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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mil rox" data-source="post: 15025614" data-attributes="member: 428071">"Then his soul is returned to his body and two angels come and say to him, 'Who is your Lord?' He replies, 'Alas, alas, I do not know!' Then a voice calls from on high, 'My slave has lied, so spread out carpets from the Fire for him and open a gate of the Fire for him!' then a hot blast from it comes to him, his grave is made so narrow for him that his ribs are pressed together, and a man with a hideous face and clothing and a foul odour comes to him and says, 'Grieve onaccount of what has brought you disgrace for this is the day which you were promised.' He asks, 'Who are you? Yours is a face which presages evil.' He replies, 'I am your bad actions.' Then he says, 'O Lord, do not let the Last Hour come!'"This life in the grave or Interspace is the next part of our journey. An 'interspace' is something that separates two things: heaven and earth, this world and the Next World or the period between death and resurrection. The bliss or punishment of the Interpsace is not the same as that of the Herafter, but rather something that happens between the two worlds.In death, the body remains in the ground while the soul is in the interspace or Barzakh between the two worlds. However, the two are still connected and so the bliss or punishment happens to both of them. When Allah desires bliss or punishment for the soul, He connects it to the body. This is dependent on the will of Allah and dependent on a person's own actions. The soul is diffused in more than one place at the same time. The proof of this is that the prophet (saw) saw Musa (as) on the night of the Night Journey standing in prayer in his grave and he also saw him in the sixth and seventh heavens.During this life in the grave part of our journey the souls are divided into two groups: one group is punished and the other group is in bliss. Usually when we think of the 'grave', it is a word thatinspires fear. We are pained, but not aware of the delight it can contain. Indeed, the bliss of the Grave is better than any delight that this world can offer.The liberated souls of those who are in bliss visit each other and discuss what happened in the world they have left and the people of that world. Allah says, "Whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, they are with those whom Allah has blessed, the prophets, the sincere, themartyrs and the righteous. Very excellent companions they are!" (4:69)As the hadiths narrate, if the soul was a believing one, a door onto the fire is opened and the soul is shown it's place in the Fire had they disobeyed Allah. Then that door is locked and another door onto the Garden is opened and they are shown their place there. This door will remain open until the Day of Rising. Some of the sweetness and fragrance of the Garden reaches them and their grave is made spacious. The believer sleeps in peace just as if they were in one of the meadows of the Garden. Their narrow grave expands and stretches for the soul as far as the eye can see.This spaciousness, light and greenery in which the believer remains from the time of his death until the Day of Rising is not the same as we know in our world. If a living person were to open a grave, they would not find any expanse, light or greenness there. They would not find an open door through which they could see the Garden. They do not see bliss or torment. It is only the dead person who is aware of these things and sees them. Allah, through His wisdom, has the power to veil this from the living. The proof that this is so is shown by the fact that there are other creatures like the Jinn who live with us on the earth. They converse in raised voices among us but we do not see or hear them. There were angels who fought with the believers (at Badr) and struck down the unbelievers and shouted at them, but the Muslims did not see or hear them. Jibril came to the prophet (saw) in the midst of the people and they did not see or hearthem.If however the soul was a disbelieving one, a door to the Garden is opened for the unbeliever and they are told to look at what their place would have been in the Garden had they obeyed Allah. Then it is locked and another door is opened and they are told to look at their place in the fire. It stays open and the blast of hot air from it continues to reach them until the Day of Rising. The earth presses in on them and they are crushed to the point that their ribs split apart.If a righteous person were to be buried in a fiery furnace, theirportion of bliss would still reach their soul and body and Allahwould make the fire cool and peaceful for them. For the wrongdoer,the cool air becomes fire and hot wind. The elements and the matterof the universe obey their Lord, Originator and Creator. None of themare able to do anything except what He wills and everything obeys Hiswill in humble submission to His decree.This part of our journey in our graves is still mostly unknownterritory. Outwardly the grave is stillness and quiet while inwardlyit contains secrets and terrors which an ordinary person cannotpercieve. It is a strange fact that animals are able to hear thepunishment in the grave while human beings as a general rule cannot.The prophet (saw) said, "They are punished and the animals hear it."Various forms of punishment rain down on a person in the graveaccording to the type of wrong actions they committed. There arehadiths of the prophet (saw) about the Night Journey which containdescriptions of the many types of punishment he saw in the interspacebetween the two worlds.There are those who are driven like cattle and forced to eat herbagemore bitter than aloes and the bitter fruit of Zaqqum and driven onto the hot stones of Jahannam because they did not purify theirproperty by paying Zakat.There are those who have to eat foul putrid meat because theyfornicated. Some of them have bellies as big as houses and wheneverone of them gets up, they are knocked down and say, "O Allah, do notlet the Hour come!" They are in the path of the people of Pharaoh whocome and trample them while they can do nothing but scream. These arepeople who devoured usury.Some of them are screaming with their mouths gaping open while theydevour hot coals which come out of their anuses. These are peoplewho consumed the property of orphans.Some of them cut pieces from their own sides and eat their ownflesh. They are the slanderers and those about whom the prophet(saw) said, "We saw people cutting flesh from their sides and eatingit. It was said, "As you used to consume the flesh of your brother!"I asked, "Who are they?" and I was told, "Those of your community whoslandered." Some of them have brass nails with which they scratchtheir faces and chests. They are those who were backbiters andmaligned peoples honour.Part of the hadith of the Night Journey is as follows: "Some peoplewere cracking open their heads with a stone. Every time they didthis, their heads were restored to what they were like in the firstplace. This went on and on without stopping. I said, "Jibril, whoare they?" Jibril replied, "They are the people who turned away fromthe prayer."All of this shows that the Punishment of the Grave is true beyond anydoubt."Race to forgiveness from your Lord, and a Garden whose breadth islike the breadth of the Heaven and the Earth" (57:21)The intelligent are those who protect themselves against the evil ofthis punishment before it is too late. They know with certainty thatsooner or later this day will come and maybe without any warning.When it does, they will leave behind everything and move to anotherworld. Only there will they feel regret, but regret then will notdo them any good. In that place, only good actions will be of anyuse. They alone will be useful currency on that Critical day. Onlywith them will a person be able to purchase a magnificent mansion inthe Garden with all the luxuries and blessings it contains, aneverlasting mansion, not one which will disappear as things do inthis world. The intelligent person is the one who acts for this worldas if they were going to live forever and acts for the Next World asif they were going to die tomorrow.The Grave is an embrace from which neither believer or unbeliever canescape. Our souls stay in the Barzakh and visit the grave regularlyfor rewards or punishments. Afterwards, our journey continues andthe believer is relieved of its pressure while the unebliever remainsin punishment.The next part of our journey includes the rebirth from what is leftof our bodies, the seed and its embryo, called Ajaf of the sacrum.This method of rebirth of human beings is as simple as the rebirth ofa plant from its own seeds. Plants carry seeds that have theirgenetic traits embedded on chromosomes. The genes on the chromosomescarry everything needed to bring the plant back to its shape, height,variety, chemical composition and other characteristics. In the sameway, the embryos of human beings germinate and the new life willstart on the Day of Rising.Allah instructs Angel Israfeel to blow the horn twice. The first isto ready every seed for germination. Water of Life is then pouredupon these seeds in their graves. The soul comes back from thebarzakh to join its biological entity at this time. The second blowof the trumpet helps those seeds to germinate and produce everyperson back to normal. They come out of their graves in a state ofshock, naked without any clothes or shoes."The trumpet will be sounded when all that are in the heavens and inthe earth will swoon except such as will please Allah (to exempt).Then will a second one be sounded, when, behold, they will bestanding and looking on!" (39:68) "The trumpet shall be sounded,when behold! From the sepulchres (men and women) will rush forth totheir Lord! They will say: 'Ah! Woe unto us! Who had raised us upfrom out beds of repose?' (A voice will say: ) 'This is what Allah,Most Gracious had promised, and true was the word of the messengers!"(36:51-52)Everyone will be raised up with the same identification features downto our very fingerprints. "Does man think that We cannot assemblehis bones? Nay, We are able to put together in perfect order thevery tips of his fingers." (75:3-4)After our rebirth our journey continues as each of us is taken to aplace of Assembly. "On that day We shall leave them to surge lifewaves on one another. The trumpet will be blown, and We shall collectthem all together. (18:99) All will be waiting for the Court ofAllah, the Court of Justice to decide for them. The Day of Assemblyis a day of fear, agony and anxiety. It is a day when each of uswill be worried about what will happen to us personally. "At length,when there comes the Deafening Noise--that day shall a man flee fromhis own brother, and from his mother and his father, and from hiswife and his children. Each one of them, that Day, will have enoughconcern (of his own) to make him indifferent to the others."(80:33-37)With the heat of sun, sweating, and presence of too many people nextto one another, the situation will be very scary and chaotic. "Omankind! Fear your Lord! For the convulsion of the Hour (ofJudgement) will be a thing terrible! The Day you shall see it, everymother giving suck shall forget her suckling babe, and every pregnantfemale shall drop her load (unformed). You shall see mankind as in adrunken riot, yet not drunk; but dreadful will be the Chastisement ofAllah." (22:1-2)On this day seven groups of people will be protected by Allah, theseare mentioned in Hadith: "Seven types of people will be under theshelter of mercy on the Day when there will be no shade other thanthat of Allah's mercy: 1) a just imam, 2) a young person who keptbusy in Allah's worship, 3) a person whose heart is attached to themasjid, 4)two people who loved each other for Allah's sake, gatheredfor His sake and parted, remembering Him, 5) a man who was invited bya beautiful and charming woman but declined her offer, saying "I fearAllah"; 6) a person who gave charity so secretly that their left handdid not know what was given by the right hand , and 7) a person whoremembered Allah privately, so that their eyes brimmed with tears."[Bukhari, Muslim]Each person shall then be grouped behind his or her leader, prophet,messenger, mentor, celebrity, etc. All will be put in lines waitingfor the Court of Allah to take place and our journey to continue. "Onthe day We shall call together all human beings with their(respective) Imams" (17:71)Judgement Day will be our next stop. This is the day when Allahpersonally will judge everyone directly with absolute justice. AbuHurayrah related that the prophet (saw) said: "Every servant of Allahwill remain standing before Allah on the Day of Judgement until hehas answered five questions about five things: His life--how he spentit; his knowledge--how much he acted upon it; his wealth--how heacquired it and how he spent it; and his body (and health)--how heused it." [Muslim]Each person will then receive their book that contains each and everything they have done from the time of birth till death. This bookincludes activites, appearance and intention. Such a book could besimilar to videotape which records all these three paramaters. It isnot unfathomable to think about this in a time in which we haveCDRoms whose glinting thin surface contains encyclopedias full ofinformation."Then he who is given his Record in his right hand, soon will hisaccount be taken by an easy reckoning, and he will turn to hispeople, rejoicing!" (84:7-9) "And he that will be given his Record inhis left hand will say: "Ah! Would that my record had not been givento me!" (69:25) Their faces will be in gloom and they will bedistressed with fear and anxiety. They will wish and beg to starttheir life all over again on the earthAllah will also select a third group of people: "And those Foremost(in Faith) will be Foremost (in the Hereafter). These will be thoseNearest to Allah. In Gardens of bliss: a number of people from thoseof old, and a few from those of later times. (They will be) onThrones encrusted (with gold and precious stones), reclining on them,facing each other." (56:10-16)This is where we near the end of our journey. We shall enter theeverlasting domain, which comprises of the Garden and the Fire.There is no trip after it for it is the Domain of Eternity.We shall pass over Hellfire, some of us remaining while otherscontinue on. "Not one of you but will pass over it: this is, with thyLord, a Decree which must be accomplished. But We shall save thosewho guarded against evil, and We shall leave the wrongdoers therein,(humbled) to their knees." (19:71-72)The prophet (saw) said: "The mildest punishment to be inflicted upona person in Hell is that he will be made to wear a pair of sandalsmade of fire which will be so hot that they will make his brain boillike things boil on a stove. He will imagine that no one isundergoing a punishment more severe although his punishment, inreality, will be the mildest in Hell." [Bukhari, Muslim]Others who are not qualified to enter Paradise or Hell may be takento a waiting station called Al- A'raf, to wait until forgiveness isgiven to them through the Mercy of Allah.Others will finally end their journey with their life in Paradise.It is the last destination and hope of every person to arrive here.It is reserved for believers who submitted themselves to Allah andfollowed His teachings. They are the ones whose loyalty and obediencewere to Allah. Paradise has all the beauties of life to enjoywithout ever being tired. It is a life of excitement, peace andhappiness. The prophet (saw) said: "Allah, the Almighty, says, 'Ihave prepared for My righteous servants that which no eyes have everseen, no ears have ever heard and no heart has ever conceieved.'"[Bukhari, Muslim]This Life After is called the Real and the True Life. The Quranexplicitly refers to the Life After as the True Life while the lifein this world is a superficial one. "What is the life of this worldbut amusement and play? But verily the Home of the Hereafter -- thatis Life indeed, if they but knew." (29:64)After completing this journey vicariously here, we should rethink ourlives and our deeds as we do them today. We can hide from eachother, and ourselves but we cannot hide from Allah. It won't be longbefore we are pushed along to the next part of our journey. Timepasses quickly and is precious. Everything we do now affects ourjourney at a later stage. Everything is recorded; our deeds,appearances and even hidden intentions. As travelers, we can prepareand change to make our journey and especially our final stop a betterone. Perhaps even one small deed or choice we make can save us if wekeep conscious.Among the dreams of the early Muslims is one related by Yazid bNu'ama who said, "A girl died in the al-Jarib plague. Her father mether in a dream after her death and asked her to tell him about theNext World. She replied, 'My father, this is a big subject you haveraised. We know but cannot act. You can act but do not know. ByAllah, one or two acts of glorification and one or two rakats of theprayer in the book of my actions are preferable to me than the worldand all it contains.'"The prophet (saw) related in a true dream he had:" He saw one of the muslims. The Angel of Death came to take hissoul but his correct behavior towards his parents came and drove theAngel of Death away from him.'" He saw another of the muslims surrounded by shaytans. Then hisremembrance of Allah came and made the shaytans fly from him.'"Then he saw a thrid muslim surrounded by the angels of punishment.His prayer came and rescued him from their hands.'"The tongue of a fourth muslim was lolling out from thirst andwhenever he approached a pool of water, he was stopped and drivenaway. Then his fasting of Ramadan came and gave him water to drink.'" He saw another man and the prophets sitting in circles. Everytimethe muslim approached one of the circles, he was stopped and drivenaway. His ghusl for janaba came, took hold of his hand, and sat himdown in the circle.'Web: <a href="http://www.islamicinformation.net/2008/05/souls-journey-after-death-in-islam.html" target="_blank">http://www.islamicinformation.net/2008/05/souls-journey-after-death-in-islam.html</a></blockquote>

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