إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ
The Islamic tradition holds a lot of information on what happens to a human being after they pass away. Islam teaches that there is an afterlife, and that the life we live in this Dunya (world) is only temporary.
Believers spend their entire lives worshipping Allah (SWT), the One God, and believe in the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as well as all of Allah’s messengers – our entire purpose is to worship Allah (SWT).
Death, therefore, is the end of the test, and the beginning of the trial (the Day of Judgement) which will admit people to either Jannah (heaven) or Jahannam (hell).
The Day of Judgement (Qiyamah), a day that will last 50,000 years, is the day of accountability. On this day, all of humanity will be judged by their deeds and intentions by Allah (SWT) alone. It is not known to any living thing when the Day of Judgement will occur – not even the Prophets (peace be upon them all) knew.
There are 14 stages of the afterlife as outlined in the Qur’an and Sunnah, beginning from the moment one is buried. Here is an overview of the 14 stages of the afterlife:
- Barzakh: The Barzakh is the unseen realm, the barrier between life and death. The moment a person is buried, their soul is questioned by the two angels charged by Allah (SWT). Their soul remains in the Barzakh and awaits the day of judgement.
- The Trumpet: The Trumpet is blown by the angel Israfel at the command of Allah (SWT), it is blown twice.
- Apocalypse: The first blow of the trumpet begins the apocalypse and destroys all life, including Israfel himself.
- Resurrection: After a period known only to Allah (SWT), Allah (SWT) will then bring Israfel back to life first, and command him to blow the trumpet for a second time to resurrect all of humanity for the Day Of Judgement.
- The gathering: All of humanity will be resurrected from their graves, before being gathered on one level plain awaiting judgement from Allah (SWT) – the judgement begins.
- The book of deeds are given: Each person will be provided with their book of deeds.
- The accounting: Allah (SWT) will hold his slaves accountable for their good deeds and wrongdoings. He is the Most Just.
- The reckoning: The deeds of a person will be weighed on the scales, determining the course of their afterlife.
- The fountain of Kawthar: The water from this fountain is from one of the rivers of paradise. Here the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) will be permitted to provide some of its water to the believers to quench their thirst.
- Sirat: The Sirat (bridge) crosses hellfire into paradise, and all of humanity are destined to walk it.
- Intercession: Here, many will ask the Prophets to beg Allah (SWT) for forgiveness on their behalf, in the hope that their intercession will be granted.
- Purgatory: Purgatory separates heaven and hell. Here, humanity will be diverted to their resting place.
- Hell: It is believed that even those who believed in Allah (SWT) and his messenger may be destined for hell for a short while to account for some of their sins.
- Paradise: Eventually, the resting place for all will be paradise, except for those who did not repent for their Shirk. There, all will enjoy peace and serenity, for eternity.