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Registration date : 2006-10-07
 |  Subject: Do Souls of the Dead Return Back to this World? Part 1  Tue Oct 02, 2007 5:46 am | |
| Do Souls of the Dead Return Back to this World? Part 1  Compiled by
Shawana A Aziz
From As-Sunnah Bimonthly
Islamic Newsletter
A POPULAR
THEME OF MANY HORROR AND THRILLER NOVELS, MOVIES AND TELEVISION PROGRAMS
CENTERS AROUND THE FALSE BELIEF THAT WHEN SOMEONE IS KILLED UNJUSTLY, HIS
SOUL RETURNS IN ORDER TO SEEK JUSTICE, OR IT KEEPS WANDERING UNTIL JUSTICE
IS DONE TO IT. REPEATED EXPOSURE TO THIS FALSE CONCEPT FROM EVERY FORM OF
MEDIA HAS LEAD MANY TO UNKNOWINGLY BELIEVE IN IT...
Whilst some
take this concept very seriously, and make use of un-Islamic measures, like
the hanging of amulets and pagan rituals to protect themselves from the
revengeful soul, others simply consider these issues to be unimportant and do
not bother to seek knowledge about it. But the fact
remains, that not only do many people fear the souls, but entire religions are
focused around ancestor and soul worship. Large amount of wealth is spent on
making offerings to the souls and many rituals and festivals are held in this
regard, for example, many people believe that the deceased visit this world on
the 15th of Shabaan (8th month of the Islamic Calendar) and they call it 'Eid
of the Dead.' Some even go to the extreme of preparing the foods that the
deceased liked! It is
therefore essential that the Muslims be informed about the gravity of this
call and be educated about the correct Islamic Aqeedah (belief). This article
is specifically aimed to expose the falsity of these beliefs and bring to the
reader authentic proofs from the Qur'aan and the Sunnah, which undoubtedly
reject the soul's return. We hope that this article will dispel doubts and
confusion around the subject. And with Allah lies all success. Islamic
Concept of the Soul: Soul is from
the matters of the unseen and nothing can be said in its explanation without
established proofs from the Book and the Sunnah. The knowledge required for
our welfare in this world and the Hereafter has been conveyed to us by the
Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam), and there is no need to seek
any goodness beyond that. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam)
said: "There is nothing
that will take you closer to Paradise but that I have enjoined it upon you,
and there is nothing that will take you closer to Hell but that I have warned
you from it." [Musnad
ash-Shafi'e and others]
The Jews asked Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) about the soul
and in reply the Qur'aan said: "They ask you concerning the soul. Say that
the soul is from Allah and you have not been given knowledge of it except a
little." [Soorah al-Isra (17): 85]
The Soul is a creation of Allah, whose function is to bring life to the human
body. It remains with the human body throughout the life and departs at death.
After which the souls are either held in Paradise or punishment. There is no
returning back of the souls of the righteous people from Paradise, and no
escaping of the souls of evildoers from the punishment of the grave.
Therefore, pious or evil, the souls do not return to this world, neither to
take revenge nor to assist the living. Neither is there any concept in Islam,
which explains that justice is dependant upon the soul's coming back and
setting things aright. Islam teaches that Allah is responsible to see that
every being gets its due right and injustice does not go unpunished.
Journey of the Soul after Death
Death Death occurs
when the soul separates from the human body and enters the realm of 'Barzakh',
which is the period between one's death and the Hereafter.
Appearing of the
Angels (a) The
Believing Soul: Angels with faces shining bright like the sun descend from
the Heavens, carrying a shroud and fragrance of Paradise and sit away from him
as far as the eye can see. The Angel of Death then approaches and says: "O
good soul, come out to Allah's forgiveness and pleasure." The soul then comes
out as gently as a drop from a water-skin, and he seizes it. Within the
blinking of an eye, the other Angels take the soul and put it in the shroud
and fragrance. There will then come from the soul, a fragrance like that of
the sweetest musk found on the face of Earth.
(b) The Disbelieving Soul: Angels with black faces come down to him
from the Heaven with hair-cloth and sit away from him as far as an eye can
see. The Angel of death comes to him and says: "O wicked soul, come out to the
displeasure from Allah. The soul becomes scattered in the body, and the Angel
of Death draws it out as violently as a spit is drawn out from moistened wool.
He then seizes it, and when he does so, the other Angels do not leave the
disbelieving soul in his hand for an instant, but put it in that hair-cloth
and from it comes forth a smell like the most offensive corpse found on the
Earth.
Ascending to the Heaven (a) The
Believing Soul: The Angels ascend the believing soul to the Seventh Heaven
and every group of Angels they pass asks: "Who is this good soul?" to which
they reply: "So and so, the son of so and so." using his best names by which
people called him on the Earth. Then the believing soul is presented before
Allah. Allah, the Great and Glorious, says: "Record the Book of My servant in
the Illiyyoon and take him back to Earth, for I created mankind from it, and I
shall return them to it, from it I shall bring them forth again." | |
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