to God; and we will return to Him. Neither are we existentially independent of God, nor does He have any partners or associates. Allah encompasses all things (). Our very existence, as well as any existential quality that we may have, belong to Him, both in their origination and in their subsistence. It is narrated from Imam Mūsá b. Jaʿfar: “God existed [in pre-eternity] while nothing was with Him, and now it is the same.”
390. God Almighty says: Indeed we belong to Allah, and to Him we return indeed (). This would certainly apply to the people of paradise, but how could it apply to those who will be cast into hell? In what sense do they “return to God”?
Answer: Indeed we belong to Allah implies that we are all servants of God and no partner may be associated with Him. And to Him we return indeed implies that our final end will be a return to God. Being cast into hell is also a return to God, since all beings, including hell, are encompassed by God. The Qur’an says: Allah encompasses all things ().
391. The Qur’an says: You were certainly heedless of this. We have removed your veil from you, and so your sight is acute today (). However, the people of hell will not see paradise and its blessings, for they are deprived of divine forgiveness and compassion. Is there a contradiction between these two ideas?
Answer: No, there isn’t, because they will see the punishment. The sharpness of their sight and insight will manifest in the form of seeing hell.
Reward and Retribution
392. Will humans see the retribution of their deeds in this world?
Answer: Whatever happens to a person in the hereafter also happens to him in this world, because retribution of an act and the act itself are never separate from one another. The thing is that we cannot see the retribution because we are veiled from it, as God says: And We have put a barrier before them and a barrier behind them, then We have blind-folded them, so they do not see (). These exist in reality, but we are unable to see them, as the Qur’an says: When, [with] iron collars around their necks and chains, they are dragged (); Indeed We have put iron collars around their necks, which are up to the chins, so their heads are upturned ().
The good or evil effects of deeds exist in reality, but we are heedless of them. We acknowledge that they are there, but we are heedless of this knowledge, as reflected in the verse: You were certainly heedless of this. We have removed your veil from you, and so your sight is acute today ().
393. Will the rewards and punishments arising from good and vicious deeds be given in this world or in the hereafter?
Answer: They exist and will be given in this world, though we do not see their realities here, as reflected in the verse: You were certainly heedless of this. We have removed your veil from you, and so your sight is acute today (). “Heedless” is a person who has once seen and paid attention to something, but then forgets it. God does not say that it didn’t exist before but it just appeared out of nowhere. Rather He says that you had neglected this before. Now that the veil is removed from before your eyes in the hereafter, you will see the reality of what you were neglecting.
This veil may be removed for the possessors of certitude (yaqīn) in this world, whereby they would behold the effects of deeds, as the Qur’an says: No indeed! Were you to know with knowledge of certitude, you would surely see hell (). Prophet Abraham had been granted such ability: Thus did We show Abraham the dominions of the heavens and the earth, that he might be of those who possess certitude (). Accordingly, when one attains certainty and is no longer heedless of the realities, he will see the retributions of deeds. And the way to attain certitude is servitude to God.
394. God Almighty says: And whether you disclose what is in your hearts or hide it, Allah will bring you to account for it (). How come we are accountable for what we entertain in our heart (such as passing thoughts and soliloquies) without uttering them or acting upon them?
Answer: We will not be accountable for transient and passing thoughts. What is meant here is the imprints of actions on the soul, on which the soul grows. One is accountable for the permanent dispositions that one bears in one’s heart,whether the person may be aware of them or not. God says: The day when every soul will find present whatever good it has done; and as to whatever evil it has done (); Rather man is a witness to himself, though he should offer his excuses ().
It is worthy of note that all secrets will be disclosed upon the evaluation and reckoning of deeds on the Day of Resurrection, as reflected in the verse: The day when the secrets are examined ().
395. Will the rewards and punishments for deeds be different from the deeds? That is, will they be in the form of reward and punishment, or will they be the very deeds which become embodied?
Answer: There are numerous Qur’anic verses and traditions which say that deeds will be rewarded and punished by the deeds themselves. For instance:
[They will call out to the faithless:] “O faithless ones! Do not make any excuses today. You are only being requited for what you used to do” ().
Then every soul shall be recompensed fully for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged (, ).
The day when every soul will find present whatever good it has done; and as to whatever evil it has done it will wish there were a far distance between it and itself ().
Indeed those who consume the property of orphans wrongfully, only ingest fire into their bellies ().
So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it ().
Then beware the Fire whose fuel will be humans and stones ().
They do not take in, into their bellies, [anything] except fire ().
In contrast, some of the verses imply that rewards and punishments will be meted out by being admitted to paradise or being cast into hell, such as the verse: A reward for what they used to do ().
396. Are the pleasures of the hereafter real or are they imaginal and formal (mithālī)?
Answer: They are real, meaning that they exist externally [to the mind]. That is unlike Gabriel’s appearance before Mary in the image of a man (tamaththul), as mentioned in the verse: And he appeared to her as a well-proportioned human (). Gabriel was an angel, and there was no change in his reality, but he appeared in the image of a man before Mary. Had he appeared in his real form, it would have been vision and knowledge [of an external reality], rather than appearance in some image [in the observer’s imagination].
397. How may a slight misdeed entail everlasting remorse and permanent loss in the hereafter?
Answer: Some mistakes have permanent consequences. For instance, one may thrust a knife into his own eyes or ears and render himself blind or deaf. Even though the act was carried out in a few seconds, it entails permanent blindness or deafness.
398. God Almighty says: To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth; and whether you disclose what is in your hearts or hide it, Allah will bring you to account for it (). How could this be? Because we know that as long as one holds something in his heart and does not discloses it by acting upon it, it doesn’t count as a sin to be accountable for.
Answer: This verse deals with standing accountable for those permanent dispositions which are imprinted on the soul. It does not refer to passing thoughts and temporary states. One’s spiritual growth and movement towards happiness or misfortune rests with carrying out good or vicious deeds, which will manifest in the hereafter, and for which one will stand accountable on the Day of Resurrection. God says: The day when every soul will find present whatever good it has done; and as to whatever evil it has done it will wish there were a far distance between it and itself (); Rather man is a witness to himself, though he should offer his excuses (); on the day when the secrets are examined ().
399. The Qur’an says: There they will have whatever they wish (). Does this imply that the inhabitants of paradise will have anything that they can think of, but will not have anything beyond their understanding and imagination?
Answer: Not quite. They will not be deprived of what is beyond their imagination because the verse continues to say: And with Us there is yet more (). This refers to blessings that are beyond their understanding, because otherwise it would be included under whatever they wish. It is also said elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an: No one knows what has been kept hidden for them of comfort as a reward for what they used to do ().
400. Regarding the “People of the Right Hand” (aṣḥāb al-yamīn) the Qur’an says: A multitude from the former [generations] and a multitude from the latter ones (). Does al-awwalīn (the former ones) refer to the prophets?
Answer: No, it refers to the past nations. According to two traditions narrated by Sunni authorities, it was first revealed concerning al-sābiqūn (the foremost ones): A multitude from the former [generations] and a few from the latter ones (). As reported in one of these two traditions, the Companions of the Prophet were saddened by hearing these verses. As a result, the verses were updated by noon, when it was revealed [concerning the People of the Right Hand]: A multitude from the former [generations] and a multitude from the latter ones. It is reported in the other tradition that ʿUmar wept upon hearing these verses; as a result, the verse was revealed as: A multitude from the latter ones ().
401. What is intended by “wine” (khamr) in this verse: And streams of wine delicious to the drinkers ()?
Answer: Drinking this wine will not be followed by hangover, nor will human reason be adversely affected by it, as the Qur’an says: Which neither causes them headache nor stupefaction ().
402. Is it intoxicating?
Answer: Yes, it is, but such intoxication will cause ecstasy in them before the Holy Presence of the Truth, such that they will be spellbound by divine beauty and glory, rather than lose their reason and brawl. Paradise is no place for brawling.
403. What is intended by the tradition, “One who listens to ghinā (singing) will be deprived of listening to the melodies of Ṭūbá Tree; one who drinks wine will be deprived of drinking from the Sealed Wine []; and one who commits sodomy will be deprived of sitting on the couches of paradise—even if these individuals repent and be admitted to paradise”?
Answer: Such people [who are admitted to paradise] will have a limited understanding, such that they will not be aware that they are deprived of drinking that wine and reclining on those couches. Nevertheless, they will enjoy and realize other pleasures in paradise. They will not be aware of their deprivation, since such awareness will be inconsistent with the verse: Where there is no vanity ().
The Case of Non-Muslims
404. If the People of the Book do good deeds and worship God, will they be rewarded on the Day of Resurrection?
Answer: The acceptance and reward of good deeds are contingent on having faith. Good deeds are ineffective without having faith, as reflected in the verse: Whoever does righteous deeds, should he be faithful, his endeavor shall not go unappreciated, and We will indeed write it for him ().
405. The People of the Book certainly believe in God; so their good deeds must be rewarded. Why shouldn’t they reap the rewards of their good deeds in the hereafter?
Answer: Believing in all the prophets, including the Messenger of God, is part and parcel of believing in God. God considers those who only believe in some of the prophets but not in others, as infidels. He says: Those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers and seek to separate Allah from His messengers—saying, “We believe in some and disbelieve in some” and seek to take a way in between—it is they who are truly faithless, and We have prepared for the faithless a humiliating punishment ().
406. Will faithless inventors and explorers who served humankind be rewarded by God?
Answer: God rewards people for serving Him, not for serving humankind without obeying Him. Addressing all humankind, God says: Indeed this community of yours is one community, and I am your Lord. So worship Me ().
407. God says concerning the faithless: They are the ones who deny the signs of their Lord and the encounter with Him. So their works have failed. On the Day of Resurrection We will not set for them any weight (). Why will the good deeds of the disbelievers be of no significance on the Day of Resurrection?
Answer: The opening words of this verse imply that it’s due to their disbelief in the prophetic mission and the Day of Resurrection that their deeds have no significance; so their works have failed. “Signs” in the ones who deny the signs of their Lord refer to prophethood, and the encounter with Him refers to the hereafter.
Accordingly, it is because of their denial of prophethood and the hereafter that the deeds of the faithless are doomed to failure, as their deeds have been carried out neither for God’s satisfaction, nor for the reward and happiness of the hereafter. So in fact that have no good deeds to begin with, let alone having any weight. In contrast, God says concerning to the weight of good deeds: The weighing [of deeds] on that Day is the truth. As for those whose deeds weigh heavy in the scales it is they who are the felicitous ().
Consciousness in Other Beings
408. Were animals, similar to humans, created from clay? Do they also have religious responsibility and/or resurrection?
Answer: God says: There is no animal on land, nor a bird that flies with its wings, but they are communities like yourselves. We have not omitted anything from the Book. Then they will be mustered towards their Lord (). This verse is saying that they are communities like yourselves, which means that they too have obligations and will be resurrected, as the verse says: Then they will be mustered towards their Lord.
The nature of their obligations is unknown to us. God says: Have you not regarded that Allah is glorified by everyone in the heavens and the earth, and the birds spreading their wings. Each knows his prayer and glorification, and Allah knows best what they do (); The seven heavens glorify Him, and the earth [too], and whoever is in them. There is not a thing but glorifies Him with, but you do not understand their glorification ().
The glorification (tasbīḥ) intended in these verses is not a takwīnī (creational, existential) act, meaning the idea that every being is a sign of God and shows humbleness before Him in its own way. This cannot be the meaning of the verse because this sense of glorification can be perceived even by the disbelievers, while the verse says: but you do not understand their glorification ().
409. Are all beings, birds in particular, endowed with knowledge? Because the Qur’an says: Have you not regarded that Allah is glorified by everyone in the heavens and the earth, and the birds spreading their wings. Each knows his prayer and glorification, and Allah knows best what they do ().
Answer: One of the birds mentioned in the Holy Qur’an is the hoopoe (hudhud). God has conveyed many divine teachings through this bird’s speech and its interaction with Prophet Solomon. There are also divine teachings in the words of the ant (in verse ). These verses exhibit the excellent level of knowledge and understanding of these two animals.
The hoopoe talks about a woman (that is, Bilqīs, the Queen of Sheba) and her sovereignty and throne: I found a woman ruling over them, and she has been given everything, and she has a great throne (). Then, it makes mention of her people and their prostration before the sun: I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah (). Further, it speaks of Satan and how he decorated their deeds for them: and Satan has made their deeds seem decorous to them thus he has barred them from the way [of Allah], so they are not guided (). God then reminds the audience of His oneness, omnipotence, lordship, and Great Throne [through the hoopoe’s speech]: He knows whatever you hide and whatever you disclose. Allah there is no god except Him is the Lord of the Great Throne ().
Following the above verses, Solomon writes a letter to her [the Queen of Sheba] and orders the bird to deliver it to those people and look at their reply: Take this letter of mine and deliver it to them. Then draw away from them and observe what [response] they return (). It goes without saying that these acts are not possible without knowledge and understanding.
Imam Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī insists that the hoopoe was divinely endowed with such great knowledge and understanding only for a short while, but it lacked such gifts before and after the mission. However, this is contrary to the following verses: Have you not regarded that Allah is glorified by everyone in the heavens and the earth, and the birds spreading their wings. Each knows his prayer and glorification, and Allah knows best what they do (); There is not a thing but glorifies Him with, but you do not understand their glorification ().
It is reflected in other verses that the world, in its entirety, from the plant and animal kingdoms to inanimate beings, is endowed with knowledge and understanding: When they come to it, their hearing will bear witness against them and their sight and their skins concerning what they used to do. They will say to their skins, “Why did you bear witness against us?” They will say, “We were given speech by Allah, who gave speech to all things. He created you the first time, and to Him you are being brought back…” (). The point is that speech is impossible without knowledge and understanding. Also, witnessing an event in this world and testifying to it in the hereafter both depend on knowledge. It is said in another verse: On that day she will relate her chronicles for her Lord will have inspired her ().
It is worthy of note that such abilities are also supported by scientific experiments. It is reported that a plant in a vase was threatened several times a day that “we don’t like you; you are unwanted; we are not going to water you anymore!” It was experimented and observed that its leaves gradually withered away. After that, they started speaking kindly to it, that “we’ll keep you; we like you; we’ll water you and take care of you!” It was observed that the plant recovered to its normal condition. Such interconnection between humans and plants is of great significance. It goes without saying, however, that knowledge in plants is not through tongue, ears and eyes.
When I was in the holy city of Najaf, I got hold of a book in Arabic translation, titled al-Falāḥat al-Rūmiyyah (lit. Roman Agriculture). The author had mentioned in his introduction that the materials covered in the book consisted of the secrets of nature, and they were experimentally proved. I read in that book that there is a remedy for a fruit-bearing tree that ceases to bear fruit: someone needs to stay under it, while the owner of the tree should walk towards it, carrying an axe on his shoulder [intending to chop it]. The person standing under the tree should say to the owner, “What are you up to?” He would say, “I want to uproot this tree as it is dead and doesn’t bear any fruit.” The former needs to intercede for the tree, saying, “Give the tree another chance! It will bear fruit next year. If not, you can uproot it then.” By so doing the tree will bear fruit in the coming year.
I forgot this account by the time I returned to Iran and settled in Tabriz, where we had a garden. Upon entering our garden, I noticed that an apple tree had withered by the first lane. I said to the gardener, “This tree is dead and useless; cut it down!” “But we took care of it,” he argued, “for thirty years. If we cut it down, we’ll have to take so many troubles for another thirty years to have the like of this tree!” In short, he didn’t welcome the suggestion. We took a walk in the garden, and when we came back I saw the dead tree again. I said to the gardener again, “This tree is useless. Cut it down and remove it from here.” But again, he declined.
As luck would have it, the dead tree was rejuvenated in the same year, blossomed, and bore a ton of apples! It was quite strange that it blossomed again in the fall and bore apples in abundance once again. Perhaps the reason was that it was threatened twice. I shared this experience with others; they also tried it and had similar results.
The Location of Paradise and Hell
410. Where are paradise and hell located?
Answer: According to the traditions, paradise is in the heavens while hell is in the earth.
411. What is your opinion?
Answer: Can we go against the traditions?! It is narrated that the Noble Prophet was asked, “You call people to a paradise as vast (ʿarḍuha) as the heavens and the earth (). So what place remains for hell?” The Noble Prophet replied, “Where does the sun’s brightness go when it goes down?! Where does the day go upon the approach of the night?” In this verse, ʿarḍ means vastness, not width as opposed to length. It means that paradise encompassed all directions. Apparently the Prophet’s analogy was meant to get this point across.
412. Could you elaborate on this?
Answer: We are in the realm of matter. What we observe here is a series of laws that particularly pertain to the material order. These laws, however, are not applicable to the heavenly realm, just as the laws of that realm are not applicable to the material world. Accordingly, contrary to the laws governing the material world, paradise and hell may be equal to the world in its entirety, without there being any mutual exclusion, since such mutual exclusion applies only to the material world.
413. If so, then the realm of hereafter would only consist of immaterial beings.
Answer: No, it will not be purely immaterial.
414. How may there be no mutual exclusion if there are material beings?
Answer: The thing is that we cannot apply the laws and order that we observe here to the unseen.
415. When the sun goes down, does the day, as a concomitant of the sun, go away?
Answer: Please consult the full tradition transmitted by Abū Isḥāq al-Sabīʿī in Biḥār al-Anwār.
416. Does the above tradition mean that this world will change into another world?
Answer: Such change would imply essential transformation (inqilāb), which is logically impossible. Instead, it means that the unseen world is not governed by the same laws as the material world. Accordingly, there would be no problem with the equality of both paradise and hell to the entire world, without one taking the place of another or pushing it aside, because there is no mutual exclusion.
417. With respect to heavenly blessings God says: They will find in it neither any [scorching] sun, nor any [biting] cold (). Doesn’t this verse contradict other verses which talk about shades in paradise?
Answer: According to the traditions, the believers will rest on the plain of Resurrection in the shades of trees. This is rather irrelevant to the idea that they will find in it neither any [scorching] sun, nor any [biting] cold (). The Qur’an says: They and their mates, reclining on couches in the shades (), but this doesn’t imply that there will be sunshine there. As long as there is some light, there will be shades and shadows. If there were no light in paradise, its inhabitants would be deprived of all pleasures. Light is rather a blessing for the inhabitants of paradise.
The Disadvantaged
418. Why would God punish those who had no access to a divine guide and authority?
Answer: God says: And there is not a nation but a warner has passed in it (). This implies that all nations have had access to divine guides and authorities.
419. What about savages in the Amazon? Have they received God’s decisive proof?
Answer: They are mustaḍʿaf (disadvantaged, oppressed, weak).
420. Consider a person who follows the beliefs of his ancestors and what is practiced in his society. He adopts a religion other than Islam, and regards it to be the true religion, and fails to make a quest for religious truth due to his preoccupation with worldly affairs. Does such a person count as mustaḍʿaf (disadvantaged, oppressed, weak)?
Answer: Such person is not considered mustaḍʿaf, since he could have speculated that among the existing religions, there might be another one which is true and should be followed. He does not inquire about the true religion due to the difficulties involved in doing such research, or because of preoccupation with earning a living. Thus he will be responsible for such failure.
God has defined the limits of being mustaḍʿaf in the verse: Except the oppressed among men, women and children, who have neither access to any means nor are guided to any way (). In other words, mustaḍʿaf is one who: (1) is ignorant of the truth; and (2) doesn’t even speculate that there may be a true religion out there. However, if the possibility remains open to him, he is not regarded as mustaḍʿaf, because the overall existence of truth is clear to him. Such a person is responsible for making inquiry and learning the truth.
421. Suppose someone launches on the quest for the truth and comes to the conclusion that Christianity is the true religion. Does he count as kāfir (infidel, faithless, disbeliever)?
Answer: No, he is not kāfir, but he is mustaḍʿaf (disadvantaged, oppressed, weak), as reflected in the verse: Except the oppressed among men, women and children, who have neither access to any means nor are guided to any way ().
422. Some maintain that what you said is self-contradictory.
Answer: That is not the case. Yes, the person in question holds a false belief to be true, but only because he deems it to be true. Thus he doesn’t really deny the Qur’an. Rather, he meant to establish the truth, but he misunderstood it. He will be a disbeliever if he understands the truth yet denies it.
423. Concerning those who say that the heavenly blessings mentioned in the Qur’an are purely
spiritual, can we say that they are mustaḍʿaf?
Answer: Yes, such people who regard heavenly blessings as immaterial are mustaḍʿaf.
424. How about those who do not have the right faith, but have no defiance [against the truth]? Will they be punished?
Answer: It is narrated that Imam al-Bāqir was inquired about the position of those who did not have access to an imam’s guidance. He replied, “They are mustaḍʿaf. If they have done good deeds, they will be blessed by bounties. However, some of them may also end up in hell.”
425. Will they have obligations on the Day of Resurrection?
Answer: God says: [There are] others waiting Allah’s edict: either He shall punish them, or turn to them clemently (). Therefore, they will be treated differently from other people (in terms of their criteria of obedience, disobedience, reward and retribution). The reckoning of their deeds will be postponed [until the Day of Judgment when they are tested]. There is a tradition which reads, “A fire will be set ablaze and they will be commanded to enter it. This will be their test.”
This is seemingly implied by the word thumma (then) in the verse. It indicates that the souls are entrusted to the Angel of Death until the Day of Resurrection when people will be returned to their Lord. ↩︎
Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 6, p. 235, tradition 52, p. 253, tradition 87, p. 260, tradition 97, vol. 100, p. 262, tradition 61, p. 82, tradition 104, p. 270, tradition 128, vol. 61, p. 82. ↩︎
See ibid., vol. 6, p. 235, tradition 52, p. 253, tradition 87, p. 260, traditions 97, 100, p. 262, tradition 104, p. 270, tradition 128, vol. 61, p. 82. ↩︎
And ahead of them is a barrier until the day they will be resurrected (). ↩︎
ibid., vol. 6, p. 198, tradition 51, p. 263, tradition 107, vol. 8, p. 211, tradition 205, vol. 101, p. 79, tradition 39. ↩︎
See ibid., vol. 6, pp. 214-270. ↩︎
See Mustadrak al-Wasāʾil, vol. 2, p. 321; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 79, p. 57; Miṣbāḥ al-Mutahajjid, vol. 1, p. 21. ↩︎
TR: In other words, we can interpret these narrations in a way that does not contradict the Qur’an. ↩︎
For narrations on Jaʿfar al-Ṭayyār, see Biḥār Anwār, vol. 18, p. 193, tradition 28, p. 237, tradition 38, tradition 38, vol. 21, p. 53, tradition 3, p. 57, tradition 8, p. 62, tradition 11, p. 276, tradition 25, vol. 22, p. 276, tradition 46, p. 280, tradition 33, p. 282, tradition 41, vol. 23, p. 112, tradition 19, vol. 35, p. 213, tradition 17, vol. 36, p. 369, tradition 223, vol. 37, p. 48, tradition 25, p. 65, tradition 37, vol. 42, p. 317, tradition 8, vol. 51, p. 76, tradition 32, vol. 82, p. 92, tradition 44, all of which are devoted to. For narrations on Ḥaḍrat ʿAbbās, see ibid, vol. 22, p. 274, traditions 221, 44, p. 298, tradition 4, all of which deal with. ↩︎
See ibid., vol. 6, pp. 173-270, bāb 29-30. ↩︎
TR: Beings in the realms of imagination (khayāl) or form (mithāl) are immaterial in their essence but not in their actions. There is no matter in the imaginal world, but there are forms and shapes, which are the properties and attributes of matter. ↩︎
TR: In short, the station of unity of divine acts means realizing and beholding that all acts are the acts of God. Unity of divine attributes and names is the realization that all attributes and names are God’s attributes and names. Unity of the divine essence means that there is no existence or existent except God. A key concept which is instrumental in a proper understanding of all these forms of unity is independence. ↩︎
See ibid., vol. 6, p. 295, bāb 6. ↩︎
TR: It becomes perfect in the sense that it will not need the body for its functioning. So perfect here is relative; it refers to independence from the body. ↩︎
TR: In other words, “so what?” What ʿAllāmah means is that these linguistic signs can at most prove an overall connection between the events in this world and the punishment in the hereafter. One needs to reflect more deeply in order to fathom what this connection really is. ↩︎
Ibid., vol. 3, p. 327, vol. 54, p. 484; al-Tawḥīd, p. 179. ↩︎
TR: In other words, verse does not say that now you can see everything. It says that your veil is now removed, whereby you can see whatever you have been facing and directed towards. ↩︎
This refers to second natures and habits, which are called malakāt (sing. malakah), including both virtues and vices. ↩︎
TR: ʿAllāmah has quoted both narrations in al-Mīzān, vol. 19, p. 143. ʿUmar did not “weep” upon hearing verses , but he “corrected” the Prophet by saying, “O Messenger of God, [do you mean]:A multitude from the former [generations] and a multitude from the latter ones?” The Prophet told him, “Come and hear what God just revealed: A multitude from the former [generations] and a multitude from the latter ones ().” ↩︎
TR: ʿAllāmah has assumed a broad sense of “vanity” (laghw) in this verse, which would include any pain or displeasure. ↩︎
This includes knowledge of particulars at the level of imagination, as well as knowledge of universals at the level of intellection. ↩︎
See Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 8, p. 127, tradition 28, p. 164, tradition 107, p. 286, tradition 13, vol. 10, p. 3, tradition 1, vol. 60, p. 257. ↩︎
See ibid., vol. 8, pp. 83-84, narrated from the Noble Prophet; vol. 10, p. 58, tradition 3, narrated from Imam ʿAlī. ↩︎
TR: I could not find this tradition. ↩︎
See verses , , , , and . ↩︎
This is because Christianity considers certain falsehoods to be the truth, and considers certain truths—such as Islam and the Qur’an—to be false. ↩︎
These people have inquired about the truth, yet they have concluded that the blessings in the hereafter are not material. That is why they are regarded as mustaḍʿaf, rather than disbelievers who deny the truth despite realizing it. ↩︎
For traditions with this theme, see al-Mīzān, vol. 5, p. 58. For further details on the meaning of mustaḍʿaf and istiḍʿāf, see al-Mīzān, vol. 5, pp. 57-60. ↩︎
In other words, will they have a “makeup” round in the hereafter to exhibit whether they are obedient to the truth or not? ↩︎
Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 5, p. 288, bāb 13. ↩︎