The Soul

[Haneefah]

^Aameen.

 

Salaam Ameen,

 

I'm not at all surprised as I know myself too well to be quite inquisitive in matters concerning our deen, alhamdulilah; and the realm of the soul in all of the stages of existence (perhaps more so in this life than others) is an area that I'm deeply fascinated with (like many, I'm sure).

 

but questions should be directed to the proper people who have the knowledge,

I'm sorry if you felt compelled to address the questions I posed earlier. Indeed, when it comes to topics such as these where expectedly unusual q's do arise, the answers, if any authentic ones exist, are not readily available. Hence why I was hoping bro Nur would take the honour of shedding some of his light on this particular topic. Nevertheless, May Allah reward your effort walal!

 

I thought I should do a bit of searching myself before I delved into this any further. What I've been able to gather from the limited readings I've done, is that this is a matter about which a great deal of information has not been revealed, at least in the Qur'an. Undoubtedly, the Qur'an establishes the existence of punishment in the grave in the ayah where Allah SWT is referring to Fir'awn and his qowm (Ghafir: 46). Ibn Katheer (rahimahullah), stated that this is one of the major basis of belief in cadabul qabr for the ahlul sunnah, though he maintains that the ayah could've been implying the punishment of the soul rather than the actual body. However, further interpretation by the prophet (saw) does elucidate the torment of the body. Furthermore, one thing I've noticed is that much of what is known or written about the subject matter has been extrapolated from the prophetic tradition.

 

The scholars have differed regarding this same issue. Some scholars believe that the torment or the pleasure is felt only by the body, whereas, other scholars believe it is felt by both the body and the soul.

Though I have not read about the former scholars, it'd be interesting to see their proofs, since the agreed upon scholarly view is that both, the body and soul, are affected.

 

From a similar excerpt of Shaikh Ibn Taymiyyah (raximahullah),

 

The view of the Salaf of this Ummah and its Imams is that the torment or blessing (of the grave) happens to the soul of the deceased and his body. After it departs the body, the soul continues to be blessed or punished, and it is also connected to the body from time to time, so that the blessing or torment reflects on the body as well as the soul. So we must believe in that which Allah has told us. (al-Ikhtiyaaraat al-Fiqhiyyah, p. 94)

we can clearly observe that the soul does at some point depart the body which is obviously suggesting that there is a union in the initial state (however long that may be). Interesting! Even more interesting (to me at least ) is the fact that some type of a relationship is still maintained b/w the two (subxanallah). This, in fact, clarifies my initial question which was essentially what aroused my latter thoughts. The question itself was provoked by my trying to draw some type of comparison (though it may have been incongruous) between the supra-dimensional abilities of our souls (namely, during sleep) in this life, and the life of the barzakh.

 

As for the quote by Ibn Qayyim (May Allah bless his soul and have mercy on him), it gives an insightful illustration about the physical dimension of punishment. From this we can perhaps infer that since physical punishment does not depend on the existence of the 4-dimensional bodies we know in this life, there's a distinct physical entity that experiences punishment/reward? Allahu aclam. Extremely thought-provoking though! Btw, is this from kitab Ar-Rooh? Have you read it? I've been meaning to buy it for quite some time, now I can't wait to read it :cool:

 

For anyone who might be interested in learning more about the different locations of the righteous souls in al-barzakh, I found Dr. Philip's The Soul's Abode After Death to be an enlightening piece with supporting proofs.

 

It is true that as human beings we tend to be quite curious about matters which our minds do not possess the capacity to perceive nor comprehend. Particularly, about the nature of the soul. Regarding this, Allah Subhanahu watacala says: “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.” Alhamdulilah, as believers we are made aware of our deficient and limited nature, and as such, it behooves us to exercise much caution when reflecting upon the signs of our Beloved and Magnificent Lord. May He, by His mercy and grace, overlook our shortcomings and bless us with more knowledge and taqwa. Ameen.

[Ameen]

Assalam

 

In regards to the limited sources that are available about this topic, I found that every now and than, a person may come across a hadeeth in which some aspect of the soul or death is mentioned, and if we (as seekers of knowledge) gather that information and put it aside (easier said than done) we may find, in due time, the amount of resources to be more than we assumed. At least that’s what I found, after reading Abu Bilal Mustafa’s book about the soul and all the authentic proofs he provided. The actual book I own that covers this topic in detail is called “Mysterious of the Soul”, I assume kitab Ar-Rooh to be a different book? I remember when I purchased my book, I walked into the book store determined to get a book that covers the different stages of the soul, when…the owner of the book store approached me and asked if I’m was ready to read about a matter that many fear (I guess he was talking about death). So he directed me towards the above mentioned book, when I got a hold of the book and started to read briefly about the author, than it hit me. He (the author) dedicated much of his time to learn and research about the journey of the soul, when I realized that he has experienced the same journey he has written about (since he passed away in 1989, may Allah have mercy on him and his family).

So the question that’s stuck in my head is…why are so many believers of Allah scared of death? (I only ask this because the kafirs that I go to school with aren’t scared of death and when I ask a Muslim he is). Do you have an answer on why?

Personally, I’ve just completed a lecture by Imam Al-Anwar Awalki about Akhira (the junnah part of the series) and after that lecture death doesn’t seem that bad, lool (that’s of course if my abode is junnah, inshallah).

 

I enjoy Bilal Phillips work specially his books (unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to read as much as I would have liked, but it’s a matter, Im trying to find the time for) but inshallah I will look into the lecture about the soul after death.

 

And Allah knows best

[Haneefah]

Originally posted by Ameen:

I assume kitab Ar-Rooh to be a different book?

Yes! I was asking if your previous quote of Ibn Qayyim (raximahullah) was from this book. Or was he cited in Abu mustafa's book?

 

So the question that’s stuck in my head is…why are so many believers of Allah scared of death? (I only ask this because the kafirs that I go to school with aren’t scared of death and when I ask a Muslim he is). Do you have an answer on why?

Well, there's nothing more that a righteous believer could ever desire than to gain entrance into paradise and meet their beloved Creator, subxanahu watacala. As a result, it's not that the believer is afraid of death in and of itself, or the idea of leaving the so called perceived luxuries of this world (for the lack of a better example), but rather, he fears having to leave this world without having lived in accordance with the purpose for which he was brought to existence. In other words, leaving this dunya without having perfected one's own journey of cubuudiya, the only thing that will earn one true salvation in the eternal abode. Ask yourself, can you afford to face your lord in your current state as a believer? Can you even imagine the outcome of that evaluation?

 

Therefore, it befits us to continuously remember death, for it reinforces our fear of Allah SWT and reminds us of the momentary nature of this dunya, enabling us to avoid its illusory pursuits. Moreover, we are ever closer to the border line of death, thus, we should always prepare for it and hasten to do good deeds. The longer the life span Allah caza wajal blesses with His slave, the better chance he obtains to correct, improve and beautify his portfolio.

 

Ilaahay cimri dheer oo cibaada leh ha na siiyo.

[Ameen]

Assalam Alaikum

 

“Yes! I was asking if your previous quote of Ibn Qayyim (raximahullah) was from this book. Or was he cited in Abu Mustafa’s book?”- In regards to your inquiry, the quote of Ibn Qayyim was cited in “The Mysterious of the Soul” by Abu Mustafa (may Allah have mercy on him).

 

As for your question, could I afford to face my lord in my current state? May Allah have mercy on us, for we have nothing to present Allah with that is worthy (let alone equal) to his reward and therefore our only means to salvation is through the mercy of our Lord, may He be glorified. Surely I can imagine the reality of the equation as it’s presented before my Lord, but it’s the reality of the situation that I’m trying to convert into righteous good deeds before the spoiler of good times visits me.

 

May Allah grant us long lives to repent and increase in our good deeds.

 

And Allah knows best

[Nur]

Posititive bro. writes:

 

"May we awaken to our highest and most worth need!"

 

 

Amin, may Allah awaken the walking dead to realize the urgency of alligning our wishes, words and actions with the Sunnah of Allah's messenger SAWS.

 

Afkiinna ku carfiya salliga Nabiga.

 

 

Nur