Religion has been the biggest part of my life so far. Every major decision I have had to take has been somewhat, even if it is very minute, it was still affected by my religious background. After reading some texts about how Islam views death, I was further educated about my roots. In Islam, or in Bangladesh rather, which is where I'm from, death is a very open topic. No one is afraid to talk about it. If anyone asks about it, he or she will get an answer. The answer might be a little cartoony, depending on who you ask but, they will get an answer that is somewhat realistic. Contrasting to what I've noticed the dominant social practice in America to be is that death is a topic that most people do not want to talk about it and they will always try to stay away from it. Whenever I imagine what a parent or guardian must feel like when their child asks where his or her grandparent went, I always get a picture of a hooker in a church in my head. (Is that a creative metaphor Andy?) Very uncomfortable. To examine why people from an Islamic background might not consider death to be a scary topic could be because of the Eutopia that is promised by God (Allah) in the Holy Qur'an. A chance for a better life after the current one is a blissful idea that can, and does, make one less scared of death.
Apart from reading Islamic articles online, to further my independent research, I decided to interview an Imam of my local mosque in Brooklyn. Imam Rezaul Quader was very enthusiastic about answering the questions which were graciously provided by Bianca Chiu. An Imam is a person who leads the prayers in all waqts (times) of the day in a mosque. An Imam is also the representative of the Muslim community of his region ( The Imam as a representative is a stronger custom in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia). Other duties of an Imam include, "to teach the laymen their duties to Allah and to his fellow human beings. He has to stand up for the truth and go against the falsehood. He has to enjoin others to do good and prohibit them from doing bad " (Quader). The Imam is a lot like a teacher whose job is to guide the people who have gone astray back to the righteous path and to keep faithful Muslims on the righteous path. "For a person to become an Imam he has to certain amount of Islamic knowledge. According to the saying of Islamic scholars an Imam should be the one who has most knowledge regarding every field of Islam, specially Salah (Prayer), thereafter a person who knows how to recite the Qur’an beautifully, then a person who makes more practice on the ways of Mohammad, then a person who is the oldest of them" (Quader). An Imam is selected by the community to represent them as the most religiously learned man.
I was instantly interested when I read the Imam's response to Bianca's "What is the Day of Judgment? What criteria does a person have to fit in order to gain Paradise and a good eternal fate?" question. His answer was very interesting and I learnt about things that I did not know about before. I would like to quote his entire answer, but I will leave the reader to go to the actual interview below and read the full answer. However, one of the most interesting lines was: "According to Qur’an the first Day of Judgment will be 50000 years" (Quader). After the last human has died, the Days of Judgement will commence. Mankind will be judged for his (or her) deeds on Earth and since time is relative, 50000 years does not seem long. One of the most important criterion for a person to be granted passage into heaven is: "A person must have belief in Allah and his Messenger Mohammed as well as all other messengers" (Quader). Faith is the key to the gates of Paradise.
The thought of life after death is very scary to me. Even though I have followed all the 5 pillars of Islam, 1) Perform Hajj, 2) Pray 5 time a day, 3) Fast in the month of Ramadan, 4) Pay alms to the needy, and 5) Have faith in Allah and his messengers, I have not followed them unquestioningly. I have missed many prayers when I was distracted by other things and my faith has not always been unwavering. I am certainly scared of punishments of Hell which as the Qur'an describes to be: “There will be burning wind and boiling water and in a shade of black smoke neither cool nor graceful. Verily those who have rejected the signs of Allah, soon they will be put into Hell, every time one layer of skin is burnt it will be replaced by another layer of skin so that they can continue to taste the punishment of Hell. Each time the flame goes down will increase in its intensity. They will enter into the blazing fire, they will be given boiling water from the boiling springs of Hell to drink, and there will be no other food for them besides the thorny trees of Hell which will neither satiate their hunger nor give them any satisfaction" (Verse from the Holy Qur'an). I do not think there is one person in the world who does not find that terrifying.
My mom has always been fairly religious in her life. She studied Arabic and Islamic studies, in Syria and now she translates verses from the Qur'an (which is in Arabic) for a small group of people on the weekends. I consider her learned about Islam so I sent her the same questions I sent to the Imam. Her responses were quite similar but there were also some additional information she added. "The Paradise is forever~ it is the good eternal fate. This world is a testing place. We will be judged according to our deeds of this world. In Islamic culture in this world we have to prove that we are eligible for Paradise. The best eternal life will be given to only that person who deserves it. The peace and tranquility of that place will be never ending.In comparing this world with the Hereafter, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: 'The value of this world compared to that of the Hereafter is like what your finger brings from the sea when you put it in and then take it out.' The meaning is that, the value of this world compared to that of the Hereafter is like a few drops of water compared to the sea" (Nahar). The minuteness of this world and this life is unimaginable. We can only wonder and crave for the vastness of the world that we have to enter after this one. Our lives on this world are judged by our actions and the life after this will be either our reward or our punishment.
In conclusion, in Islam, one will be rewarded if he or she has earned it. One will be punished if he or she has deserved it. Allah is just and merciful; He will forgive the sins of Muslims who had faith in His existence and His power. It all comes down to faith. Faith is like holding sand in your fist; if you are a little bit careless, you will lose it. Another thing we must control to earn the reward of Paradise is our desires. Prophet Mohammed's (PBUH) friend and companion, Ali said: "Ali said put one foot on your desire then the other foot will be in Paradise."
I'm very grateful to Bianca Chiu for coming up with the interview questions.
(1) Are there any beliefs in Islamic religion that violate natural law? If so, what are they? And do you think practices around these violations are done because human beings are aware of both their existence and fate of death?
Allah has created the nature and it is in the control of Allah. So therefore there is no such beliefs in Islamic religion which violate the natural law.
(2) What are the duties of an Imam? How do you become an Imam? (What social action must be taken?)
The duties of an Imam are many, I will just mention few. First of all he has to lead the prayer in the Masjid. He has to teach the laymen their duties to Allah and to his fellow human beings. He has to stand up for the truth and go against the falsehood. He has to enjoin others to do good and prohibit them from doing bad and so on.
For a person to become an Imam he has to certain amount of Islamic knowledge. According to the saying of Islamic scholars an Imam should be the one who has most knowledge regarding every field of Islam, specially Salah, thereafter a person who knows how to recite the Qur’an beautifully, then a person who makes more practice on the ways of Mohammad, then a person who is the oldest of them and so on.
As for social action he may look out to carry out any needs of any Muslim such as food, clothes or money. If he himself cannot do it then he may encourage other on doing it. Also it is his duty to inform the Muslim as to which food is Halal and which is Haraam so they can avoid eating it. Therefore he may investigate the food store, specially nowadays the Restaurant where in Haraam food is sold without having any knowledge of Halal and Haraam.
(3) What is the Day of Judgment? What criteria does a person have to fit in order to gain Paradise and a good eternal fate?
After a person dies he goes into the grave and he remains there for certain amount of time. After the whole world will be destroyed by the will of Allah, Allah will command the angel Israfil to blow the trumpet for the second time. Due to this everything will come back to life and will be brought in front of Allah for Judgment. According to Qur’an the first Day of Judgment will be 50000 years. On that day the sun will be brought 1 mile from us, due to which everyone will be sweating and they will be drowning in their own perspiration in accordance with the sins which they have committed in this life. Everyone’s tongue will be sealed; it will not be able to speak. Everyone’s body part such as ears, hands, eyes and feet will be giving witness against them saying that O Allah he is committed this sin and he has committed that sin and so on. Even the earth will be giving witness against us. Decision will be made as to who will be entered to Hell and who will be entered into Paradise.
A person must have belief in Allah and his Messenger Mohammed as well as all other messengers. Beside this he must do good actions and he must stay away from disobedience of Allah. Our success of this life and the life hereafter lies in following the orders of Allah and doing every action in the way shown by our beloved messenger Mohammed [Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him].
(4) What is good eternal fate in Islamic culture?
It will mean that a person is able to save himself from the eternal fire of Hell and gain entrance into the eternal Paradise. Allah Ta’ala says in the Qur’an that on the Day of Judgment when a person will be given his book of deeds on his right hand he will be going around and announce and will say come, take a look at my book, I have attained success, I knew that one day I will have to give my account to Allah. He will be told to enter into Paradise and enjoy the blessings of paradise such as eating and drinking and so on.
As for that person who will be given his book of deeds on his left hand he will be embarrassed and he will be at sorrow but sorrow will be of no avail, it will not help him anyway. He will cry out blood. He will say if only I didn’t know of my accounts, if only I have died and wasn’t given life again, my strength, my kingdom is gone, my wealth has been of no avail to me. He will be dragged to Hell with yoke around his neck.
(5) In Islamic culture (belief, philosophy, and principles) is there continuity of the existence of the soul or a transformed physical existence after death?
The soul does not die when the body dies, and it does not perish, but it remains after its creation either in bliss or punishment.
For more information regarding the Soul you can read the book: Ar-RUH [The Soul’s journey after death] by Al-Imam Shamsuddin Abi Abdullah Ibn Al Qayyim Al Jauziah.
(6) Is Paradise and Hell ever described in the Qur’an? If so, please describe them.
The mentioning of Paradise and Hell is described in various places in the Qur’an. I will just mention it briefly. As for Paradise, Allah Ta’ala says: “Those who are blessed with nearness (to Allah) in gardens of bliss. They will be sitting on thrones woven with gold reclining on them facing each other. They will be served in rounds by Immortal boys with bowls and jugs and a goblet of pure wine. Which will neither cause them to suffer headache, nor will they be intoxicated. They will be given fruits of their choice and the meat of birds that they desire. And for them there will be women having lovely big eyes all neat and clean like a hidden pearl as a reward for what they used to do (from good) in their worldly life. They will hear neither absurd talk nor any talk which leads to sin but there will be word of salam (peace) as greetings. They will be amidst lote-trees with no thorns and the trees of talh, (banana or fragrant tree) having layers one upon the other, and a shade spread all over, and water poured forth and a lot fruits, neither interrupted (in any season) nor prohibited and mattresses of high quality.
For more description of Paradise I advise you should read Qur’an and look into the Hadith of Mohammed (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him).
As for Hell, Allah Ta’ala says, “There will be burning wind and boiling water and in a shade of black smoke neither cool nor graceful. Verily those who have rejected the signs of Allah, soon they will be put into Hell, every time one layer of skin is burnt it will be replaced by another layer of skin so that they can continue to taste the punishment of Hell. Each time the flame goes down will increase in its intensity. They will enter into the blazing fire, they will be given boiling water from the boiling springs of Hell to drink, and there will be no other food for them besides the thorny trees of Hell which will neither satiate their hunger nor give them any satisfaction.
For more description of Hell I exhort you should read Qur’an and look into the Hadith of Mohammed (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him).
(7) Can Allah rescue people from Hell if he chooses?
Yes Allah Ta’ala can rescue people from Hell if he chooses. Allah created everything, Allah controls all affairs. Whatever Allah wants he can do without being questioned by anyone. Only that will happen which he wants it to happen, in the time he wants it to happen, in the manner he wants it to happen. Nothing will happen before Allah wants it to happen, nothing will happen after Allah wants it to happen. Nothing Allah will happen more than that which Allah wants it to happen, nothing will happen less than that which Allah wants. And that which Allah doesn’t want will never take place.
However a disbeliever, one who doesn’t believe in the oneness of Allah and the Prophet-hood of Mohammed [peace and Blessings be upon him] will be in fire of Hell forever. As for Muslim who has lived a sinful life, they will be punished for the sins which they have committed. After the due punishment is given it to them they will be taken out of Fire of Hell due to the blessing of their belief in Allah.
(8a) If one’s eternal fate is determined by the balance of good and bad deeds, who decided what is good and what is bad?
Undoubtedly eternal fate is decided by Allah Ta’ala. Allah in his eternal knowledge as to who will go in Paradise and who will be going to Hell. However our duty is to follow the guidance of truth, we are bound to do good because we ourselves don’t know what is decided for us. With the hope and expectation from the mercy of Allah we put our trust on merciful Allah that he will enter us into Paradise.
Yes Allah has decided who will do good and who will do bad. But at the same time we have been given some free reign, i.e. we can also choose to do good or bad with the will of Allah. This field of fate is such a critical basis which can’t be grasped by our puny intellect.
(8b) In Islamic culture, what courses of action must be taken in order to reach Paradise?
First and foremost we have to believe in the oneness of Allah, there is no one else to be worshipped except Allah, there is not partner with him, he has no son, no daughter, no wife, no lineage and Allah is free from all deficiencies. Also a person has to believe in the Prophet-hood of Mohammad, i.e. He is the last messenger of Allah and his slave.
After having faith and conviction on Allah and his messenger Mohammed, there are other things which a person must belief in order for him to reach Paradise, such as belief in the angels, belief in the life after death, belief in the four holy revealed books, belief in all the messengers, belief in fate that whether it to be good or bad has been decided by Allah.
Also after this a person has to do good actions such as pray five time daily obligatory prayer, give zakat to the poor, perform Hajj if he has the means, i.e. health and wealth, has to fast in the month of Ramadan. A person has to stay away from the disobedience of Allah such as committing adultery, lying, deceiving,
drinking liquor and wine, avoid listening to music and so on.
(9) Is any kind of after-life desirable because after all, it is still life?
Yes the after-life is desirable for the righteous soul even though it might be still a life because when the righteous soul leaves the body, an angel comes to it and gives glad tidings to it by saying (What the Holy Qur’an mentioned): “(To the righteous soul will be said:) “O (you) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction! Come back you to your Lord, well pleased (yourself), and well pleasing unto him! Enter you, then among my Devotees! Yea (surely) enter you My Heaven! And this also will be said to the soul in the Hereafter and on the Day of Resurrection, and this is the glad tidings which Allah Almighty says regarding them: “In the case of those who say, “Our Lord is Allah”, and further stand straight and steadfast, the angels descend on them (from time to time): “Fear you not!” (They suggest), “Nor grieve! But receive the Glad Tidings of the Garden (of Bliss), which you were promised! And the descent of the angels will be at the death, in the grave and on the Day of Resurrection.
(10) Do people seek you for advice on how to reach Paradise/Heaven? If so, what do you tell them?
Yes people do seek my advice on how to reach Paradise. My exhortation to them is that you bring the fear of Allah in your life and avoid sins and disobedience of Allah. Control you desire, give preference to the desire of Allah over your own desire. Mohammed has said the intelligent person is the one who controls his desire and does good deeds for the life after death and the foolish person is the one who follows his desire and at the same time he puts false hopes on Allah. Ali said put one foot on your desire then the other foot will be in Paradise.
2. What are the duties of an Imam? How do you become an Imam? (What social action must be taken?)
Imam is a religious leader of Muslims. The duties of an Imam are 1. to guide Muslims towards Islam 2. lead them to pray five times a day. 3. solve their social problems and family crisis to some extent, 4. take care of the mosque with full responsibility.
The fundamental duty of an Imam is to lead the prayer in a manner that the people praying behind him would establish their prayer properly and completely. It is not required from him to be able to solve people’s social problems.But there is no doubt that it is better for the Imam to be aware of all the Islamic Jurisprudence, aware of the real social problems of people, and be able to solve those problems. Since, people generally refer to the Imam about religious or social matters that they encounter, if the Imam cannot respond to any of the above,then this would have a negative effect on the questioners.
An Imam must go through all the formal education and the required religious training to be an Imam.
3. What is the Day of Judgement? What criteria does a person have to fit in order to gain Paradise and a good eternal fate?
According to the Quran the last day is the day of judgement. On thas day our master Allah will gather every single person of the world from all ages and time in a place to judge them according to their deeds.
A person must have full faith in Allah and has to follow his orders to every step of life. Some of the MUST do's are a) praying 5 times a day b) fasting in the month of "Fasting", c) perform pilgrimage if he has the ability, d) has to pay charity to the poor (2.5%) of his yearly income,e) must behave properly to parents and all other people,f) must be kind to all, g)must not hamper the peace of others, h) must eat from the chosen food given by Allah i) must not lie and so many other good deeds we already know. Besides these a person must be thankful to Allah in order to earn his Paradise.the Qur'an speaks more of the coming Qiyamah - also known as the Resurrection, the Day of Judgment, Day of Gathering, and the Great Announcement - than of any other topic.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), among other things, came to warn us of a time when truth would be known, when the thoughts and intentions of the heart would be revealed. He earnestly proclaimed as inevitable a day when accounts would be settled and when scales would be balanced.
4. What is good eternal fate in Islamic culture?
The Paradise is forever~ it is the good eternal fate. This world is a testing place. We will be judged according to our deeds of this world. In Islamic culture in this world we have to prove that we are eligible for Paradise. The best eternal life will be given to only that person who deserves it. The peace and tranquility of that place will be never ending.In comparing this world with the Hereafter, the Prophet Muhammad (pbh) said: "The value of this world compared to that of the Hereafter is like what your finger brings from the sea when you put it in and then take it out." The meaning is that, the value of this world compared to that of the Hereafter is like a few drops of water compared to the sea.
5. In Islamic culture, is there continuity of the existence of the soul or a transformed physical existence after death?
The existence of soul is eternal. This particular physical existence will be demolished after death.However,The life in the Hereafter is a very real life. It is not only spiritual, but physical as well. We will live there with our souls and bodies. Allah knows the best.
6. Is Paradise and Hell ever described in the Qur'an? If so, please describe them.
Paradise and Hell are described so many times in the Quran.
Paradise is the place of eternal beauty.The paradise is a garden with beautiful flowers and nice spring, tasty sweet fruits with beautiful servants. There are seven types of heaven.The weather will be moderate always, not excessive hot or cold. The best one is named "Jannat-al- Ferdous". The word heaven does not occur in the Qur'an. There is no heaven in the sense that we know heaven from the Bible. Instead Islam acknowledges a word that means paradise – janne. Janne is really no more than a garden. The hope laid up for Muslims when they have been good is a garden. This garden is described in the smallest detail. The word janne appears relatively often, about 140 times, which is much more often than the word heaven occurs in the Bible.
Hell is a place of fire with thorny cactus type of food. There are six types of hell. The worst one is named " Jahannam-e- Habiah".
In the Qur'an, the situation in Sura 14:15-17 is before the judgment seat of God and the following scene is described: "But they sought victory and decision (there and then), and frustration was the lot of every powerful obstinate transgressor. In front of such a one is Hell [Arabic: Jahannam], and he is given, for drink, boiling foul water. In gulps will he sip it, but never will he be near swallowing it down his throat: death will come to him from every quarter, yet will he not die: and in front of him will be a chastisement unrelenting." This is a short description of what the Qur'an says violent people can expect when they go to hell.
These places are described as symbols in the Quran. The holy book appeared to an ignorant group of people who lived in the desert. So, to them paradise is a place which is a dream to desert people. The desert people hate the hot weather and fire, they hate to eat cactus like thorny food, so for them hell is described in a manner which would make them understand that this is not a desirable place to go, a place of entire punishment.
7. Can Allah rescue people from Hell if he chooses?
Yes, of course Allah can do everything. However He will not rescue anyone, if the person does not deserve that. We have to repent to Allah and ask Him for His forgiveness, so He may help us. "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Prophet of God" - and believing in the accountability of all humans before God are the cement which holds Islam together.Allah promised the Paradise for the believers, after a certain amount of punishment Allah will rescue them to the the Paradise. Allah knows the best.
8. If one's eternal fate is determined by the balance of good and bad deeds, who decides what is good and what is bad?
In Islamic culture, what courses of action must be taken in order to reach Paradise?
The good and bad deeds are clearly described in the Quran. the holy Quran is a complete guidance for people~ male and female. It has a clear description of our food, clothing, relationship, business, distribution of property, socio economic laws, rules and also Allah gives us the ability to think which one is acceptable and which one is unacceptable. ignorance is not an excuse: we must know clearly about our duties and have to work accordingly. It is difficult for us to determine what is good and what is bad. We need to follow the Quran and our Prophet Muhammed's (pbh) guidance (the sunnah) in order to reach Paradise.
Paradise seems to fit the description of a courtroom; it has everything that is needed for a trial. The decisive point is that the most important part, namely God, is missing from this paradise. In summary, the teaching of Islam and the Qur'an about heaven and hell is materialistic and sensory. For some Muslims, especially for theologians who lived hundreds of years later, this was understandably a great problem. Many tried to allegorize these descriptions – saying that they were not meant literally – that they were meant to be descriptions of things that cannot be described – something that will happen to us that we can only explain figuratively. But we must conclude, when we read the Qur'an, that the descriptions are very materialistic and sensual. The greatest thing it has to offer is the fulfillment of lust. Every lust imaginable will be satisfied in paradise and - just the opposite - will be a torment in hell. It is interesting that one of the most common words in the Qur'an is tormenting or torment. Along with trial, it is among the 20 most common words in the Qur'an. Every committed Muslim constantly has the picture of torment and trial before his eyes. Paradise is only to be had for an effort.
9. Is any kind of after-life desirable because after all, it is still life?
After life is a different concept of the life. It is not like a life on earth. That life is described as a life like this just as a symbol to let people understand the nature of it. A group of ignorant people of the dark age would understand only the language of reward and punishment.After life will be a life on a different stream line~ it is always desirable.
10. Do people seek you for advice on how to reach Paradise/Heaven? If so, what do you tell them?
People always ask for advice to get into Heaven. Basically this is the main question of the commons. I always tell them as much Allah told in his book~ the holy Quran.May Muslims hear about and be open to the true Heaven and the true God that loves them and desires to spend eternity with them. May these things become clear to many of them so they will not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
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