Insights on the Afterlife in Arabian Culture
The concept of the afterlife, referred to as "Akhira" in Arabic, holds significant meanings in Arabian culture as explored through Quranic verses and cultural beliefs. Unlike many cultures, the Arabs initially did not believe in life after death, but there are intriguing analogies made in Islamic teachings about the regeneration of life akin to seeds. This belief in a divine seed within every human being that will ensure their recreation in the afterlife offers a profound perspective on existence and resurrection.
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The Arabic word for afterlife, Akhira, bears the meanings of last and everlasting There are two reasons this specific word was used to described the afterlife 1. To show that there is a life coming after the one we are in right now 2. Although we are surrounded with things from the wordly life, there is a world waiting for us in the afterlife.
The Quran describes the afterlife as an everlasting, yet new world. It also describes this world as ula, and the afterlife akhir And indeed, to Us belongs the Hereafter and the first [life]. 92:13 And the Hereafter is better for you than the first [life]. 93:4
One of the most fascinating aspects of Arabian culture is that the Arabs did not believe in the afterlife. This is really interesting because most cultures have a concept of the afterlife. The Arabs didn t believe in the afterlife. They said We live and we die and nothing kills us but time . The Arabs said And will we be decayed bones, dust in the earth and brought back to life?! They say: Who is going to revive these dead and decayed bones? The Quran answers them The one who brought them to life the first time, He will do it the second time The Quran says We created you the first time , the commentators say the second time around is always easier. If it was done once it can be done again.
Allah told the Arabs to look at the dead earth, and the Quran said what it means We take a dead earth, send down rain from the heaven, it mixes with the seeds and we bring the earth back to life again and like that you will be brought back . Now with regard to this analogy, there s a hadith (narration) where Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) says that every human being has what s called `ajbu al-zanab (the wondrous tail / tailbone). It s at the tip of the coccyx, and it s the seed of the human being.
As Muslims, we believe that there is a seed that every human being has. Seeds are very interesting because they are very hard to destroy, you swallow seeds, they come out the other end. Hydrochloric acid doesn t break them down. Forests that are burnt down come back to life because of seeds that are there that are not destroyed. Drought comes and kills everything but the seeds, it's when the rain comes back it come back to life. Now the belief of the Muslim is that every human being has a seed, and that seed will not be destroyed. We don t know where it is or what it is. The hadith indicates that it is in the coccyx. But we don t know what size it is or what it looks like, nothing like that. But from that seed every human being will be recreated from a divine rain.
One verse in the Quran says We will continue to show them our signs in their selves and on the horizon until it becomes clear to them that what we are saying is true , so the belief in The Resurrection is absolutely fundamental to the Islamic tradition, and there s a belief that every soul will be completely renewed. But the body that s recreated is not the same as this physical body.
This is what we call the world of spirits. One of the things of the world of spirits according to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is if you met people in the spiritual round, because we actually intermingle, if you met people in the spiritual realm you will have a natural affinity for them in this realm. So there will be people that you meet in your life that you immediately connect with. And this is believed to be a pre-worldly meeting that is replicated in this realm, and this is a recognition of that. And likewise the people most distant from you on that level, will be people that you not attracted to them. And this can also be within families and within religious traditions, in other words it could be a Muslim. For a Muslim it could be a Muslim that you are not comfortable with. You are not supposed to be mean or cruel to them, or take them as enemies or something, but to recognize that there are natural affinities and these affinities are from a pre-worldly recognition and there s a hadith in which The Prophet said: Souls are like regimented ranks, those who knew each other before feel affinity in this realm, and those who did not have differences.
Now this area is the world of life choices and efforts. This is called `aalam al-Dunia. So you enter into this, and from here you move into the barzakh. Now according to the hadith, when your soul dies it hovers above your body, and it s a very discomforting experience. And this is why a sleep is considered to be the little brother of death in Islam, and the Quran talks about We cause them to die and there are those who return to their bodies and others that we keep them In other words, sleep is a type of death, one of the things sleep is the indication of the Afterlife, because what happens when you go to sleep is like you live your life, you go to sleep and you enter into this barzakh, and then waking up is like the resurrection. You come back into the body and you wake up, you are resurrected. During sleep, you can live lives. You can have extraordinary dreams, you can feel like you were dreaming just all these things happened, and those are indications of another world. And this is why Muslims believe that the dream realm is a very important realm, and they differentiate between dreams.
The Quran differentiates between dreams that are like what we call food dreams, you eat a lot of food before you sleep and then you have all this funny garbled dreams, but you are still in what s called `aalam al- khayal (imaginary world). It is part of the unseen realm. But there are also true dreams, and the more one s spirituality soul work becomes loosened, the more access they have to that realm. And the more opaque and materialistic they are, the more cut off they are from that realm. So there are people who literally their dream world is incredibly rich. In our tradition there are many people who saw the Messenger of Allah every night in their dreams, like Imam Malik ibn Anas. He said he never woke up without seeing the Prophet in his dreams.
At a time unknown to man, but preordained, when people least expect it, Allah will give permission for the Qiy mah to begin. The archangel Israfil, will sound a horn sending out a Blast of Truth (Qur'an 50.37-42, 69.13-18, 74.8, 78.18). It is also believed that the sun and will rise from the west, and the sun and moon will be in darkness, perhaps through an eclipse, as interpreted from this quote in the Quran: ""He questions: "When is the Day of Resurrection?". At length, when the sight is dazed, And the moon is buried in darkness. And the sun and moon are joined together."Qur'an 75.6-9 All men and women fall dead, and people that are already dead rise from their graves and everyone gathers, waiting to be judged for their actions.
Good deeds vs. bad deeds The Qur'an also states that even the smallest acts of the believers will not be wasted. "Anyone who has an atom's worth of goodness will see it and anyone who has done an atom's worth of evil will also see it" (Qur'an 99:7-8). Those who do good if they are Muslims, will be rewarded not only in this world but also in the world hereafter. However, the final Judgement is up to God himselfQur'an 2:62
The Gathering 'Alameen (humankind, the Jinn, and all other living beings) are gathered upon a vast, white, featureless ground, under intense heat of the Sun overhead. They are naked, uncircumcised and crowded together to the point where some are submerged in their own sweat, as in the beginning of creation. The degree to which one is submerged in sweat depends on the extent of one's piety and goodness. The faces of those who practiced good adab by following the Five Pillars of Islam in their daily lives are nadirah (shining and radiant). On the other hand, the faces of disbelievers are dark, sad and frowning. Everyone waits to be brought before God for their Judgement.
People will beseech Prophet Muhammad to intercede on their behalf. Abraham, Moses, Adam, and Noah, all of whom decline to do so and instead point to Muhammad, who intercedes on behalf of the world. In one Hadith, it is related that after the Intercession of Muhammad, Allah Himself intercedes, repeatedly ordering His angels to fetch out of Jahannam (hell) any who sincerely professed the Shahada (Sahih Bukhari, book 3 "book of learning or knowledge", number 97 (98 in another edition)) until the angels are ordered to return and find anyone with even an atom's measure of goodness in his or her heart. Those who have worshipped false gods, or have participated in shirk (idol worship) are not rescued from Jahannam (hell) and instead remain there forever.
Idols will assert that only Allah is Lord, and that they were wrongfully worshipped. The Qur'an and Hadith state that Jesus returns and denies he claimed he is God (Qur'an 43.61). In regard to idolatry, Muhammad said, "If any religious man dies amongst those people they would build a place of worship at his grave and make these pictures in it. They will be the worst creature in the sight of Allah on Qiyama (the Day of Resurrection)," (Sahih Bukhari, book 8 "Prayers", number 409)
For those who lived a righteous life, their books will be given to them in their right hand. For those who lived lives full of sin and un- repentance, their books will be given in their right hands Then as for he who is given his record in his right hand, He will be judged with an easy account. And return to his people in happiness. But as for he who is given his record behind his back, He will cry out for destruction (84:7-11)
Prophet Muhammed SAW said: The son of Adam will not pass away from Allah until he is asked about five things: how he lived his life, and how he utilized his youth, with what means did he earn his wealth, how did he spend his wealth, and what did he do with his knowledge. (Tirmidhi) And We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be treated unjustly at all. And if there is [even] the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We as accountant. 21:47
It is said in Hadith that crossing the bridge is such a difficult task, because the bridge is as thick as one seventh strand of hair, and as sharp as the edge of a sword. The believers and those destined for Jannah are able to cross quickly and safely, seeing it as a thick stone bridge, whereas others fall off this hair-thin bridge into Jahannam.
Believers will be led by Muhammad to a vast basin or lake-fount called al-kawthar where their thirst will be sated with a white- colored drink that tastes like sweetened milk. Whosoever drinks it, never thirsts thereafter. In one hadith al-kawthar is said to be a river of paradise (al-Bukhari, book 76, hadith 583.) Sahih Bukhari, in book 76 (the book of tenderness), the chapter on the basin contains at least 14 hadiths regarding it. ,
And We will have removed whatever is within their breasts of resentment, [while] flowing beneath them are rivers. And they will say, "Praise to Allah , who has guided us to this; and we would never have been guided if Allah had not guided us. Certainly the messengers of our Lord had come with the truth." And they will be called, "This is Paradise, which you have been made to inherit for what you used to do. 7:43
Heaven is mentioned several times in detail in the Quran (3:133, 18:21, 36:56, 37:47, 76:13, 47:15, 56:28-29, 78:32, 83:25) Prophet Muhammed said in the Bukhari hadith Allah tells us that he has prepared a place that no eye has ever seen, a place that no heart could ever perceive
When Prophet Muhammed told this to his sahabah, they asked him if that was true even for him. He replied that if it wasn t for Allah s mercy and compassion, no one, not even him would have enough good deeds to deserve paradise. (Bukhari, Razak 18)
Just as there is Paradise, there is Hell, too. The Quran speaks of Hell: Indeed, those who disbelieve and commit wrong [or injustice] - never will Allah forgive them, nor will He guide them to a path. Except the path of Hell; they will abide therein forever. And that, for Allah , is [always] easy. 4:168-169
Abiding therein forever, they will not find a protector or a helper. 33:65 For the believers, after spending their time in Hell for the sins they committed that were left un-repented for, they will then be let into Heaven. The angels will ask the people in Hell why they didn t believe
If a rock is dropped into Jahannam, it will remain plummeting for 70 years before touching the pit of Jahannam Four walls surround the Jahannam, each has the walking width of 40 years Jahannam was heated for a thousand years and its fire turned red, it was heated for another thousand years and it turned white, it was again heated for another thousand years and it turned black. At the present, Jahannam is pitch black and dark. The fire in which one will burn is the 70thpart of Jahannam
Prophet Muhammed said: Among the men of Jahannam, the least punishment given will be that both his shoes and laces will be made of fire, which will make his head boil like a cauldron such, that he will think he is receiving the most severe punishment, although his punishment is the least (Bukhari, Muslim)
Once Jahannam complained to Allah SWT about the increasing heat because one portion was eating into another. So, Allah, the Rab of the worlds allowed it to have two breaths one during summer, and the other during winter. Therefore, the heat you feel is the effect of the heave of Jahannam (with it, its breath is taken out) and similarly, the cold you feel is the effect of it breathing in (Bukhari)
Hawia: This is for the hyprocrites Jahim: This is above Hawia which is for the polytheists Saqar: This is above Jahim and it is for the Saibeen, a sect having no religion Nati: This is above Saqar and it is for Iblis and his associates Hatma: This is the fifth layer, above Nati and it is for the Jewish sinners Sa ah: The sixth layer, above Hatma for Christian sinners Jahannam: The seventh and final layer for the Muslim sinners
Dont be boastful, pray that Allah cleanses us of our sins and will include us among those He rewards of the Day of Increase. Allah is the Ever-Merciful, so while we need to keep these things in mind, we should pray for His Mercy and try to avoid things that will bring His Wrath. May Allah keep us on the straight path and away from this who are led astray
