Where or what do you think will happen to you after death? Or do you believe in reincarnation?

Question

Do you think you'll just rot in the ground or something that has do with your religion?

Answer 1

AL BARZAKH - The Barrier
(Bismillah ir Rahman ir Rahim)

Upon death the organic body ceases to exist and will eventually decompose. The soul however, remains intact and does not die with its physical counterpart. The Angel of Death and the angels under his authority who are entrusted with extraction of the soul at the time of death, do so at the precisely appointed time. This is the decree of Allah, as stated in the Qur'an:

"And no person can ever die except by Allah's Leave and at an appointed time" (Al-Imran:145)

Once removed, the soul no longer participates in the life or affairs of this world but enters into the next stage of existence. This stage is called AL BARZAKH in Arabic.
Al Barzakh literally means The Barrier or The Partition and has been mentioned in the Qur'an:

"Until when death comes to one of them (those who join partners with Allah), he says: My Lord! Send me back. So that Imay do good in that which I left behind! No! It is but a word that he speaks, and behind them is a Barzakh (a barrier) until the day when they are raised up" (Al-Muminun:99-100)

The soul now exists in its third abode. The first being the mother womb, the second being the short life of this world. According to Islam, human beings (and Jinn) will be ressurected on the Day of Judgement. In between death and the Day of Judgement, the soul remains in Al Barzakh.

In this domain there is no time frame, this is similar to the state of sleep during which the perception of time is lost. Time itself is an enigma and cannot truly be understood. Allah is the Creator of it and He controls it.

Whilst in the realms of the Barzakh, the soul has no communication with the world of the living. Islam is explicitly clear about this, the souls of the deceased do not and cannot hear the living people. Allah states in the Qur'an:

"Verily, you cannot make the dead hear" (An-Naml:80)

"The living and the dead are not alike. Allah makes whoever He wishes hear, but you cannot make those in their graves hear" (Fatir;22)

There is no concept of asking the deceased about anything or anyone. The erroneous belief that the departed souls can hear or communicate with the living has led to the occult practise of trying to summon the dead through seances and mediums. This type of activity is a branch of magic and is a major sin in Islam. The dead cannot affect or avail the living, and have no bearing on the affairs of this world.

Christianity too condemns magic and magicians. In the old Testament it clearly states: "A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to death; they shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be put upon them" (Leviticus 20:27). However, typical of its contradictory nature, elsewhere the Bible details the summoning of the Prophet Samuel's deceased soul: "Saul disguised himself and pleaded to the woman, 'I have got to talk to a dead man. will you bring his spirit up?' The woman replied, 'Are you trying to get me killed? King Saul has had all mediums and fortune tellers executed' Finally the woman agreed, 'Who shall I summon?' Saul replied, 'I want the Prophet Samuel'. When Samuel was summoned he asked 'Why have you disturbed me by bringing me back?' Saul replied, 'Because I am in deep trouble. The Phillistines are at war with us, and God has left me and will not reply by prophets or dreams, so I have called upon you to ask you what to do" (1 Samuel:8-15)

In Islam, praying to the dead or invoking the departed souls is a manifestation of idolatry. since to seek assistance from another agent beside Allah is an implication that there are forces that can affect life and events alongside Allah. As in the above Biblical verse, King Saul had earned the wrath of God and had been forsaken so he had turned to another agent for help, in this case the departed soul of Prophet Samuel.
The Biblical verse indicates that summoning the dead is an acheivable activity through which one can derive some benefit or knowledge.
Islamically, this is not the case. Souls cannot be summoned and no benefit can be derived. For those who do engage in activities like seances and the ouija board and experienced paranormal incidents, the Prophet Muhammad (saas) gave very detailed explanation as to how the jinn fool human beings into thinking that a deceased soul has been summoned.

Islam is clear and uncompromising with its stance with seeking divine help through other than Allah. Allah does not share His Authority with anything or anyone. Governing the affairs of creation solely belongs to Him. Further to this if any of Allah's attributes are ascribed to other than Him, then this is idolatry, known in Arabic as SHIRK. Allah states in the Qur'an:

"Say (O Muhammad) to those who worship others beside Allah, 'Call upon those you claim are worthy of worship besides Allah. They do not have any power to remove harm from you at all, not even to move it away to someone else" (Al-Isra:56)

Christianity is considered to be a monotheistic religion, yet orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics regularly pray and invoke saints for the fulfillment of their needs. Most other Christians pray to Jesus Christ instaed of God. From an Islamic veiwpoint this is polytheism and not monotheism. Allah states in the Qur'an:

"And most of them do not believe in Allah except while joining partners to Him" (Yusuf:106)

Every form of idolatry and polytheism major or minor is rejected and cursed:

"And indeed it has been revealed to you and to those before you, if you practise shirk, surely all your deeds will be in vain" (Az-Zumar:65)

The human being is easily misguided into worshipping other than Allah. Since man is always in need of something or the other, asking divine help very readily becaomes directed to other than Allah. This commonly manifests itself in the form of invoking the dead by visiting ancestaral graves or the graves of holy, pious people.

Cosequently, Islam has laid down very explicit regarding burial rites and the grave. The Prophet Muhammad (saas) forbade that any type of tomb or gravestone be placed round the grave that would make it a permenant structure. He disallowed praying toward a grave or reciting Qur'an at it and did not permit the regular tending of graves with elaborate flower decor or white washing it. The grave, within the course of time, should not exceed a palms width in height with the surrounding earth.

The area designated for burials should be known to the people as a graveyard and the site where friends and family are laid can also be known, but no individual grave should stand out with a monument over it. These and other prohibitions are designed to curtail the activities usually associated with visiting graves; talking to the dead as if they can hear, asking the dead for help and offering sacrifices to them.

The Prophet Muhammad (saas) did however, encourage visiting the graves from time to time to serve as a poignant reminder that, it is eventually, the destination of all human beings.

The soul and the body in the realms of Barzakh are given a taste of what it has to look forward to in the next life. Its future depends on what it has engaged in during the short life on earth. Every Prophet that Allah has sent to mankind, simply instructed the people to worship Allah in the correct manner so that one could attain a better life in the next life. If a person follows this simple instruction then what has been promised will be acheived. The soul along with its body receives pleasure. Those who denied the true purpose of life and disobeyed Allah have earned their due as well - torment and punishment in the grave.

This is not to say that the organic body does not decompose. The Prophet Muhammad (saas) explained "All of Adams children will be eaten by the soil except for (that portion of his body which is called) ajb adh-dhanab for man was created from it and will be reassembledfrom it" (Sahih al Muslim)

As to how the soul along with its body actually experiences the pleasure or punishment in the grave is not known and this is knowledge from the matters of the Unseen. This knowledge cannot be subjected to reasoning, derived from worldly experiences. Allah alone knows it and He has chosen only to make it clear that there does exist a state of pleasure or punishment in the grave. Speculatively however, the most appropriate example is that of dreaming during sleep. In fact, the Prophet Muhammad (saas) said "Sleep is the brother of death". A person during a nightmare may experience terrifying visions which are percieved to be real or may feel happy and relaxed during a good dream. But the punishment in the Barzakh, unlike dreaming, is not an imaginary experience. It is a physical reality and its occurance has been explicitly detiled in Islam.

The Prophet Muhammad (saas) said "Verily, the dead are punished in their graves nd even the animals hear their screaming" (Sahih al Jami #1965)


Also read: THE SOUL AND DEATH PROCESS ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WELCOME-2-ISLAM/message/13 )

Answer 2

Buddhism teaches that when a person dies they are reborn and that this process of death and rebirth will continue until Nirvana is attained.

Most religions believe that the core of the person, the real person, is the soul, a non-material and eternal entity that survives in the afterlife. Buddhism on the other hand says that the person is made up of thoughts, feelings and perceptions interacting with the body in a dynamic and constantly changing way. At death this stream of mental energy is re-established in a new body. Thus Buddhism is able to explain the continuity of the individual without recourse to the belief in an "eternal soul", an idea which contradicts the universal truth of impermanence.

http://www.buddhanet.net/

Answer 3

There is no "after death" simply because there cannot be an "after death." Death is the end. It is the cessation of life. Unless you redefine end, there is no more. My corpse will of course be broken down and reintegrated into the various chemical cycles, but it is of no consequence. My consciousness, what really makes me me, dies when my body does. Longstanding chemical reactions will reach equilibrium, and I will be no more. It's just like before you were born. You simply do not exist anymore. It's a return to normalcy, really. I've not existed a whole lot longer than I have existed.

Answer 4

here is what I believe:
take a glass of water and put a spoon into it, stir for a minute then take the spoon out of the water and watch the swirling action continue
it doesn't last forever does it? neither do we

Now where did the swirl"go?" Can it come back?? All the water is still there, is the swirl somewhere in the water? Are there a bunch of swirls sitting around somewhere waiting to be put into a glass of water?

Or are those questions kind of meaningless?

Answer 5

Here is in a nut shell what I think.You will go where ever you believe you'll go.That's not as dumb as it first sounds.I think in life we are drawn to things and places for a reason and that reason is our ancestors guiding us to where we need to be.I think to tag it pre-destined is very close to what I believe.My brothers and sisters may or may not end up in the same place,their destiny could be different.I DO NOT believe one being gets to judge the whole planet and every being that has or will ever be on it.That is absurd not to mention pointless.

Answer 6

No reincarnation here and buddhists do not have reincarnation as part of their pracatise. Simply put - reincarnation is part of the external world and buddhists practise the internal world.

So we are put in the ground and split into molecules, which are re-used by nature, as intended.

Answer 7

We're all still alive, aren't we? Why should we worry about what happens to our body after death? Just live life! Whatever happens will happen and if god really existed or if reincarnation is real, then we'll all find out eventually.

Answer 8

We will be judged by the One who created us. We will be called front and center, and our entire life will be replayed back to us, including the consequences upon others resulting from what we have done. Then we will get either eternal bliss or eternal damnation, depending on what we have done, and what was in our hearts.

No reincarnation. You are given only one chance here on earth. Make the most of it.

Answer 9

Decomposition. EDIT: All the energy that leaves the body serves to sustain the earth and other life forms. That doesn't mean it's sentient or conscious. If it is, its on a level nobody can prove or understand.

Answer 10

i don't believe in reincarnation. when i die, i will just be inside the tomb, regarded by God as someone sleeping. i will wake up on the second coming when God will judge both the living and the dead.

Answer 11

Heaven for me, Hell for about 3/4 of the world. (yes I am aware that 1/3 of the world is Christian by association).