Death saves the believer from the distress of this life that is filled with thorns (Al Jazeera)

If life is one of the signs of God, then death is also another sign that opposes life, but it is no less amazing. The Almighty said: “How can you disbelieve in God when you were dead and He gave you life? Then He will put you to death, then He will bring you to life, then to Him you will be returned” [Al-Baqarah: 28].

Thinking about this verse means thinking about one of God’s creations and His wonders, which indicates the greatness of His power and the wonder of His matter. Remembering death has a great effect in reforming and refining souls, because souls prefer the world and its pleasures, and aspire to a long stay in this life, and may crave sins and disobedience. And you may fall short in acts of obedience. If death is always on the mind of the servant, it makes the world seem small in his eyes and makes him strive to reform himself and straighten the crookedness of his affairs. The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said: “Make frequent mention of the destroyer of pleasures: death, for he did not mention it in Life is limited except that it is sufficient for it, and there is no mention of it regarding abundance except its narrowness.”

The scholars said: Remembering death deters sin, softens a hard heart, takes away joy in this world, and makes calamities less likely.

Among the rulings on death is that God Almighty created death and life as a test for His servants and a test for them so that He may know who will obey Him and who will disobey Him.

death is a right

Death is a stage that a person passes through, a status that he returns to, a reality that he does not ignore, a cup that he drinks, and a fountain from which he draws. Death has many rulings, for in it the perfection of the pure power of God Almighty is revealed, and His great wisdom in managing the stages of creation: He is the one who created this human being from nothing, and then created him. One stage after another, and creation after creation, until he became a single human being, hearing and seeing, reasoning and speaking, moving, making peace, quarreling, mating and reproducing, living on God’s earth and receiving what God has provided, then after all that God Almighty causes him to die, so he does not eat or drink. It does not hear, it does not see, it does not understand, it does not move, so it disappears after remaining, and ceases to exist after existence, and all of this is by God’s control and ability, and His great wisdom in creating different things and opposing conditions.

Among the rulings on death is that God Almighty created death and life as a test for His servants and a test for them so that He might know who obeys Him from who disobeys Him. God Almighty said: “Who created death and life to test you as to which of you is best in deeds, and He is the Mighty” [Al-Mulk: 2].

And God Almighty did not create humans in this world with a permanent creation. Rather, He made them successors on earth, succeeding one another. If He had kept them, it would have been beneficial and wise to make them successors.

In death there are great blessings that do not come to people except through it. If it were not for death, their lives would not have been easy, this land would not have been pleasant, their livelihood would not have been ample, and their homes, cities, markets, and roads would have been narrow.

Death saves the believer from the distress of this life, which is filled with thorns and full of calamities and pains, both hidden and apparent, to endless bliss, the joy of an eye that never ceases, and happiness that never ends, in lush shades, lush gardens, and everlasting gardens, with the best companions and the most pure people.

With death, the soul reaches certainty and recognizes its true nature in that it was created by the Creator, Glory be to Him, and that it was created for a purpose.

The hour of death is the most dangerous hour in man’s endlessly long journey, because it is the beginning of the transition from the tangible world of testimony, which man has known and is familiar with, to a world that was absent in the first life, and becomes tangible in the new life, which begins with physical death, to happen to man in a world. For the first time in the isthmus, there are worlds that are completely different from the worlds of the world that he lived, and that he was in harmony with or in discord with.

The texts came to prove life in the isthmus, which is a life that contradicts the usual life in this world. God Almighty made the world three: the home of the world, the home of the isthmus, and the home of decision-making.

The life of the isthmus... a life between two lives

Here begins the life of the isthmus, and the isthmus is the name of what is between this world and the afterlife, from the time of death until resurrection. God Almighty said: “And behind them is an isthmus until the Day they are resurrected” [Al-Mu’minun: 100].

The isthmus is the barrier between the two things in such a way that it prevents them from mixing. God Almighty says: “And it is He who made the two seas turbulent, this is fresh and fragrant, and this is salt and brazen, and He has placed between them an isthmus and a blocked stone” [Al-Furqan: 53], He has made a barrier between them.

There is a barrier between them and the afterlife. It is the life of the people of the graves, the life after death, the life of the isthmus between this world and the afterlife, in which the souls of the dead reside. It is a spiritual world that cannot be compared to the material world of this world, as it is not governed by the laws of space, time and matter.

Rather, it is another world with its own conditions and secrets.

The texts came to prove life in the isthmus, which is a life that is contrary to the usual life in this world. God Almighty made three homes: the home of the world, the home of the isthmus, and the home of resting place. He made for each home its own rulings, and this human being composed of body and soul, and made the rulings of the home of the world on the bodies. And the souls are in accordance with them, and He made the rulings of the isthmus on the souls and bodies in accordance with them. If the day of the gathering of the bodies comes, and the people rise from their graves, the judgment, bliss, and torment over the souls and bodies become apparent and eternal in origin.

The bliss or torment of the grave befalls the one who was buried and the one who was not buried, or the one who was eaten by wild beasts or whose body was torn apart, or who was burned and the ashes of his body were scattered on land or sea, or the one who was in mortuaries for long periods, or the one who was drowned or crucified, or anyone who was not buried in any condition. Conditions

The grave is the first home of the afterlife

The life of the isthmus begins with a person descending to his grave. The grave is the first stage of the afterlife. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: “The grave is the first stage of the afterlife. If he is saved from it, then what comes after it is easier than it, and if he does not escape from it then what comes after it is more severe than it,” and he said. Messenger of God: “I have never seen a sight more horrific than the grave except the grave.”

Among what should be known is that the torment and bliss of the grave is a name for the torment and bliss of the barzakh, which is what is between this world and the hereafter. God Almighty said: “Until when death comes to one of them, he says, ‘My Lord, bring me back.’ Perhaps I may do righteousness in what I have left behind. No, it is a word that He said, and behind them is a barzakh until the Day they are resurrected.” [The Believers: 99-100].

The bliss or torment of the grave befalls the one who was buried and the one who was not buried, or the one who was eaten by wild beasts or whose body was torn apart, or who was burned and the ashes of his body were scattered on land or sea, or the one who was in mortuaries for long periods, or the one who was drowned or crucified, or anyone who was not buried in any condition. Circumstances, he will suffer the punishment or bliss of the grave, and he will live a life in Barzakh until the Day of Resurrection.

There are many rulings on the torment and bliss of the grave, including: showing the grace of God Almighty to His righteous, faithful servants by granting them bliss in the life of Barzakh, and humiliating and torturing disobedient liars, God forbid.

And to demonstrate the ability of God Almighty to torture disobedient and unbelievers, and to make true believers blissful in the grave without the rest of humanity realizing it.

When those who are accountable know that there is torment in the grave or in the life of Barzakh, this will be a deterrent and prevent them from doing evil and disgraceful actions in the afterlife.

It also includes warnings against some sins and transgressions, which have special punishments that suit them, such as not urinating, gossiping, and so on.

Also, the torment in the grave and in the life of Barzakh may be an expiation for some of the sins and transgressions that the servant suffered in the life of this world, so he will come on the Day of Resurrection without having sinned.

This is death and this is the life of the isthmus, and every human being in every time and place must die and then pass through the stage of the isthmus life. There is no escape from that, and this requires belief in that life, its torment and bliss, and preparing for it through supplication, good deeds, and obedience.

In our time in which we live, groups of people have appeared who are trying to deny the life of the isthmus and its torment - specifically -, knowing that this issue is something that Muslims have agreed upon, since the evidence of the bliss and torment of the grave is clear and clear in the Qur’an and the Sunnah, and the true believer is the one who believes in what is stated in the Book of God and the Sunnah. His Messenger and he works in accordance with this faith.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.