The Journey into the Hereafter (part 2 of 8):
saly44
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Introduction
Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam who passed away in 632, related:
“Gabriel came to me and said, ‘O Muhammad, live as you wish, for you
shall eventually die. Love whom you desire, for you shall eventually
depart. Do what you please, for you shall pay. Know that the night-
prayer[1] is the honor of a believer, and his pride is being
independant on others.’” (Silsilah al-Saheehah)
If there is only one thing certain about life, it is that it ends.
This truism instinctively raises a question which preoccupies most
people at least once in their life: What lies beyond death?
At the physiological level, the journey that the deceased takes is
plain for all to witness. If left alone to natural causes,[2] the
heart will stop beating, the lungs will stop breathing, and the
body’s
cells will be starved of blood and oxygen. The termination of blood
flow to the outer extremities will soon turn them pale. With the
oxygen cut off, cells will respire anaerobically for a time,
producing
the lactic acid which causes rigor mortis – the stiffening of the
corpse’s muscles. Then, as the cells begin to decompose, the
stiffness wanes, the tongue protrudes, the temperature drops, the
skin
discolors, the flesh rots, and the parasites have their feast - until
all that is left is dried-out tooth and bone.
As for the journey of the soul after death, then this is not
something
that can be witnessed, nor can it be gauged through scientific
enquiry. Even in a living body, the conscious, or soul, of a person
cannot be subjected to empirical experimentation. It is simply
beyond
human control. In this regard, the concept of a Hereafter - a life
beyond death, resurrection, and a Day of Reckoning; not to mention
the
existence of a Divine, Omnipotent Creator, His angels, destiny, and
so
on - comes under the subject of belief in the unseen. The only way
in
which man can come to know anything of the unseen world is through
divine revelation.
“And with God are the keys of the unseen, none knows them but He.
And
He knows whatever there is in (or on) the earth and in the sea; not a
leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of
the earth, nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear
Record.” (Quran 6:59)
While what has come down to us of the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel -
the scriptures revealed to early prophets - all speak of a Hereafter,
it is only through God’s Final Revelation to humanity, the Holy
Quran,
as revealed to His Final Prophet, Muhammad, that we learn most about
the afterlife. And as the Quran is, and will forever remain,
preserved and uncorrupted by human hands, the insight it gives us
into
the world of the unseen is, for the believer, as factual, real and
true as anything that can be learnt through any scientific endeavor
(and with a zero margin of error!).
“…We have neglected nothing in the Book; then unto their Lord they
shall all be gathered.” (Quran 6:38)
Coupled with the question of what happens after we die, is the
question: Why are we here? For if there is indeed no greater purpose
to life (that is, greater than simply living life itself), the
question of what happens after death becomes academic, if not
pointless. It is only if one first accepts that our intelligent
design, our creation, necessitates an intelligence and designer
behind
it, a Creator who will judge us for what we do, that life on earth
carries any significant meaning.
“Then did you think that We created you in vain and that to Us you
would not be returned? Therefore exalted be God, the Sovereign, the
Truth; no deity is there save Him, Lord of the Supreme
Throne.” (Quran
23:115-116)
If aught else, a discerning person would be forced to conclude that
life on earth is full of injustice, cruelty and oppression; that the
law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, is what is paramount;
that
if one cannot find happiness in this life, whether due to an absence
of material comforts, physical love, or other joyous experiences,
then
life is simply not worth living. In fact, it is precisely because a
person despairs of this worldly life while having little, no, or
imperfect faith in an afterlife, that they may commit suicide. After
all, what else do the unhappy, unloved and unwanted; the dejected,
(desperately) depressed and despairing have to lose?![3]
“And who despairs of the Mercy of his Lord except those who are
astray?” (Quran 15:56)
So can we accept that our death is limited to mere physiological
termination, or that life is merely a product of blind, selfish
evolution? Surely, there is more to death, and so to life, than
this.
Next: The Journey into the Hereafter (part 2 of 8): The Believer in
the Grave
but other time
best wishes
saly