Out of the darkness and into the light...

Islam and the Afterlife

The Islamic belief in the afterlife as stated in the Qur'an is similar in most ways to the Christian belief in the afterlife, though its official description is more detailed. The Islamic equivalent to heaven is jannah and the equivalent to hell is jahannam. Jannah and Jahannem both have different levels. Souls will not get there until after the Judgment Day, but their level of comfort while in the grave depends on their belief in Islam and their conduct during life.

The Last Day

A central doctrine of the Qur'an is the Last Day, on which the world will be destroyed and Allah will raise all people and jinn from the dead to be judged. The Last Day is also called the Day of Standing Up, Day of Separation, Day of Reckoning, Day of Awakening, Day of Judgment, The Encompassing Day or The Hour.

Briefly, but importantly, Jinn are invisible beings, that constitute a world almost parallel to the human, according to Islam. The jinns are living with humans, and are a central part of the Muslim world view. The belief in jinns is orthodox, as they are mentioned several times in the Koran. Jinns are created out of smokeless flame, while man and angels are from clay and light. Jinns are a part of the realm of God and Muhammad passed on the message of Islam even to them. Which nature the jinns are of, and whether the Islamic equivalent of "Satan" comes from them, are theoretical problems with Muslim theologians.

Until the Day of Judgment, deceased souls remain in their graves awaiting the resurrection. However, they begin to feel immediately a taste of their destiny to come. Those bound for hell will suffer in their graves, while those bound for heaven will be in peace until that time. The resurrection that will take place on the Last Day is physical, and is explained by suggesting that God will re-create the decayed body.

One's eternal destination depends on the balance of good to bad deeds in life. On the Last Day, resurrected humans and jinn will be judged by Allah according to their deeds. They are either granted admission to Paradise, where they will enjoy spiritual and physical pleasures forever, or condemned to Hell to suffer spiritual and physical torment for eternity. The day of judgment is described as passing over Hell on a narrow bridge in order to enter Paradise. Those who fall, weighted by their bad deeds, will remain in Hell forever. The Qur'an specifies two exceptions to this general rule:

  • Warriors who die fighting in the cause of God are ushered immediately to God's presence; and
  • "Enemies of Islam" are sentenced immediately to Hell upon death.

Paradise

Paradise (firdaws), also called "The Garden" (Janna), is a place of physical and spiritual pleasure, with lofty mansions, delicious food and drink, and virgin companions called "houris." There are seven heavens.

Hell

Hell, or Jahannam (Greek gehenna), is mentioned frequently in the Qur'an and the Sunnah using a variety of imagery. It has seven doors leading to a fiery crater of various levels, the lowest of which contains the tree Zaqqum and a cauldron of boiling pitch. The level of hell depends on the degree of offenses. Suffering is both physical and spiritual.

Alternate Views on Hell

It is generally accepted that being a Muslim does not keep one out of Hell, but it is not clear whether Muslims sent to Hell will remain there forever. Also of general acceptance is that, non-Muslims (kafir), will be punished eternally. Some believe that ultimately, God will remove from Hell those believers whose sins were not forgiven nor atoned for by good deeds in their lifetimes, and they will then enter Paradise. The remaining inhabitants of Hell will stay there eternally.

Others believe that as Allah can rescue people from hell as he chooses, and that he is merciful and compassionate, eventually hell will be empty. This opinion fits in some ways with the view of Hell as a place of progress where souls are instructed until they are fit to go to heaven; where life after death is actually the starting-point of further progress for humans.

World-Class Religions and their views:

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