Muslim Guidance Articles

By Shahid Athar, M.D.

This year the Islamic month of Ramadan will start on December 20th. Muslims all over the world will start this month with fasting from dawn to dusk daily for 30 days as ordained in Quran.
“O you who believe fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you so that you can learn Taqwa” (Quran 2:183)
The Arabic word Taqwa is translated in many ways including God consciousness, God fearing, piety, and self restraining. Thus we are asked to fast daily for one month from dawn to dusk and avoid food, water, sex and vulgar talk during that period.
But why do we need to fast? It is our experience that temptations and ways of the world tend to spoil our purity and austerity. Thus we indulge in food all of the time, snacking and nibbling the whole day, heading to obesity. We drink too much coffee, or tea, or carbonated drinks. Some sexaholics can not stay away from sex unless they do it at least once or more a day. When we argue, we leave our decency aside and resort to vulgar talk and even physical fighting.
Now when one is fasting, he or she cannot do all of that. When he looks at the mouth watering food, he cannot even taste it and he has to give up snacking and nibbling as well as smoking cigarettes if he does. No constant coffee, tea or Coke drinking either. Sexual passions have to be curtailed and when he is provoked to fight, he says ” I am fasting that I cannot respond to your provocation”. To achieve God consciousness or God nearness, a better word, we are advised to do additional prayer and read the Quran.
Medical benefits of Ramadan Muslims do not fast because of medical benefits which are of a secondary nature. Fasting has been used by patients for weight management, to rest the digestive tract and for lowering lipids. There are many adverse effects of total fasting as well as of crash diets. Islamic fasting is different from such diet plans because in Ramadan fasting, there is no malnutrition or inadequate calorie intake. The calorie intake of Muslims during Ramadan is at or slightly below the nutritional requirement guidelines. In addition, the fasting in Ramadan is voluntarily taken and is not a prescribed imposition from the physician.
Ramadan is a month of self-regulation and self training, with the hope that this training will last beyond the end of Ramadan. If the lessons learned during Ramadan, whether in terms of dietary intake or righteousness, are carried on after Ramadan, there effects will be long lasting. Moreover, the type of food taken during Ramadan does not have any selective criteria of crash diets such as those which are protein only or fruit only type diets. Everything that is permissible is taken in moderate quantities.
The difference between Ramadan and total fasting is the timing of the food; during Ramadan, we basically miss lunch and take an early breakfast and do not eat until dusk. Abstinence from water for 8 to 10 hours is not necessarily bad for health and in fact, it causes concentration of all fluids within the body, producing slight dehydration. The body has its own water conservation mechanism; in fact, it has been shown that slight dehydration and water conservation, at least in plant life, improve their longevity.
The physiological effect of fasting includes lowering of blood sugar, lowering of cholesterol and lowering of the systolic blood pressure. In fact, Ramadan fasting would be an ideal recommendation for the treatment of mild to moderate, stable, non-insulin diabetes, obesity, and essential hypertension. In 1994 the first International Congress on “Health and Ramadan”, held in Casablanca, entered 50 extensive studies on the medical ethics of fasting. While improvement in many medical conditions was noted; however, in no way did fasting worsen any patients’ health or their baseline medical condition. On the other hand, patients who are suffering from sever diseases, whether type I diabetes or coronary artery disease, kidney stones, etc., are exempt from fasting and should not be allowed to fast.
There are psychological effects of fasting as well. There is a peace and tranquility for those who fast during the month of Ramadan. Personal hostility is at a minimum, and the crime rate decreases. Muslims take advice from the Prophet who said, “If one slanders you or aggresses against you, say I am fasting.” This psychological improvement could be related to better stabilization of blood glucose during fasting as hypoglycemia after eating, aggravates behavior changes. There is a beneficial effect of extra prayer at night. This not only helps with better utilization of food but also helps in energy output. There are 10 extra calories output for each unit of the prayer. Again, we do not do prayers for exercise, but a mild movement of the joints with extra calorie utilization is a better form of exercise. Similarly, recitation of the Quran not only produces a tranquility of heart and mind, but improves the memory.
One of the odd nights in the last 10 days of Ramadan is called the night of power when angels descend down, and take the prayer of worship to God for acceptance.
Fasting is a special act of worship which is only between humans and God since no one else knows for sure if this person is actually fasting. Thus God says in hadith qudsi that “Fasting is for Me and I only will reward it”. In another hadith, the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) has said “If one does not give up falsehoods in words and actions, God has no need of him giving up food and drink”.

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* Author, Islamic Perspectives in Medicine and Health Concerns for the Believers. Web Page http://www.ISLAM-USA.com. E-mail SATHAR 3624@aol.com

Author: Bilâl Philips

All praise is due to Allâh and may His peace and blessings be upon his last Messenger sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam and on all those who follow the path of righteousness until the last day.

We have to answer the most fundamental question that every human being asks himself at some point in his or her lifetime. Not just Muslims, but every single human being.

“Why was I created? Why am I here? What am I doing in this world? Why did God create me?”

These questions, are questions which each and everyone of us reflects on at some point during their life. We have some answers, which are given generally, but usually these answers don’t satisfy us, they seem somewhat simplistic. We still wonder. “Why me? Why here?” I know all of you, generally speaking, in the back of your mind, you are saying “to worship Allâh, khallas (finish), what more is there to say? Why do we need to have a big long talk on why we were created, when we all know it is to worship Allâh?” But wait, if this is presented to a non-Muslim, the next logical question would be  “why does Allâh want us to worship Him?” and then your stuck.

It means, in our own minds it is not really clear to us. Why did Allâh create us to worship Him?

The question, why did Allâh create us, for some people, and we have to deal with those people around us, who don’t consider there to be any purpose in man’s creation because he is just a product of evolution that the forces of nature have produced him, and just as we don’t have apes, dogs or cows thinking about why they are here, then we don’t really have to think about it either. Of course that being the basis of the philosophy of western society, that man is without purpose, then the whole issue of government, morality etc has no basis in Revelation, there is no guidance there. The product of this is of course the corruption that we are living in.

For a Muslim, when we go in to this topic, we have to find our understanding in divine revelation and not human speculation. Because human speculation has no bounds, we can imagine all kinds of things, and is any of you have studied philosophy of religion, you can see how many opinions exist about the creation of man and existence. Because of the variety of philosophies, which are out there, no one can say this one is correct or that one is incorrect, because there is no guidance behind it. No divine revelation. It is only from divine revelation that we can determine the reality of our creation, because it is Allâh who has created us and he knows the purpose of our creation. We can hardly understand ourselves, much less try to understand the essence of things.  So it is for Allâh to inform us through the revelation in the Qur’ân and the Sunnah which was brought by his last Messenger sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the Messengers before. Now if we are to look, initially into revelation, to determine why was man   created, there is a deeper question that we should be asking before that. “Why did God create?” Before we even get to man, why did god create, because man is not the greatest act of creation that we should be so focused on why man. No, because Allâh says:

“The creation of the Heavens and the Earth is indeed greater then the creation of mankind; yet, most of mankind know not.” [Sûrah Ghâfir, verse 57]

Man is not the greatest act of creation, this universe is far more complex and far more magnificent then man. So the issue of creation should then go to why create? As opposed to simply why create man?

Fundamentally, we can say that the creation is the natural consequence of the attribute of creator. Allâh is the creator. That is one of his attributes. That is what he has informed us. That being his attribute, the creator, the natural consequence or the product of this attribute is his creation.

A painter, if we are to draw a similitude on a lower level, who tells you that he is a painter, if you ask him where are his paintings and he replies I don’t have any. What kind of painter is this? The concept of a painter who doesn’t paint, there is some thing not quite gelling together here, of course Allâh is beyond this. But if we are to understand on the simplest level, the two go together. The perfection of a painter lies in his paintings. His quality and his ability to paint, is manifest in his paintings. And Allâh, beyond all that, as creator, this quality of creation is manifest in the creation itself. Allâh didn’t create out of a need. No, the fact that he is the creator, is manifest in the creation.

Furthermore, consider the act of creation, this act, with regards to Allâh is unique. Though we use the term i.e. So and so created a table etc, actually it is in a limited sense. Human beings don’t really create, they manipulate, because they can only “create” what already exists. When we make a chair or a table, we didn’t create the wood, we had to take it from a tree, we didn’t create the metal, which makes the screws etc, we had to melt down rocks and take the metal out. So we are not creating from nothing. We are manipulating things which Allâh has already created in to different shapes and forms which are useful to us. We call it “creation” but the real act of creation, is creation from nothing, and this is unique to Allâh alone.

This is a concept, which many people in ignorance, because they couldn’t grasp the idea of creation from nothingness, it lead them to conclude that the world is Allâh. Those who say “inside of each and every atom is Allâh.” And you have people, who call themselves Muslims saying this. Non-Muslims have said this before and there are Muslims who claim this. That Allâh is inside each and everything, because Allâh is the reality and everything else is fake in their interpretation.  That means then, that the creation is Allâh, and Allâh is the creation. Very, very dangerous concept, which leads some of those who make this claim to say that you don’t have to worship outside of yourself. Ibn Arabi, was famous for this statement, he is considered to be one of the saints, amongst the so called Sûfî religion. Ibn Arabi said “There is no need to worship one outside yourself, you are Allâh. It is sufficient to worship yourself.” This is Shirk.

This concept of Allâh being within his creation, no distinction the creation and Allâh, it leads them to this shirk. Because they are unable to accept the uniqueness of Allâh’s creation, they compare the act of creation by Allâh to human creation. That is, just as we manipulate, Allâh took pieces of himself and made the earth and the universe. Others will say that all human beings have inside of themselves Allâh, that there is a part of Allâh inside each and everyone of us. The whole essence, the purpose of life is for us to realize that we have part of Allâh inside of ourselves, remove the material blocks which keep us from Allâh and again become one with Allâh in what they call “fana“.  This is again a teaching of the Sûfî religion.

Becoming one with Allâh, returning back to Allâh in this sense. But this is in fact part of the teachings of shirk. Shaytân (Satan) has deluded man into this imagination. It is part of the belief of the Hindus. Nirvana, the concept that when you die, you are reborn again, and you move up in stages, each time, if you are a good boy or good girl, you go up higher and higher, until you get to the top. You know you have reached the peak, because when you die the next time you become one with the universal soul, Nirvana. That is the end of rebirth. So your whole purpose is to return and become one with God again. This is all, as I said, a product of the inability to understand the concept of creation from nothingness, which is unique to Allâh. Allâh says:

“There is nothing like him, and he is the hearer and seer of all.”

So when we try to interpret Allâh’s creation like the way we create, then we have made Him like his creation and it leads us ultimately to those aspects of shirk which I have mentioned. This is quite common amongst the Muslim world today, because when you look into the various branches of the Sûfî religion, where they have prescribed various acts of purification, they call it dhikr, exercises to torture the body through spinning and dancing. What is the purpose of this? They will tell you, to liberate the soul from this earthly body and to achieve that state of “fana” or “itihâd“, a variety of names they have for it.

It is this concept, which lead al-Hallaj, many centuries ago, when he was promoting this idea, and he was put before a panel of judges questioning these concepts, which he was expressing. When they asked him to recant, to take this stuff back, he stood up, opened up his cloak and said “There is nothing inside this cloak except Allâh”. So they executed him. And of course, those in the Sûfî religion, they have stories that when they cut his head off, it rolled around saying “Allâh, Allâh, Allâhu Akbar etc”. It might have, that is Shaytân may have entered and said these things, as happened with the calf of the Isrealites, when the Prophet Mûsa (Moses) let Egypt and the people, after crossing the red sea, had a desire to have a god that they could see, so they made a golden calf which they began to worship. This calf was saying “moo” like the calves do. This is what convinced them that this was the real thing. We know it wasn’t the calf saying this. The evil jinn can enter the in to physical entities, make sounds and give these impressions. So there is no problem for us to say ok, maybe when they cut of al-Hallaj’s head that it said these things, because this was part of a test. If we are clear in terms of creator and creation, this is no problem for us.

Allâh is the creator and everything besides Him is His creation, which He created from nothing. It is not Him, nor is He it. This is the pure concept as taught by the Prophet sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam, his companions, and the early generations of righteous scholars, the students of the companions and those who came after them. The best of generations. That is how they understood this matter. There was no confusion in their minds. It wasn’t until Islâm spread to areas like Egypt, India and Persia, areas where the Christians had already gotten into deep philosophies, trying to explain how Jesus was a man and god at the same time. When they came in to Islâm they brought it with them. This is the reality. It is not something we should necessarily condemn them for or feel is unusual. It is natural, when a person reverts to Islâm, that they will carry with them what they believed before. What has been clarified for them, of the basic principles, they accept, and they reject things, which obviously contradict. But it doesn’t mean that every last thought that they have, and everything that was wrong in their philosophies, ideology and concepts will be erased. They will carry these things in with them. This is why in the later part of the Prophet’s sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam life, prior to his death, when he was coming back from one of the battles, his companions asked him to set aside a tree for them, that they could hang their weapons on, like the way the pagans would hang their weapons on trees, believing that when they hung the weapons, it became super-powerful, as if some power was coming from the tree, that their shields would now block steel and their swords would cut through the enemy. Some of the companions who had newly accepted Islâm, asked the Prophet sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam to designate one for them, a special one, an Islamic one. They understood that what the pagans had, this was wrong. These were the companions of the Prophet sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam and he had to clarify it for them. He said:

You are like the companions of Mûsâ who asked to have the calf built.

And he clarified for them that all of this is shirk and there is no place for it in Islâm. So if it could happen to some of the companions, then we cannot blame the generations who have come after them, who come into Islâm and carry with them some of their old ideas. What it is for us to do is to clarify.

So what we have in front of us then, is that Allâh created this universe out of nothing, and everything that is in it was created. For example:

“Allâh created all things, and he is the agent, upon which, all things depend.” [Sûrah 39, verse 62]

This is the reality. This is stressed for us, in order for us to realize that ultimately, all good, all evil, that takes place in the world, only takes place by the permission of Allâh. Therefore we should not seek any other channels to protect ourselves from evil, or to gather for ourselves good, as people commonly do today. They will go to fortunetellers, this is big business today, all the magazines have various forms of fortunetellers like dial a horoscope etc. in a society that has lost touch with Allâh, this is what is open to them. Allâh has stressed for us that no calamity will befall us except by Allâh’s permission;

“Nothing is taking place in this world except by the permission of Allâh.”

And the Prophet sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam further emphasized this principle by saying;

“If the whole of mankind gathered to do some thing to help us, they could help in anything which Allâh had not already written for us. And if the whole of mankind gathered together to harm us, then they would not be able to harm with anything which Allâh had not already written for us.”

Therefore what is required of us is to depend on Allâh, put our trust in Allâh. This is what we have to draw out of this attribute of Allâh being the creator. This creation exists because of that attribute. Its practical significance to us lies in putting our trust in Allâh.

There is another aspect, besides the fact that the creation exists because Allâh is the creator. We can also see from what the Prophet sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam has informed us, that in the creation there is manifestation of Allâh’s attributes of mercy, forgiveness, kindness etc etc. Allâh created man in paradise, they disobeyed Allâh, but Allâh had taught them how to repent, how to turn back to him and seek his forgiveness, then he would forgive them. Having done that, they were forgiven, Adam became the first prophet, and mankind was absolved of that sin. The story of Adam and Eve is the story of human existence. Human beings are given a consciousness of Allâh. When Allâh created all human beings, as he states in the Qur’ân, he took from Âdam (Adam) all of his descendents, and made them all bear witness that Allâh is their Lord. So we are all born with that consciousness. He has also given us a consciousness of what is right and what is wrong.

“We have inspired each and every soul to an awareness of corruption and righteousness.”

Allâh gave revelation through his commandments, not to eat of the tree. However, human beings forget. And when they forget Allâh then they fall into sin. We can absolve ourselves of that sin by means of repentance, and Allâh forgives us when we repent sincerely. The Prophet sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said;

“The one who repents is like the one without sin.”

“If you did not commit sins and turn to Allâh seeking his forgiveness, then he would replace you with another people who would sin, ask Allâh’s forgiveness and he would forgive them.”

So in our sinning and asking Allâh’s forgiveness, the attribute of Allâh’s mercy and forgiveness becomes manifest. Allâh knew what we were going to do before he created us, he knew that he was creating a species who would sin. If he didn’t wan t them to sin, if it was not his intention to permit them to sin, then he could have created angels, more angels. But the had already created angels, so he chose to create a being, that would disobey his commandments through forgetfulness or just simple disobedience, but would turn back to him in repentance, and his attribute of forgiveness would become manifest. Similarly, his mercy;

The Prophet sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam is quoted as saying that when Allâh created the universe, He made an obligation on Himself, recorded in a document, kept by Him, that “My mercy precedes my wrath.” He sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam also was reported as saying;

“Allâh created mercy with a hundred parts. One of which was sent down upon the jinn and human beings and other living creatures. It is out of this one part that they love each other, show kindness to one another, and even the animals treat their offspring with affection. Allâh has reserved the remaining ninety-nine parts for his true worshippers on the Day of Judgment.”

This is the mercy of Allâh manifest in his creation. What is also manifest in creation, in the act of creation, the creation of man, is his attribute of justice, fairness, which comes out as the judgment at the end of this world. I am sure we have all read the ahadîth in which the Prophet sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:

“Allâh created some people for hell and some people for paradise.”

For allot of people, this is something very heavy. And the companions, they asked the prophet sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam then what is the point in doing good deeds? If Allâh created some for heaven and some for hell then what is the pin in doing anything? It has already been decided. The Prophet sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:

“Each one of you will find it easy to do what he was created for.”

So if you choose the evil way, you find it easy and you carry on in that way, then that was what you were created for. But ultimately it is your choice. You choose hell. The fact hat Allâh has recorded, before anything was created, who would be in hell and who would be in heaven does not change the fact that it is we who choose. The judgment is only to manifest to those who go to hell, that they deserve to be in hell. It is only for them basically. Because if Allâh created you, and put you in paradise, with all that is in paradise, and you see those people in hell suffering, are you going to ask Allâh, why did you put me in paradise? No. your going to say “all praise be to Allâh!” you don’t want to question or to wonder, all you will be is ecstatic that you are of those in paradise. So the judgment is not for you, it is for those who are going to hell. If you happen to be amongst those who were created for and put in hell, you would say, why me? Why did you put me in hell? And Allâh would say; because you would have done so and so in your life. But you would say; no, no I wouldn’t. If  you give me a chance I would do good deeds. You would not give up arguing.

So Allâh has allowed us to live out our lives. So when we stand before him, our book of deeds is spread before us, we know without a shadow of a doubt, that we chose hell. That Allâh’s judgment is just. There is no injustice in it, in any way shape or form. Allâh says he oppresses no one. We will know that we chose hell.

And the only thing that remains for us, and I pray that it is not in fact us, who are going to hell, is to beg Allâh for another chance. Allâh says;

“If you cold only see when the sinners will bow their heads before their lord, saying; O Lord, we have now seen and heard, so send us back and we will do righteous deeds. Verily, we now believe with certainty.”

This is the only response, which will be left for them. Or as Allâh said;

“And those whose light scales of good deeds, they ruined themselves and they will be in hell eternally. The fire will burn their faces, and they will grin with disfigured lips, I will say to them; Were My Verses not recited to you, and you rejected them? They will reply; Our Lord, our misery overcame us and we were a people astray. Our Lord, bring us out of this, and if we ever return we will truly be unjust.”

When we die, there remains behind us a barrier, the Barzakh, none of us will come back, it is a one-way ticket. Those poor individuals who think they will get another chance, this is the new age religion, they think it is new, but it is just plain old Hindu delusion, that when you die, you get another chance to come back again. The effects of this actually, among Hindus, where I am in the UAE, there are a lot of Hindus here, everyday in the news paper you read about a Hindu man or woman who ties a rope to a ceiling fan, which is found in many of the homes, put it around their neck, kicked away the chair and passed out of this world. Suicide is common amongst them. Why? Because they think they have another chance. It will be a rude awakening for them when they meet the angel of death and find themselves in the next life, realizing that there is no coming back.

In the creation of man is manifest the grace of Allâh. This is a particular point which all of us should reflect on and be thankful to Allâh for. His grace, and Christians, they like to refer to us Muslims as those who don’t believe in the grace of God, we are those who look at God’s judgment and it is just about deeds, you do good then you go to heaven, you do bad and you go to hell, that is it, no grace there at all. For them the grace of God is there for all those who accept that he became a man, and was crucified by man, to provide salvation for human beings who’s sins had become so great that they could not remove that sin through any act themselves. So it was with the spilling of the “Blood of God” that we could be absolved of our sins. For them, if you accept that God spilt his blood for mankind’s salvation, then you have earned the grace of God. Does not matter what you do as long as you have accepted this belief in the grace of God.

Muslims also believe in the grace of God. Actually it plays a major and significant role. Often it is not stressed but it is important for us to realize how the grace of Allâh is manifest in our creation. The Prophet sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said;

“Observe moderation, but if you fail, try to do as much as you can moderately and be happy. For none of you will enter Paradise only because of his deeds.”

Of course when the companions heard that they said;

“O messenger of Allâh, not even you? And the prophet sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, not even me. Were it not that Allâh wrapped me in his mercy. And bear in mind that the deed most loved by Allâh is one done constantly even if it is small”

What does this mean? It means that God’s grace is manifest in our lives in that were He to call us to account, one good deed, one evil deed, equal to each other, then we would not enter paradise, not even the prophets of Allâh. But Allâh through his grace and mercy has multiplied the value of the good deeds. Allâh says;

“Whoever brings a good deed, shall the value of ten like it. And whoever brings an evil deed will be punished with one like it. And they will not be wronged.” [Sûrah Âl-’Imrân, verse 160]

This is Allâh’s grace. Good deeds erase evil deeds. One good deed will erase at least ten evil deeds. Allâh’s grace is not arbitrary, simply because you say I believe you have his grace, no matter what you do, no. The more good you do, the more of his grace is manifest in you. If you chose evil and reject the good, then you don’t receive His grace, it doesn’t matter what you say. If you say, I am a Muslim, I believe, but really you don’t believe, it is just some words you are saying, them you will not be subject to the grace of Allâh.

So the creation is a manifestation of Allâh’s attribute of being the creator. In the creation of man within the scheme of things, there is manifest Allâh’s attribute of mercy, his attribute of justice and this is the reason for the creation of man from the point of view of Allâh. From human perspective, why did God create man in terms of for what purpose? Then this is the one we all know and are familiar with;

“We did not create the jinn and men except to worship us” [Sûrah adh-Dhariyyat, verse 56)

So relative to Allâh, we were created in a means or a way in which Allâh has chosen to manifest his attributes of creation, mercy, grace etc and he could have chosen another one. But relative to us as human beings, we know that our purpose is to worship Allâh. As we said, Allâh does not need our worship, a Allâh didn’t need to create. When he created us to worship him, he didn’t create us, out of a need for our worship, because Allâh has no needs. In a famous hadîth qudsî in which Allâh says;

If all of you, jinn and mankind, were to worship like the most righteous amongst you, it would not increase the dominion of Allâh in any way shape or form. And if all of us, jinn and mankind …

Therefore when we look for the purpose of worship, we have to look into man. Allâh created us to worship him, because we need to worship him. It is something he has given us as a means of benefiting ourselves. We are the ones who benefit from it. Worship has been established, fundamentally for the growth, the spiritual growth of man. This growth takes place through the remembrance of Allâh. When you look at all the different aspects of worship, you will see the core of it is focused on the remembrance of Allâh.

“Establish the prayer for My remembrance.”

This is the essence for the consciousness of God. Allâh says that he has:

“…prescribed for us fasting, as he prescribed it for those before us, so that we may fear him.”

Worship is there for us to remember Allâh. And it is in the remembrance of Allâh, that we achieve that consciousness. Because it is when we forget Allâh, that Shaytân causes us to disobey Allâh and fall into sin. So it is only in His remembrance that we can attain salvation. All of the various acts of worship from saying “Bismillâh” when we eat is to help us remember Allâh in order to grow spiritually.

Allâh has said that he has created us to test us, to see which of us is best in deeds. He is not testing us to know, in the sense that he doesn’t  already know, but this world is a test for us in order again that we can grow spiritually.

We cannot develop this spiritual characteristic of generosity unless some of us have more then others and then we are required to give of the wealth we have. When we give, we grow. Similarly, if we were not in a position where others had more then us then we wouldn’t have the ability to develop the higher spiritual quality of contentment, patience, satisfaction in what Allâh has given us.

So it is all there in order to bring out the higher spiritual qualities, which enable us to attain the state, which makes us suitable and eligible to return to paradise. The paradise from which we were created, we were created in paradise and for paradise. Through our choices we have left, in this life, a field of testing, where we can grow to a state where we deserve paradise.

The purpose of this life is the worship of Allâh, this life is a test. A test for us, will we worship Allâh, or will we forget Him. This is where our focus has to begin.

The Day of Resurrection (By: Muhammad Mitwaly Ash-Sha’rawy)

When the end of this world comes, everything shall be overturned. Everything we now see on the earth will disappear and ends: the sun, the mountains, the seas, the sky, the earth. Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, appointed a time for the Day of Resurrection that none knows it but Him. But out of mercifulness towards us He gave us the portents of the Hour through what is reported to us by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Generally speaking, it is the disturbance of the moral balances in the universe. They are the balances set by the Law of Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, which should have governed people’s life to make the world a righteous place.

Among the portents is to see abominable acts deemed lawful, and people boasting of committing what incurs the Anger of Allah. Whereas righteous acts are condemned among people. If you render back the trusts, people accuse you of foolishness and ignorance. People earn ill-gotten money and become experts in attaining it and are even proud of it. Every person withholds what he has. The manufacturer does not attend properly to his craft nor the farmer. People refuse to use the power and means that Allah has bestowed upon them in helping the needy or the oppressed.

Among its portents also is the loss of rights among people. Desires are followed. Hypocrites assume the highest worldly positions but people marked by sound wisdom and judgment are unheeded. Authority comes in the hands of unfit persons, which means that jobs and high posts are not assigned on the basis of efficiency and experience but on the basis of personal inclinations and whether being favored or not by the people wielding authority. Competence then is of no value.

Achievements are not ascribed to their doers. We find people claiming that they have done but they have not. Man claims that he is the origin in the universe and that everything is subject to his will and power, thus we find those who say: “The era of religion has ended and the era of science has begun!”

The Portents of the Last Hour

Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, gives us in the Noble Qur’an one of the signs of the advent of the Last Hour in His Saying, all glory is to Him:

[Until when the earth is clad with its adornments and is beautified, and its people think that they have all the powers of disposal over it, Our Command reaches it by night or by day and We make it like a clean-mown harvest, as if it had not flourished yesterday! Thus do We explain the signs in detail for the people who reflect.] [Yûnus, 10: 24]

On contemplating the meaning of this glorious Ayah we will find that before the Day of Resurrection the earth will be fully adorned and beautified. On its surface rise the high modern towers, big cities, and whatever may adorn the earth from ornaments and make worldly life attractive to people, and shows it to them in its most beautiful shapes. This will not happen except through the advance of civilization in a way that makes man capable of realizing many things. He can travel from one country to another in a short time. He can manage his household and what is outside his home by remote control. He presses a button and food is served and presses another and he moves easily from a place to another.

In other words, life on the earth will reach the peak of technology, which realizes to man luxury.

The Saying of Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, [and its people think that they have all the powers of disposal over it] [10: 24] is a proof that people will forget Allah, The Exalted and Ever-Majestic, and His Power. They will forget that He is The One Who created this universe and established it laws and everything in it. They will ascribe this to themselves and think that they have the power to do whatever they want in the land. That earth is submissive to their will and powers by the science they have achieved. When the earth and whatever in it submits only to the Will of Allah. Him Alone is the doer of what He wills.

When the earth and the universe are destroyed

When people forget Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, and are deceived by their power the Command of Allah comes by night or day, because night and day always exist on the earth. There is no night on the surface of the earth without day, and no day without night but they exist together. So, when the Command of Allah comes night and day will be there.

His Saying [and We make it like a clean-mown harvest, as if it had not flourished yesterday] [10: 24] means that everything on the earth from ornaments and embellishments will be destroyed. All of a sudden the earth will be barren, nothing on it. Everything mankind has done during the long centuries will vanish and end in seconds. But when will this happen?

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless and grant him peace) said: “If you see that people have deadened the prayers, wasted the trusts, eaten Ribâ (i.e. usury or usurious interests), deemed lying permissible, traded religion for worldly life, then these are among the signs of the Hour.”

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless and grant him peace) gives us further signs of the Last Hour, as when people slight bloodshed, thus murder and assassination prevail. And when the chief of people is the wickedest among them – though he should be the oldest or the one most honored by virtue of adhering to noble manners. Also, when people use unjust measures, which means that usurping people’s rights prevail. And prevalence of superstitions – thus people believe in fortune-telling and palmistry and other arts of charlatans.

When the Trumpet is blown

There are major signs of the Last Hour but we shall not discuss them. The question is: what shall happen when the Last Hour come? As we have already said everything shall be destroyed and the Trumpet shall be blown as Almighty Allah says what means:

[And the Horn will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will fall dead except whom Allah wills. Then it will be blown again, and at once they will be standing, looking on] [Az-Zumar, 39: 68]

Thus, the first blowing of the Trumpet is before resurrection. Whereupon, whoever is in the heavens and on the earth will fall dead, not mankind alone, or mankind and jinn but all the creatures of Allah in the heavens or on the earth. It shall include the angels and other creatures except him whom Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, wills that he shall remain.

Then follows the second blowing. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says what means: [and at once they will be standing, looking on] [39: 68] meaning whoever Allah wills that he should return to life once again and all who would witness the Day of Resurrection.

The sight…before the hearing

Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, says at the end of Ayah 68 [looking on]

[looking on] here has two meanings:

The first meaning: [looking on] is seeing one another. In worldly life and in the life of Barzakh there are things that we see and others that we do not see. But at the moment of resurrection all the creatures of Allah will see one another. We shall see Satan and his offspring. We shall see the angels and those who lived before us from the time of the Prophet Adam (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) up till now. And also see the extinct species. We shall see all this.

The second meaning: Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, in this glorious Ayah states the sight before the hearing though in all the glorious Ayat of the Noble Qur’an the hearing is stated before the sight, all with the exception of two Ayat.

Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says what means:

[And Allah has brought you out from the wombs of your mothers while you know nothing. And He gave you hearing, sight, and hearts that you might give thanks (to Allah)] [An-Nahl, 16: 78]

And His Saying:

[It is He, Who has created for you (the sense of) hearing (ears), sight (eyes), and hearts (understanding). Little thanks you give] [Al-Mu‘minûn, 23: 78]

And His Saying:

[Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart – about all those [one] will be questioned] [Al-Isrâ’, 17: 36]

In all the glorious Ayat of the Noble Qur’an in which the hearing and the sight are stated, the hearing precedes the sight because the ear performs its function from the moment of birth. Moreover, it does not sleep because it is the organ of summoning.

Ear then is the instrument of knowledge and learning. You hear much more than you see. And to speak you have to first hear. Through the ear we receive knowledge, language, speech and the like.

But only in two glorious Ayat Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, states the sight before the hearing in His Saying:

[”Our Lord, we have seen and heard, so return us [to the world]; we will work righteousness. Indeed, we are [now] certain.”] [As-­Sajdah, 32: 12]

[And at once they will be standing, looking on] [Az-Zumar, 39: 68]

The reason is that seeing will (in this situation) precede hearing. When we come out from the graves on the Day of Resurrection we will first see then hear…see what? We shall see the earth speedily cleaving asunder and people emerging from it. We shall see throngs of people as if they were locusts spreading, from their density.

The Noble Qur’an gives us more than a picture of the Day of Al-Hashir (cramming tightly together), where Allah, The Most Exalted, says about it:

[On the Day the earth breaks away from them [and they emerge] rapidly; that is a gathering easy for Us.] [Qâf, 50: 44]

[Their eyes humbled, they will emerge from the graves as if they were locusts spreading,] [Al-Qamar, 54:7]

How Al-Hashir will be like?

There are other Ayat in the Noble Qur’an that describes the scenes of the Day of Resurrection.

Just imagine all mankind, from the time of the Prophet Adam (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) till the Day of Resurrection, coming out from inside the earth all at on time. It will be straitened because they lived on it at different times, generation after generation. But on this Day they will come all at one time. That is why it is called the Day of Al-Hashir (Crowding), because people will be crowded closely together.

Al-Hashir (Crowding) in Arabic means to force things into an insufficient space, where everything becomes closely packed together, moving with difficulty, hardly finding a place. This is how it will be like at the hour of Crowding. Huge number of people and Jinn, besides other creatures of Allah; all will be gathered closely together on the earth we once lived on.

Concerning this, Almighty Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says what means:

[Thereof (the earth) We created you, and into it We shall return you, and from it We shall bring you out once again] [Tâ­-Hâ, 20: 55]

If you want to imagine the picture, look at the swarms of locusts and how they come together in huge numbers screening the sun’s disk, and none can count them. This is how people will be like on the Day of Resurrection. They will emerge in large numbers, as if they were infinite swarms of locusts.

But will every person come out, free to go wherever he wants? Will we all come out to mingle with one another in a big mass? No, the time of human free choice has ended and we will no longer have choice in anything.

Everyone of us will be entrusted to an angel who will take him from the land from which we shall come out to the Land of Promise, where man shall be judged. None is left on his own, but every person has a specified place wherefrom he shall come out, and an angel charged with him. The angel is the one who shall drive him and man will never be able to escape from the Decree of Allah.

Every man with his deeds

Every man will come out his deeds with him. But we will not come out the same way. There are those who performed good deeds, they will come out lightly. They will not feel the horror of resurrection nor the severity of the event, because Allah has lightened it for them.

On the other hand, there are those whose deeds are evil, Allah forbid. These people will come out stumbling, on the strength of the Saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, which means:

[O mankind, fear your Lord. Indeed, the convulsion of the [final] Hour is a terrible thing. On the Day you see it every nursing mother will be distracted from that [child] she was nursing, and every pregnant woman will abort her pregnancy, and you will see the people [appearing] intoxicated while they are not intoxicated; but the punishment of Allah is severe.] [Al-Hajj, 22: 1-2]

Thus we shall see people coming out of their graves. Swinging back and forth from the horror of the situation, as if intoxicated. Because the punishment awaiting the sinners among them is certainly severe; it violently shakes the strongest souls, most capable of enduring hardships.

The disbeliever and what shall he say?

As for the disbeliever he will come out in a terrible state. At that moment everyone of them will wish that he has never existed. He will wish that he turns into a handful of dust that people step on rather than standing before Allah to be judged.

Please read the Saying of Allah, The Most Exalted, which means:

[And the disbeliever will say: “Woe to me! Would that I were dust!”] [An-Naba’, 78: 40]

At the hour of coming out every human will try to rescue himself. He will seek all means, perhaps he can save himself from the horror of this situation and from the punishment awaiting him.

The sinners, the disobedient rebels, and those who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning] will try to seek the help of the believers, while seeing them in a shiny appearance. But the believers will run from them. Everyone in this situation only cares for himself, everyone seeks the way of deliverance by whatever means.

Please read the Saying of Allah, The Most Exalted, which means:

[That Day shall a man flee from his brother, and from his mother and his father, and from his wife and his children. Everyman, that Day, will have enough to make him careless of others.] [‘Abasa, 80: 34-37]

On this day it is useless to call for the help of another, even if he was the closest person to oneself. Kinship is totally cancelled that Day and only deeds remain. Therefore, if one of the evildoers or the disbelievers tries to call for the help of his mother or father – who are of all people the closest to him – they will escape from him because of the horror of the situation. The father runs from his disobedient son, and the mother runs from her disobedient daughter. And friends each running from the other because the horror on that Day shall be mighty.

When kinship disappears

Allah completely removes from the hearts all feelings of kinship and relationship between the righteous and the wicked people. Man finds himself only with his deeds; if they are good, they will be for him glad tidings and light. And if his deeds are evil, they will be for him distress, horror and misery.

Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says what means:

[So when the Horn is blown, no relationship will there be among them that Day, nor will they ask about one another.] [Al-Mu’minûn, 23: 101]

On that Day Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, cancels kinship between the believers and disbelievers. Feelings of kinship no longer exist but kinship and affinity is by grace of faith alone. The believer becomes the brother of the believer, between them is mutual love and mercy.

As for the sinners who were joined by the worldly ties of kinship, relationship or close friendship, who did not leave the company of one another, in this situation they will become enemies. Each blaming the other for driving him to torment and punishment.

Concerning this, Allah, The Most Exalted, says what means:

[Close friends, that Day, will be enemies to each other, except for the righteous] [Az-Zukhruf, 43: 67]

People’s state shall differ

But will people’s state be the same? No, they will be degrees according to their deeds. This Hour shall pass on the servants brought near to Allah most easily. Their face will be laughing, rejoicing at the good news of Paradise. The companions of the right as well, each according to his degree. But they will be all rejoicing at good news. You can see purity, light and serenity all over their faces.

By His Mercy Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, lightens for them everything. They do not feel the great horror. But tranquility fills their hearts and light surrounds them. The Mercy of Allah relieves them from the severity of the situation.

The people of the Fire are also degrees. The face of everyone among them will be covered with distress and sorrow. They will stand filled with misery and great horror. They will carry their deeds and sins over their backs. You will look at their faces and find them as if black from distress and sorrow. No trace of joy or light on them. But great sorrow encircles them. They will look around them searching for a way out. But where is the way out? Where is the escape?

The angel charged with everyone of them stands and does leave him for an instant. Their deeds are heavy, which make their movement difficult and painful. It is almost impossible. Some from the heaviness of the burdens they carry will not be able to move, but will crawl on their bellies from the heaviness of the sins they carry on their backs.

To know what shall appear over the faces of the righteous people and those of the guilty sinners, read the Saying of Allah, The Most Exalted, which means:

[[Some] faces, that Day, will be bright – Laughing, rejoicing at good news. And [other] faces, that Day, will have upon them dust. Blackness will cover them. Those are the disbelievers, the wicked ones.] [‘Abasa, 80: 38-42]

Just by looking at the face you will know the destiny of the person. The laughing and rejoicing faces are those of the people of Paradise. As for the other faces, it is enough that their owners know that their destination is Hell, thus one can perceive the impression on their faces.

An angel charged with every soul

Every one has an angel responsible for him, according to the Saying of Allah, The Most Exalted, which means:

[And every soul will come, with it a driver and a witness.] [Qâf, 50: 21]

The driver is the one who drives the sheep. He moves behind it and not before it. So that when they lose the way he drives them back to the way they must follow.

Thus, will be the angel charged with the soul, walking behind it, and the soul before it and the angel never leaves it. The angel is the one who will direct it to its special place on the Land of Promise. As for the witness, it is the deeds that will testify for or against the soul. It is the full tape of its life history, not an incident missing.

This gathering shall stand waiting Allah’s Command of moving from the Land of Hashir (Crowding) to that of Promise, where Judgment is executed. The sun will draw near to the heads of the creatures. All people will feel the horror they now see and they seek an intercessor who will intercede with Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, for them. They will find none except Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

Thus, before resurrection the Trumpet shall be blown and whoever is in the heavens and on the earth will fall dead. Then, it shall be blown for the second time and the earth will break away from the creatures buried within it with great speed. Every human will come out with his deeds. The righteous are filled with joy and happiness. Whereas, the faces of the people of the Fire are dark, over them is the Anger of Allah, looking for an intercessor but finding none.

On that Day every person will care for no one except himself. Those who were joined together by obedience in worldly life would be friends of one another. Whereas, those who were joined by sin would be enemies of one another. Every soul has an angel charged with it to lead it to the Land of Promise, where Judgment shall be executed.

Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, describes that situation and the mighty horror in it by saying what means:

[Then how can you fear, if you disbelieve, a Day that will make the children white-haired?] [Al-Muzzammil, 73: 17]

Afterwards, we come to the intercession of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and the awesome standing before Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, and how Judgment shall take place?

Source:  The Day of Resurrection (By: Muhammad Mitwaly Ash-Sha’rawy)

Before discussing the Day of Resurrection and the events that shall take place on it, we have to discuss life in the grave or life of Barzakh1.

Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, has specified the stages of life in certain glorious Ayat. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says about people when they shall be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection what means:

[They will say: “Our Lord! You have made us to die twice2, and You have given us life twice3! Now we confess our sins, then is there any way to get out (of the Fire)?”] [Ghâfir, 40: 11]

But this Ayah does not clarify to us how this happens or the order of its realization, thus another Ayah comes in which Allah says what means:

[How can you disbelieve in Allah? Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life. Then He will give you death, then again will bring you to life (on the Day of Resurrection) and then unto Him you will return.] [Al-Baqarah, 2: 28]

Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, has given us in this glorious Ayah an ordered specification of all the stages of life till the Day of Resurrection. First we were dead, then Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, gave us life. Then He shall make us die then He shall resurrect us, alive, on the Day of Resurrection to face Judgment.

We notice here that life in this world started with death and not with life. According to our logic it should have started with life. The beginning of creation – as we understand it – is life. By relying on this conception we do not then understand the meaning of life.

People understand the meaning of life as the time during which man exists, and death as nonexistence or nothingness, whereas the truth is totally different.

Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, says what means:

[[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed – and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving] [Al-Mulk , 67: 2]

Thus, death is not nonexistence, but one of the creations of Allah just as life. Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, created death just as He created life. Both are the creations of Allah. Each is governed by its own rules, its time of occurrence and its events. Only Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, is The One Able to transfer His creatures from the world of death to that of life, or from the world of life to that of death.

The meaning of life and the meaning of death

What is the meaning of life? And what is the meaning of death?

Some people say that life is sense and motion and that everything that appears senseless and motionless is lifeless, such as inanimate objects. We say that this is untrue. Everything in this world has a life but a life that fits its duty.

Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says what means:

[The seven heavens and the earth and whatever is in them exalt Him. And there is not a thing except that it exalts [Allah] by His praise, but you do not understand their [way of] exalting. Indeed, He is ever Forbearing and Forgiving.] [Al-Isrâ’, 17: 44]

Hence, whosoever is called “A thing” glorifies the praises of Allah. The land glorifies Him and the mountains glorify Him. Almighty Allah says what means:

[And We subjected the mountains to exalt [Us], along with David and [also] the birds.] [Al-Anbiyâ’, 21: 79]

And His Saying:

[Whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth glorifies Allah, the King (of everything), the Holy, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.] [Al-Jumu’ah, 62: 1]

The matter even surpasses this, for the things which we see in front of us solid, lacking sense and motion, have emotions which they express through crying and the like. Did not the palm trunk which the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to lean on while delivering sermons in the Masjid utter a moan when the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) left it to deliver sermons from the pulpit the believers had built for him?

Did not Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, say in His Noble Book what means:

[And the heaven and earth wept not for them, nor were they reprieved.] [Ad-Dukhân, 44: 29]

The earth and the heaven cry, the mountains and the pebbles glorify Allah. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) heard the glorification of the pebbles in his noble hands. Everything in this universe has a life that fits its mission. Everything has sense and motion we are unaware of, but they do exist.

We learned in school when we studied magnetism that the iron particles assume a certain form when a magnet is passed over them. They brought a tube containing iron particles and in front of us they passed over it a magnet. So, the particles took a particular form and order, as well as acquiring special characteristics under the effect of magnetism.

What happened before us in the iron particles also happens in the iron bar which is not broken into particles, but we cannot see it. When we pass a magnet over the iron bar it become magnetized, but can we see the reordering that happen to its particles? Of course not, but the conducted experiment has proved that this do happen although we cannot see it.

Moreover, when we read the glorious Ayah saying what means:

[Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke and said to it and to the earth, “Come [into being], willingly or by compulsion.” They said, “We have come willingly.”] [As-Sâffât, 37: 11]

We have to pay attention to His Saying (in the above-mentioned Ayah) [They said] to learn that the heaven and earth have a language with which they speak. They also hear on the strength of the Saying of Allah, The Most Exalted, which means:

[When the heaven is split asunder, and listens and obeys its Lord, and it must do so] [Al-Inshiqâq, 84: 1-2]

Thus, the heavens will listen to and at once obey Allah’s Command of splitting asunder on the Day of Resurrection.

This way we see that everything in this universe has a life that fits its mission. The belief that inanimate objects are dead and lifeless is wrong.

Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, has created two lives: the first is worldly life, which is temporal. In it everything has an end. The share of each one of us in it is different. Some people live for hours, some for a day, some for months, some for years and some live till they reach the most decrepit [old] age.

Allah made the end of worldly life the transmission to the world of death. The life of the Hereafter is eternal; there is no death in it. The period of the existence of death ends by the beginning of the life of the Hereafter, where there shall be no more death.

Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, has pointed to us that true life for mankind is not in this world but in the Hereafter. Because life in the Hereafter is eternal, where the bestowed blessings are by the immediate Power of Almighty Allah. You will neither leave the blessings nor will they forsake you.

Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, created a death world that precedes birth in worldly life, and another death world at departure from worldly life and before the beginning of the Hereafter.

Therefore, Almighty Allah says what means:

[And indeed, the home of the Hereafter – that is the [eternal] life, if only they knew.] [29. Al-‘Ankabût, 29: 64]

Transmission from death to life, and from life to death, and from death back to life in the Hereafter happens by the Will of Allah, all praise and glory is to Him.

Now we come to the glorious Ayah saying what means:

[How can you disbelieve in Allah? Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life. Then He will give you death, then again will bring you to life (on the Day of Resurrection) and then unto Him you will return.] [Al-Baqarah, 2: 28]

When Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, created the Prophet Adam (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) He created in him all his offspring from the first till the last ones upon whom the Hour (of Resurrection) will come, based on His Saying, Blessed and Exalted is He, what means:

[And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam – from their loins – their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], “Am I not your Lord?” They said, “Yes, we have testified.” [This] – lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, “Indeed, we were of this unaware.”] [Al-A‘râf, 7: 172]

To understand this Saying we must state that life cannot continue if its rings are not linked together. My life is from an alive spermatozoon from my father. And my father’s life is from an alive spermatozoon from my grandfather. And my grandfather’s life is from his father…and so forth until we reach Adam (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). If the life chain was cut at any of its rings it would not have continued. If my father died before life was transmitted from him to me, I would not have existed and I would not have come to life.

Since the creation of Adam

So, we exist since the creation of Adam (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). But we existed in Dhar world4, a world to which applies the laws of death. When comes the Command of Allah we are transferred from Dhar world to the world of worldly life; a world where life is through means. We spend in the world of worldly life as much as Allah wills for us to spend then comes the time of death and we move to the death world, then we move after that to the world of the life of the Hereafter.

This is the meaning of the glorious Ayah:

[Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life. Then He will give you death, then again will bring you to life (on the Day of Resurrection) and then unto Him you will return.] [Al-Baqarah, 2: 28]

Out of His Mercifulness towards us Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, has revealed to us how man moves from worldly life to death; through one of two ways. When man is dying he sees what he could not see before. He knows his destination, either to Paradise or to Hell, Allah forbid.

The two images that Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, gives us in the Noble Qur’an are of the believer and the disbeliever, while departing the life of this world to the life of Barzakh.

Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says what means:

[The ones whom the angels take in death, [being] good and pure; [the angels] will say, “Peace be upon you. Enter Paradise for what you used to do.”] [An-Nahl, 16: 32]

This is the picture of the believer while dying; he is surrounded by the angels of mercy and they greet him with peace and give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise. Therefore, the believer is happy and relieved. He is going to a far better place. It is an hour of bright prospect, of comfort and happiness hoped by every believer: to see the angels of mercy and be given the glad tidings of entering Paradise.

Death to the disbeliever

We come after that to the next image which Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, gives to us in the Noble Qur’an for the disbelievers and sinners.

Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says what means:

[And if you could but see when the angels take the souls of those who disbelieved… They are striking their faces and their backs and [saying], “Taste the punishment of the Burning Fire.] [Al-Anfâl, 8: 50]

From this glorious Ayah we know the state of dying in case of the disbeliever. He sees the angels of torment, who instead of greeting him with peace, meet him with strikes on his face and back. They warn him of Hell and the punishment of the Burning Fire. At such a moment he wishes that he was never born.

At these moments he feels the atrocious crime he committed in his life. All the pleasures he obtained by forbidden means do not parallel a moment of torture. So, his face convulses and is filled with gloom and distress never to leave it. He sees his place in Hell. A bleak fate which he wishes he can escape from, but he cannot. Humanity has ended and the time of choice for him has ended. He holds not for himself any power. Human free will is over and he becomes totally subjugated to Allah’s Command.

There is other Ayat in the Noble Qur’an that relate to us how will the wrongdoers face the moments of death, as His Saying:

[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.”] [Al-An‘âm , 6: 93]

This portrays another image of death moments for the oppressive tyrants on the earth, while the angels are challenging them to release themselves from torment by the power they once exercised on the earth. Of course, they are powerless because their humanity and might have ended. Everything in them is subjugated to Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, without any choice of them.

Thus, we know how the good and righteous are sent from life to death. And how the unjust tyrants are sent from life to death.

The righteous are surrounded by the angels of mercy, and the wrongdoers are stricken by the angels of torment. Then the hour of death ends and the soul departs from the body and man dies.

But, is death a nonexistence? No, it is departure from the world of living, whereas life is departure from the world of death. Both are departure from a creation of Allah to another world of His creation. It has its own laws and a different way of living. In it man submits to laws completely different from those of life.

There are many evidence that there is a life in the Barzakh which differs from worldly life in its laws, what surrounds it and what man sees and witnesses in it.

Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, has hidden these laws from us, but He sets forth for us in the Noble Qur’an examples that clarify certain aspects in life after death and what shall happen in it.

The first thing in it is that through the laws of life in the Barzakh we shall see what we have not seen in this world. In this world our vision is limited. But after death the blinders are lifted off our eyes to see many things, on the strength of the Saying of Allah, The Most Exalted, (which means):

[[It will be said], “You were certainly in unmindfulness of this, and We have removed from you your cover, so your sight, this Day, is sharp.”] [Qâf, 50: 22]

Thus, from the hour of dying man starts to see what he has not seen in worldly life because Allah lifts the veil of this world off him and he sees a new world. This world exists but he cannot see it in his journey of worldly life.

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “People are asleep and when they die, they wake up.”

How is man in the life of this world asleep and becomes alert only at death? Though we see him (i.e. the dead person) still before us?!

Alertness here arises from seeing what he could not see before. He now knows that all the unseen matters that Allah has informed him about are an actual existing reality but he was screened from them.

The dead people hear

When man dies he hears what is said around him but he cannot answer.

In the Battle of Badr, after it ended the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) stood near the killed from amongst the disbelievers and said: “O ‘Utbah bin Rabi‘ah, O Shaibah bin Rabi‘ah, O so and so….have you found what Allah has promised you true, for I have found what Allah has promised me true.”

Whereupon ‘Umar bin Al-Khattâb (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “O Messenger of Allah! Do you talk to people who have rotted?” He answered, “You do not hear better what I say than they, but they cannot reply.”

So, we understand that the dead people hear what is said around them but cannot reply, which constitutes another evidence that death is not nonexistence but transmission to another life that has its own laws.

When you read the Noble Qur’an, we reach the Saying of Allah, The Most Exalted, (which means):

[O you who have believed, do not make allies of a people with whom Allah has become angry. They have despaired of [reward in] the Hereafter just as the disbelievers (buried) in graves have been in despair.] (Al-Mumtahinah, 60: 13)

Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, warns the believers from taking the disbelievers as allies because the disbelievers have despaired to receive any goodness in the Hereafter. They either deny the Hereafter, or do not hope to receive any good from it; had they hoped for goodness they would have worked for it.

We must stop at the Saying of Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, (which means):

[They have despaired of [reward in] the Hereafter just as the disbelievers (buried) in graves have been in despair.] (Al-Mumtahinah, 60: 13)

We here ask: why have the disbelievers despaired?

The answer is that the disbelievers despaired because they have surely known their destiny and have surely known that Allah will not embrace them within His Mercy. Knowing this fact requires conception. Man can only experience despair when he knows that what he is hoping for is impossible. If death was nonexistence the disbelievers would not have despaired and would have sensed nothing. For nonexistence does not involve any kind of understanding, perception, vision or sense.

The disbelievers buried in graves

But the disbelievers buried in the graves are desperate of receiving any mercy in the Hereafter. And this can never be except if there is comprehension and awareness. Thus, death is not nonexistence but a world having its own laws where man understands and perceives.

There are many things that the dead experience and feel while between this world and the Hereafter. Since death is a creation and life is another one, both include a kind of sensibility different from the other. Both have their own laws and both are far removed from nonexistence.

We have to notice that Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, mention death before life in many Ayat in the Noble Qur’an. This is because death precedes life. Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, wants to always attract our attention to death, so that on remembering it we hurry to righteousness, faith and good deeds. It is needless to draw our attention to life for the motive power for life masters the human soul.

Who among us, when the first of the month comes, forgets to receive his salary? Or who among us does not try to get the biggest share from this world?

Thus, the motives for living in the human soul are many in order for man to be able to fulfill his mission in this world, making land a prosperous place, and building civilizations. But by remembering life every second we forget death. And if someone reminds us of it we seek refuge with Allah from it.

We need to always think of death as an inescapable reality. Therefore, Allah, The Exalted and Ever-Majestic, states death first in His Saying:

[[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed – and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving] [Al-Mulk, 67: 2]

Death is the end of the human power of free choice. In the life of this world you have a will and a freedom of choice. But at the moment of death the mission of human will ends, it no longer has a role to perform.

So, we have clarified the meaning of life and death. Both of them are creations of Allah. But the life that shall continue is the eternal life in the Hereafter. As for death, it shall end at resurrection. After resurrection there shall be no more death, but immortality in the life of the Hereafter.

Life is not – as we understand – sense and motion but everything in the universe has a life that suits it. The heavens, the earth, the inanimate objects…everything we think it to be lifeless has a life that suits its mission in the universe.

Death is not nonexistence, but a kind of life that has its own laws. It comprises many matters that Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, has kept hidden from us.

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1 The grave as the barrier or the intermediate realm that separates between this world and the other world, from the time of death till the time of Resurrection.

2 i.e. we were dead in the loins of our fathers and dead after our deaths in this world.

3 i.e. life when we were born and life when we are Resurrected.

4 World of particles.

Source: The Quran - The Miracle Of Miracles - By Ahmed Deedat

God Almighty is absolutely unique in His Person and in His attributes. In no way is he to be compared, or comparable, with any other person or thing that we know or can imagine. In the last verse of the Súra, quoted in the preceding chapter, we are reminded that not only “Is nothing like Him, but nothing is in the likeness of Him that can be imagined.” Then how can we know Him? We will realise him through His attributes.

The last and Final Revelation of God - the Holy Qur’an gives us ninety-nine attributes of God with the crowning name - ALLAH! These ninety-nine attributes or names called the Asma-ul-husna (the Most Beautiful names) are interspersed throughout the whole Qur’anic text, like a beautiful necklace of pearls with a magnificent pendant - Allah.

Here is a sample segment of that necklace:

“THE MOST BEAUTIFUL NAMES”
In the two verses quoted above, we count thirteen of the ninety-nine attributes interspersed throughout the Holy Qur’an. Even the most jaundiced and inimical opponent of Islam will be forced to admit that even in its translated form the attributes and the phraseology are beautiful and unique. In its original Arabic the wordings and their construction are absolutely inimitable and sublime.

How could an ummi, an unlettered person, among an

ummi - unlearned nation contrive such a rhapsody of God fourteen hundred years ago? We must remember that there were no encyclopaedias or treatises that Muhummed (pbuh) could consult even if they were lying around in the deserts of Arabia. From where, then, did Muhummed (pbuh) get this treasure trove of theology? He said, “It is all given to me by God through inspiration!” How else can we account for it?

It would be a good experiment to ask the most learned of our learned friends to conjure up some attributes of God for us. I assure you that with all their acquired knowledge the professors of theology and the doctors of divinity will not be able to recount even a dozen. The worldly-wise will say that “You see, Muhummed was a genius, and after all a genius can excel ten times better than us!” To which we respond: “It is true that a genius can do ten times better than us. The Prophet (pbuh) gave us ninety-nine attributes, but what makes his list MIRACULOUS and DIVINE is the one he left out of his list” The word “Father”, that is Miracle!

THE FATHER IN HEAVEN
In our human list, no contributor will fail to utter the word FATHER in the first half-a-dozen attributes. The miracle of Muhummed’s (pbuh) list [1] is not the “ninety-nine” but this particular one which he (?) kept out of his (?) Qur’an. The word “father” as an attribute of God was dangled before him for the twenty-three years of his prophetic life. He eschewed it. He kept it out of his vocabulary (consciously or unconsciously) for over two decades and hence out of the theology of Islam.

You have a right to ask me, “What about the Christians’ Lord’s Prayer?” Yes, what about it? Read it Mr. Deedat! So I read:

“O our father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

“What is wrong with that?” you ask. “Nothing!” Then why are the Muslims so allergic to it? I am not so jaundiced as our opponents. We have to acknowledge that the Christian prayer is a beautiful prayer but there are certain deficiencies in it. You see my child will never ever learn God’s name through this prayer. What is His Name? ^[2] In all the twenty-seven books of the New Testament God’s name does not occur even once! “Father” is given here as a substitute. This is not His Name! As an attribute, meaning - Lord, God, Creator, Provider, I can take no exception to it. “The loving Father in Heaven. 0 our Heavenly Father!” etc. We Muslims take exception to the new meaning, the acquired connotation of the word Father.

ONLY BEGOTTEN SON ETC.
In Christian theology, this simple, innocent word “Father” has acquired a novel meaning. He is, according to Christianity, the One Who BEGOT the son Jesus. They say in their catechism ^[3] - “Jesus is the very God of very God, begotten of the Father, begotten NOT made.” If words have any meaning, what does this mean? Of course it means what is says! God has many sons according to the Holy Bible. Adam, Israel, Ephraim, David, Solomon, etc … But all these are metaphorical sons. God Almighty as the Creator and Cherisher is metaphorically the father of His every creature; every animal or human being: but Jesus (pbuh), the Christians say, is not like these. He was BEGOTTEN, not MADE! This according to Islam is the most abominable utterance, attributing to God an animal nature - the lower animal function of sex!

MEANINGS CHANGE
In the beginning the word “Father” for God did not carry any blasphemous associations, but words do change in their meanings at times. I will give you just two as examples: “Comrade” and “gay.”

“Comrade:” originally a beautiful and innocent word, meaning - a friend, an associate or a companion derived from the Old French comrade, roommate or soldier sharing the same room. But today the same word stinks in the nostrils of the Americans as a “commy”, a communist, a member of the Marxist-Leninist party, any radical viewed as a subversive or revolutionary who should be eliminated as a pest or parasite. If any foolish friend addresses you today as COMRADE in the United States , he could jeopardise your career, as well as your life!

“Gay:” What is wrong with this word? Nothing at all! I learnt this word in my early schooling as showing or characterised by cheerfulness and light-hearted excitement; a merry person. I was taught to sing -

“GENTLE LORDS AND LADIES GAY ON THE
MOUNTAIN DAWNS THE DAY.”

I have forgotten the balance of the poem. Here, I understood the meaning of the word “gay” to mean happy and joyous. I did not have the slightest inkling that one day such an innocuous word which children learn at school would in time acquire a filthy, dirty meaning of being homosexual: sodomites and catamites in its very primary sense. So “LADIES GAY” would mean today - LADIES LESBIAN! In like manner the respectable word “Father” has become contaminated by the belief of - “the only BEGOTTEN of the Father!” etc.

RABB OR ABB?
God Almighty through Muhummed (pbuh) has protected Islam and the Muslims by keeping the word “Father” (ABB) for God, out of its religious vocabulary. It is a miraculous fact that though the Holy Qur’an lists ninety-nine attributes of God, including the word RABB which means - Lord, Cherisher, Sustainer, Evolver, etc, (this attribute Rabb occurs dozens of times in the Book of God) - But the easier word Abb, meaning “Father” in Arabic and in Hebrew, is not used even once, thus preserving the Muslims from the blasphemy of the only BEGOTTEN son! To whom must we give credit for this feat: Allah or Muhummed (pbuh)? The Holy Prophet (pbuh) disclaims any credit, always saying that all this is given to him by inspiration, the words ye hear are not his, they are God’s Word as dictated to Him!

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[1] This is not Muhummed’s list. The Qur’an is not his handiwork. I am using these terms in a manner of speaking to the unbeliever.

[2] A book under the same title: “What is His Name?” is available from the IPCI absolutely FREE of charge.

[3] Catechism: A short book giving, in question-and-answer form, a brief summary of the basic principles of a religion, especially Christianity.