Islamic Folklore The 14 Stages Of Afterlife In Islam Faith English Edition
Akhirah is the term for life after death in Islam. It is believed that Allah decides when an individual dies, and the deceased remain in grave until the Day of Judgement or Yawm al-din, which is the last day when Allah judges them according to the way they lived. That day, the person is lifted from the grave and is brought before Allah SWT (God) to be judged for their deeds. This belief is called the resurrection of the body.
In Islamic tradition, death is the separation of the soul from one’s body and the beginning of one afterlife. There are various elaborate discussions about the process and the schools of thought (three traditional schools in Islam) have different conclusions about it. The basic source that Muslims have is The Holy Quran and the Islamic narratives. The Holy Quran says:
Nor can a soul die except by Allah’s leave. The term being fixed as by writing
(The Holy Quran 3:145)
People who perform several good deeds in the course of their life enter Jannah Firdaus Paradise. There is no pain, sickness or sadness in this place, whereas those who perform bad deeds in their life enter Jahannam Hellfire. This is the place where the person endures physical and spiritual suffering. But, Muslims believe that not all bad actions or decisions are punishable as Allah is forgiving and compassionate. He will forgive those who regret their actions and have performed certain good deeds in their lifetime.
The Holy Quran says:
“Of the good that they do nothing will be rejected of them; for Allah knoweth well those that do right. Those who reject faith — neither their possessions nor their (numerous) progeny will avail them aught against Allah; they will be companions of the fire, dwelling therein forever.”
(The Holy Quran 3:115- 1:116)
As per Islam, after one is buried or eaten by animal the life after death begins. There are fourteen stages of life after death in Islam. It consists of stages like Barzakh, Qiyama, Resurrection, Reckoning, declaration of hell or heaven and several others in between. To give a more descriptive explanation of each stage; here are the 14 stages of life after death.
1. The Realm of Barzakh
In Islam, it is believed that when a person dies, the soul enters the state of waiting, also known as Barzakh, until the Day of Judgement. This is the transition period between the world and the afterlife. It is a barrier or curtain between our world and the world of the dead. Even if the person’s body is burnt to ashes or is eaten by an animal, their life in Barzakh begins.
2. Blowing of the Trumpet
To start the apocalypse, Soor or the trumpet is blown by the angel Hazrat Israfel. He blows the instrument twice and resurrects the people to take them to the gathering place.
3. Apocalypse or Qiyama
This is the rise of the dead person and his or her walk towards the gathering place. In one of the Quranic verses, Allah talks about qiyama, “O mankind! fear your Lord! For the convulsion of the Hour (of Judgment) will be a thing terrible! The Day ye shall see it, every mother giving suck shall forget her suckling-babe, and every pregnant female shall drop her load (unformed): thou shalt see mankind as in a drunken riot, yet not drunk: but dreadful will be the Wrath of Allah.” (Al-Hajj, 1–2.)
4. Resurrection after death
According to the Quran, it is said that the resurrection takes place in various ways. In this stage, the dead people are lifted from their graves and are brought before Allah to be judged for their deeds. Also, the concept of resurrection after death is both bodily as well as spiritual and is not just possible but very easy for Allah SWT.
5. Gathering Place
The next stage is gathering, where all the resurrected souls are gathered. The place where they are brought together is called the gathering place. They wait there to receive the Book of Deeds. This stage is mentioned in the Quran as well as the hadiths.
6. Receiving The Book of Deeds
In this stage, the souls are gathered together to receive the Book of Deeds. This book has records of their good and bad deeds and the exact form of the record is not known as it has not been mentioned anywhere explicitly. At this stage the resurrected souls can revisit the deeds of their lifetime.
7. Reckoning
After they receive the book, they are judged equally and according to their deeds. They are asked questions about their life based on which the judgement is made. Regarding this stage, the Quran says: “That Day will every soul be requited for what it earned; no injustice will there be that Day, for Allah is Swift in taking account”. (al-Mumin, 17.)
8. Scale or Mizan
This is the stage where the weight of the deeds is measured. If a person’s good deeds have more weight than the bad ones, then they get salvation, and if good deeds are lighter than bad deeds, they suffer punishment. It is also said that believers who go to Hell can also be sent to paradise after completing their punishment.
9. River and Pool of Kawthar
This is the pool in which the water of the river of Paradise flows. The water gathers in this pool on the Day of Judgement, and when the resurrected men are gathered, Prophet Hazrat Muhammad is given the pool of Kawthar. It is believed that whoever reaches the pool first will be made Prophet.
10. Sirat
This is the bridge across hell and everyone is meant to cross it. It stretches across hell to paradise and is constructed according to a person’s good and bad deeds. It is believed that various souls cross this bridge at different speeds.
11. Intercession
In this stage, the people who have committed certain sins ask the scholars and prophets to beg Allah for forgiveness, and those who do not have any sin ask to be raised to a higher level.
12. Purgatory
Also known as Araf, this is the place separating paradise and hell. Allah decides as to who gets to enter paradise and hell.
13. Jahannam Hellfire
This is the place where the person with the worst deeds enters and is tortured and punished for their sins. It known as Jahannam in Islam and sinful souls are punished in different ways. However, the most commonly spoken form of punishment in Jahannam is that of burning in fire.
14. Jannah Paradise
This is the place where the person with the good deeds enters and lives a comfortable life for eternity. In this place, there is no sadness, pain, excessive heat or cold. Paradise or jannah in Islam has different levels. According to the Quran, there are seven levels of heaven in Islam.
