Barzakh is an intermediate state between this world and the Hereafter. Everyone enters this state after death and remains in this realm until Judgement Day. Humans and jinns will be in states befitting their deeds in this world. This realm is greater in expanse than this world. The life in this world compared to the Barzakh is analogous to one’s life in their mother’s womb to life in this world.
Some souls will be in comfort and some will be in agony in the Barzakh, the intermediate world.
Every person has been allotted a time to live – this can neither increase nor decrease. When the time of an individual in this world is over, Ízrā’yīl will come to take out the soul [from the body; i.e., give him death]. The dying man will see rows of Angels on either side as far as he can see; if the departing person is a Muslim, he/she will see Angels of mercy and if he/she is a kafir, he/she will see angels of punishment. The truth of Islām will be apparent to everyone like the shining sun at that moment...but alas!
Accepting Islām at that moment is of no use – because one has to bear faith without seeing [ghayb] and at this point, one can clearly see everything and hence his/her belief after seeing the Angel of Death will not be of any use.
The connection of the soul with the body remains even after death. Even though the soul has left the body, it is aware of what is happening around it [i.e. the body] and is capable of feeling and perceives its surroundings just as it could when the person was alive. Rather this perception increases after death.
In this world, a body feels cold water, cool breeze, soft carpets, tasty foods – all these are sensed by the body but its pleasure and comfort is felt by the soul; similarly unsavoury effects are also sensed by the body, but its pain and agony is experienced by the soul. Also, there are many ways a soul can feel happiness, comfort, pain or sadness even without physical stimuli.
After a Muslim’s death, his/her soul is lodged in various places based on the person’s rank and state. Some remain near their graves Some are positioned near the Well of Zamzam Some are positioned between the heaven and the earth Some are on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th heaven Some are located even higher, beyond the seven heavens Some are near the lights that hang below the Grand Throne [ársh] Some in the highest of the ílliyyīn. Wherever they may be, their connection with their bodies remains intact.
They see and recognise those who come to visit them at their graves. The perception of souls is not merely near their graves [but souls can see far beyond].
This is similar to their description in the ĥadīth: ‘Like birds that were caged, and which have now been released’. Great scholars [imāms] have said: ‘Pure beings – when they are released from their bodies reach the highest firmament and they can see and hear everything, just as someone is present in that place’. It is said in the ĥadīth: ‘When a believer dies, paths are opened for him and they can go wherever they wish.’ Shāh Ábdu’l Ázīz [alDihlawī] has said: ‘Distances, far or near, are the same for the soul’. The unclean souls of disbelievers remain near their funeral pyres or in the places where they are sense organs, i.e. the body can detect – yet we are influenced by these thoughts and emotions.
Also, when one sees dreams that are pleasing – or of pleasure – one knows [albeit in a state of wakefulness] that there is no physical stimulus, yet, one can ‘feel’ the joys, tastes, pains, fears, sorrows as if they are real. This is an analogy of the life in Barzakh.
interred. Some of these [disbelieving souls] hover near the well of Barhūt, a trench near Yemen; some are underworld in the first, second and so on, until the seventh level of the earth; some are further below in Sijjīn. Wherever they might be, they see and recognise those who pass by their places of burial [or funeral].
They hear what is being said, but cannot reply as they are imprisoned and are not allowed to respond.
The belief in transmigration of souls is kufr. Some believe that the soul transmigrates to other bodies – whether that of a human or an animal – this is known in Indian languages as āwā-gawan and in Arabic as tanāsukh.
Death is defined as the separation of the soul from the body; not that the soul is exterminated – it is heresy to believe that the soul will be annihilated.
The deceased can also speak – common folk among jinn and humans cannot hear them; but animals can hear their voices.
When the dead man is buried, the grave squeezes him/her. If the dead person is a
Muslim, then this will be similar to a mother clasping her child in a loving embrace; if the person is a kāfir, it will squeeze with a force that will crush his or her ribs.
When people bury the dead man and return, the dead man hears the fading sound of footsteps of those who are going back; at that time, two ferocious Angels, in the most horrifying form and a ghastly appearance will come cleaving the earth with their fangs and descend in the grave. Their bodies will be dark, their eyes will be blue and flames will be shooting from their eyes.
Their bodies will be covered with hair and their fangs will be very long, with which they will tear the earth and go inside the grave. These two angels are known as Munkar and Nakīr. They will grab the dead man, shake him violently and make him sit up and interrogate him in a thundering voice and a harsh tone. They will ask him the following three questions: 1. Who is your Lord Sustainer? [man rabbuka?] 2. What is your religion? [mā dīnuka?] 3. What would you say about this person? [mā kunta taqūlu fī hādha’r rajul?]
If the dead person is a Muslim, he/she will reply to the questions thus: 1. My Lord-Sustainer is Allāh [rabbī Allāh]. 2. My religion is Islām [dīnī al-islām] 3. He is the Messenger of Allāh [huwa RasūlAllāh ﷺ].
They will ask: ‘How did you know the answers?’ The man will reply: ‘I read the Book of Allāh, I believed in it and attested to its truth.’ In another narration: When he answers satisfactorily, the Angels will say: ‘We knew that you would answer correctly.’ And it will be proclaimed from the heavens: ‘My slave has indeed uttered the truth.
Give him a bed and clothes from Paradise, and open a door from which he can feel the fragrance and fresh breeze from Paradise.’ His grave will be expanded as far as his sight can see and he will be told: ‘Sleep, as a newly married groom sleeps on his wedding night.’ This will be for the pious and righteous folk.
And among the common people, such bounties will be for whomever Allāh wishes; the reward/comfort in the grave will be according to their ranks and deeds; the graves of some will be extended to 70 yards and for some even more – as far as their sight can reach. Sinners will be punished in their graves.
Some will be given punishment befitting their sins; but some will be forgiven upon the intercession of their guides, their imāms or friends of Allāh. Or they will be forgiven without requiring any intercession and only by the Mercy of Allāh. Some scholars have said that a sinful believer will suffer punishment only until the following Friday [after burial] and will be exempted thereafter. Allāh táālā knows best.
In a ĥadīth it is said that a Muslim who dies on a Friday or during the month of Ramađān – whether during the day or in the night – will be spared the interrogation of Nakīrayn, the two Angels.
The detailed narration concerning the window that will be opened towards Paradise goes thus: First, a window towards hell will be opened on the left side of the buried man, from which a gust of hot air, scorching heat and stink will be felt.
The window will be closed immediately and then a window from Paradise will be opened on the right, and the person will be told: ‘If you had not given the right answers, you would have suffered the former; but [since you answered correctly] you will get this. This is done so that a man appreciates the reward and great bounties of his Lord Almighty, who spared him such a painful torment and granted him such pleasure and comfort.
The hypocrite [munāfiq] will be meted the opposite: a window towards Paradise will be opened from which he will feel the fragrance and the cool breeze; he will be allowed to peek into paradise and immediately the window will be closed and the window towards Hell will be opened.
The hypocrite will suffer twice over – in addition to the punishment and Hellfire, he will also feel anguish for the colossal loss and the opportunity he squandered – that in spite of being a Muslim outwardly, he disbelieved in the Prophet ﷺ and that he disrespected him, and was consequently deprived of such luxury. The hypocrite will answer thus [for the three questions above]: 1. Alas! Alas! I don’t know!
[hāh hāh! lā adrī] 2. Alas! Alas! I don’t know! [hāh hāh! lā adrī] 3. I would hear people say something, and I would repeat it [kuntu asmaú’n nāsa yaqūlūna shay’an fa-aqūl]
It will be proclaimed from the heavens: ‘He is a liar! Make for him a bed of fire, and clothe him in clothes of fire and open the door towards Hellfire.’ The heat and flares from Hell will reach him and [two] deaf and blind Angels will be appointed to punish him.
They will carry powerful iron maces which can pulverise a mountain, and they will rain blows on the disgraced man with those maces. In addition to this, snakes and scorpions will torment the person in the grave – and his/her deeds will assume the shapes of ferocious dogs, wolves, etc. and torment the sinner. Similarly, good deeds of Muslims will appear in pleasant forms and give them company.
According to Islamic belief, punishment or comfort in the grave [depending on the deeds of the dead peson] is real and true. This will be inflicted upon [or sensed by] both the body and the soul, as mentioned above. Even after the body is decomposed, incinerated or turned to ashes and dust – there are fundamental particles of the body which are indestructible and will remain until Judgement Day.
Punishment or reward will be felt by these particles and bodies of individuals will be created anew from these particles. These are indestructible and infinitesimally small particles which cannot be seen even with a microscope, nor can fire burn them, nor can they be decomposed in the earth. These are found in the tailbone, known as ájb al-dhanab, which will be the seed, the source material to regenerate bodies. Souls will be returned to these [regenerated] bodies, and not newly created ones.
The increase or decrease in the size of a body does not change the fact that it is the same body belonging to the same person. A child is so small and delicate when it is born; it then grows into a big and strong man. When a brawny young man is afflicted by disease, his body becomes weak and gaunt – and after he recovers, his body becomes strong and energetic once more. In spite of all these transformations, no one will say that an entirely new person appeared with every change.
Similarly, on Judgement Day, the body will be regenerated – the very flesh and bones that were scattered after being turned to dust or ashes will be gathered by [the Divine Command of] Allāh and regenerated from the indestructible particles of that specific human being and restored to their former state; every soul will be returned into his or her resurrected body. This is known as ĥashr – or the Gathering [of bodies and souls].
Anyone who denies or refuses to believe that bodies and souls will be punished or given comfort in their graves is a heretic. If a dead body is not buried in a grave and is left lying on the ground – wherever it may be – whether thrown away [or burned on a pyre] the dead person’s soul will be interrogated and the three questions will be asked; punishment or reward will be meted out in that place.
If a lion devours a man, he will be questioned in the very stomach of that lion – and punishment or reward will be dispensed in that place. NOTE: The bodies of some humans of high rank will not decompose in the earth.
Among such honoured ones are the bodies of Prophets, the friends of Allāh [awliyā’a-Allah], the [righteous] religious scholars, martyrs, those who memorise the Qur’ān and [sincerely] act upon its injunctions and those who are the beloved ones of Allāh, and those bodies that have never sinned against Allāh, and those people who spend most of their time in reciting the şalawāt [durūd] upon RasūlAllāh ﷺ.
One who says that “Prophets have died and decayed” is misguided, a heretic, a foulmouthed and a vile person who has certainly disrespected the Prophets [of Allah].
Footnotes
Sūrah al-Mu’minūn, 23:100.
Though humans are mentioned here for brevity, this also applies to the jinn.
Sūrah al-Naĥl, 16:61: “And when their time has come, neither a moment will be delayed nor hastened”
The name is pronounced as Ázrā’yīl or Ízrā’yīl; it is not mentioned in the Qur’ān and ĥadīth but borrowed from Jewish traditon [isrā’yīliyyāt].
Masculine is used due to the constraints of the language; but includes men, women and those in between.
Angels and matters of the other world which disbelievers mock in this life.
For example, the joy or sadness one feels at reminiscing about past experiences – or thinking about the happiness or sorrow, success or disappointments of loved ones may not have any physical stimulus that our 46
This section is gleaned from Fatāwā ar-Riđawiyyah, 9/658. Also Sharĥ al-Şudūr by Jalāluddīn Suyūţī; for ĥadīth narrations on this topic see the section, Places Where the Souls Dwell, p232 onward.
Ílliyyīn is the highest place [for souls], just below the Throne. [Tafsīr Qurţubī of 83:18; Al-Muţaffifīn]
Al-Istidhkār of Ibn Ábd al-Barr §1858.
Kitāb al-Zuhd, Ábdullāh ibn al-Mubārak §597.
Imām Ábdu’l Ra’ūf Munāwī in Fayđ al-Qadīr, 4/263 in the commentary of ĥadīth §5016, citing Qāđī Bayđāwī. Also cited in Al-Taysīr sharĥ al-Jāmiý al-Şaghīr.
Muşannaf ibn Abī Shaybah, 19/225, §35867; Al-Khaţţābī in Gharīb al-Ĥadīth §10, 2/492; Abū Dāwūd in Kitāb al-Zuhd §301. This is a saying of Ábdullāh ibn Ámr رضي الله عنهما.
Fatāwā Ázīziyyah cited in Fatāwā ar-Riđawiyyah 29/545.
If they are cremated or carcasses are cast in the open for a sky burial. 47
Whether they are buried, left for a sky burial or ashes interred as memorials.
Muşannaf Ábdu’l Razzāq, §9118; Sharĥ al-Şudūr, §44.
Reincarnation is a prominently Buddhist and Hindu belief. On p. 406 of the Encyclopedia of World Religions, Ellwood & Alles, Facts on File, 2007: Samsara: Sanskrit word for the continuous cycle of redeath and rebirth in which all beings live; thus, ordinary existence. The notion of samsara is shared by both Hinduism and Buddhism. Mark Juergensmeyer & Wade Clark Roof write in the Encyclopedia of Global Religion [2011, pp. 271-272]: The cycle of rebirth or reincarnation is a concept that is central to Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and other Indian religions. The Sanskrit term for this process is samsara which means “wandering.” Other cognate phrases include the “transmigration of the soul” and the “cycle of successive existence”; it is also called the “karmic cycle.” The notion of the cycle of rebirth was fundamental to ancient Greek philosophy such as the philosophy of Plato and Pythagoras. Further, they write: The factor that determines the course of the next life is karma. According to the law of karma, one's actions in this life will have future consequences in the next life. This is one of the justifications for the caste system: Social status is determined by karmic deeds carried forward. The pain and suffering that one endures in one's life is not regarded as divinely ordained but is the results of one's karma in a previous life. Karma is used to explain the inequalities that exist between people’s lives. It is a form of cosmic justice. According to this pagan belief, souls will be recycled forever in a never-ending cycle. A man can be ‘reborn’ as his own grandson or the pet dog of his own friend’s daughter. Recently, a Goebbelsian Indian TV channel claimed [in 2019] that the corrupt and fascist Indian prime minister was Sir-Syed Aĥmad Khān in his ‘previous’ birth! In other words, Khān was now ‘reborn’ as the present premier. Lā ĥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh. Another charlatan made a proposal to create, what he terms an ‘inter-life reincarnation trust management.’ According to his proposal, a billionaire might be ‘reborn’ as a poor man in Africa. If they would subscribe to this fund and give them half of their wealth [at present], these frauds promise that they will give him a few billions in their ‘next birth’. What a greedy and stingy fraud! Regardless, how would one identify the ‘reborn’ billionaire? They were blabbering about some ‘āgāma’ nonsense, but these are empty words without any substance. There is only one life – ‘rebirth’ and ‘reincarnation’ is nothing but a fantasy. We seek Allāh’s refuge. The Qur’ān informs us that disbelievers will say: ‘And if there were a second chance for us, we would certainly be among believers.’ [26:102] But they will be told that there will be no second chance. See Endnote 16 for Quranic verses of similar meaning. 48
There is a difference of opinion among scholars concerning the continued existence of souls even after the Horn is blown, because the Qur’ān says: “Everything will be annihilated..” Most scholars say that souls shall also cease to exist, but this will be only a temporary extinction. The author refers to absolute and permanent annihilation.
Bukhārī §1314, §1380; Nasā’īy §1909 “the voice of the dead is heard by everyone except humans...”
Sharĥ al-Şudūr, Chapter 22: Everyone will be pressed and squeezed in their graves.
Sharĥ al-Şudūr, 22/25 vide Bayhaqī, Ibn Mandah and Daylami narrating from Saýīd ibn al-Musayyab.
Tirmidhī §1071, §2460; Abū Dāwūd §4753, §4754; Musnad Imām Aĥmad §12271, §18534; ĥadīth of Anas ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه.
Bukhārī §1338, §1374; Muslim, §2870; Abū Dāwūd §3231
Ţabarānī in Mújam al-Awsaţ §4629.
Tirmidhī §1071; Ibn Ĥibbān §780.
Suyūţī mentioned the opinion of his shaykh, Bulqīni, that the questions will be asked in Syriac; Ibn Ĥajar said that they will be in Arabic. [Sharĥ al-Şudūr, Chapter 14]. 49
Bukhārī §184.
Tirmidhī §1073.
Musnad Imām Aĥmad, §18553.
Tirmidhī §1071.
Muslim §2870; Musnad Imām Aĥmad §12271.
Musnad Imām Aĥmad §6646, §7050; narrating from Ábdullāh ibn Ámr ibn al-Áāşī رضي الله عنهما. 50
Ţabarānī in Mújam al-Awsaţ §2630.
One who is outwardly Muslim, but is a disbeliever at heart is a munāfiq/hypocrite.
The disbeliever lies when he says “I am not aware,” because the religion of Islām and the Prophethood of Sayyidunā Muĥammad ﷺ was well-known. The message of Islām had spread from the east to the west. The disbeliever belied him ﷺ and disbelieved in his message and stubbornly held on to his own polytheistic beliefs [Mirqāt al-Mafātīĥ, §131, 1/324; ĥadīth reported in Abū Dāwūd §4753 and Musnad Imām Aĥmad]. ‘Liar’ because of his false alibi that he did not know about Islām. In fact, he ‘knew’ about Allah and he knowingly disbelieved. He beheld the miracles of the Prophet ﷺ and yet disbelieved in him. So his ‘lie’ is that he says: “I was not aware / I did not know,” that is, he proffers a false alibi that he did not know about Islām and other aspects as mentioned earlier. [Mirqāt al-Mafātīĥ, §1630, 4/97; ĥadīth reported in Musnad Imām Aĥmad §18534, narrated by Al-Barā’a ibn Áāzib رضي الله عنه].
Abū Dāwūd §4751, §4753; Bukhārī §1374 mentions maţāriq or ‘maces’ in plural. 51
It is promised and will certainly occur on Judgement Day, it is a miraculous and supernatural thing which is beyond the understanding and imagination of humans; we are obligated to believe in this and other such reports even if we do not understand how they may occur. Human mind has its limitations and not everything can be understood by applying reason; many things that appear rational today were deemed fantasies and unscientific a few decades ago. In fact, Prophets are sent for this very purpose of informing us of the unseen.
Even though extremely powerful microscopes exist in our time, many things cannot be directly observed, such as fundamental particles and chromosomes: https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/basics/chromosome
Bukhārī §4814, §4935; Muslim §2955; Abū Dāwūd §4743; Nasā’īy §2077; Sunan Ibn Mājah §4266; Muwaţţa Imām Mālik §642; Musnad Imām Aĥmad §8180, §8283, §9528, §10477, §10478.
It is heresy to reject belief in life of Barzakh – i.e., it is heresy to deny that the dead will be either punished or given comfort in their graves or in their places of funerals or in any location where they are disposed. 52
So long as the lion lives. What happens after the lion is dead? Allāh knows what and how, but we are only obligated to know that punishment or reward will be administered to every person until Judgement day.
Ibn Mājah §1636, §1637; Abū Dāwūd §1047, §1531; Nasā’īy §1374; Dārimī §1613; Musnad Aĥmad §16162.
In Urdu idiom, this is said as: mar kar miTTi meiñ milgaye. Literally: They are dead and have become dust. Idiomatically, it is translated as: dead and decayed.
Ismāýīl Dihlawī, touted as a martyr by the Deobandis, has said this in his book Tafwiyatul Īymān. The actual name of the book was Taqwiyatu’l Īymān, meaning ‘Strengthening of Faith.’ But the contents are catastrophic to one’s faith in reality; therefore, a senior scholar of Ahlu’s Sunnah, who was also the elder cousin of Ismāýīl Dihlawī, Mawlānā Makhşūşullah Dihlawī, nicknamed it as Tafwiyatu’l Īymān, meaning, it causes ‘the Death of Faith’. [Ismāýīl Dihlawī aur Unki Taqwiyatu’l Īymān, p. 138, by Mawlānā Abu’l Ĥasan Zayd Fārūqī al-Dihlawī al-Azhari, a descendant of Mujaddid Alf al-Thānī Shaykh Aĥmad Sirhindi.] This remark was made by Shāh Makhşūşullāh Dihlawī in an answer to questions posed by Imām Fađl Rasūl Badāyūnī, which he had reproduced in his monograph: Taĥqīq al-Ĥaqīqah; it was again reproduced by Qāđī Fađl Aĥmad Ludhyanvi in his book Anwār Aāftāb e Şadāqat. 53