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Death
from the Islamic Point of View
Although a superficial view would regard death as the annihilation of man and
see human life as consisting of only the few days that stand between birth and
death, Islam interprets death as the transfer of man from one stage of life to
another. According to Islam man possesses eternal life which knows no end.
Death, which is the separation of the spirit from the body, introduces man to
another stage of life in which felicity or disappointment depends upon good or
evil deeds in the stage of life before death. The Holy Prophet has said:
"You have been created for subsistence, not annihilation. What happens is
that you will be transferred from one house to another."
Purgatory
From what can be deduced from the Holy Book and prophetic traditions, it can
be concluded that between death and general resurrection man possesses a limited
and temporary life which is the intermediate stage (barzakh) and link between
the life of this world and eternal life. After death man is interrogated
concerning the beliefs he has held and the good and evil deeds he has performed
in this life. After a summary account and judgment he is subjected to either a
pleasant and felicitous life, or an unpleasant and wretched one, depending on
the results of the account and judgment. With this newly acquired life he
continues in expectation until the day of general resurrection. The condition of
man in the life of the intermediate state (purgatory) is very similar to the
condition of a person who has been called before a judicial organization in
order to have the acts he has committed investigated. He is questioned and
investigated until his file is completed. Then he awaits trial.
The soul of man in the intermediate state possesses the same form as in his
life in this world. If he be a man of virtue, he lives in happiness and bounty
in the proximity of those who are pure and close to the Divine Presence. If he
be a man of evil, he lives in affliction and pain and in the company of daemonic
forces and "leaders of those who have gone astray."
God, the Most Exalted, has said concerning the condition of a group of those
in the state of felicity, "Think not of those who are slain in the way of
Allah, as dead. Nay, they are living. With their Lord they have provision.
Jubilant (are they) because of that which Allah hath bestowed upon them of His
bounty, rejoicing for the sake of those who have not joined them but are left
behind: that there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve. They
rejoice because of favor from Allah and kindness, and that Allah wasteth not the
wage of the believers" (Quran, III, 169-171). And in describing the
condition of another group who in the life of this world do not make legitimate
use of their wealth and possessions, He says, "Until, when death cometh
unto one of the, he saith : My Lord! Send me back, that I may do right in that
which I have left behind! But nay! It is but a word that he speaketh ; and
behind them is a barrier [barzakh] until the day when they are raised"
(Quran, XXIII, 99-100).
The
Day of Judgment - Resurrection
Among sacred texts the Quran is the only one to have spoken in detail about
the Day of Judgment. Although the Torah has not mentioned this Day and the
Gospels have only alluded to it, the Quran has mentioned the Day of Judgment in
hundreds of places, using different names. It has described the fate awaiting
mankind on this Day sometimes briefly and on other occasions in detail. It has
reminded mankind many times that faith in the Day of Recompense (Day of
Judgment) is on the same scale in its importance as faith in God and is one of
the three principles of Islam. It has mentioned that he who lacks this faith,
that is, who denies resurrection, is outside the pale of Islam and has no
destiny other than eternal perdition.
And this is the truth of the matter because if there were to be no reckoning
in God's actions and no reward or punishment, the religious message, which
consists of an assemblage of God's decrees and what He has commanded and
forbidden, would not have the least effect. Thus the existence or nonexistence
of prophecy and the religious mission would be the same. In fact, its
nonexistence would be preferable to its existence, for to accept a religion and
follow the regulations of a Divine Law is not possible without the acceptance of
restrictions and loss of what appears as "freedom." If to submit to it
were to have no effect, people would never accept it and would not give up their
natural freedom of action for it. From this argument it becomes clear that the
importance of mentioning and recalling the Day of Judgment is equivalent to that
of the principle of the religious call itself.
From this conclusion it also becomes evident that faith in the Day of
Recompense is the most effective factor which induces man to accept the
necessity of virtue and abstention from unbecoming qualities and great sins, in
the same way that to forget or lack faith in the Day of Judgment is the
essential root of every evil act and sin. God the Almighty has said in His Book,
"Lo! those who wander from the way of Allah have an awful doom, for as much
as they forgot the Day of Reckoning" (Quran, XXXVIII, 27). As can be seen
in this sacred verse, the forgetting of the Day of Judgment is considered to be
the root of every deviation. Meditation on the purpose of the creation of man
and the Universe, or on the purpose and end of Divine Laws, makes it evident
that there will be a Day of Judgment.
When we meditate on creation, we see that there is no action (which of
necessity is also a kind of motion) without an immutable end and purpose. Never
is the action, considered independently and in itself, the end. Rather, action
is always the prelude to an end and exists by virtue of that end. Even in
actions which superficially appear to be without purpose such as instinctive
actions or will discover purposes in conformity with the kind of action in
question. In instinctive actions, which are usually a form of motion, the end
toward which the motion takes place is the purpose and aim of the action. And in
the play of children there is an imaginary end, the attainment of which is the
purpose of playing. The creation of man and the world is the action of God and
God is above the possibility of performing a senseless and purposeless act such
as creating, nourishing, taking away life and then again creating, nourishing,
and taking away life, that is, of making and destroying, without there being an
immutable end and a permanent purpose which He pursues in these acts. There must
of necessity be a permanent aim and purpose in the creation of the world and of
man. Of course, its benefit does not accrue to God, who is above every need, but
rather to the creatures themselves. Thus it must be said that the world and man
are directed toward a permanent reality and a more perfect state of being which
knows no annihilation and corruption.
Also, when we study with care the condition of men from the point of view of
religious education and training, we see that as a result of Divine guidance and
religious training people become divided into the two categories of the virtuous
and the evil. Yet in this life there is no distinction made between them.
Rather, on the contrary, success usually belongs to those who are evil and
unjust. To do good is combined with difficulty and hardship and every kind of
privation and endurance of oppression. Since this is so, Divine Justice requires
the existence of another world in which each individual receives the just reward
ho actions deserve, and lives a life in conformity with his merits.
Thus it is seen that careful consideration of the purpose of creation and of
the Divine Laws leads to the conclusion that the Day of Judgment will come for
every person. God, the Exalted, makes this clear in His Book, saying, "And
We created not the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in play.
We created them not save with truth ; but most of them in vain. That is the
opinion of those who disbelieve. And woe unto those who disbelieve, from the
fire! Shall We treat those who believe and do good works as those who spread
corruption in the earth ; or shall We treat the pious as the wicked?"
(Quran, XXXVIII, 28-29). In another place He says, "Or do those who commit
ill-deeds suppose that We shall make them as those who believe and do good
works, the same in life and death? Bad is their judgment! And Allah hath created
the heavens and the earth with truth, and that every soul may be repaid what it
hath earned. And they will not be wronged" (Quran, XLV, 21-22).
Another Explanation
In discussing the outward and inward meaning of the Quran we pointed out that
the Islamic sciences are explained in the Quran through different means and that
these are in general divided into the two dimensions of the exoteric and the
esoteric. The exoteric explanation is the one that conforms to the level of the
simple thought patterns and understanding of the majority, in contrast to the
esoteric, which belongs to the elite alone which can be comprehended only with
the aid of the vision which comes through the practices of the spiritual life.
The explanation from the exoteric view presents God as the absolute ruler of
the world of creation, all of which is His dominion. God has created many
angels, whose number is legion, to carry out and execute the commands He issues
for every aspect of creation. Each part of creation and its order is connected
to a special group of angels who are the protectors of that domain. The human
species is His creation and human beings are His servants who must obey His
commands and prohibitions ; and the prophets are the bearers of His messages,
the conveyors of the laws and regulations which He has sent to mankind and has
demanded that mankind obey. God has promised reward and recompense for faith and
obedience, and punishment and painful retribution for infidelity and sin, and
will not break His promise. Also since He is just, His justice demands that in
another state of being the two groups of virtuous and evil men, who in this
world do not have a mode of life in accordance with their good and evil nature,
becomes separated, the virtuous to possess a good and happy life and the evil a
bad and wretched existence.
Thus God, according to His Justice and the promises He has made, will
resurrect all men who live in this world after their death, without exception,
and will investigate in detail their beliefs and works. He will judge them
according to the truth and give everyone who has a right his due. He will carry
out justice on behalf of all who have been oppressed. He will render to each
person the reward for his own actions. One group will be assigned to eternal
heaven and the other group to eternal hell.
This is the exoteric explanation of the Holy Quran. Of course it is true and
correct. But its language is composed of terms and images born of man's social
life and thought in order that its benefit might be more general and the radius
of its action more widespread.
Those who have penetrated into the spiritual meaning of things and are to a
certain extent familiar with the esoteric language of the Holy Quran, however,
understand from these sayings meanings which lie above the level of simple and
popular comprehension. The Holy Quran, amidst its simple and uncomplicated
expositions, occasionally alludes to the esoteric aim and purpose of its
message. Through many allusions the Holy Quran affirms that the world of
creation with all its parts, of which man is one, is moving in its
"existential becoming" which is always in the direction of perfection
toward God. A day will come when this movement will come to an end and will lose
completely its separate and independent existence before the Divine Majesty and
Grandeur.
Man, who is a part of the world and whose special perfection is through
consciousness and knowledge, is also moving with haste toward God. When he
reaches the end of this becoming, he will observe plainly the Truth and Oneness
of the Unique God. He will see that power, dominion and every other quality of
perfection belong exclusively to the sacred Divine Essence ; the reality of each
thing as it is will be revealed to him. This is the first stage in the
world of eternity. If, through his faith and good works in this world, man is
able to have communication, relation, familiarity, and friendship with God and
the beings of his proximity, then with a felicity and joy that can never be
described in human language he will live near God and in the company of the pure
beings of the world above. But if, because of desire and attachment to the life
of this world and its transient and baseless pleasures, he is cut off from the
world above and has no familiarity with or love for God and the pure beings of
His Presence, then he becomes afflicted with painful torment and eternal
adversity. It is true that a man's good and evil acts in this world are
transient and disappear, but the forms of these good and evil acts become
established in the soul of man and accompany him everywhere. They are the
capital of his future life, be it sweet or bitter.
These affirmations can be drawn from the following verses: God says,
"Lo! unto thy Lord is the (absolute) return" (Quran, XCVI, 8). And He
says, "Beware all things reach Allah at last?" (Quran XLII, 53); and
"The (absolute) command on that day is Allah's" (Quran, LXXXII, 19).
Also in the account of the address made to certain members of the human race on
the Day of Judgment He says, "(And unto the evildoer it is said): Thou wast
in heedlessness of this. Now We have removed from thee thy covering, and
piercing is thy sight this day" (Quran, L, 22).
Concerning the hermeneutic interpretation (ta'wil) of the Holy Quran (the
truth from which the Holy Quran originates) God says, "Await they aught
save the fulfillment [ta'wil] thereof? On the day when the fulfillment thereof
cometh, those who were before forgetful thereof will say: The messengers of our
Lord did bring the Truth! Have we any intercessors, that they may intercede for
wise than we used to act? They have lost their souls, and that which they
devised hath failed them" (Quran, VII, 53). He says, "On that day
Allah will pay them their due, and they will know that Allah, He is the Manifest
Truth" (Quran, XXIV, 25). And, "Thou verily, O man, art working toward
thy Lord a work which thou wilt meet (in His presence)" (Quran, LXXXIV, 6).
Also, "Whoso looketh forward to the meeting with Allah (let him know that)
Allah's reckoning is surely nigh..." (Quran, XXIX, 5). And, "And
whoever hopeth for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work, and
make none sharer of the worship due unto his Lord" (Quran, XVIII, 111).
And, "But ah! thou soul at peace! Return unto thy Lord, content in His good
pleasure! Enter thou among My bondmen! Enter thou My Garden!" (Quran,
LXXXIX, 27-30). Also He says, "But when the great disaster cometh, The Day
when man will call to mind his (whole) endeavor, And hell will stand forth
visible to him who seeth, Then, as for him who rebelled, And chose the life of
the world, Lo! hell will be his home. But as for him who feared to stand before
his Lord and restrained his soul from lust, Lo! the Garden will be his
home" (Quran, LXXIX, 34-41).
Concerning the identity of the reward of actions God says, "(Then it
will be said): O ye who disbelieve! Make no excuses for yourselves this day. Ye
are only being paid for what ye used to do" (Quran, LXVI, 7).
The
Continuity and Succession of Creation
This world of creation which we observe does not possess an endless and
perpetual life. A day will come when the life of this world and its inhabitants
will come to an end as confirmed by the Holy Quran. God says, "We created
not the heavens and the earth and all that is between them save with truth, and
for a term appointed." (Quran, XLVI, 3)
One could ask if before the creation of this world and present race of
humanity there had been another world and another human race; or, if after the
life of this world and its inhabitants terminates, as the Holy Quran declares
that it will, another world and humanity will be created. The direct response to
these questions cannot be found in the Holy Quran. There, one can only discover
allusions to the continuity and succession of creation. But in the traditions (rewayat)
of the Imams of the Household of the Prophet transmitted to us it is asserted
that creation is not limited to this visible world. Many worlds have existed in
the past and will exist in the future. The sixth Imam has said, "Perhaps
you think God has not created humanity other than you. No! I swear to God that
He has created thousands upon thousands of mankinds and you are the last among
the."
And the fifth Imam has said, "God, the Exalted, since creating the world
has created seven kinds none of whom were of the race of Adam. He created them
from the surface of the earth and set each being one after another with its kind
upon the earth. Then He created Adam, the father of mankind, and brought his
children into being from him." And also the sixth Imam has said, "Do
not think that after passing away of the affair of this world and the Day of
Judgment and the placing of the virtuous in heaven and the evil in hell there
will no longer be anyone to worship God. No, never! Rather, again God will
create servants without the marriage of the male and the female to know His
Oneness and to worship Him."
ON
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE IMAM (IMAMOLOGY)
The Meaning of Imam
Imam or leader is the title given to a person who takes the lead in a
community in a particular social movement or political ideology or scientific or
religious form of thought. Naturally, because of his relation to the people he
leads, he must conform his actions to their capabilities in both important and
secondary matters.
As is clear from the preceding chapters, the sacred religion of Islam takes
into consideration and gives directives concerning all aspects of the life of
all men. It investigates human life from the spiritual point of view and guides
man accordingly, and it intervenes on the plane of formal and material existence
from the point of view of the life of the individual. In the same way it
intervenes on the plane of social life and its regulation (i.e., on the plane of
government).
Thus the imamate and religious leadership in Islam may be studied from three
different perspectives: from the perspective of Islamic government, of Islamic
sciences and injunctions, and of leadership and innovative guidance in the
spiritual life. Shi'ism believes that since Islamic society is in dire need of
guidance in each of these three aspects, the person who occupies the function of
giving that guidance and is the leader of the community in these areas of
religious concern must be appointed by God and the Prophet. Naturally, the
Prophet himself was also appointed by Divine Command.
The Imamate
and Succession
Man through his God-given nature realizes without any doubt that no organized
society, such as a country or city or village or tribe or even a household
consisting of a few human beings, can continue to subsist without a leader and
ruler who puts the wheel of the society in motion and whose will govern each
individual's will and induces the members of that society to perform their
social duty. Without such a ruler the parts of this society become dispersed in
a short time and disorder and confusion reign. Therefore, he who is the ruler
and governor of a society, whether it be great or small, if he is interested in
his own position and the continued existence of his society, will appoint a
successor for himself if he is to be absent from his function temporarily or
permanently. He will never abandon the domain of his rule and be oblivious to
its existence or annihilation. The head of a household who bids farewell to his
house and household for a journey of a few days or months will appoint one of
the members of the household or someone else as his successor and will leave the
affairs of the house in his hands. The head of an institution, or the principle
of a school, or the owner of a shop, if he is to be absent even for a few hours
will select someone to represent him.
In the same way Islam is a religion which according to the text of the Holy
Book and the Sunnah is established upon the basis of the primordial nature of
things. It is a religion concerned with social life, as has been seen by every
observer near and far. The special attention God and the Prophet have given to
the social nature of this religion can never be denied or neglected. It is an
incomparable feature of Islam. The Holy Prophet was never oblivious to the
problem of the formation of social groupings wherever the influence of Islam
penetrated. Whenever a city or village fell into Muslim hands he would, in the
shortest time possible, appoint a governor or ruler in whose hands he would
