Resurrection - Qiyyamah
Belief In Resurrection
Resurrection is belief in the manifestation of the highest sphere of God's authority over and above all His creatures:
أَلَا يَظُنُّ أُولَٰئِكَ أَنَّهُمْ مَبْعُوثُونَ
“What! Think they not that they shall be raised” (83:4)
لِيَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ
“For a Great Day” (83:5)
يَوْمَ يَقُومُ النَّاسُ لِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
“The day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds?” (83:6)
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا يَوْمُ الدِّينِ
“And what maketh thee know what the Day of Judgment is?” (82:17)
ثُمَّ مَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا يَوْمُ الدِّينِ
“Then again what maketh thee know what the Day of Judgment is?” (82:18)
يَوْمَ لَا تَمْلِكُ نَفْسٌ لِنَفْسٍ شَيْئًا وَالْأَمْرُ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلَّهِ
“(It is) The day on which no soul owns not anything (helpful) for another soul; and the (entire) command on that day shall be God’s (alone).” (82:19)
The day when the fact is realized, all the agencies of creatures will be submerged in the will of God. This is the day when the willpower bestowed on man by God to choose his actions will come to an end.
Resurrection (Qiyamah) literally means to 'rise', but as a religious term it means 'to rise to a higher state of life'. It has been applied to the lives of individuals after death and the intermediate stage. The saying of the Holy Prophet (S) is:
مَنْ مَاتَ فَقَدْ قَامَتْ قِيَامَتُهُ
'He, who dies, his rise has been realised'.1
The term ‘resurrection’ has also been applied to the days of the establishment of the Divine Kingdom on earth - in ‘the person’ of the vicegerents of God - as the 'lesser resurrection' (Qiyamah al-Sughr). But 'resurrection' is a term mostly used in the Qur'an and the prophet’s sayings particularly for the final collective rise of mankind, and generally of other creatures, to the highest sphere of manifestation of God’s authority and kingdom:
إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَةً لِمَنْ خَافَ عَذَابَ الْآخِرَةِ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمٌ مَجْمُوعٌ لَهُ النَّاسُ وَذَٰلِكَ يَوْمٌ مَشْهُودٌ
“Verily, in this there is a sign for him who feareth the chastisement of the hereafter; the day for which mankind shall be gathered together, and that day shall be witnessed (by all)” (11:103)
قُلْ إِنَّ الْأَوَّلِينَ وَالْآخِرِينَ
“Say thou (O' Our Apostle Muhammad!): “Verily the ancients and the later ones” (from beginning to the end).” (56:49)
لَمَجْمُوعُونَ إِلَىٰ مِيقَاتِ يَوْمٍ مَعْلُومٍ
“Shall certainly be gathered together unto the tryst of the known day.” (56:50)
From the Qur'anic verses quoted herein - and several other verses - together with the prophet’s sayings, the following facts about the life hereafter are established beyond any doubt.
1. Death does not mean the annihilation of the conscious and cognitive ego. The ego after its severance from its material body does continue being conscious of itself and of its past.
2. Death is merely a migration from one state or phase or stage of lesser sensitivity to another of higher sensitivity.
3. Of the sensory faculties, whether external or internal, none is destroyed by 'death'; on the contrary, all these are further refined and sharpened.
4. The only relationship which is severed by death is the direct relationship of the conscious ego with the outer material world, with which it was connected through external senses.
5. The whole attention of the conscious ego will be diverted to
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The memories of the past and what are preserved in the subconscious, and even unconscious layers of the ego:
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The higher spheres of beings above the conscious ego (the angelical realm). In other words, the focal centre of human consciousness will no longer receive any direct stimulation through external senses; but it does receive stimulation from within its limited spheres beyond the material spheres. Therefore, 'death' should be taken as a step towards a higher stage of life, whether pleasant or painful. The pleasure or pain of a newborn child - whose external and internal sensations are not yet developed - is less in degree to those of a mature person. Similarly, the pleasure or pain of the conscious ego after death is greater in degree than the one who is still fettered with the material world. The Qur’an expresses this fact in the following verse:
لَقَدْ كُنْتَ فِي غَفْلَةٍ مِنْ هَٰذَا فَكَشَفْنَا عَنْكَ غِطَاءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ
“(It will be said): Thou wert heedless of this now have We removed from thee thy veil, so thy sight today is sharp.” (50:22)
Therefore, the material life is a veil on human senses and consciousness. Upon the removal of this veil by death, all the faculties are sharpened. This is confirmed by the tradition of the Holy Prophet (S) who said:
النَّاسُ نِيَامٌ فَإِذَا مَا تُوا انْتَبَهُو
“Man is (at present) in a state of deep. When he dies, he will be awake”.
6. The movement of every individual as well - as the communities of beings as a whole - is towards God, who has created them. The Qur’an points out this fact:
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَاهَا
“They ask thee of ‘the hour’ (the constant move) whereto (is) its anchorage?” (79:42)
فِيمَ أَنْتَ مِنْ ذِكْرَاهَا
“Wherein art thou of its nation?” (79:43)
إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ مُنْتَهَاهَا
“Unto thy Lord (alone) is its termination!” (79:44)
إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ مُنْذِرُ مَنْ يَخْشَاهَا
“Thou (O' Our Apostle Muhammad!) art only a warner unto him who feareth it.” (79:45)
قُلْ إِنَّ الْمَوْتَ الَّذِي تَفِرُّونَ مِنْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مُلَاقِيكُمْ ثُمَّ تُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ عَالِمِ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
“Say thou (O' Our Apostle Muhammad!): Verily the death which ye flee, verily it meeteth you, then ye shall be returned unto the Knower of the unseen and the seen then will He inform you whatever ye used to do.” (62:8)
The epitome of this movement is expressed in another verse:
الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ
“Those who, when misfortune befalleth them, say: ‘verily we are God’s and verily unto Him shall we return.” (2:156)
Thus, there is no return to the lower stage of consciousness and there is no possibility whatsoever of any rebirth.
Death is, therefore, nothing but a shift and change from one stage of existence to a higher one which ultimately terminates towards God. This ascending movement is true of every part and particle of the material universe with its specific communities and systems, and it is true also of the whole universe.
As mentioned earlier, shifting of any being from this material world mean its resurrection: such resurrection may be of an individual, or a group of entities, or of all groups and communities of beings. The state or stage between the death of an individual, a member of a group in creation, and the death or resurrection of the whole group is termed the intermediate stage.
In this intermediary stage, the individual may enjoy or suffer the consequences of his individual faith and action. Therefore, this stage is also known as Purgatory: it begins with the agony of death - the last moment of the departure of the soul from the body - to the next stages, which include the funeral and burial in whatsoever form these may be. The Qur’an portrays this moment as follows:
فَلَوْلَا إِذَا بَلَغَتِ الْحُلْقُومَ
“Why then do ye not (help) when the soul of the dying man cometh up to the throat?” (56:83)
وَأَنْتُمْ حِينَئِذٍ تَنْظُرُونَ
“And ye then (remain) only gazing (at him).” (56:84)
وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْكُمْ وَلَٰكِنْ لَا تُبْصِرُونَ
“And We are nearer to him than ye, but ye see (Us) not” (56:85)
The immediate and pressing pain and pleasure will be experienced by the departed soul, followed by the questioning put to him by the specific angelical guards attached to every individual. This will be augmented by the appearance of the individual records of his past, which will cause him to rejoice or to grieve.
حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ
“Until, when death cometh unto one of them, sayeth he: my Lord! Send me back again (into the world),” (23:99)
لَعَلِّي أَعْمَلُ صَالِحًا فِيمَا تَرَكْتُ كَلَّا إِنَّهَا كَلِمَةٌ هُوَ قَائِلُهَا وَمِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ بَرْزَخٌ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ
“That I may be (the) good which I have left undone. By no means! it is but a word he sayeth; and after them shall be a barrier until the day when they are raised (again).” (23:100)
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ
“And indeed, We created man, and We know whatever his soul whispereth unto him, and We are nearer to him than his (very) life-vein.” (50:16)
إِذْ يَتَلَقَّى الْمُتَلَقِّيَانِ عَنِ الْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ الشِّمَالِ قَعِيدٌ
“When receive (and record all doings) the two (receiver angels) appointed to receive, sitting, (one) on the right and (the other) on the left.” (50:17)
مَا يَلْفِظُ مِنْ قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ
“He pronounceth not a word but is unto him a watcher ready (to record).” (50:18)
وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ ذَٰلِكَ مَا كُنْتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ
“And the stupor of death cometh in truth; that is (the state) which thou wast wont to shun” (50:19)
وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ الْوَعِيدِ
“And when the Trumpet is blown, it is the day promised (warned against).” (50:20)
وَجَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ
“And every soul shall come, accompanied with it a driver and a witness.” (50:21)
لَقَدْ كُنْتَ فِي غَفْلَةٍ مِنْ هَٰذَا فَكَشَفْنَا عَنْكَ غِطَاءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ
“(It will be said): Thou wert heedless of this, now We have removed from thee thy veil, so thy sight today is sharp.” (50:22)
وَلَوْ تَرَىٰ إِذْ وُقِفُوا عَلَى النَّارِ فَقَالُوا يَا لَيْتَنَا نُرَدُّ وَلَا نُكَذِّبَ بِآيَاتِ رَبِّنَا وَنَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“And couldst thou see when they are made confronting the (hell) fire, then they shall, say, ‘would that we were sent back and we would not belie the signs of our Lord, and we would be of the believers’.” (6:27)
بَلْ بَدَا لَهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يُخْفُونَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَلَوْ رُدُّوا لَعَادُوا لِمَا نُهُوا عَنْهُ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَاذِبُونَ
“Nay it has been manifested to them what they did conceal before; and if they were sent back they would certainly return to what they were forbidden and most certainly they are liars.” (6:28)
In this intermediate stage, the individual cannot do anything to redeem the wrong done by him in the past nor can he improve his position by any further action of his; but the good deeds of the living members of the family or group to which he belongs may be of avail to him in reducing his pain or magnifying his pleasures.
Moreover, the holy and exalted souls leading the group to which they belong, have the ability to redeem his sins and increase his pleasures. Despite the severance of physical ties, the spiritual tie of love between the departed soul with the righteous souls left behind - or with those righteous souls who had departed before him - is not severed: this love transcends all material barriers.
Therefore, there is a way possible for salvation for the individual soul in the intermediate stage. It is not by his own action, but by the blessings and good deeds of the righteous members of his family or the group to which he (that individual soul) belongs. The Qur'anic passages assert the benefits of prayers and blessings of the righteous ones such as the prophets, for their departed ancestors, their followers, disciples and for their offspring and posterity.
The prayers of those who are the ‘carriers of the throne of God’ (bearers of the divine knowledge) and of those believers whose status is closer to them, are the best evidence of the permanence of the spiritual bond of love of the higher exalted souls of a group with the lower souls belonging to the same group.
الَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ
“Those who bear the ‘Arsh’ and those around it celebrate the praise of their Lord and believe in Him and seek forgiveness for those who believe in Him (saying) ‘O our Lord! Thou comprehendeth all things in (Thy) mercy and knowledge, therefore, forgive Thou those who turn (unto Thee) and follow Thy way, and save them from the torment of the Hell.” (40:7)
رَبَّنَا وَأَدْخِلْهُمْ جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ الَّتِي وَعَدْتَهُمْ وَمَنْ صَلَحَ مِنْ آبَائِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
“O Our Lord! Admit them into the ever-blissful gardens which Thou hast promised unto them and those who do good from their fathers, and their wives, and their children; for Thou art the Almighty, the All-Wise.” (40:8)
وَقِهِمُ السَّيِّئَاتِ وَمَنْ تَقِ السَّيِّئَاتِ يَوْمَئِذٍ فَقَدْ رَحِمْتَهُ وَذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
“And keep them from evil: and whomsoever keepest thou off from evil this day indeed thou hast bestowed mercy on him, and that, it is a mighty achievement.” (40:9)
الَّذِينَ قَالُوا لِإِخْوَانِهِمْ وَقَعَدُوا لَوْ أَطَاعُونَا مَا قُتِلُوا قُلْ فَادْرَءُوا عَنْ أَنْفُسِكُمُ الْمَوْتَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
“(These are those) who said unto their brethren while themselves sat (at home) ‘Had they (the martyrs) obeyed us, they would not have been slain;’ Say (O’ our apostle Muhammad!): ‘ward off from yourself death if ye be truthful’.” (3:168)
وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أَمْوَاتًا بَلْ أَحْيَاءٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ
“Reckon not those who are slain in the way of God, to be dead; Nay! Alive they are with their Lord being sustained, (in the presence of their Lord).” (3:169)
فَرِحِينَ بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وَيَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بِالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَلْحَقُوا بِهِمْ مِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ أَلَّا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
“Rejoicing in what God of His grace hath granted them, rejoicing for those who have not yet joined them from behind them, that no fear shall come on them nor shall they grieve.” (3:170)
وَقَالَ نُوحٌ رَبِّ لَا تَذَرْ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ دَيَّارًا
“And said Noah: O’ my Lord! Leave Thou not on earth, of the unbelievers, a single dweller (alive)!” (71:26)
رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِمَنْ دَخَلَ بَيْتِيَ مُؤْمِنًا وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَلَا تَزِدِ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا تَبَارًا
“O my lord! Forgive Thou me and my parents and him who entereth my abode believing (in Thee), and the believing men and tire believing women, and increase not unto the unjust ones in aught save perdition.” (71:28)
وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ هَٰذَا الْبَلَدَ آمِنًا وَاجْنُبْنِي وَبَنِيَّ أَنْ نَعْبُدَ الْأَصْنَامَ
“And when said Abraham: My Lord! make this city secure and keep me away, and my sons, from worshipping idols.” (14:35)
رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي مُقِيمَ الصَّلَاةِ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاءِ
“O' my Lord! make me establish prayer and (also) some from my offspring (to do the same): O' Our Lord! accept thou my prayer!” (14:40).
رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْحِسَابُ
“O' Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents and the believers on the day when the reckoning shall be established!” (14:41)
The intercessions, which are evident from the Qur'anic verses, may apply to the Intermediate stages or to the stage of total resurrection (Qiyamah e Kubra). However, there shall be no more intercession after the end of total resurrection.
After the lesser resurrection, and preparatory to the last stage, all beings will die, in the sense that they will have to depart from their previous forms and shapes. This includes all the celestial and terrestrial entities, which will give out all their latent potentialities.
This state will be preceded by the 'first blowing in the forms' - which is also termed as 'blowing of the trumpet' (nufikha soor) by the angel of death, Izraeel. It will be followed by the 'second blowing of the trumpet' by Israfeel.
وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ وَالْأَرْضُ جَمِيعًا قَبْضَتُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَالسَّمَاوَاتُ مَطْوِيَّاتٌ بِيَمِينِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
“They have esteemed not God, as is His due; While the whole earth shall be in His grip on the day of judgment and the heavens rolled up (shall be) in His right hand: Hallowed Is He, and Exalted is He, high above what they associate (with Him).” (39:67)
وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَصَعِقَ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا مَنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ نُفِخَ فِيهِ أُخْرَىٰ فَإِذَا هُمْ قِيَامٌ يَنْظُرُونَ
“And (when) the trumpet is blown then whoever is in the heavens and whoever is in the earth shall swoon (die) save those whom God hath willed (to keep alive), then the trumpet shall be blown again, then lo! They shall stand up awaiting (observing the situation).” (39:68)
وَأَشْرَقَتِ الْأَرْضُ بِنُورِ رَبِّهَا وَوُضِعَ الْكِتَابُ وَجِيءَ بِالنَّبِيِّينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ
“And the earth shall get radiant with the light of its Lord, and the Book (of deeds) shall be set, and the prophets shall be brought up and the witnesses, and (it shall) be judged between them, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.” (39:69)
وَوُفِّيَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَا عَمِلَتْ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَفْعَلُونَ
“And every soul shall be paid in full what it hath wrought, and He knoweth best what they do.” (39:70)
It will be observed significantly in the verse 39:68 quoted above that God has expressly included an exception, ‘…except such as Allah pleases (to keep alive) …’
It means, there are certain beings who will not be affected by the first blowing of the trumpet and will not be subjected to a loss of consciousness, described in these verses 7:46-48 as ‘men who know them all by their marks and dwellers on the Heights’. They will remain in the highest cognitive state even though “all others in the heavens and all those that on earth shall swoon” as stated in the verse 39:68 quoted above.
From the verses of the Qur'an, it will be observed that the ‘blowing of the trumpet' will occur twice. The ‘first blowing' will cause a severance of all considerations and ties of kinship, which is clearly expressed.
فَإِذَا نُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَلَا أَنْسَابَ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَلَا يَتَسَاءَلُونَ
“And when the trumpet is blown, there shall be no ties of kindred between them on that day, nor shall they ask one another” (23:101)
فَمَنْ ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
“Then (those) whose scales (of good deeds) are heavy, they shall be the successful ones,” (23:102)
وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ فِي جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدُونَ
“And those whose scales (of good deeds) are light, they are those who shall lose their souls, abiding in hell.” (23:103)
Yet God promises in the Qur'an the reestablishment of the ties of kinship in the form of fatherhood, motherhood, sonship, brotherhood and conjugal relationship in the life after the ‘major resurrection’. This assertion is contained in the following verses:
جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ يَدْخُلُونَهَا وَمَنْ صَلَحَ مِنْ آبَائِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يَدْخُلُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ كُلِّ بَابٍ
“The garden of perpetual bliss which they will enter and also the righteous among their parents, their spouses, and their offspring; and the angels shall enter unto them from every portal” (13:23)
سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ بِمَا صَبَرْتُمْ فَنِعْمَ عُقْبَى الدَّارِ
“Peace (be) unto you (saying) for that ye persevered in patience! (and now) how excellent is the sequel of the eternal abode.” (13:24)
وَبَشِّرِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا مِنْهَا مِنْ ثَمَرَةٍ رِزْقًا ۙ قَالُوا هَٰذَا الَّذِي رُزِقْنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَأُتُوا بِهِ مُتَشَابِهًا وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا أَزْوَاجٌ مُطَهَّرَةٌ وَهُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
“Give thou (O' Our Apostle Muhammad) the glad tiding unto those who believe and do good deeds, that for them are gardens beneath which flow rivers, and whenever they are provided with fruits therefrom they shall say, ‘This is what we were provided with before!’ and they shall be provided with the like (of it) and for them shall he mates purified. They shall dwell therein.” (2:25)
إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِي جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ
“Verily the pious ones shall be in the midst of garden and fountains;” (15:45)
ادْخُلُوهَا بِسَلَامٍ آمِنِينَ
“(The angels saying unto them:) Enter ye therein in peace, secure.” (15:46)
وَنَزَعْنَا مَا فِي صُدُورِهِمْ مِنْ غِلٍّ إِخْوَانًا عَلَىٰ سُرُرٍ مُتَقَابِلِينَ
“And We will root out whatever rancour be in their hearts, (they shall be) as brothers, on dignified couches, face to face.” (15:47)
وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُمْ بِإِيمَانٍ أَلْحَقْنَا بِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَمَا أَلَتْنَاهُمْ مِنْ عَمَلِهِمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ كُلُّ امْرِئٍ بِمَا كَسَبَ رَهِينٌ
“And those who believe and follow them their offspring in faith, We will unite them with their offspring, and We will lessen not unto them aught of their (good) deeds; Every man shall be responsible for what he hath wrought.” (52:21)
The two apparently differing situations of severance of relationship and its re-establishment have been clarified by the Holy Prophet (S) as per his comment on the verse in the following apostolic tradition:
كل حسب ونسب مُنْقَطِعُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ الْأَحْسَبِى وَنَسَى
“All the distinctive considerations and ties of kinship shall be severed on the day of resurrection, except those distinctive consideration and ties of kinship established through me.”
It implies that with the ‘first blowing of the trumpet’ all the then existing forms and ties are severed; and by the ‘second blowing of the trumpet’ new forms and shapes will be given to beings and a new tie of kinship will be established. However, the ‘root’ of these ties shall be the last of the divine messengers, Muhammad (S). He, who is in the highest degree of perfection, is the first and the last of all created beings.
Therefore, after the major resurrection, the relationship or kinship of people to each other, as stated so clearly in the Qur'an will be established in accordance with the degree of their attachment to the 'root’ of that ‘tree”, which is termed in the Qur'an as the 'good tree’.
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرَةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاءِ
“Seest thou not how God setteth forth a parable? Of a good word (being) like a good tree, whose root is firm, and its branches reach to the heavens,” (14:24)
تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ
“Yielding its fruit on every moment by the permission of its Lord. And setteth forth God parables for the people that they may reflect.” (14:25)
وَمَثَلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ اجْتُثَّتْ مِنْ فَوْقِ الْأَرْضِ مَا لَهَا مِنْ قَرَارٍ
“And the parable of an evil word is that of an evil tree growing from the surface of the earth, it has naught of stability.” (14:26)
يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ وَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الظَّالِمِينَ وَيَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاءُ
“Establisheth God (in strength) those who believe, with the firm word in the life of this world and in the hereafter; and God leaveth the unjust ones to stray; and doeth God what He willeth. (14:27)
During the stage of total resurrection, (after the second blowing of the trumpet), there will be a series of substages wherein the hidden aspects of the action of man and other creatures will become evident to each individual and to the group to which he belongs; these aspects of the action have remained hidden from him and his group till that particular stage or the manifestation of the ultimate authority of the Absolute - the Allah is reached.
During the various substages indicated above, the individual will be hailed after the leader who had led him. The Qur’an says:
يَوْمَ نَدْعُو كُلَّ أُنَاسٍ بِإِمَامِهِمْ فَمَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ فَأُولَٰئِكَ يَقْرَءُونَ كِتَابَهُمْ وَلَا يُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلًا
“Remember the day (of judgment) when We will summon every people in the name of their imam (leader); then whoever is given his book in his right hand, these shall read their books (with pleasure), and they shall not be dealt with (even) a shred unjustly.” (17:71)
وَمَنْ كَانَ فِي هَٰذِهِ أَعْمَىٰ فَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ أَعْمَىٰ وَأَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا
“And whosoever is blind in this (life), he shall be blind in the hereafter (also) and far more away from the (right) path.” (17:72)
The above two verses also point out the important fact that those who are spiritually blind in this world shall have a keener sense of error and blindness in the hereafter.
Then shall occur the unfolding of the individual record of actions of each individual and the record of the group to which that individual belongs, as proclaimed in the Qur'an.
وَتَرَىٰ كُلَّ أُمَّةٍ جَاثِيَةً كُلُّ أُمَّةٍ تُدْعَىٰ إِلَىٰ كِتَابِهَا الْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
“And thou (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) shalt see every people kneeling down; every people shall be called unto its book; Today ye shall be recompensed for what all ye used to do (Today your compensation sis what you have done.).” (45:28)
هَٰذَا كِتَابُنَا يَنْطِقُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْحَقِّ إِنَّا كُنَّا نَسْتَنْسِخُ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
“This is our book that speaketh against you with justice; verily We used to record whatever ye used to do.” (45:29)
The next substage of bringing forth the external and internal witnesses of deeds is portrayed and asserted by the Qur'an in the following revelations:
وَيَوْمَ يُحْشَرُ أَعْدَاءُ اللَّهِ إِلَى النَّارِ فَهُمْ يُوزَعُونَ
“And on the day when the enemies of God shall be gathered together, unto the fire, then they shall be ranked in groups” (41:19)
حَتَّىٰ إِذَا مَا جَاءُوهَا شَهِدَ عَلَيْهِمْ سَمْعُهُمْ وَأَبْصَارُهُمْ وَجُلُودُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
“Until they came unto it (the hell), their ears and their eyes and their skins shall bear witness against them as to what they used to do.” (41:20)
وَقَالُوا لِجُلُودِهِمْ لِمَ شَهِدْتُمْ عَلَيْنَا قَالُوا أَنْطَقَنَا اللَّهُ الَّذِي أَنْطَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ خَلَقَكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
“And they will say to their skins: ‘Why witness ye against us?’. They shall say ‘who maketh everything speaks, caused us to speak, and He is who created you first and unto Him ye shall (all) be returned.’” (41:21)
وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلَا أَبْصَارُكُمْ وَلَا جُلُودُكُمْ وَلَٰكِنْ ظَنَنْتُمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَعْلَمُ كَثِيرًا مِمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ
“And ye covered unto yourselves (merely) lest that your ears and your eyes and your skins should bear witness against you, but (it was) that ye thought that God knoweth not most of what ye did.” (41:22)
وَيَوْمَ نَبْعَثُ فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ شَهِيدًا عَلَىٰ هَٰؤُلَاءِ وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ
“And on the day when We will raise up in every people from among themselves, a witness (upon them) and bring thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) as a witness upon (all) these; and We have sent down upon thee the book (the Qur’an) explaining everything, and a guidance, and mercy, and glad tidings unto those who submit themselves (to God).” (16:89)
وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا وَمَا جَعَلْنَا الْقِبْلَةَ الَّتِي كُنْتَ عَلَيْهَا إِلَّا لِنَعْلَمَ مَنْ يَتَّبِعُ الرَّسُولَ مِمَّنْ يَنْقَلِبُ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيْهِ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ لَكَبِيرَةً إِلَّا عَلَى الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَانَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ
“And thus We have made you a group of middling stand that ye may be witnesses over mankind and the prophet (S) witness over you; And we did not fix the ‘qiblah’ towards which thou wert at, but that We might distinguish him who followeth the prophet, from him that turneth back upon his heels; and this was surely a hard thing for any except for those whom God hath guided; and God would not make futile your faith (in Him); verily God unto mankind is affectionate (and) merciful.” (2:143).
فَلَنَسْأَلَنَّ الَّذِينَ أُرْسِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَنَسْأَلَنَّ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
“Then certainly We will question those unto whom (our apostles) were sent, and certainly will We also question the sent ones.” (7:6)
فَلَنَقُصَّنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ بِعِلْمٍ وَمَا كُنَّا غَائِبِينَ
“Then certainly We will relate to them with knowledge for We were not absent.” (7:7)
وَالْوَزْنُ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْحَقُّ فَمَنْ ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
“And the measuring (of the deeds) that day is certain, so whomsoever's weight be heavy, those are they who shall be successful.” (7:8)
وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يَظْلِمُونَ
“And those whose measure (of the deeds) is light, those are they whose souls suffer because of the injustice they used to do to our signs. (7:9)
The ‘middle group’ (Ummah al-Wasta) is not the general Muslim community; the word 'Ummah' used here is not in the sense of a 'community', 'nation' or 'followers' etc. This word means a particular class of people who are endowed with such requisite qualifications as God made them witness for Himself over all mankind.
Then God addresses the last of His prophet, Muhammad (S) that He is to be the witness over all these witnesses. In this manner, God clarifies the expanse of His mercy and justice, by entrusting the function of final witnessing to two groups of beings, one above the other, who are pure and perfect and nearest in communion with Him.
Further on, it will be observed that these pure and perfect beings will be made by God the distributors of the abode of bliss and hell. They will ‘recognize men by their marks' and they will be the 'occupants of the ‘high place' as already clarified before. These beings, indeed, are those who have been exempted by God's will from being subjected to swoon at the time of the final blowing of the trumpet, which is expressed in the Qur'an.
The substages, progressively, will lead to the ‘stage of reckoning’ as stated in the Qur'an:
وَكُلَّ إِنْسَانٍ أَلْزَمْنَاهُ طَائِرَهُ فِي عُنُقِهِ وَنُخْرِجُ لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كِتَابًا يَلْقَاهُ مَنْشُورًا
“We have tied every man’s action to his neck, which We will bring forth unto him on the day of resurrection in the form of an unfolded book.” (17:13)
اقْرَأْ كِتَابَكَ كَفَىٰ بِنَفْسِكَ الْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكَ حَسِيبًا
“(It will be said unto him) Read thou thy book; Sufficeth thine own self today, as a reckoner against thee.” (17:14)
In the stage of ‘Reckoning’, as it is apparent from the above passages, the individual creatures are made the ‘reckoners’ of their own actions. There are also passages which show that God directly, or through His authorized angels and vicegerents, will perform the reckoning of actions. There are verses that ascribe the reckoning to God, using personal pronoun, in first person, plural number. Meanwhile, some other passages in the Holy Qur’an point out that God alone is the Reckoner and that He is the quickest of all reckoners.
Once, Ali (‘a) was asked how God would reckon the deeds of the innumerable individuals and communities in a single moment on a single day. He replied: “In the same manner as He has been nurturing and sustaining all His creatures (as it is evident to all) in a single moment of each day”.
يُحَاسَبُوْنَ كَمَا يُرْزَقُونَ
Therefore, whether the reckoning is ascribed to God Himself or to His authorized agents, the sense of absolute authority of the absolute One - Allah - is not in the least and in any manner impaired or affected. There is no contradiction between these two assertions: these assertions only manifest the unbounded expanse of His authority. This point can be clearly understood by other Qur'anic assertions, wherein His decrees, executed by His authorized agents, are expressly mentioned.
فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوهُمْ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ رَمَىٰ وَلِيُبْلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْهُ بَلَاءً حَسَنًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
“So ye slew them not, but God slew them, and thou threw not (the dust) but God threw it, that He might test the believers by a gracious trial from Him: Verily God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” (8:17)
In one of the substages during the total resurrection, the individuals shall speak to those who led them astray and those whom they had followed; there will be a confrontation which will be of no avail. The Holy Qur’an depicts this happening as follows:
وَبَرَزُوا لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا فَقَالَ الضُّعَفَاءُ لِلَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا إِنَّا كُنَّا لَكُمْ تَبَعًا فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُغْنُونَ عَنَّا مِنْ عَذَابِ اللَّهِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ قَالُوا لَوْ هَدَانَا اللَّهُ لَهَدَيْنَاكُمْ سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْنَا أَجَزِعْنَا أَمْ صَبَرْنَا مَا لَنَا مِنْ مَحِيصٍ
“And they shall come forth before God all together, then shall say the weak unto those who were arrogant: ‘Verily we had been your followers, can ye therefore avert from us any part of the chastisement of God?’ They would say: ‘If God hath guided us, we too would have surely guided you; it is the same to us (now) whether we rage or we endure patiently (now) there is not for us (any) way of escape.” (14:21)
وَقَالَ الشَّيْطَانُ لَمَّا قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَعَدَكُمْ وَعْدَ الْحَقِّ وَوَعَدْتُكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُكُمْ وَمَا كَانَ لِيَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ إِلَّا أَنْ دَعَوْتُكُمْ فَاسْتَجَبْتُمْ لِي فَلَا تَلُومُونِي وَلُومُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ مَا أَنَا بِمُصْرِخِكُمْ وَمَا أَنْتُمْ بِمُصْرِخِيَّ إِنِّي كَفَرْتُ بِمَا أَشْرَكْتُمُونِ مِنْ قَبْلُ إِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
“And shall say Satan after the affair is decided: ‘Verily God promised you the promise of truth, and I gave you promises but failed to keep them to you and I had no authority over you except that I called you and ye responded unto me; so blame me not but (rather) blame your selves; I cannot be your aider (now) nor can ye be my aiders; Verily I disbelieved in your associating me with God from before; Verily the unjust ones, for them shall be a painful chastisement.” (14:22)
Despite the abovementioned 'dialogues' contained in the divine revelation, there are yet other passages that assert:
وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
“Woe on the day unto the rejectors!” (77:34)
هَٰذَا يَوْمُ لَا يَنْطِقُونَ
“This is the day when they shall speak not,” (77:35)
وَلَا يُؤْذَنُ لَهُمْ فَيَعْتَذِرُونَ
“And it shall not be permitted unto them so that they may offer excuses.” (77:36)
The apparent contradictory assertions will clearly be understood in the light of the fact that there are several substages on the day of major resurrection. In one of those substages none of the evildoers shall be allowed to speak or repeat their excuses. This point is very adequately dealt with by the learned and holy scholar of the fourth century Hijra, Abu Jaffar Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn Babawaih of Qum; known popularly as Shaikh Sadooq in his famous treatise, entitled I’tiqadat (The Beliefs)
Then shall come the substage of the ‘balancing of the deeds’, which is mentioned in the Qur'an:
وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَازِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ فَلَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا وَإِنْ كَانَ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ خَرْدَلٍ أَتَيْنَا بِهَا وَكَفَىٰ بِنَا حَاسِبِينَ
“And We shall set up the balances of justice on the day of judgment, so no soul shall be dealt with unjustly in the lease; and even if there be the weight of a grain of mustard seed, (even that) We will bring it (into account); And sufficient are We (as) reckoners.” (21:47)
وَالسَّمَاءَ رَفَعَهَا وَوَضَعَ الْمِيزَانَ
“And the heaven, He did raise it high, and placed the scale (within reach).” (55:7)
أَلَّا تَطْغَوْا فِي الْمِيزَانِ
“So that ye may not transgress (due) balance.” (55:8)
وَأَقِيمُوا الْوَزْنَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلَا تُخْسِرُوا الْمِيزَانَ
“And maintain ye the measure with justice and fall not short in the balance.” (55:9)
لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا الْحَدِيدَ فِيهِ بَأْسٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ اللَّهُ مَنْ يَنْصُرُهُ وَرُسُلَهُ بِالْغَيْبِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ
“Indeed, We sent our apostles with clear proofs, and we sent down with them the book and the scale that people may establish themselves in justice; and We sent down iron wherein is latent (in its use) mighty power and also benefits for mankind and that God may prove who helpeth Him and his apostles in secret; Verily God is All-Strong the Ever-Prevalent.” (57:25)
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَىٰ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالْأَقْرَبِينَ إِنْ يَكُنْ غَنِيًّا أَوْ فَقِيرًا فَاللَّهُ أَوْلَىٰ بِهِمَا فَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا الْهَوَىٰ أَنْ تَعْدِلُوا وَإِنْ تَلْوُوا أَوْ تُعْرِضُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا
“O’ ye who believe! Do stand firmly with justice, witness for God’s sake, though it be against your own selves or your parents or your kindred, be he rich or poor, for God is closer (than you) to them both; Therefore, follow not your inclination, lest ye deviate (from the truth) and if ye swerve (from the truth) or turn aside, then verily God is All-Aware of what ye do.” (4:135)
The above verses of the Qur'an which deal with the subject of 'balance' and 'scales' indicate that (‘a) everything that has been created by God is in a precise and proportionate measure, (b) for every measured thing there is a standard scale, or criterion. If it is properly applied, it enables man to apprehend that measured object, no matter how far such measured object be away from the reach of man, and (c) human attainments depend to a great extent upon proper measuring of the things created by God.
The height of human attainment and penetration through the universe can be achieved by those who have used precisely the “scale” set by Allah: thus, they have also been granted by Him the divine authority. This is referred to in the Qur'an:
يَا مَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ أَنْ تَنْفُذُوا مِنْ أَقْطَارِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ فَانْفُذُوا لَا تَنْفُذُونَ إِلَّا بِسُلْطَانٍ
“O’ ye peoples of jinn and humans, if ye can penetrate the bounds of the heavens and the earth, then do penetrate ye through; (but) ye cannot penetrate but with (our) authority!” (55:33)
In every stage for each individual and human society, and for every aspect of creation, there shall be a ‘balance’ and scale’ till the final day of judgment. This scale or balance shall inevitably be 'infallible'. An infallible scale can be used effectively only by the All-Just and Omnipresent God, or by His infallible vicegerents, for however accurate the scale may be, if the one who attempts to use it is subject to error, the result of the measurement cannot be precise.
Thus, according to the Qur'an there have been and there shall always be the balance and the scales for justice. The ‘infallible’ is commanded to measure with precision, and guide mankind with ‘truth’ so that man’s action shall be in harmony with divine ordinance, each and everything created by God.
The Qur'an repeatedly refers to, in general, the necessity of 'balance’ and prescribes it as an inevitable standard for the final measuring of all things including character, faith and all actions of human beings individually or collectively as a group.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ لِلَّهِ شُهَدَاءَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَىٰ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا اعْدِلُوا هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
“O’ ye who believe! Be always upright for God, bearing witness with justice, and let not hatred of a people incite you not to act equitably; Act ye equitably, that is nearer to piety; fear ye God, verily God is (fully) aware of what (all) ye do.” (5:8)
The importance of the 'apostle' and the 'book' and the 'scale' is obvious from the divine revelation. They are complementary to each other and necessary for the establishment of justice and witnessing of the truth since the time man was created.
The individual's action falls within the cognizance of 'scale' from the time he becomes conscious of his 'being' which is referred to in the Qur'an:
وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ النَّشْأَةَ الْأُولَىٰ فَلَوْلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ
“And indeed, know ye the first growth (creation), why then ye reflect not?” (56:62)
This is in reference to the origin of the individual self; that is, the first stage or state when he comes into being.
It is Adam, or every descendant of his, who is made to realize - upon his becoming conscious of his 'self' - that he has been 'caused to exist' by the 'Cause of all causes', the Infinite, the Incomprehensible, through His attribute of cherishing (Rububiyyah).
A ‘covenant’ is made between man and God; man accept the responsibility. Thus, no one will be excused on the day of resurrection for his denial of the truth. God reminds and warns man:
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنْ بَنِي آدَمَ مِنْ ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنْفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَا ۛ أَنْ تَقُولُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَٰذَا غَافِلِينَ
“When brought forth thy Lord from the children of Adam, from their backs, their descendants and (when) made them bear witness upon their own selves (saying): ‘Am I not your Lord?’, replied they ‘Yea! We do bear witness.’ (This We did) lest ye should say on the day of judgment: ‘verily we were unaware (of this fact)’.” (7:172)
أَوْ تَقُولُوا إِنَّمَا أَشْرَكَ آبَاؤُنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَكُنَّا ذُرِّيَّةً مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ أَفَتُهْلِكُنَا بِمَا فَعَلَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ
Or lest ye should say: ‘Verily associated (with God) only our fathers from before (us) and we are their descendants after them (following them): wilt Thou then destroy us for what the vain doers did?’.” (7:173)
Therefore, Islam is of religion of universal justice, and the Holy Prophet of Islam and his purified successive vicegerents are presented as the scale of all scales in this world and the life hereafter until the last stage of the total resurrection on the day of judgment. It makes no difference to ascribe the function of measuring in this world or hereafter to the Absolute Infinite One (to whom belongs the sovereignty of the entire universe in the realms of creation and legislation) or to the angelic agency or to the infallible vicegerents.
All these agencies and vicegerents after all, in their actions and thoughts are completely and totally in submission to the will of God. God has indeed clearly described in the Qur'an His infallible vicegerents, the purified ones who shall inherit the Earth:
وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِي الزَّبُورِ مِنْ بَعْدِ الذِّكْرِ أَنَّ الْأَرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِيَ الصَّالِحُونَ
“And indeed, We did write in the Psalms (Zabur, given to David) after the reminder (Taurah, given to Moses), that the earth shall inherit it My righteous servants.” (21:105)
إِنَّ فِي هَٰذَا لَبَلَاغًا لِقَوْمٍ عَابِدِينَ
“Verily, in this is a lesson to the people who worship (Us).” (21:106)
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ
“And We sent thee not (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) but a mercy unto (all) the worlds.” (21:107)
Whether the development begins with the creation of Adam or with the creation of the primal matter, the existence of the ‘scale’ is inevitably complementary to that of the ‘right path’. The scale and the right path proceed together side by side, in every stage of development, till the last stage of resurrection, the day of judgment.
Therefore, every individual and every community of conscious beings will be judged by God and shall be rewarded or punished. Yet, God will not finalize His judgment before the stage of ‘intercession’ is substantiated by those who have been bestowed by God with the authority of being witnesses over the entire creation and truth. These Witnesses of the truth, according to the 'Qur’an represent the universal grace and love of, God and are authorized to intercede and redeem the shortcomings of the people who are subordinate and attached to them.
Then comes the stage when every being will assume its final form and be placed under the final grouping:
إِذَا وَقَعَتِ الْوَاقِعَةُ
“Remember When happeneth the Event.” (56:1)
لَيْسَ لِوَقْعَتِهَا كَاذِبَةٌ
“There is not for its happening, any belying,” (56:2)
وَكُنْتُمْ أَزْوَاجًا ثَلَاثَةً
“And ye shall be (sorted into) three kinds.” (56:7)
فَأَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ
“Then (will be) the ‘people of the right hand’: Oh! What (a happy state shall) the ‘people of the right hand’ (be in)!” (56:8)
وَأَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ
“Then (will be) the ‘people of the left hand’: Oh! What (a wretched state shall the ‘people of the left hand’ (be in)!” (56:9)
وَالسَّابِقُونَ السَّابِقُونَ
“And the ‘foremost ones’ (in faith and virtue) shall be the ‘foremost ones’ (in receiving their reward),” (56:10)
أُولَٰئِكَ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ
“These are they who shall be brought nigh (unto God),” (56:11)
جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
“A recompense for what they used to do.” (56:24)
لَا يَسْمَعُونَ فِيهَا لَغْوًا وَلَا تَأْثِيمًا
“They shall hear not therein any frivolity, nor any taint of sin,” (56:25)
إِلَّا قِيلًا سَلَامًا سَلَامًا
“Save (Naught), ‘Peace (and ever) Peace’ talked of,” (56:26)
وَأَصْحَابُ الشِّمَالِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الشِّمَالِ
“And the ‘people of the left hand’, Ah! What (a wretched state shall) the people of the left hand (be in)! (56:41)
فِي سَمُومٍ وَحَمِيمٍ
“In scorching wind and scalding water,” (56:42)
وَكَانُوا يُصِرُّونَ عَلَى الْحِنْثِ الْعَظِيمِ
“And they used to persist in sin heinous,” (56:46)
وَكَانُوا يَقُولُونَ أَئِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا وَعِظَامًا أَإِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ
“And they used to say: What! when we die and become dust and bones, shall we even then indeed be again raised up?” (56:47)
أَأَنْتُمْ تَخْلُقُونَهُ أَمْ نَحْنُ الْخَالِقُونَ
“Is it ye that create it or are We the Creator?” (56:59)
نَحْنُ قَدَّرْنَا بَيْنَكُمُ الْمَوْتَ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَسْبُوقِينَ
“It is We Who have decreed death among you, and We are not to be overcome.” (56:60)
عَلَىٰ أَنْ نُبَدِّلَ أَمْثَالَكُمْ وَنُنْشِئَكُمْ فِي مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“To Our changing your forms and raising you in that ye know not.” (56:61)
As pointed out above, shall be three main classifications of beings on the day of judgment. One of which will be 'the foremost among the foremost ones'. This group will direct or supervise the other two groups towards their earned destination, by the permission of their Lord:
وَنَزَعْنَا مَا فِي صُدُورِهِمْ مِنْ غِلٍّ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهِمُ الْأَنْهَارُ وَقَالُوا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي هَدَانَا لِهَٰذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِيَ لَوْلَا أَنْ هَدَانَا اللَّهُ لَقَدْ جَاءَتْ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِالْحَقِّ وَنُودُوا أَنْ تِلْكُمُ الْجَنَّةُ أُورِثْتُمُوهَا بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
“And We will remove whatever rancour be in their breast, there shall flow beneath their abodes rivers, and they will say: ‘All praise be (only) to God who guided us to this, and We would not have been guided had not God guided us; Indeed, did come the apostles of Our Lord with the truth’; and it shall be cried out unto them that: ‘(Behold!) This is the Garden of which ye are made heirs for what ye did’.” (7:43)
وَنَادَىٰ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ أَصْحَابَ النَّارِ أَنْ قَدْ وَجَدْنَا مَا وَعَدَنَا رَبُّنَا حَقًّا فَهَلْ وَجَدْتُمْ مَا وَعَدَ رَبُّكُمْ حَقًّا قَالُوا نَعَمْ فَأَذَّنَ مُؤَذِّنٌ بَيْنَهُمْ أَنْ لَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ
“And will call out the inmates of the Garden (of paradise) unto the inmates of the (hell) fire (saying): ‘Indeed we have found what promised us Our Lord to be true; have ye too found what promised your Lord, to be true?’ They will say: ‘Yes’ Then a crier will cry out between them that ‘The curse of God is on the unjust’,” (7:44)
وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ وَعَلَى الْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلًّا بِسِيمَاهُمْ وَنَادَوْا أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ أَنْ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ
“And between the two shall be a veil and on the heights shall be men who know all by their marks, and they shall call out to the inmates of the Garden (Paradise): ‘Peace be on you,’ they shall not have yet entered it, though they do hope (thereof).” (7:46)
وَنَادَىٰ أَصْحَابُ الْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالًا يَعْرِفُونَهُمْ بِسِيمَاهُمْ قَالُوا مَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنْكُمْ جَمْعُكُمْ وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ
“And will call the occupants of the heights unto the inmates of the Hell, whom they will recognize by their marks; They will say: ‘Of no avail had been your amassing and what ye used to act proudly’.” (7:48)
أَهَٰؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ أَقْسَمْتُمْ لَا يَنَالُهُمُ اللَّهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَا أَنْتُمْ تَحْزَنُونَ
“(Behold ye!) Are these they whom ye swear that God will bestow not His mercy on them? Enter ye into the Garden (Paradise!) No fear shall be on you, nor shall ye grieve.” (7:49)
الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا دِينَهُمْ لَهْوًا وَلَعِبًا وَغَرَّتْهُمُ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا فَالْيَوْمَ نَنْسَاهُمْ كَمَا نَسُوا لِقَاءَ يَوْمِهِمْ هَٰذَا وَمَا كَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يَجْحَدُونَ
“(Those) Who made their religion a pastime and play, and whom the life of the world hath deceived. So today We neglect them as they did neglect this day of theirs, as they did deny Our Signs,” (7:51)
It is clearly understood from the divine revelations that the ‘foremost of the foremost ones’ are indeed those who shall be the distributors of Paradise and Hell; and they are referred to in the divine revelation as 'the dwellers of the most elevated places', 'men who know all by their marks', 'witnesses of truth' and the 'vicegerents of God on earth'. Their ultimate companionship with us is asserted by the Qur'an:
وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُولَٰئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَالصَّالِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَٰئِكَ رَفِيقًا
“And whoever obeyeth God and the Apostle (Muhammad) these shall be with those, on whom God hath bestowed favours of the Prophets, and the Truthful, and the Witnesses and the Righteous ones, and excellent are these as companions!” (4:69)
Before giving the details of the persons who have been given the authority by God to intercede, the following clarification will have to be noted.
a) The Qur'an repeatedly asserts that no intercession forwarded by any created being shall be accepted by God.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْفِقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لَا بَيْعٌ فِيهِ وَلَا خُلَّةٌ وَلَا شَفَاعَةٌ وَالْكَافِرُونَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
“O’ ye who believe! Spend (in alms) out of what We have provided you with ere the day cometh wherein there shall be no bargaining, nor friendship, nor intercession; and those who disbelieve, they are the unjust.” (2:254)
وَأَنْذِرْ بِهِ الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَنْ يُحْشَرُوا إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ ۙ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ وَلِيٌّ وَلَا شَفِيعٌ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ
“And warn thou with it, the Qur’an those who fear that they shall be gathered unto their Lord (thinking that) there shall not be for them, besides Him, any guardian or an intercessor, so that they may guard (themselves against evil).” (6:51)
b) Those who have learned on false support and relied on such intercession shall come to grief and will be completely disillusioned on the day of resurrection when the final judgment will take place. Their plight is portrayed in the Qur'an.
هَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَّا تَأْوِيلَهُ يَوْمَ يَأْتِي تَأْوِيلُهُ يَقُولُ الَّذِينَ نَسُوهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ قَدْ جَاءَتْ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِالْحَقِّ فَهَلْ لَنَا مِنْ شُفَعَاءَ فَيَشْفَعُوا لَنَا أَوْ نُرَدُّ فَنَعْمَلَ غَيْرَ الَّذِي كُنَّا نَعْمَلُ قَدْ خَسِرُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُونَ
“Do they wait for aught but the final sequel? On the day when its sequel comes about, those who neglected it before will say: ‘Indeed, came the apostle of our Lord with truth; are there for us (now) any intercessors that they may intercede for us? Or could we be sent back so that we might act other than what we did act?’ Indeed, they have lost their souls, and what they forged hath gone away from them” (7:53)
وَلَقَدْ جِئْتُمُونَا فُرَادَىٰ كَمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَتَرَكْتُمْ مَا خَوَّلْنَاكُمْ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِكُمْ وَمَا نَرَىٰ مَعَكُمْ شُفَعَاءَكُمُ الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُمْ أَنَّهُمْ فِيكُمْ شُرَكَاءُ لَقَدْ تَقَطَّعَ بَيْنَكُمْ وَضَلَّ عَنْكُمْ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَزْعُمُونَ
“And indeed ye come to Us (bare and) alone as We created you at first, and ye have left behind your backs what We bestowed on you, and We see not with you your intercessors, those whom ye asserted that they were, in your affairs the associates (of God): and indeed are now severed the ties between you, and hath gone away from you what ye (falsely) asserted.” (6:94)
c) God clarifies the intercessors whose intercession shall not prevail, and also those for whom there shall be no intercession by any other intercessors as well.
أَمِ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ شُفَعَاءَ قُلْ أَوَلَوْ كَانُوا لَا يَمْلِكُونَ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَعْقِلُونَ
“Or have they taken intercessors other than God” Say thou: “What! Even though they have no power over anything, nor do they understand.” (39:43)
وَأَنْذِرْهُمْ يَوْمَ الْآزِفَةِ إِذِ الْقُلُوبُ لَدَى الْحَنَاجِرِ كَاظِمِينَ مَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ حَمِيمٍ وَلَا شَفِيعٍ يُطَاعُ
“And (thou) warn them, then, of the approaching Day, when. (men’s) hearts shall rise up to their throats, choking: For the unjust shall not have any compassionate friend nor an intercessor who shall be heard.” (40:18)
Now, it is evident that the intercession of those who are not given any authority or power shall not prevail, as they lack might and knowledge. It is also clear that those for whom no intercession shall prevail are the unjust ones. The divine revelations proceed further to assert that the intercession of those who are chosen by God, and specially permitted, authorized and even covenanted by Him to do so, shall be accepted by God.
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ
“God! There is no God but He, the (Ever) Living the self-subsistent. Slumber seizeth Him not nor sleep; His it is whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth; Who is he that can intercede with Him but with His permission; He knows what is before them and what is behind them, while they cannot comprehend anything out of His knowledge save that which He willeth, His Throne extendeth over the heavens and the earth, and the preservation of them both, tireth Him not, And He is the Most High and the Most Great.” (2:255)
إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ مَا مِنْ شَفِيعٍ إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ إِذْنِهِ ذَٰلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ
“Verily, Your Lord is God Who created the heavens and the earth in six days (terms) and is firmly established on 'Arsh’. He regulateth everything; No intercessor can there be, save after His leave: This is God, your Lord, Therefore Him (alone) worship ye, What! Will ye not then mind?” (10:3)
إِلَيْهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقًّا إِنَّهُ يَبْدَأُ الْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُ لِيَجْزِيَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ بِالْقِسْطِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَهُمْ شَرَابٌ مِنْ حَمِيمٍ وَعَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْفُرُونَ
“Unto Him shall return ye all; (this is) the promise of God in truth: Verily, (it is only) He (who) beginneth the creation, then causeth it to return that He may with equity recompense those who believe and do good; and those who disbelieve, for them shall be the drink from that boiling fluids and a chastisement painful for those who disbelieve.” (10:4)
يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلَا يَشْفَعُونَ إِلَّا لِمَنِ ارْتَضَىٰ وَهُمْ مِنْ خَشْيَتِهِ مُشْفِقُونَ
“Knoweth He what is before them and what is behind them, and they cannot intercede a bit for him whom he approveth, and they, of His fear, tremble.” (21:28)
These specific beings, to whom God has granted permission and authority to intercede, are described by Him as the ones ‘whose word God is pleased with’.
يَوْمَئِذٍ لَا تَنْفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَٰنُ وَرَضِيَ لَهُ قَوْلًا
“On that day shall avail not intercession (of any) save (that of) whom hath permitted God, and whose word He is pleased with.” (20:109)
There is yet another verse which clarifies the above verse by explaining what is meant by the 'word' with which God is pleased.
يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ صَفًّا لَا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَٰنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا
“On the day whereon shall stand the spirit and the angels arrayed, they shall speak not save he whom the beneficent God giveth leave, who spoke (only) the truth.” (78:38)
The divine revelation proceeds onwards to describe the qualifications of those who are - by the permission and authority from God - the intercessors with Him on the day of resurrection for the final judgment. The following verse of the Qur'an asserts two of the qualifications, being witnesses of the 'truth’ and being the 'knowledge with certitude'.
وَلَا يَمْلِكُ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ الشَّفَاعَةَ إِلَّا مَنْ شَهِدَ بِالْحَقِّ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
“And those whom they call besides Him, own not any power of intercession, save he who beareth witness of the truth, and they know (the truth).” (43:86)
It has, already been explained earlier, when discussing the 'middle group'2 that the witness over mankind is the 'middle group’, and the Holy Prophet is the witness over them and that the word ‘ummah’ used in this verse does not mean the general Muslim community. This point is clarified by God in the Qur’an.
وَإِذِ ابْتَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ قَالَ إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا قَالَ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي قَالَ لَا يَنَالُ عَهْدِي الظَّالِمِينَ
“And remember when his Lord tried Abraham with certain words then he fulfilled them; He said, ‘Verily I make thee Imam for mankind,’ (Abraham) said ‘And my offspring’? He said: ‘My covenant reacheth not the unjust’.” (2:124)
Then Ibrahim prayed:
رَبَّنَا وَاجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ لَكَ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِنَا أُمَّةً مُسْلِمَةً لَكَ وَأَرِنَا مَنَاسِكَنَا وَتُبْ عَلَيْنَا إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
“Our Lord! Make us (two) Muslims submitting (only) to Thee and of our progeny (make) a group submissive (only) to Thee and show us the ways of devotion and turn to us (mercifully) for verily Thou and Thou (alone) art the Oft-returning, the Most Merciful.” (2:128)
This is the prayer of Ibrahim for himself and his progeny, after he was declared an Imam (leader) by God, and the word 'Ummah' is applied to them. Thus does one verse of the Qur'an clarify the other verse. It is clear that the word ‘Ummah’ (group) used here is identical with the other word imam or leader.
Ummah (group) here does not mean the 'led’ but it obviously means the Imam (leader or Guide). This middle group of entities, Ummah al-Muslim, are indeed distinguished with the quality of leading mankind towards the ‘right path’ (Sirat al-Mustaqim).
Having clarified these points, the divine revelation proceeds in identifying the two, the ‘Witness of Truth' and the ‘Muslim Group' (Ummah al-Muslimah) of Ibrahim's progeny for whom he prayed. The Qur’an asserts:
وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَفِي هَٰذَا لِيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ فَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِاللَّهِ هُوَ مَوْلَاكُمْ فَنِعْمَ الْمَوْلَىٰ وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ
“And fight (endeavour) ye in (the way of) God as it behoveth you to fight (endeavour) for Him; He hath chosen you and hath laid not upon you any hardship in religion; The faith of your Father Abraham: He (God Himself ) named you Muslims before and in this, that the apostle may be a witness over you and ye be a witness over the people; So establish ye prayer and pay ye the poor-rate and hold ye fast by God; He is your Master - How Excellent the Master and How Excellent the Helper.” (22:78)
When God had appointed 'Ummah al-Wasta' intercessors, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) was declared by Him 'the intercessor of intercessors' (Ashfa’ush-Shifa'ah).
These intercessors have been chosen by God. They are permitted and authorized by God to intercede; they have been described, and their qualifications defined clearly in the divine revelation. Earlier in the discussion on 'prophethood' and 'divine guidance and leadership' (Nubuwat and Imamah) the Qur'anic verses on the law of divine selection (Istifa) and the divine endowment have been explained.
God Himself chooses the intercessors and endows them with the permission to intercede:
وَكَمْ مِنْ مَلَكٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ لَا تُغْنِي شَفَاعَتُهُمْ شَيْئًا إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ أَنْ يَأْذَنَ اللَّهُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَرْضَىٰ
“And how many an angel in the heavens are whose intercession is of no avail at all save after that permitteth God whosoever willeth He and chooseth.” (53:26)
Some of the descriptions and definitions given in the Qur'an to recognize the intercessors are that they shall be the best of the Group, the foremost in Goodness and the Middle group (or the perfectly balanced) Group Ummah al-Wasta. To quote yet another verse of the Qur'an:
ثُمَّ أَوْرَثْنَا الْكِتَابَ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَيْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِنَا فَمِنْهُمْ ظَالِمٌ لِنَفْسِهِ وَمِنْهُمْ مُقْتَصِدٌ وَمِنْهُمْ سَابِقٌ بِالْخَيْرَاتِ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَضْلُ الْكَبِيرُ
“Then made We the inheritors of the Book (Qur’an) those whom choose We from among our servants; and of them is he who causeth himself to suffer a loss, and of them is he who followeth the middle course, and of them is he who is the foremost in goodness by God’s permission: This is that which is the greatest excellence.” (35:32)
The intercessors have been kept away from all physical and spiritual uncleanliness by God and purified by Him with the utmost extent of purification.
وَقَرْنَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ وَلَا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَىٰ وَأَقِمْنَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتِينَ الزَّكَاةَ وَأَطِعْنَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا
“And stay ye in your abodes and display not your finery like the display of the ignorance of yore and establish ye prayer and give away the poor-rate, and obey God and His apostle; Verily, verily God intendeth but to keep off from you (every kind of) uncleanliness O’ ye the people of the house and purify you (with) a thorough purification.” (33:33)
These purified persons have been in communion with the word of God, the Qur’an, from its primordial state all along; and shall remain so beyond its historical state of revelation. The Qur’an asserts:
فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِمَوَاقِعِ النُّجُومِ
“But nay! I wear by the setting of the stars,” (56:75)
وَإِنَّهُ لَقَسَمٌ لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عَظِيمٌ
“and verily, it is a great oath if ye only knew it.” (56:76)
إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ
“Verily it is Qur’an honourable.” (56:77)
فِي كِتَابٍ مَكْنُونٍ
“In a book hidden,” (56:78)
لَا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ
“Toucheth it not, save the purified ones.” (56:79)
تَنْزِيلٌ مِنْ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
“Sent down by the Lord of the worlds,” (56:80)
The Holy Prophet (S) reiterates in his famous authentic tradition of ‘the two weighty entities’:
نِّي تَارِكٌ فِيكُمُ التَّقْلِينِ كِتَابَ اللهِ وَعِتَ رَبِّي أَهْلَ بَيْنِي مَا إِنْ تَسْتَكْتُمْ بِهِمَا لَنْ تَضِلُّوا بَعْدِي ابَدًا أَفَإِنَّهَا لَنْ يَفْتَرِقَا حَتَّى يَرِدَا عَلَى الْحَوْضَ
“I am leaving amongst you two weighty things, one of which is greater than the other. These arc, the Book of Almighty Allah and my progeny. So, take care how you treat them after me. The twain shall never part company until they come to me at the Pool [of Kawthar].”3
Therefore, the imams or the house of the Holy Prophet (S) are the intercessors besides the Holy Prophet (S) himself and his daughter, Fatimah (‘a). These purified and divinely selected persons are identified with the Holy Prophet and are distinguished from all mankind by God with great force in the Qur’an.
فَمَنْ حَاجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا نَدْعُ أَبْنَاءَنَا وَأَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَنِسَاءَنَا وَنِسَاءَكُمْ وَأَنْفُسَنَا وَأَنْفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَلْ لَعْنَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَاذِبِينَ
“And unto him who disputeth with thee therein after the knowledge hath come unto thee, say! (O’ Our apostle Muhammad, (say unto them)! ‘Come ye, let us summon our sons, and (ye summon) your sons, and (we summon) our women and (ye) your women, and (we summon) ourselves and (ye) yourselves and then let us invoke and lay the curse of God on the liars!” (3:61)
'Our women' are represented by Fatimah (‘a), the only daughter of the Holy Prophet; 'our sons' are his two grandsons, Hasan and Al-Husayn (‘a); 'our selves' are represented by 'the selves' of the Holy Prophet and as identified by God, ‘Ali (‘a), who happened to be the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad (S).
This verse was revealed on the occasion of the historic encounter with a group of Christians (Mubahala). There are also apostolic traditions bearing witness to this fact referred to in the divine revelation in connection with the great historical event in the life of the Holy Prophet (S):
انَا وَ عَلَى مِنْ نُورٍ وَاحِدٌ
“I and Ali are from one light”
فَاطِمَةُ بَضْعَهُ مِني
“Fatimah is part of myself.”
Finally, God has made covenant with these divinely selected and purified persons, and has promised them, as befits His divine justice and mercy, the right of intercession. This promise is in return for the fulfillment of their part of the covenant. The Qur'an states as follows:
لَا يَمْلِكُونَ الشَّفَاعَةَ إِلَّا مَنِ اتَّخَذَ عِنْدَ الرَّحْمَٰنِ عَهْدًا
“They shall own not any intercession, save he who hath taken a promise from the Beneficent (God to do so)” (19:87)
وَعْدَ اللَّهِ لَا يُخْلِفُ اللَّهُ وَعْدَهُ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
“This is the promise of God! Faileth not God His promise, but most people know not (this).” (30:6)
هَلْ جَزَاءُ الْإِحْسَانِ إِلَّا الْإِحْسَانُ
“Is the recompense for good aught but good?” (55:60)
To have a full grasp of the collective value of the human life and the inter-relation of the members of human society in the life here and that of the hereafter, the problem of intercession is further elaborated below.
1) Every finite being - in itself, and by itself - is in need of all excellences. Whatever excellence he possesses in any stage of existence, it owes to the ‘Absolute, Infinite Perfect One’. It is a gift of God granted to him. Need, defect and destitution - in short, the absence of perfection - is an inherent property of finite beings. These inherent shortcomings are constantly covered by a continuous blessing by the Absolute Perfect One.
Each finite being receives the divine gift that covers his inherent shortcomings according to the capacity of his recipiency. Thus:
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As God is the Absolute Redeemer, Deliverer and Intercessor, He covers by His continuous gifts the shortcomings of all finite beings in accordance with their capacity of demand and supplication. There is no exception to this principle of ‘absolute redeeming authority’ of God over His creatures. The highest finite being as well as the lowest one (in perfection), as mere creatures, is not free from the inherent shortcomings and destitution, and so they are not needless of His gift, grace and blessing.
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No redeeming power and salvation can be exercised by a lower finite being over a higher finite one; and thus, a comparatively imperfect person cannot redeem the defects of another imperfect one who is higher in the hierarchy of limited perfection. Nor can the one who is of the same level of imperfection redeem the defects of the another.
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Redemption, salvation, blessing and grace all proceed as a gift from the Absolute Giver, direct and through the agencies of higher finite beings to the lower ones. Whatever blessings and grace, received by the lower group through the agencies of the higher one, are termed as the intercession of the divinely authorized agents in redeeming the defect and covering the shortcomings of the lower group. Thus, it is true that there is no intercession to secure salvation in any stage of existence in this life or that in the hereafter except of God and of those finite beings of higher stage of perfection who are witnesses of truth and have knowledge of the facts as authorized agents of God.
2) To those schools of thought that value religion as a mere bond and relation between the individual and the Creator, every individual is responsible for his own ultimate salvation or condemnation through his action. On this ground, the theory of dharma and Karma, transmigration and rebirth was formed in order to secure the ultimate salvation for individuals through the process of rebirth as a purgatory and intermediate stages of punishment and reward till one was totally purified from the consequences of his evil deeds and was absorbed in the Absolute Perfect One.
On this ground, another school of thought sought to secure the ultimate salvation for man by considering absolute, arbitrary and autocratic right of rewarding and punishing them for God. Whomsoever He wills, will be sent to Heaven or Hell, disregarding their good and bad deeds. To this effect, a mystic idea was also developed and presented in the following lines of Hafiz:
ترسم که روز حشر عنان بر عنان رود
تسبیح شیخ و خرفته و نار شراب خوار
All these doctrines are contrary to what the Qur’an asserts repeatedly that the learned and the ignorant, the honest and the dishonest, the virtuous and the mischievous, the righteous and the wicked ones shall not and cannot be treated as equals in requital.
The Christian doctrine of salvation also presents a similar tendency, as indicated above. According to this doctrine, Jesus Christ will secure the salvation for those who believe in his being a divine incarnation and son of God and his crucifixion and resurrection. This is quite illogical. The author dealt with this subject in his treatise ‘Introduction to the Qur’an’
According to Islam, every individual is held responsible for his wrong or right deeds. The Qur'an has asserted that “whosoever does a bit of good shall see and whosoever does a bit of wrong shall see”. Yet, the life of man is not to be valued only from an individual point of view. Nor is the religion to be considered as merely a link between individuals and the Creator.
The Qur'an emphasizes the importance of the social aspect of not only the human life, but of every part and particle of the whole universe in relation with each other. It presents God as the Lord Cherisher of all worlds - whose grace and mercy have pervaded all and encompassed the whole and every part according to its merit - and considers the same Lord Cherisher of all as the Master of the day on which all will return and be judged and requited.
As such, 'He' presents the whole realm of creation as one inter-related ‘theme’ that owes obedience and absolute submission to none but Him alone, and no assistance is to be sought from anyone else. Thus, as a member of a theme, in offering prayer in submission to Him and beseeching help from Him, everyone has to say ‘We’ instead of ‘I’, converting individual value into a social one.
Everyone, in his continuous movement towards Him, needs to pray for Guidance on the right path not as an individual traveller but as a member of the abovementioned theme, beseeching His guidance to the ‘right path’ for the theme, and to save it from falling short or exceeding the prescribed limits.
Evaluating religion in this social perspective proves:
(‘a) the necessity of the existence of inter related hierarchy of beings, led by the topmost finite being in perfection, who beseeches Allah's blessings for himself and every member of the theme that he is leading, and receiving blessings from Him (Allah) for himself and all those who follow him in their obedience and prayer,
(b) the success or failure, and deeds or misdeeds of every member of the theme in some way or the other affect the well-being or pain of the other members of the theme,
(c) the significance of the Islamic directive about the effect of offerings of the posterity in reducing the evil consequences of the misdeeds or shortcomings of their predecessors or vice versa.
Though death and length of time has separated the ancestors from the posterity, the ties of faith, mutual love of God and of the godly persons are so firm and communicative that makes one feel and enjoy the offerings of the others for him; or to feel pain and sorrow for the shortcomings and failure of one another.
In short, the whole universe which is in obedience to His will and receiving blessings from Him looks like a congregational prayer that ought to be conducted by an Imam who will pray on behalf of all for all and receive blessings from Him and diffuse these among all. The ties between members of the theme are nothing but the reciprocal faith and love.
This permanent faith and love shall make each member of the theme divert his attention from his individual defects and shortcomings to the perfection and attainments of the society to that he belongs. An individual might have a defect or may have done a wrong for which he could suffer punishment and pain. These could be averted by directing his attention with love and faith towards the perfection of the higher members.
In this temporary life, the person who is extremely worried about some mishap will try to divert his attention from it to a pleasing scene. So long as the attention is towards this pleasant scene, he will not feel the consequent sorrow of the mishap. This diversion is temporal and temporary, but in the life hereafter the diversion caused by sincere faith and real love will be forever.
Thus, a sinner who is faithful and who enjoys the love of perfect servants of God will enjoy their perfection and is blessed not by his own actions, but by theirs.
قُلْ مَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِلَّا مَنْ شَاءَ أَنْ يَتَّخِذَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِ سَبِيلًا
“Say thou (O’ Our apostle Muhammad!): I ask ye not aught of any recompense (for my ministry) save that he, who will, take the way unto his Lord!” (25:57)
ذَٰلِكَ الَّذِي يُبَشِّرُ اللَّهُ عِبَادَهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ قُلْ لَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا إِلَّا الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَمَنْ يَقْتَرِفْ حَسَنَةً نَزِدْ لَهُ فِيهَا حُسْنًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ
“That is of which giveth God the glad tidings unto His servants who believe and do good deeds; Say thou (O' Our Apostle Muhammad!): I demand not of you any recompense for it (the toils of the apostleship) save the love of (my) relatives; and whosoever earneth good, We increase for him good therein, verily God Is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Grateful (One).” (42:23).
Thus, the Qur'anic passages assert that the love (Mawaddat) of those who are nearer to God in perfection will avail those who are willing to find their way towards the absolute perfect one.
This is the love that prompts one to expand the limits of his ego, as to be united with those whose ego is next to God in universality and all-pervasiveness. On the other hand, the Qur'an warns the unjust, the liars and the mischievous - in short, the wrong-doers and disbelievers - against the painful consequences of the curse of God, angels and the people (believers).
The Qur'an asserts this social aspect of human life in the following verse:
مَا خَلْقُكُمْ وَلَا بَعْثُكُمْ إِلَّا كَنَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ بَصِيرٌ
“Your creation and resurrection are nothing but that of a single soul.” (31:28)
From this Qur'anic declaration of treating men in their creation and resurrection as a single unit, the social value of human life and the importance of the existence of a balancing power and entity becomes so obvious that any attempt to separate religion from social and political aspect of the human life becomes not only meaningless but also anti-human.
According to the Qur'an the social and political problems of human life are the most sacred and topmost concern of religious directives, it is in this sense that Islam is said to be a socio-political religion, which places emphasis on the importance of the leadership (Imamah) and Khilafat as the great message or God lo be delivered to mankind.
Creation and resurrection cannot be considered as a single unit without the existence of a perfect man as medium between the Creator and creatures to keep up the balance between the members of the theme in their rights and duties towards the Creator. As such, the question of Imamah or Qiyamah is so interrelated that they should be treated as one.
Heaven And Hell
In discussing life in the hereafter, we have already described the various stages through which the souls have to pass.
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In short, the Day of Judgment is followed by leading individuals and groups to their permanent abode, Paradise or Hell, Heaven or Abyss.4 The number of states, and stages within the respective states, in between the two extremes are known to Him alone.5
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According to the Qur'an, the states of life hereafter are not known and cannot be exactly known to us in this world, as we are still fettered with terrestrial conditions and limitation of the sensory, pcrceptua1 and conceptual abilities.6 Whatever that has been presented to us about the life beyond the present one - through revelation - is merely a diminished figurative presentation of the realities of the life hereafter in terms that could be understood by us.
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Our present mental faculty is too limited and underdeveloped to realize the real objects of pleasure and pain of the life in the hereafter. Our mental attitude in relation to the objects of life hereafter is like the mental attitude of a person born blind or deaf, who cannot perceive and appreciate the pleasant and unpleasant objects of sight or hearing. To such a person, the object of sight and hearing is to be presented in terms of the object of other senses such as the sense of smelling, taste and touch.
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All that we need to believe is that in the stage of total resurrection, the present earth will be transformed into a different one, and all the heavens will be rolled up and folded (meaning the disappearance of present distances) by the right hand of God (meaning His Heavenly Might). And that earth will be illuminated not by the light of the sun but by the light of its Lord Cherisher. The records of the various aspects and stages of the lives of individuals and groups preserved by the divine agencies will be brought into light. All the prophets and witnesses will be brought to the scene. After the scene is over, and grouping and intercession are finalized, each individual and group will be led to their permanent abode, either Heaven or Hell or the states in between.
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According to the Qur'an human mental faculties and senses are not destroyed by death, but all will develop into a more refined condition, and sharper in terms of sensitiveness. As such, in their permanent abode all the pleasant or painful objects of the mental faculty - from the sense of touch to the highest peak of intellectual realization - should be presented in some form or other, and they should be in utter correspondence with the conditions of the highly developed faculties. Therefore, the repeated description of the condition and objects of paradise and hell in physical terms understandable to our mental faculties at present means nothing but emphatic assertion of the fact that death is not the destruction but development and evolution in more refined conditions which arc at present beyond our imagination.
The Qur'an encourages the believers to race in competition towards the grace and mercy of their Lord Cherisher, which are awaiting them, and towards the Paradise, which is so spacious that its extent is equal to that of the entire earth and heavens, which has been prepared for the pious ones. It is obvious that such an extensive paradise cannot be enjoyed but by the person whose extent of perceptual faculty is so great that it can encompass it. Similarly, the painful objects of hell are immensely horrible and tormenting due to the refined conditions of the sensation and the highly developed power of the conducive means.
In short, paradise and hell, the pleasant and painful objects there, the conditions of enjoyment or sufferings of their inhabitants, all are real and true in the exact sense of reality and truth as presented to us in the terms of similitude so that we may be able to imagine and have a faint glimpse of the life hereafter. Every word and description given in the holy book or stated by the infallible vicegerents of God should be taken as an absolute fact. According to the Qur'an this temporal life and its objects of pleasure and pain are nothing, but child-play in comparison to the life hereafter and abode wherein everything is living in the real sense of life:
وَمَا هَٰذِهِ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا لَهْوٌ وَلَعِبٌ وَإِنَّ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ لَهِيَ الْحَيَوَانُ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ
“And nothing is this life of the world but a vain sport and play; and verily the abode of the hereafter, is certainly the life; if they but know.” (29:64)
The life here and the objects which appeal to our senses and our conceptual faculties are unreal and are merely an imitation of the realities of the worlds yonder and a far diminished image and figurative presentation of those realities.
- 1. Bihar Al-Anwar, Al-Allamah Al-Majlisi, Part 58, Page 7.
- 2. Refer to the Holy Qur’an, 2:143.
- 3. This Hadith has been narrated with slight variations and present in many books of Ahadith. Sunni Sources:
According to the book Hadith Al-Thaqalayn Wa Maqamat Ahl Al-Bayt, the hadith has been narrated by 25 companions of the Prophet (s) in Sunni sources, some of which are:
- Zayd b. Arqam: the hadith of thaqalayn is narrated with 6 chains of narration from him in the books: Sunan an-Nasa'i, al-Mu'jam al-kabir, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Mustadrak al-Hakim, Musnad Ahmad.[8]
- Zayd b. Thabit: in Musnad Ahmad and al-Mu'jam al-kabir.
- Jabir b. 'Abd Allah: in Sunan al-Tirmidhi, al-Mu'jam al-kabir, and al-Mu'jam al-awsat.
- Hudhayfa b. Usayd: in al-Mu'jam al-kabir
- Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: in Musnad Ahmad and Du'afa' al-kabir.
- Imam 'Ali (a): with 2 chains of narrators in al-Bahr al-zikhar and Kanz al-'Ummal.
- Abu Dharr al-Ghifari: in al-Mu'talaf wa al-Mukhtalaf.
- Abu Hurayra: in Kashf al-astar 'an zawa'id al-bazar.
- 'Abd Allah b. Hantab: in Usd al-ghaba.
- Jubayr b. Mut'im: in Zilal al-Janna.
Al-Bahrani, the author of Ghayat al-maram wa hujjat al-khisam, narrated the hadith from 39 chains of narrations from Sunni authors. According to the book, the hadith is narrated in Musnad Ahmad, Sahih Muslim, Manaqib Ibn al-Maghazili, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, al-'Umda Tha'labi, Musnad Abi Ya'li, al-Mu'jam al-awsat, al-'Umda Ibn al-Bitriq, Yanabi' al-mawadda, al-Tara'if, Fara'id al-simatayn, and the commentary on Nahj al-balagha by Ibn Abi al-Hadid.
Shi'a Sources:
According to Ghayat al-maram wa hujjat al-khisam, in Shi'a sources 82 hadiths are narrated with the content of the hadith of thaqalayn, in many books such as: Usul al-kafi, Kamal al-din, al-Amali (al-Saduq), al-Amali (al-Mufid), al-Amali (al-Tusi), 'Uyun akhbar al-Ridha (a), al-Ghayba (al-Nu'mani), Basa'ir al-darajat. [Note by Al-Islam.org]. - 4. Refer to the Holy Qur’an, 39:67-75.
- 5. Refer to the Holy Qur’an, 17:21.
- 6. Refer to the Holy Qur’an, 56:60-62.