Hereafter

The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is the belief that the essential part of an individual's identity or the stream of consciousness continues after the death of the physical body. According to various ideas about the afterlife, the essential aspect of the individual that lives on after death may be some partial element, or the entire soul or spirit, of an individual, which carries with it and may confer personal identity or, on the contrary nirvana. Belief in an afterlife is in contrast to the belief in oblivion after death.

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Planets . Earth . Hereafter . Mankind

Why did Allah create so many other galaxies and planets if Earth and the world of the hereafter are all that is of relevance to mankind?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 2 weeks ago

Allah (SWT) Has the All and Absolute Knowledge and Wisdom, while we have very little knowledge if we have any. He knows the wisdom of creating whatever He created from the nucleus and atom to the galaxies. No doubt , there is a great wisdom which is known to Him, but not to us as our knowledge is very limited. We are in this universe like a small kid who sees huge library with thousands of books and wonders why these books were written.

Wassalam.

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Husband . Hereafter . Predestination

It is mentioned in Quran that the living creatures are created in pairs. Does that mean marrying my husband was predefined and that I will be reunited with the same person in the hereafter?

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 1 month ago

The general understanding of this verse is that things are generally created in pairs (for instance, positive and negative, matter and antimatter, light and dark, or male and female), and that one of the signs of Allah is that human beings marry and form a pair in order to become more whole than they would be individually.

However, it is not usually taken to mean that all human beings are specifically created with a soulmate or "pair" whom they marry in this world. Indeed, some people have more than one happy marriage in their lifetimes; others are miserable in their marriages!

Marriage can be destined and can be a matter of free choice; matters of destiny are not usually clear. Some people misuse the idea of destiny and marriage to cover up socially unjust practices (for instance, not allowing their children to marry someone of a certain race, culture, family, or profession) and then saying these restrictions are "destiny". At the same time, it does seem that sometimes some people are destined to be together or destined not to be together.

However if you are happy with your husband, I hope you will be able to be together in the Hereafter!

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Hereafter . Dunya

Is it true that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was critical of both those who abandon the Hereafter for this world and also those who abandon this world for the Hereafter? Does it mean we should be moderate and try to enjoy both the worlds?

Yes it is true that the Holy Prophet (SAWA) never encourages anyone to
abandon the Hereafter for this world nor this world for the Hereafter.
In the narrations one of the pious companions Usman ibn Madh’oon عثمان بن مظعون who was one of the earliest Muslims (13th or 14th) and who suffered a lot
from the enemies of the Muslims in Makkah and who had migrated to
Abyssinia twice, first with the Muslims of Madinah were who led by him
and the second time he migrated to Abyssinia with a group of Muslims
led by Ja’far ibn Abi Talib.

Usman ibn Madh’oon participated in the Muslim army in the battle of
Badr. He was spending his days in fasting and the nights in
worshipping. He sought permission from the Holy Prophet (SAWA) to
abandon this world and remain in worshipping Allah (SWT) only. The
Holy Prophet (SAWA) did not allow this and told him : “No, I was not
sent to abandon this world for the Hereafter nor to abandon the
Hereafter for sake of this world”. The Hadeeth says : “Do for your
worldly life as if you will remain in the world forever and do for
your Hereafter as if you are leaving this world tomorrow. (Mustadrak
al-Wasaa’il vol. 13 pg. 58 and Bihar al-Anwar vol. 44 pg. 139). Even
in the Holy Qu’ran in Surah al-Qasas verse 77, Allah (SWT) says :
“Seek with what Allah (SWT) has bestowed on you the Hereafter and
don’t forget your lawful portion from this world”.

Wassalam.

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Life . Children . Hereafter . Procreation

In the next life, can a believing male and female procreate and have children in the same way they did in this world?

I am not aware of any Sunni or Shi'i texts that speak of producing new human beings in Paradise.

I don't wish to contradict myself because I just finished typing that people in Paradise can have whatever they want. However, perhaps they will not want to have children there because the situation is different. Also, often our desire to have children in this world is affected by hormones or society, or the desire to procreate is put into our hearts through divine mechanisms to carry out the plan of God for humanity. God knows best!

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Hereafter . Visual impairment

I have heard that those born blind in this world will be so greatly rewarded and compensated for it in the Hereafter that they would wish they had more handicaps in this life. Is this true?

Zaid Alsalami, Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from... Answered 8 months ago

Bismihi ta'ala

I would like to just share one beautiful hadith we have that speaks about the abundant reward of a blind person. In our Islamic traditions and culture, we do not see the word a'maa, or blind being used to describe a person who does not have the sense of sight. In honouring and empowering them, more positive words are used, like baseer, makfuf, and so on, with each one having a great meaning.

This hadith is from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.):

مَنْ لَقِيَ اَللَّهَ مَكْفُوفاً مُحْتَسِباً مُوَالِياً لآِلِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلاَمُ لَقِيَ اَللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ لاَ حِسَابَ عَلَيْهِ

Whoever meets Allah, being blind, but tolerating it with patience, and devoted to the Progeny of Muhammad (a.s.), he/she will be meeting Almighty God and will not be judged for anything.

Yes, we understand that this does not mean a blind person man sin as he/she wishes, but it means that the Almighty has assured the believer who is deprived of something in this world, that they will be compensated and rewarded for it in this world, in other things, and also in the Hereafter.

With prayers for your success.

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Punishment . Hereafter . Dunya

Is a criminal still liable for punishment in the hereafter if he has already served the judicial sentence in this world for his crime?

If the criminal gets his Islamic punishment in this life, no punishment will be on him in the Day of Judgment for that crime.

If the criminal repents and compensates the victim and seeks forgiveness from hem and from Allah (SW), Allah is The Most Merciful and Best Forgiver.

Wassalam.

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Ahl al-Bayt . God (Allah) . Hereafter

What do the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt (as) teach about seeing Allah either in this world or the hereafter?

Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 1 year ago

Thank you for your question. While the scriptural sources refer to the possibility of seeing Allah, they also establish that God is above physical sight, as that would limit Him. Hence, the references in the scriptural sources can be understood metaphorically, meaning that seeing God refers to seeing the bounties of God for example.

The other way to understand these references is to say that God cannot be seen with the physical eyes and nothing of His Essence can be known, but His manifestations can be comprehended with the eyes of the heart. Therefore, these references to seeing Allah are to do with the sight of the heart.

In the Nahj al-Balagha, Sayyid Radi narrates that when Imam Ali (as) was asked by Dha'lab al-Yamani if he had seen his Lord he replied by saying:

"Should I serve what I don't see?!"

Da'lab continues to ask the Imam (as) how he sees God and the Imam replies:

"Eyes do not perceive Him by the witnessing of things, but the hearts percieve Him by the realities of faith! [He is] close to things but not associated, far from them but not separated."

May you always be successful.