بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّ‌حْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
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This is a work which for the first time in the history of Islam discusses the controversial topic of Re-incarnation, in a scientific method, based on the Holy Qur’an.
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In this unique work I will prove, that not only the Holy Qur’an teaches the Re-incarnation, but also the Holy Qur’an is at least one the divine books, that brings up this belief and teaching, in a vast and profound scale.
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People in general see the Qur’an as a Holy Text in the Arabic words. However the Holy Qur’an created its own new and unique language which the Arab speakers as well as non-Arabs speakers need to understand. It would be very naive to think that simply be an Arab speaker would be enough to understand the Qur’an better than a non-Arab speaker. Of course the Arab speakers understand the Arabic words in the Quran as a text . But it doesn’t mean that they understand the actual language of the Quran as well.
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However, the Qur’an has its own unique literary design which is still far from being easily known and understood, despite some progress having been made. Now, in order to understand the Qur’an, there is only one way, and that is to return to the Qur’an thoroughly in searching for the actual meaning of it’s words. At the same time, to refuse imposing any other meaning from outside onto the Qur’an. In other words we should not turn to dictionary books exclusively in order to understand the Qur’an. Because the most reliable dictionary book in order to understand the actual meaning of the words of the the Qur’an, is the Qur’an itself.
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I believe that was one of the strongest reasons that most Muslim theologians rejected the belief of Re-incarnation as an un-Islamic belief ! Also we see some fellow Muslims consider some verses to reject Reincarnation and support Resurrection. Ironically some other fellow Muslims consider exactly the same verses to show completely the opposite! And nobody dare to say; wait a minute, something is WRONG here! We just cannot go on with this circle forever! This Quran was supposed to guide us to the same and common truth. Then how can it lead us to two opposite truths?! That’s because the Quran has a unique language with a different kind of literature which is not yet been discovered after more than 1400 years!
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This new and unique language of the Holy Qur’an would be a new subject of linguistics. A comprehensive investigation of this unknown language would lead to a new understanding of the Holy Qur’an and probably new discoveries of realities and truths within it.
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The Quran
as a Literary Masterpiece !
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One of the biggest mistake which has been made, is to consider the Quran as a TEXT. A text has a typical ordinary structure made by common and fixed literary rules. Whereas the Quran is a kind of work of ART.
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Art is a form of expression and the artist conveys his/her message through art. Hence, a work of art is designed based on the initiative and creativity of its artist to express its intention and purpose. But the purpose of art is not simply to communicate a message, but more importantly, to elicit an emotional response, to ‘move’ us in some way. And that is exactly the nature of the Qur’an.
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The Qur’an is like “Living Entity” with words and phrases as its cells or organs . That’s why we are neither allowed to perform a surgery on the body of the Qur’an by changing or replacing the actual words, nor to change or replace or impose the meaning of them. Any transplantation in the form of words or ideas from outside influences to the Qur’an would prevent the “body of the Qur’an” to work properly. And the result would lead to chaos of understanding of the entire Qur’an.
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The Explicit Language of the Qur’an
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When I claim that the Qur’an reveals the concept of “Rebirth” explicitly ; it does not mean EXPLICITLY in the WORDS. Like “Rebirth after death”, rather EXPLICITY in the MEANING. Explicit in the words does not help because it can be interpreted in different ways. And that has already happened. For example, many see afterlife in the spirit-world as “Rebirth”. Or they say life in heaven would be like a “new life”. Even the resurrection of the dead in its grave on the Day of Judgment has been considered as “Rebirth in a new recreated body”. So such words or phrases would be quite problematic.
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Therefore, the search to find such words and phrases in the Qur’an would be meaningless. Because if there would be such words and phrases in the Qur’an, then it would not be a solution rather a problem. In other words, not only will it not be a convincing answer to this controversial issue, but on the contrary, it will raise new questions! Questions like exactly how, where, under which circumstances, and what quality Rebirth will occur. And these are exactly the questions which the Qur’an has answered in a convincing way!
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In other words any statement that can convey the message and meaning correctly and clearly is an explicit statement.
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Reza Asgharzadeh
Iran
rezaasgharzadeh@yahoo.com
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The Cycle of Death and Life
in the Qur’an
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From the perspective of the Quran Cycle explains the motions in the universe. So even the existence of human follows the same Universal Law of the Cycle which is the Cycle of Death and Life.
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تولج اللیل فی النهار و تولج النهار فی اللیل و تخرج الحی من المیت و تخرج المیت من الحی و ترزق من تشاء بغیر حساب
آل عمران – 27
You cause the night to pass into the day, and the day to pass into the night; also You bring the living out of the dead, and the dead out of the living . And You give to whomever You wish without account.
3. Aal- Imran – 27
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It is obvious that the circular motion of the night and day in the verse above is showing nothing but a Cycle. So even Dead is not just something Lifeless which comes suddenly from nothingness , rather , an outcome and a product of a process which comes from Life. In other words Dead is just a transformation in the middle of life.
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This second following verse is vey important because it clarifies what it means with bringing the dead out of the living and vice versa. The revival of land after its death gives us a clear picture of what the first verse above means. And finally we see the same picture about human beings:
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یخرج الحی من المیت و یخرج المیت من الحی و یحیی الارض بعد موتها و کذلک تخرجون
الروم – 19
He brings the living out of the dead, and the dead out of the living, and He revives the land after its death, so in the similar manner YOU too will getting out again.
30. Al-Rome – 19
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The Right Definition of Dead !
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So wherever the Quran says you were dead we have to put it into the Universal Law of the Cycle of Death and Life in order to understand the meaning of it correctly . For example:
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و کنتم امواتا فاحیاکم ثم یمیتکم ثم یحییکم ثم الیه ترجعون
البقره – 28
You were dead before He gave you life . Afterwards you will die. Afterwards He gave you life . Afterwards you will Return to Him.
2. Al-Bagharah – 28
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So in this verse the dead امواتا could not suddenly come out of nothingness but came out of the previous life because of the Cycle of Death and Life. That’s why in the continuation of the same verse it says:
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…و کنتم امواتا فاحیاکم ثم یمیتکم
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The second dead or second time of dying یمیتکم shows that even the first one, امواتا (Amwata) or those deads , came after the previous life because of the Universal Law of the Cycle of Death and Life which has been described in the verse 19 of the Chapter Rome الروم as I mentioned at the beginning . The result is:
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You were DEAD = You were LIVING before
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Because of this definition of the dead in the Quran :
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یخرج الحی من المیت و یخرج المیت من الحی
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So you should not find the meaning of God’s words OUTSIDE His own language in which He describes them! That would lead to MISINFORMATION and misguide those who follow God’s words. As the Quran reveals God wants to establish the truth with His own chosen words and we have to read the Book of God in a proper and correct way:
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و یرید الله ان یحق الحق بکلماته
الانفال – 7
God wants to establish the truth by His own words.
8. Al-Anfal – 7
الذين آتيناهم الكتاب يتلونه حق تلاوته أولـئك يؤمنون به
البقره – 121
Those to whom We have given the Book, read the Quran in a right way. It is they who believe in it.
2. Al-Bagharah – 121
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Notice that the design of the literature in the Quran is of crucial importance . You will find the meaning of the words on an Arabic dictionary and you think you have found the meaning but you are wrong! Because any speaker, to be able to express what he or she have in his or her mind, may use any common word but in a different meaning than it usually means. You can not translate the meaning of the words of any speaker into your own way of using them simply because any speaker may have his/her own way of expressing .
That’s why we have to find the true meaning of the words within the Quran itself by studying the way they have been used in the entire Quran .
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Some of the traditional commentaries claim that the word امواتا or dead means human being was created of / from DUST which is an inanimate object ! So امواتا or dead means DUST.
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So in their view :
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کنتم ترابا = کنتم امواتا
You were DEAD = You were DUST
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But we have always to notice the design of the literature in the Quran. Surprisingly we see in the Quran the usage of کنتم ترابا (You were dust) comes after death of some human beings:
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ایعدکم انکم اذا متم و کنتم ترابا وعظاما انکم مخرجون
المؤمنون – 35
When you are DEAD and you are turned into DUST and skeleton, you will be gotten out to life again?!
23. Al-Muminun – 35
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This means DEAD and DUST are NOT the SAME! Because in order we become DUST we have to DIE first .
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If the word those deads – امواتا would means dust – ترابا then the verb created you – خلقکم would come instead revived you – احیاکم , like this:
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و کنتم ترابا ثم خلقکم ثم یمیتکم ثم یحییکم
الله الذی خلقکم ثم رزقکم ثم یمیتکم ثم یحییکم
الروم – 40
It is God Who created you . Afterwards blessed you . Afterwards He causes you die . Afterwards He gives you life.
30. Al-Rome-40
هو الذي خلقكم من تراب ثم من نطفة ثم من علقة ثم يخرجكم طفلا
غافر – 67
It is He Who created you from Dust . Afterwards from Zygote . Afterwards from embryo . Afterwards bring you out as babies.
40 . Ghafir-67
Those dead امواتا
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On the other hand in the Quran the word امواتا (Amwata) once it is about human beings , is used to those people who died after living on Earth . Like in this verse:
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و لاتحسبن الذین قتلوا فی سبیل الله امواتا بل احیاء عند ربهم یرزقون
آل عمران – 169
And don’t imagine of those who have been killed in the way of God as dead (corpses) . Rather, they are alive and receiving provision with their Lord.
3. Aal-Imran – 169
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Once again we have to notice the design of the literature in the Quran . Then we can find the true meaning of the words in the context. As we see below the word کنتم امواتا (Kontom Amwata) is about dead people who lived their lives on Earth before:
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و کنتم امواتا فاحیاکم
2.Al-Bagharah-28
و لاتحسبن الذین قتلوا فی سبیل الله امواتا
3. Aal-Imran – 169
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And that is a clear language: کنتم امواتا simply means dead people! Please notice also the Arabic word for those dead /امواتا is in plural form whilst the word dust ترابا is in singular form. That’s because when the bodies of dead people turned into dust it’s always one and same simple object. Whilst کنتم امواتا or dead people means numerus souls who have left their bodies.
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Some other interpreters of the Quran say امواتا (Amwata) means NON-EXISTANCE . But this is NONSENSE .
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Firstly because کنتم (Kontom) refers to people so کنتم امواتا (Kontom Amwata) means dead people. Secondly NON-EXISTANCE can not be in plural form ! Thirdly according to the Quran not only life but even dead is created:
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الذی خلق الموت و الحیاه لیبلوکم
الملک – 2
He created death and life to develop us .
67. Al-Mulk – 2
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That means DEAD/موت is not NON-EXISTENCE ! Non-existence is neither ALIVE nor DEAD . In other words DEAD like ALIVE is part of the Cycle of Creation!
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Thirdly the concept “non-existence” related to human being has already been used in the Quran with a different words:
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و یقول الانسان ء اذا مامت لسوف اخرج حیا اولایذکر الانسان انا خلقناه من قبل و لم یکن شيئا؟
مریم – 65,66
And says man, when I am dead, will I soon be brought forth alive? Does not man remember that We created him before while he was non-existent ?
19. Maryam- 66,67
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So “NON-EXISTENCE” could not be “DEAD” or vice versa neither in the Quran nor somewhere else. However assume they are the same. That would means:
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و کنتم امواتا فاحیاکم = انا خلقناه من قبل و لم یک شيئا
And you were dead . Then He gave you life = We created him before while he was non-existent .
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Thus we can change those verses in this way:
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و یقول الانسان ء اذا مامت لسوف اخرج حیا اولایذکر الانسان و کنتم امواتا فاحیاکم؟
And says man, when I am dead, will I soon be brought forth alive? Does not man remember that you were dead before God gave you life ?
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The result will be the Cycle of Death and Life , once again!
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You were CORPSES !
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More comprehensive and closer studies of the word اموات means those dead, in the Qur’an, show that this word and its roots in the Qur’an have been used for inanimate and dead bodies of animals and human beings:
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إنما حرم عليكم الميتة و الدم و لحم الخنزير
البقره – 173
He has forbidden you only carcass/carrion, blood, and the flesh of swine.
2. Al-Bagharah-173
ولا يغتب بعضكم بعضاً أيحب أحدكم أن يأكل لحم أخيه ميتاً
الحجرات – 12
And do not spy on one another and do not backbite. Would any of you like to eat his dead brother’s flesh?
49. Al-Hujurat-12
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ألم نجعل الأرض كفاتا أحياء و أمواتا
المرسلات – 25 , 26
Made We not Earth to be a housing for the living and for the dead?
77. Al-Mursalat-25,26
والذين يدعون من دون الله لا يخلقون شيئا و هم يخلقون أموات غير أحياء
النحل – 20 , 21
Those you call on besides God cannot create anything. They are themselves created. They are dead, not alive.
16. Al-Nahl-20,21
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So the word امواتا (Amwata) or dead can also be understood as CORPSES. That is also corresponds to the verses in which the disbelievers constantly wondered how they might be resurrected in a new creation when they become dust and bones:
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ایعدکم انکم اذا متم و کنتم ترابا وعظاما انکم مخرجون
المؤمنون – 35
Does he promise you that when you are dead and you are turned into dust and skeleton, you will be gotten out to life again?!
23. Al-Muminun – 35
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The difference between امواتا and الموتی
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The Quran has used two different form of the word Maut موت which we have to distinguish between them:
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ولا تحسبن الذين قتلوا في سبيل الله أمواتا بل أحياء
آل عمران – 169
Do not assume that those who have been killed in God’s cause as dead. They are alive!
3. Aal-Imran – 169
و إذ قال إبراهيم رب أرني كيف تحيي الموتى
البقره – 260
When Abraham said, “Show me, my Lord, how You revive those dead!
2 . Al-Bagharah – 260
حتى إذا أقلت سحابا ثقالا سقناه لبلد ميت فأنزلنا به الماء فأخرجنا به من كل الثمرات كذلك نخرج الموتى
الاعراف – 57
When they have gathered up the heavy clouds, We drive them on to a dead land where We cause rain to fall, bringing out all kinds of fruit, just as We will raise the dead to life.
7 . Al-A’raf – 57
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امواتا = اَلمَيْتٍ -A
الموتی = اَلمَیّت -B
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The Amwata امواتا (A) which is the plural form of اَلمَيْتٍ means any dead object in the nature. So whenever it refers to human beings it means lifeless bodies or CORPSES. Whist Al-Mauta الموتی (B) which is the plural form of اَلمَیّت means the SPIRITS who have left their physical bodies. In the following verse the speech of those dead besides the angels confirms that explanation:
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ولو أننا نزلنا إليهم الملائكة و كلمهم الموتى و حشرنا عليهم كل شيء قبلا ما كانوا ليؤمنوا إلا أن يشاء الله ولكن أكثرهم يجهلون
الانعام – 111
Even if We had sent down the angels to them, and the dead had spoken with them, and We would gather all things before their eyes, they would not believe, unless God willed, for most of them are ignorant.
6 . Al-An’am-111
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Also in the following verses, the word Al-Maut الموت means the spirit who has left the physical bodies:
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كل نفس ذائقة الموت ثم إلينا ترجعون
العنکبوت – 57
Every soul has to taste death. You will then be sent back to Us.
29 . Al-Ankabut-57
حتى إذا جاء أحدهم الموت قال رب ارجعون لعلي أعمل صالحا فيما تركت
المومنون – 99
Until when death comes to one of them he will say: “O Lord, send me back again that I may do some good I did not do.
23. Al-Muminin-99
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In other words the Amwata امواتا of human beings turn back to Earth. Whilst the Al-Mauta الموتی return to the Spirit world in heaven. So they will go in two opposite directions!
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That means wherever it may concern human beings the Amwata امواتا is the result of the Al-Maut الموت .
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Now the Quran reveals that it is not about the resurrection of dead bodies or Amwata اموتا but rather the returning of the spirits or Al-Mauta الموتی :
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و الموتى يبعثهم الله ثم إليه يرجعون
الانعام – 36
And as for the dead, God will raise them up, and then they will all return to Him.
6. Al-An’am-36
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That’s why in the verse below the Quran has used the word Amwata امواتا instead of Al-Mauta الموتی to clarify that after leaving our physical bodies, we will be returned to the life through new bodies and not through resurrection of the previous bodies:
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و کنتم امواتا فاحیاکم
البقره – 28
After you had left your bodies He has brought you to the life.
2. Al-Bagharah
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The blessing of the Cycle of Death and Life
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And finally in the beginning of the verse God complains of our ungratefulness:
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…کیف تکفرون بالله و کنتم امواتا فاحیاکم
2. Al-Bagharah – 28
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Here the word تکفرون (Takfaroon) means ungratefulness as we see in the same Chapter:
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واشکروا لی و لا تکفرون
البقره – 152
Be thankful to Me and not be ungrateful.
2.Al-Bagharah – 152
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But to bring us into existence from non-existence is nothing to be thankful. Because you have to exist first to get His blessings in your life and then be thankful to God because of them. So the greatest blessing here which makes us to be thankful is the very Cycle of Death and Life. We can see even clearer in these verses:
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ان الله بالناس لروف رحیم هو الذی احیاکم ثم یمیتکم ثم یحییکم ان الانسان لکفور
الحج – 65 , 66
Surely God is most compassionate and most merciful to you all because He gave you life. Afterwards you will die and afterwards He will give you life . Indeed human being is very ungrateful.
22. Al-Hajj – 65 , 66
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An Example of Cycle of death and life
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To make it even more clear the Quran gives us an actual example in the same Chapter or Surah , The Al-Bagharah:
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الم تر الی الذین خرجوا من دیار هم و هم الوف حذر الموت فقال لهم الله موتوا ثم احیاهم ان الله لذو فضل علی الناس و لکن اکثر الناس لایشکرون
البقره – 243
Didn’t you know that thousands of people who left their homes for fear of death? Later they died on God’s command. After a period of time He gave them life. Surely God is the Source of munificence and generosity to ALL PEOPLE though most people not being grateful.
2.Al-Bagharah – 243
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As we can see below, these two verses of the same Chapter are about, the same Universal Law of the Cycle of Death and Life. Now we get a clear picture of why thousands of people would be brought to life again after their death and understand it in a proper and correct way :
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کیف تکفرون بالله و کنتم امواتا فاحیاکم ثم یمیتکم ثم یحییکم ثم الیه ترجعون
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فقال لهم الله موتوا ثم احیاهم ان الله لذو فضل علی الناس و لکن اکثر الناس لایشکرون
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We can also put parts of those two verses in this way to get even clearer picture:
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فقال لهم الله موتوا ثم احیاهم = کیف تکفرون بالله و کنتم امواتا فاحیاکم
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That means we all have already experienced the Cycle of Death and Rebirth .
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General blessing
Notice that the verse 243 of the Chapter Al-Bagharah makes it clear that this blessing of the cycle is about the whole humanity:
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فقال لهم الله موتوا ثم احیاهم ان الله لذو فضل علی الناس
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The importance of using ذو فضل
The word فضل (Fazl) here means God is very generous with His blessings which in this context means the additional time of the Earthly life even after death . And ذو (Zo) means the Source and/or the Power of blessings which is God. So that means God is always increasing His blessings to الناس or the whole humanity. It’s very interesting that the words ذو فضل (Zo-Fazl) which have come 13 times in the Quran have always been used for the general public and not for a specific person or certain group . For example:
و لولا دفع الله الناس بعضهم ببعض لفسدت الارض و لکن الله ذوفضل علی العالمین
2. Al-Bagharah-251
منکم من یرید الدنیا و منکم من یرید الاخرة ثم صرفکم عنهم لیبتلبکم و لقد عفا عنکم و الله ذوفضل علی المومنین
3. Al-Imran-152
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الله الذی جعل لکم اللیل لتسکنوا فیه و النهار مبصرا ان الله لذو فضل علی الناس و لکن اکثر الناس لایشکرون
غافر – 61
It is God who made for you the night that you may rest therein and the day giving sight. Indeed, God is the Source of blessings to the ALL PEOPLE, but most of the people are not grateful.
40. Ghafir – 61
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Even here the cycle of night and day like the cycle of death and life is a blessing for the whole humanity.
So to bring thousands of people forth to life after being death in the verse 243 of the Chapter Al-Bagharah was not an EXCEPTIONAL blessing to a certain group of people in a certain time and place but an EXAMPLE to the Universal Law of the Cycle of Death and Life in the verse 28 of the same Chapter. Otherwise it would be an unfair discrimination by God! And if it would be such a discrimination then how could God complain the majority of humanity of being unthankful?! Of course they would be right to be ungrateful because of such an unfair discrimination. Because it’s about LIFE as the BASIC NEED! It’s not something you get with your own effort . God just can not make a discrimination on the FUNDAMENTAL NEEDS .
The Interpreters believes that the first الناس (An-Nas) or people refers only to those people in the beginning of the verse and not the entire humanity. But that can not be right way in the Quran . Because if that would be the case then it would use the pronoun Hom هم means them instead which has already been used in the same verse ! So let’s make it like this:
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فقال لهم الله موتوا ثم احیاهم ان الله لذو فضل علیهم
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Interestingly in the following verse we both the pronoun which refers to a certain of people and also using the الناس people in general twice:
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و اتبعت ملة اباوی ابراهیم و اسحق و یعقوب ما کان لنا ان نشرک بالله من شئی ذلک من فضل الله علینا و علی الناس و لکن اکثر الناس لایشکرون
یوسف – 38
And I have followed the creed of my fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Not ours is it to associate aught with God. That is of God’s bounty to us, and to humanity; but most people are not thankful.
12. Yusuf-38
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Using the second الناس (An-Nas) or people in the verse emphasizes even more that such a blessing belongs to the entire mankind. Otherwise it would be اکثرهم (Aksarahom) instead of اکثر الناس (Aksaran’nas) . Like The second verse below:
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ان الله لذو فضل علی الناس و لکن اکثر الناس لایشکرون
2. Al-Bagharah-243
ان الله لذو فضل علی الناس و لکن اکثر هم لایشکرون
10. Yunus-60
The Reason of Coming back
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Here we get a more clear picture of the verses below. The main reason why God brought thousands of dead people forth to life was His blessing EQUALLY for the whole humanity.
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ان الله بالناس لروف رحیم هو الذی احیاکم ثم یمیتکم ثم یحییکم ان الانسان لکفور
الحج – 65 , 66
Surely God is most compassionate and most merciful to you all because He gave you life. Afterwards you will die and afterwards He will give you life . Indeed human being is very ungrateful.
22. Al-Hajj-65,66
فقال لهم الله موتوا ثم احیاهم ان الله لذو فضل علی الناس و لکن اکثر الناس لایشکرون
البقره – 243
Later they died on God’s command. After a period of time He gave them life. Surely God is the Source of munificence and generosity to all people though most people not being grateful.
2. Al-Bagharah – 243
.
In other words:
.
اکثر الناس لایشکرون = ان الانسان لکفور
فضل = لرؤف رحیم
و لولا فضل علیکم و رحمته و ان الله رؤف رحیم
النور – 20
And were it not for the munificence and His mercy upon you, indeed Allah is compassionate and merciful.
24. An-Noor-20
.
یمیتکم ثم یحییکم
.
The next thing we should notice is that the two words یحییکم (Yoheekom) and یمیتکم (Yomeetekom) are افعال المضارع or present tense verbs which indicate REPETITION of an event . So those two words means we will die and come back to life MANY TIMES . And that will continuous on Earth:
.
منها خلقناکم و فیها یعیدکم و منها نخرجکم تاره اخری
طه – 55
From Earth We created you and into Earth you will return and from Earth we will take you out AGAIN!
20. Taha-55
.
Now the following first verse explains that یحییکم (Yoheekom) or the second life in the second verse is about a life again on Earth after death:
.
فقال لهم الله موتوا ثم احیاهم ان الله لذو فضل علی الناس و لکن اکثر الناس لایشکرون
البقره -243
Later they died on God’s command. After a period of time He gave them life. Surely God is the Source of munificence and generosity to ALL PEOPLE though most people not being grateful.
2. Al-Bagharah – 243
.
و کنتم امواتا فاحیاکم ثم یمیتکم ثم یحییکم ثم الیه ترجعون
البقره – 28
You were dead before He gave you life . Afterwards you will die. Afterwards He will give you life . Afterwards you will Return to Him.
2. Al-Bagharah – 28
.
This is something the Quran makes it clear for the whole humanity:
.
منها خلقناکم و فیها یعیدکم و منها نخرجکم تاره اخری
طه – 55
From Earth We created you and into Earth you will return and from Earth we will take you out AGAIN!
20 . Taha – 55
.
Important Notice
.
In the latest verse and also other similar verses we see a pattern in which the words منها (minha) or out of and فیها (fiha) or into come before verbs . That is because to emphasize that it is the Earth which is the center or the axle of the Cycle . So the returning after death will take place here on Earth:
منها خلقناکم و فیها یعیدکم و منها نخرجکم تاره اخری
Example:
خلقناکم منها و یعیدکم فیها و نخرجکم منها تاره اخری
.
Otherwise it would sound like the second one I have shown above as an example.
.
ثم الیه ترجعون
.
The last part of the verse says that we will return to God . But what does it mean by that?
.
و کنتم امواتا فاحیاکم ثم یمیتکم ثم یحییکم ثم الیه ترجعون
البقره – 28
He resurrected you after being dead . Afterwards you will die. Afterwards He will bring you to life . Afterwards you will Return to Him.
2. Al-Bagharah – 28
.
According to the Quran at the time of death the angels will take our souls and then we will return to the Lord. But it says that we will come (back) to the Lord through the same process as we have been created the FIRST TIME! As it is mentioned in the following verse 94 of the Chapter 6 . Al-An’am :
.
و لقد جئتمونا کما خلقناکم اول مره
الانعام – 94
And indeed you have now come to Us alone as We had created you first time.
6 . An’am – 94
.
It indicates that we will be created once again! And it is clearly mentioned in this verse:
.
و قالوا ااذا ظلنا فی الارض اانا لفی خلق جدید بل هم بلقاء ربهم کافرون قل یتوفاکم ملک الموت الذی وکل بکم ثم الی ربکم ترجعون
السجده – 10 , 11
They said, When we are lost in the Earth, how can we then be recreated in a new form? Indeed, they deny they will ever MEET their Lord. Tell them, you will be taken away by the angel of death who is in charge of you. Then towards your Lord you will return.
32. As-Sajda – 10 , 11
.
As we see here to return to the Lord and meet Him will take place through creating a new body. In fact our returning to the Lord in order to meet Him means to meet the results of our actions.
.
And the creation of a new body or خلق جدید (Khalghen Jadid) will be done in the same way as we were created the first time.
.
کما بدانا اول خلق نعیده
الانبیاء – 104
As We started creating you the first time you will be back.
21. Al-Anbiya – 104
.
So returning to the Lord or ثم الیه ترجعون (Somma ilyhe torjaoun) means continuation of the Cycle of the Life and Death. At least that is a possible meaning that makes sense as we can see in the following verse. Because after our creation the first time, it must be another time. Otherwise it would be totally meaningless to emphasize the “First Time“!
.
و هو خلقكم أول مرة و إليه ترجعون
فصلت – 21
And He created you the first time and you will return to Him !
41. Fussilat – 21
.
But it means also returning to the Permanent Spiritual World beyond this material world as well. And that is the case of those who have succeeded to liberate themselves from attachment and slavery of the Cycle.
.
و کنتم امواتا فاحیاکم ثم یمیتکم ثم یحییکم ثم الیه ترجعون
البقره – 28
He resurrected you after being dead . Afterwards you will die. Afterwards He will give them life . Afterwards you will Return to Him.
2. Al-Bagharah – 28
.
.
How to make a complete the cycle?
.
To complete the cycle it needs these TWO SIDES together. Otherwise it would not be shown as a perfect CYCLE:
.
کنتم امواتا فاحیاکم -A
یمیتکم ثم یحییکم -B
.
Notice that it is the quality and NOT the quantity which makes a perfect cycle . So the definition of the perfect cycle in this subject is to die twice and to live twice to make a cycle of deaths and also a cycle of lives. And once the cycle is built it will roll continuously. So you don’t need more than twice describe the Cycle of Death and Life .
.
Who did reject the Idea of the Cycle?
.
As we can see down here in the Quran those who reject and deny the Universal Law of the Cycle of Death and life are الکافرون (Al-Kaferoon) or those disbelievers who were against the divine teachings of the Quran!
.
و قالوا ما هي إلا حياتنا الدنيا نموت و نحيا و ما يهلكنا إلا الدهر و ما لهم بذلك من علم إن هم إلا يظنون و إذا تتلى عليهم آياتنا بينات ما كان حجتهم إلا أن قالوا ائتوا بآبائنا إن كنتم صادقين قل الله يحييكم ثم يميتكم
الجاثیه – 24 , 25 , 26
The disbelievers said that the end of our life in this material world is nothing but our generation will die just because of passing time and our next generation will come to this worldly life – but they don’t have any knowledge about it except imagining – . And whenever we explain to them our divine teachings with proofs , their only argument is: alright if you are telling the truth, then bring our dead forefathers forth now! Tell them it is only God who brings you all back to life and later causes you all to die (again) …
45 . Al-Jathiya – 24,25,26
.
It does not require much effort to understand that in the context of the verse above the word یحییکم (Yoheekom) means another life. However to make it more clear we have to notice that the word یحییکم (Yoheekom) has been used in the Quran 4 times which are referring to creation or more precisely the Cycle of Death and Life. And in 3 cases of them یحییکم (Yoheekom) is referring to a life after our dying or the second life if you want. So even in the verse above it must mean another life on Earth after our dying. That’s why those disbelievers asked for bringing their forefathers back as an argument.
.
.
************************************************
************************************************
.
.
The Cycle of dying !
.
.
It’s very important that the Quran brings up the cycle of deaths separately which means the experience of dying many times. In the recent verses above those disbelievers asked the believers for bringing their dead forefathers! The respond is very interesting because it says that it is God Who will revive all of us and afterwards takes our lives:
.
قالوا ائتوا بآبائنا إن كنتم صادقين قل الله يحييكم ثم يميتكم
الجاثیه – 25 , 26
If you are telling the truth, then bring our dead forefathers back now! Tell them it is only God who brings you all back to life and later causes you all to die (again) …
45 . Al-Jathiya – 25,26
.
That means we will die once again . But even if the context is clear the the verb is about the next Earthly life after death , I would like to make sure even in a different way. This verb has used five times in the Quran which only one of them is about spiritual life. However the rest is bout the Cycle of Death and Life:
.
و کنتم امواتا فاحیاکم ثم یمیتکم ثم یحییکم
2.Al-Bagharah-28
و هو الذی احیاکم ثم یمیتکم ثم یحییکم
22. Al-Hajj-66
الله الذی خلقکم ثم رزقکم ثم یمیتکم ثم یحییکم
30. Al-Rome-40
قل الله یحییکم ثم یمیتکم ثم یجمعکم الی یوم القیمه
45. Al-Jathiya-25
.
As we see all those three cases (verses) the verb is the second life . That means the verb یحییکم in the language of the Quran is the next/second life . And because we know that in the fourth case (verse) the verb یحییکم was an answer to the request to raise the dead people; So there is no doubt that the verb یحییکم is the next Earthly life after death. The difference is in the last case (verse) a second death or even a third death (if we compare to the first case/verse) has come! And that is undoubtedly about the Cycle of Deaths! The following verse even more interesting:
.
إن هؤلاء ليقولون إن هي إلا موتتنا الأولى و ما نحن بمنشرين فأتوا بآبائنا إن كنتم صادقين
الدخان – 34 , 35 , 36
Indeed these disbelievers emphasize repeatedly; eventually there only will be our first death, and we will not be expanded . Then bring back our forefathers, if you are honest!
44 . Ad-Dukhan – 34,35,36
.
.
The reference to the first death by the deniers indicates the presumption of another death. They knew very well that the idea of coming back to life; will inevitably ends in another death. That’s why they asked even here for bringing their forefathers back to life in order to see the cycle of deaths as well as the cycle of lives.
.
So in the Quran the only people who believe that we will be born ONLY ONCE and live on Earth ONLY ONCE and will die on Earth ONLY ONCE and finally we will never ever be reborn to have another Earthly life, are الکافرون (Al-Kaferoon) or those disbelievers who were against the divine teachings of the Quran!
.
Now what could make them to confess they were wrong with their “ONLY ONCE” position? The answer is simple: to experience both the death and life TWICE! And no more than twice needs for them to confess they were wrong:
.
قالوا ربنا أمتنا اثنتين و أحييتنا اثنتين فاعترفنا بذنوبنا فهل إلى خروج من سبيل
غافر – 11
They said, “O Our Lord! You made us die twice and You made us live twice. Now we confess to our sins. So is there any way out of it?
40. Ghafir – 11
.
Remember what was said earlier that a perfect cycle would only be made of – at least – dying twice and living life twice. However, many commentators believe that “اثنتین” does not necessarily mean TWICE . It just refers to continuity and repetition . In this case, the meaning of the verse is as follows:
O Lord, You have revived us many times and killed us many times
.
The previous death!
.
Those previous verses were about the position of the disbelievers or الکافرون (Al-Kaferoon) against the cycle of deaths. The Qur’an brings the cycle of deaths from the point of view of the believers as well. There are two kinds of the believers in the Qur’an. The first one is general, which includes all believers regardless their different levels of spiritual development . But the second one is a certain group of the believers who are called Al-Mottaghin المتقین which means pious and virtuous. They are at a very high level of spiritual development and enlightenment . The following verses are about this specific group of high level believers:
.
إن المتقين في مقام أمين في جنات و عيون…لا يذوقون فيها الموت إلا الموتة الأولى و وقاهم عذاب الجحيم فضلا من ربك ذلك هو الفوز العظيم
الدخان -51-57
Indeed the pious are in a condition of being safe or protection and peace in the paradise of gardens and water-springs…in that condition they will not experience death anymore, after their previous death. So the Lord has saved them from suffering of the Burning Fire. That is the munificence of your Lord; this is the Great Victory.
44. Ad-Dukhan – 51 until 57
.
Once this kind of the believers left this material world to the high level of the spiritual world they said:
.
أفما نحن بميتين إلا موتتنا الأولى و ما نحن بمعذبين إن هذا لهو الفوز العظيم
الصافات – 58 الی 60
Will we not experience death anymore after our previous death? And we will not suffer anymore? Truly, this is the Great Victory!
37. As-Saffat – 58,59,60
.
.
The meaning of the word الاولی
.
The meaning of the word الاولی (Oula) is different in the two categories of verses related to the disbelievers and the pious or المتقین (Al-Mottaghin) . We have to understand the meaning of the word الاولی (Oula) from their different perspectives in the context of verses.
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In the verse related to the disbelievers, because of they believed they would die only once and rejected another time of dying; so logically, the word الاولی (Oula) means the FIRST and LAST time. Whereas in the verses related to the pious, considering that they believed in the cycle of death; the meaning of the word الاولی (Oula) is the PREVIOUS time or the LATEST experience.
.
It’s very interesting that in some other places in the Quran the two words الاولی (Oula) and من قبل, Men Ghabl, (earlier, previous, former, in the past) have been used as synonyms:
.
اهلکنا القرون الاولی
القصص – 43
We destroyed the earlier generations.
28. Al-Qasas – 43
اهلکنا القرون من قبلکم
یونس – 13
We destroyed several generations before you.
10. Yunus – 13
.
That is an evidence from the language of the Quran itself that at least in some cases الاولی (Oula) means من قبل (Men-Ghabl) or the previous time .
.
Now the pious or المتقین (Al-Mottaghin) which are the highest level of the believers say that after their previous death or their latest death موتتنا الاولی (Motatenal-Oula) they will not die anymore . That means they finally succeeded to liberate themselves from the painful Cycle of Death and Rebirth. So in their case موتتنا الاولی (Motatenal-Oula) indicate their last death after experiencing many deaths before. Otherwise they would not used the word الاولی (Oula) in that context at all.
.
That’s why in each of those two verses which were related only to the pious the word death has come twice, just to indicate their experiences of multiple deaths in the past. That kind of repetition would be absolutely wrong in the case of those disbelievers. As we see in the following verses the disbelievers say:
.
إن هؤلاء ليقولون ان هي إلا موتتنا الأولى و ما نحن بمنشرين فأتوا بآبائنا إن كنتم صادقين
الدخان – 34 , 35 , 36
They are repeatedly saying that there will eventually be our first nd only death, and we will not come back (to die another time) . Then bring back our forefathers, if you are truthful!
44 . Ad-Dukhan – 34,35,36
.
And in case of the higher level believers it says:
.
لايذوقون فيها الموت إلا الموتة الأولى
الدخان-56
In that condition they will not experience death anymore except their previous death.
44. Ad-Dukhan – 56
أفما نحن بميتين إلا موتتنا الأولى
الصافات – 58 , 59
Will we not experience death anymore except our previous death?
37. As-Saffat – 58,59
.
You see the difference is clear between the disbelievers and the high level believers.
.
Also remember those thousands of people who had been brought back to life after death , they would naturally experience another death later:
.
الم تر الی الذین خرجوا من دیار هم و هم الوف حذر الموت فقال لهم الله موتوا ثم احیاهم
البقره – 243
Didn’t you see thousands of people who left their homes for fear of death and later they died on God’s command? Afterwards He brought them back to life…
2. Al-Bagharah – 243
.
But contrary to the believers; the disbelievers, after experiencing death and life twice, ask God for taking them out of this nonstop painful cycle.
.
قالوا ربنا أمتنا اثنتين و أحييتنا اثنتين فاعترفنا بذنوبنا فهل إلى خروج من سبيل
غافر – 11
They said, “O Our Lord! You made us die twice and You made us live twice. Now we confess to our sins. So is there any way out of it?
40. Ghafir – 11
.
Difference between اثنتین and مرتین
.
The word اثنتین-Athnatain originally means couple or pair, like in the following verse:
.
قلنا احمل فيها من كل زوجين اثنين
هود – 40
Board into the ship a couple – male and female – from every kind
11. Hud-40
.
Interestingly in the verse above, the word اثنتین-Athnatain or couple has come instead of the word مرتین-Marratain which means twice . For example in this verse below:
.
أولا يرون أنهم يفتنون في كل عام مرة أو مرتين
التوبه – 126
Do they not observe that they are tested ONCE or TWICE every year?
9 . At-Tawba – 126
.
This is because the word مرتین-Marratain only means TWICE . So ONE certain PERSON , who is in fact ONE certain BODY, may actually die twice and then later come back to the Earthly life twice . For example those who were resurrected by the miracle of Jesus and got a second life and died again. In such cases we can use the word مرتین-Marratain which means, ONE certain person has experienced his/her life and death twice with the SAME BODY . But this has NOTHING to do with Reincarnation!
.
However the word اثنتین-Athnatain refers exclusively to TWO different BODIES . In other words TWO DISTINCT people who ARE naturally two bodies. Like in the following verse:
.
إن امرؤ هلك ليس له ولد و له أخت فلها نصف ما ترك و هو يرثها إن لم يكن لها ولد فإن كانتا اثنتين فلهما الثلثان مما ترك
النساء – 176
If a person dies childless but has a sister, she receives half of what he leaves, and he is her heir if she dies childless. If there are two sisters, they receive two-thirds of what he leaves.
4. An’Nisa-176
إذ أخرجه الذين كفروا ثاني اثنين
التوبه – 40
When the disbelievers expelled him (from Mecca) while he was the second of two people.
9. Tawbah-40
.
Now if we use the word اثنتین-Athnatain about ONE SINGLE human being who has died twice and has also been raised up to life twice , then this can ONLY be true in the case of Reincarnation! So although using the word مرتین-Marratain would be correct regarding reincarnation but it doesn’t refer specifically to the life of two bodies. While the word اثنتین–Athnatain which refers exclusively to the two bodies, makes it more clear what the word مرتین–Marratain actually means in the context of Reincarnation.
.
The Actual Meaning of Double Punishment
عذاب ضعف = Cycle
.
Like the word “اثنتین” although the literary meaning of word Zaif-ضعف has been said to be “doubled“, however that doesn’t necessarily mean in numerical way. Rather it also indicates multiplicity. In other words that is in its minimal case twice and in its maximal case unlimited.
.
ولولا أن ثبتناك لقد كدت تركن إليهم شيئا قليلا إذا لأذقناك ضعف الحياة و ضعف الممات ثم لا تجد لك علينا نصيرا
الاسراء – 74 ؛ 75
And had We not kept you steadfast, possibly you might have inclined to them just a little. And if it were, We would then have made you to experience – at least – a double lives and – at least – a double death . You would then not find any supporter against Us.
17 – Al-Isra-74 , 75
.
من ذا الذي يقرض الله قرضا حسنا فيضاعفه له أضعافا كثيرة
البقرة: 245
Who is he that will lend God a good loan, and He will multiply it for him manifold?
2 . Al-Bagharah – 245
.
The commentators interpreted the two lives and the two deaths in the verse as double PUNISHMENT in the life of this material world and double PUNISHMENT in the death which means in the spirit world after death.
.
However wherever the Zaif-ضعف has been used to refer the punishment it has come together with the word Azab-عذاب means punishment:
.
قالوا ربنا من قدم لنا هذا فزده عذابا ضعفا في النار
ص – 61
They say, “Our Lord! Whoever has brought this calamity upon us – at least – double the punishment of the fire for him!
36 . Sad – 61
يا نساء النبي من يأت منكن بفاحشة مبينة يضاعف لها العذاب ضعفين
الاحزاب – 30
O the wives of the Prophet! If any among you dares to commit an act contrary to decency, for her will be multiple the punishment of others; and this is easy for God.
33 . Al-Ahzab – 30
ربنا آتهم ضعفين من العذاب
الاحزاب – 68
“Our Lord! Give them multiple the punishment of the fire.
33 . Al-Ahzab – 68
.
Now these two verses are symmetrical to each other regarding double lives and double deaths:
.
قالوا ربنا أمتنا اثنتين و أحييتنا اثنتين فاعترفنا بذنوبنا فهل إلى خروج من سبيل
غافر – 11
They said, “O Our Lord! You made us die twice and You made us live twice. Now we confess to our sins. So is there any way out of it?
40. Ghafir – 11
ولولا أن ثبتناك لقد كدت تركن إليهم شيئا قليلا إذا لأذقناك ضعف الحياة و ضعف الممات ثم لا تجد لك علينا نصيرا
الاسراء – 74 ؛ 75
And had We not kept you steadfast, possibly you might have inclined to them just a little. And if it were, We would then have made you to experience – at least – a double lives and – at least – a double death . You would then not find any supporter against Us.
17 – Al-Isra-74 , 75
.
So that shows clearly that “to experience doubled lives and doubled deaths” is to experience the very cycle of the life and death:
.
لأذقناك ضعف الحياة و ضعف الممات
قالوا ربنا أمتنا اثنتين و أحييتنا اثنتين
.
The Quran has mentioned several times the “double punishment” or “عذاب ضعف” . But none of them clarify the actual meaning of it .
.
ربنا هؤلاء أضلونا فآتهم عذابا ضعفا من النار قال لكل ضعف و لكن لا تعلمون
الأعراف – 38
Our Lord! It is these who led us astray, so give them double the punishment of the fire”; He will say, “For each one is double – but you do not know.
7 . Al-A’raf : 38
قالوا ربنا من قدم لنا هذا فزده عذابا ضعفا في النار
ص – 61
They say, “Our Lord! Whoever has brought this calamity upon us – at least – double the punishment of the fire for him!
36 . Sad – 61
.
But according to a Quranic rule, when a number of verses are unknown, from known symmetry verses; the actual meaning of the unknown verses will be discovered. So in ths case there is only one single verse which should be as the criterion and reference to definition the “double punishment”:
.
ولولا أن ثبتناك لقد كدت تركن إليهم شيئا قليلا إذا لأذقناك ضعف الحياة و ضعف الممات ثم لا تجد لك علينا نصيرا
الاسراء – 74 ؛ 75
And had We not kept you steadfast, possibly you might have inclined to them just a little. And if it were, We would then have made you to experience – at least – a double lives and – at least – a double death . You would then not find any supporter against Us.
17 – Al-Isra-74 , 75
.
In other words:
.
عذابا ضعفا من النار = ضعف الحیاه و ضعف الممات
Likewise these symmetrical verses reveal that the cycle of death and life itself is the punishment:
.
قالوا ربنا امتنا اثنتین و احییتنا اثنتین فاعترفنا بذنوبنا فهل الی خروج من سبیل
المومن – 11
و تری الظالمین لما راوا العذاب یقولون هل الی مرد من سبیل
الشوری – 44
.
So the word “Sabil- سبیل” indicates to the “Cycle of death and life as Punishment”. In other words the very cycle of death and life is the punishment:
.
امتنا اثنتین و احییتنا اثنتین = العذاب
ضعف الحیاه و ضعف الممات = عذابا ضعفا من النار
.
If the word Zaif-ضعف means “double“, then the form Zaifin-ضعفین should mean “double on double” which indicates multipolicy . So in those contexts it just shows simply an increase:
.
كمثل جنة بربوة أصابها وابل فآتت أكلها ضعفين
البقره – 265
Like a garden on elevated ground. When heavy rain falls on it, it doubles its produce.
2. Al-Bagharah – 265
ربنا آتهم ضعفين من العذاب
الاحزاب – 68
Our Lord, give them double punishment.
33. Al-Ahzab – 68
.
Misinterpretation of commentators
.
قالوا ربنا أمتنا اثنتين و أحييتنا اثنتين فاعترفنا بذنوبنا فهل إلى خروج من سبيل
غافر – 11
They said, “O Our Lord! You made us die twice and You made us live twice. Now we confess to our sins. So is there any way out of it?
40. Ghafir – 11
.
Some commentators have said that the first time of dying means the end of the earthly life whereas the second death refers to the death in the SPIRIT WORLD or عالم البرزخ . Because DEATH means to leave a place for somewhere else. In other words by dying we will to be TRANSFERRED. So because the spirits will leave the spirit world and be transferred to the final destination, الاخره , whatever it might be, that is considered as the second death.
.
The problem is such a definition of death-الموت in the Quran is FAKE! Firstly because in the Quran, leaving the spirit world has been used by the word Kharaj-خرج means OUT. Secondly according to the Quran our death will constantly takes place on Earth:
.
قال اهبطوا بعضكم لبعض عدو و لكم في الأرض مستقر و متاع إلى حين قال فيها تحيون و فيها تموتون و منها تخرجون…يا بني آدم لا يفتننكم الشيطان كما أخرج أبويكم من الجنة
الاعراف – 24 الی 27
He said, Go down as enemies to each other. For a while, there is an abode for you and a provision on earth. There you will live; there you will die; from there you will be raised up again…O, children of Adam! Let not Satan tempt you as he brought your parents out of Heaven.
6. Al-Aaraf – 24 , 25
.
So the commentators don’t have any Quranic reason for their claim and therefore they cannot prove it. That is only a fabricated meaning to escape the idea of reincarnation in the Quran. You just cannot call the transmission from one place/state to another within the spirit world in general or whatever it might be outside this material world, as the meaning of death-الموت in the Quranic philosophy and language!
.
Any death means a transmission but any transmission does NOT mean death!
.
They also claim that the disbelievers rejected the death in the spirit world عالم البرزخ , which is supposed to be their next death, in these verses:
.
إن هؤلاء ليقولون ان هي إلا موتتنا الأولى و ما نحن بمنشرين فأتوا بآبائنا إن كنتم صادقين
الدخان – 34 , 35 , 36
They are keep saying that there will eventually be our first and only death, and we will not return to this Earthly life (again) . If you are honest, then bring back our forefathers!
44 . Ad-Dukhan – 34,35,36
.
Even here they don’t have any Quranic reason to prove their claim. On the contrary such a claim has serious problems in the Quran.
.
Firstly because there is not even one single verse which is clearly mentioned the death الموت in the spirit world عالم البرزخ . Then how could the disbelievers reject something that the Quran has never brought it up?!
.
Secondly those ideas which were unacceptable to the disbelievers were:1) The idea of LIFE after their physical death, which was CLOSE to them. 2) The idea of RETURNING to this Earthly life in a new physical body, as we see in the same verses:
.
و ما نحن بمنشرين فأتوا بآبائنا إن كنتم صادقين
الدخان – 35 , 36
And we will not return to this Earthly life (again) . If you are honest, then bring forth our forefathers!
44 . Ad-Dukhan – 35,36
.
Then why should the disbelievers be concerned with leaving the SPIRIT WORLD which is supposed to takes place a MILLION YEARS after their death in this MATERIAL WORLD?! That sounds ridiculous!
.
Thirdly according to those verses the disbelievers are ALWAYS keep talking لیقولون about their rejection. But have you ever heard or read, that the disbelievers would care about the idea of dying in the SPIRIT world?! Not even one single example you can find such a nonsense! Then why should the Quran bring up something which has NEVER EVER happened?!
.
Death in the Spirit World
.
The word الموت or Death, can not be used for the transference in the spirit world because it requires physical body in the Arabic Quran. The following verses show that you can not die without LEAVING your BODY! A body which will be remained as dead body or المیت .
,
و ما جعلنا لبشرمن قبلك الخلد أفإن مت فهم الخالدون كل نفس ذائقة الموت
الانبیاء – 34 , 35
And we did not make immortality for humans before you. Then how could you die, but they will be immortal? Every single soul will test the death.
21 . Al-Anbiya – 34 , 35
الله يتوفى الأنفس حين موتها و التي لم تمت في منامها فيمسك التي قضى عليها الموت و يرسل الأخرى إلى أجل مسمى
الزمر – 42
God gathers up the spirits of those who die, and of those who do not die, in their sleep; then He keeps back those ordained for death, and sends the others back for an appointed term.
39 . Az-Zumar-42
.
That’s why on the contrary to the claim of the commentators, in the Quran the transference from the spirit world in general, is always stated often by the word “خرج” or Out and never by the word “الموت” or Death.
.
يا بني آدم لا يفتننكم الشيطان كما أخرج أبويكم من الجنة
الاعراف – 27
Children of Adam! Let not Satan tempt you as he deported your parents from Heaven.
6. Al-Aaraf-27
إن المتقين في جنات و عيون ادخلوها بسلام آمنين…و ما هم منها بمخرجين
الحجر – 45 الی 48
Verily the pious shall be in the midst of paradise and springs of water. Enter in peace and protection. They are never be expelled from there.
15 . Al-Hijr – 45 to 48
و الذین کفروا لهم نار جهنم لایقضی علیهم فیموتوا و لایخفف عنهم من عذابها…ربنا أخرجنا نعمل صالحا غير الذي كنا نعمل
فاطر – 36 الی 37
Those who deny the truth shall remain in the fire of Hell. That is not going to end so that they die and leave the body for ever. And their punishment will not be eased…Our Lord, bring us forth, and we will do righteousness, other than what we have done.
35. Fatir-36 , 37
.
On the other hand a number of other commentators have given a more realistic interpretation based on the Shiite beliefs/doctrine المذهب الشيعة . Citing other verses of the Qur’an as well as the hadiths of the Ahl al-Bayt, اهل البیت they say that both the first death and the second death; are the end of the TWO EARTHLY LIVES. According to the Shiite doctrine of Returning الرجعه some verses in the Quran reveal clearly the idea of Returning of dead people to this Earthly life. And this would naturally leads to their another death. Here is one example:
.
الم تر الی الذین خرجوا من دیار هم و هم الوف حذر الموت فقال لهم الله موتوا ثم احیاهم ان الله لذو فضل علی الناس و لکن اکثر الناس لایشکرون
البقره – 243
Didn’t you know that thousands of people who left their homes for fear of death? Later they died on God’s command. Afterwards He gave them to life. Surely God is the Source of munificence and generosity to ALL PEOPLE though most people not being grateful.
2.Al-Bagharah – 243
.
Also some hadiths in Shiite doctrine support that idea:
.
قال الإمام الصادق علیه السلام
و الله لاتذهب الأیام و اللیالی حتی یحیی الله الموتی و یمیت الأحیاء و یرد الحق إلی أهله
الکافی، ج۳، ص۵۳۸ ؛ التهذیب، ج۱، ص۳۷۶
Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said:
By God, days and nights do not pass until God revives the dead, and cause those alive to die, and returns the right to its people.
.
الإمام الباقر عليه السلام : من قتل لابد أن يرجع إلى الدنيا حتی يذوق الموت
(بصائر الدرجات، بحار الأنوار)
Imam al-Baqir, peace be upon him: He who has been murdered must return to this world to taste the natural death.
.
سُئِلَ الامام الصّادق (علیه السلام) عَنْ تَفْسِیرِ– رَبَّنا أَمَتَّنَا اثْنَتَیْنِ وَ أَحْیَیْتَنَا اثْنَتَیْنِ إِلَی قَوْلِهِ مِنْ سَبِیلٍ…قَالَ الصَّادِقُ (علیه السلام): ذَلِکَ فِی الرَّجْعَهًْ
تفسیر اهل بیت علیهم السلام ج۱۳، ص۳۷۰
بحارالأنوار، ج۵۳، ص۵۶/ القمی، ج۲، ص۲۵۵/ نورالثقلین/ البرهان
Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about the interpretation of the verse: أَمَتَّنَا اثْنَتَیْنِ (40 . Ghafir-11) . He answered: That will happened in the Returning (to this Earthly life) .
.
سُئِلَ الامام الرِّضَا (علیه السلام) عَنْ تَفْسِیرِ أَمَتَّنَا اثْنَتَیْنِ…قَالَ الرّضا (علیه السلام)
وَ اللَّهِ مَا هَذِهِ الْآیَهًُْ إِلَّا فِی الْکَرَّهًِْ
تفسیر اهل بیت علیهم السلام ج۱۳، ص۳۷۰
بحارالأنوار، ج۵۳، ص۱۴۴
Imam-Reza (peace be upon him) was asked about the interpretation of the verse: أَمَتَّنَا اثْنَتَیْنِ (40 . Ghafir-11) . He answered said: By God, this verse is only about the Returning (to this Earthly life) .
.
However the problem of many Shiite commentators (but not all of them) is that, firstly they do not consider the concept of Returning as a general law for all human beings. Because of a misinterpretation of the hadiths they suggested that only those pure believers and those pure disbelievers will return to this Earthly life prior to the end of this material world! Secondly Returning does not take place through “Rebirth from the mother’s womb”.
.
The actual meaning of Nashr
.
The word Nashr-نشر means growth, expansion, spread, increase, duplication, dispersed everywhere.
.
يخرج الحي من الميت و يخرج الميت من الحي و يحيي الأرض بعد موتها و كذلك تخرجون و من آياته أن خلقكم من تراب ثم إذا أنتم بشر تنتشرون
الروم – 19, 20
He brings forth the living from the dead, and brings forth the dead from the living, and He revives earth after its death; and this how you will be brought forth. And among His signs is that He created you from dust, afterwards you are increasing in population as human beings.
.
As long as it is about living entities, the word “Nashr-نشر” is related to the “physical body” made from Earth. For instance the growth of vegetables on the landscapes:
.
و الذي نـزل من السماء ماء بقدر فأنشرنا به بلدة ميتا كذلك تخرجون
الزخرف – 11
And it is He Who sent down out of the sky some water. So We cultivated/grew thereby a dead landscape. (made it live) Likewise you shall be brought forth.
.
On the other hand there are two words for “human being” in the Quran: Insan-انسان which includes its all aspects and Bashar –بشر which refers specifically to the “physical body” of human being. In the first verses above, the two words “Bashar-بشر” and “Nashr-نشر” have been used together: بشر تنتشرون which means Nashr of people takes place through physical body”. A body which has been created from dust according the same verses: خلقکم من تراب . That means Nashr-نشر and Bashar-بشر /the physical body are IDENTICAL. In other words Nashr-نشر cannot take place without Bashar-بشر /physical body.
.
The word تنتشرون simply means “Reproduction” which is the biological process by which new individual organisms – “offspring” – are produced from their “parent” or parents. So these two verses are symmetrical to each other:
.
و من آياته أن خلقكم من تراب ثم إذا أنتم بشر تنتشرون
الروم – 20
And among His signs is that He created you from dust, afterwards you are increasing in population as human beings.
30 . Ar-Room – 20
هو الذي خلقكم من تراب ثم من نطفة ثم من علقة ثم يخرجكم طفلا
غافر – 67
It is He who created you from dust, then a drop of semen, then the embryo; afterwards He brings you forth as a child.
40 . Ghafir – 67
.
The result is:
.
بشر تنتشرون = یخرجکم طفلا
.
Now the Quran uses the same word Nashr-نشر as another name for bringing to the life again after death:
.
و الله الذي أرسل الرياح فتثير سحابا فسقناه إلى بلد ميت فأحيينا به الأرض بعد موتها كذلك النشور
فاطر – 9
And it is God Who sent the winds – so they raise clouds and We then drive it towards a dead land – so with it We revived the land after its death. Likewise is the Uprising.
35. Fatir – 9
من أي شيء خلقه من نطفة خلقه فقدره ثم السبيل يسره ثم أماته فأقبره ثم إذا شاء أنشره
عبس – 18-22
Of what did He create him? Of a sperm-drop He created him, and determined him, then the way eased for him, then makes him to die, and buries him, then, when He wills, He brings him to life again.
80 . Abasa – 18 to 22
يخرجون من الأجداث كأنهم جراد منتشر
القمر – 7
They shall come forth from the places as if they were expanded grasshoppers.
54 . The Moon – 7
.
Nashr نشر as one single concept
.
So Nashr-نشر in the Quran is not a WORD which has two different meanings, but rather is ONE SIGLE CONCEPT. A concept cannot have different meanings, qualities and usages. That is more clear in the following verses which I have put them together to get a broader picture:
.
يخرج الحي من الميت و يخرج الميت من الحي و يحيي الأرض بعد موتها و كذلك تخرجون و من آياته أن خلقكم من تراب ثم إذا أنتم بشر تنتشرون…إن هي إلا موتتنا الأولى و ما نحن بمنشرين فأتوا بآبائنا إن كنتم صادقين
الروم – 19, 20
الدخان – 35 , 36
He brings forth the living from the dead, and brings forth the dead from the living, and He revives earth after its death; and likewise you will be brought forth. And among His signs is that He created you from dust, afterwards you are expanding…Indeed these disbelievers keep saying; eventually there will be our first and only death, and we will not be expanded (again) . Then bring back our forefathers, if you are honest!
30 . Ar-Room – 19, 20
44 . Ad-Dukhan – 35 , 36
.
In other words:
.
تنتشرون = بمنشرین = Birth of Bashar بشر or Physical bodies
.
And that is of crucial discovery which means the CYCLE of NASHR or the physical bodies! That is confirmed by the last part of verses in which the disbelievers ask for bringing back their dead forefathers. Obviously they were asking for their physical bodies.
.
و ما نحن بمنشرين فأتوا بآبائنا إن كنتم صادقين
And we will not be expanded . Then bring back our forefathers, if you are honest!
.
So there is no Nashr نشر without Bashar بشر /Physical body on Earth!
.
.
One Important Question
One Great Discovery
.
As we know the following words are of the disbelievers:
.
إن هي إلا موتتنا الأولى و ما نحن بمنشرين
We will die only once and we will not be expanded.
.
But could the believers of the highest level say the opposite? Like this:
.
إن هي إلا موتتنا الأولى و نحن بمنشرين
.
We will die only once and we will be expanded.
.
The answer is definitely NOT ! Firstly because according to the Quran those believers of the highest level will never leave the highest heaven. Secondly after reaching the highest heaven, they would never again die simply because the highest heaven is the “State of Immortality”! Thirdly the Nashr-نشر is a NEGATIVE concept and has a negative tone in the Quran which is EXCLUSIVE for those who commit wrongdoings.
.
إن المتقين في جنات و عيون ادخلوها بسلام آمنين…و ما هم منها بمخرجين…لا يذوقون فيها الموت إلا الموت الأولى
الحجر – 45 الی 48
الدخان – 56
Verily the pious shall be in the midst of paradise and springs of water. Enter in peace and protection. They are never be expelled from there…After their previous death, in that state, they will never experience death anymore.
15 . Al-Hijr – 45 to 48
44. Ad-Dukhan-56
أفما نحن بميتين إلا موتتنا الأولى و ما نحن بمعذبين
الصافات – 58 , 59
Don’t we die anymore? Was it our last death? And we will not be suffering?!
37 . As-Saffat – 58 , 59
.
The result is: Contrary to the famous and popular belief in the entire history of Islam; Nashr-نشر is NOT for all human beings in general, but rather only those who commit wrongdoings have to experience the Nashr-نشر . And this is a GREAT discovery.
.
The difference between
Hashr and Nashr
.
In Islamic philosophy, the two terms “Hashr-حشر” and “Nashr-نشر” come together. It is believed that the they are two stages of the Uprising of the dead. But the difference is not so clear. It has been said that Hashr-حشر means the very returning of the dead and Nashr-نشر means their expansion.
.
However I have a different understanding. There are some important differences between them two:
.
1 – Hashr-حشر is general but Nashr-نشر is specific . In other words, unlike the Hashr-حشر which includes all human beings; whether they are good or bad people, the Nashr-نشر is exclusive to the sinners and wrongdoers. That’s why unlike the Hashr-حشر , the Quran makes Nashr-نشر conditional:
.
من أي شيء خلقه من نطفة خلقه فقدره ثم السبيل يسره ثم أماته فأقبره ثم إذا شاء أنشره
عبس – 18-22
Of what did He create him? Of semen He created man, and determined him, then the way eased for him, then makes him to die, and buries him, then, whenever He WANTS, He raises (Nashr) him.
80 . Abasa – 18 to 22
.
2 – Hashr-حشر in case of the believers in the highest level means “Returning to Heaven”, while Nashr-نشر in the case of the disbelievers and wrongdoers means “Returning to Earth”. In other words they move in opposite directions to each others.
.
3 – Hashr-حشر and Nashr-نشر are the same in the case of the disbelievers and wrongdoers. The difference is the Nashr-نشر means the returning to the “Bashr-بشر” or “Earthly body” while the Hashr-حشر refers to the conditions and qualities of Nashr-نشر .
.
Death + Nashr
النشر + الموت
.
That is of crucial importance that there is a direct connection between “Death-موت” and “Nashr-نشر“. That’s why the two phrases “موتتنا الاولی” and the “بمنشرین” have come together in the verse. Because the “Nashr-نشر” is exclusively refers to the physical body or Bashr-بشر which necessarily leads to the death.
.
Down here I put these three related verses together to get a clearer picture of the mutual connection between Death-موت and Nashr-نشر:
.
و من آياته أن خلقكم من تراب ثم إذا أنتم بشر تنتشرون…ثم أماته فأقبره ثم إذا شاء أنشره…ان هي إلا موتتنا الأولى و ما نحن بمنشرين فأتوا بآبائنا إن كنتم صادقين
الروم – 20
عبس – 22
الدخان – 35
And among His signs is that He created you from dust, afterwards you are expanding as human beings…Afterwards He caused him to die and buried him, afterwards if He wants to bring him to life again…At the end there will be our first and only death, and we are not be expanded (again), so bring our forefathers if you are truthful.
.
Therefore there is a mutual connection between موتتنا الاولی or “our first and only death”, and بمنشرین ,which indicates clearly to the next life with a new physical body or بشر as well as its coming death in the Quran. But we can even see it in the hadiths as well. Here is one the many hadiths about the same issue:
.
الإمام الباقر (عليه السلام)
إنه من قتل ينشر حتى يموت و من مات ينشر حتى يقتل
(نور الثقلین 1/ 403)
Whoever is murdered, will be nashred – to earthly life – in order to die naturally, and whoever has died naturally, will also be nashred to be murdered.
.
Also the following verse makes it clear that there is a direct connection between death-موت and physical body-بشر
.
و ما جعلنا لبشر من قبلك الخلد أفإن مت فهم الخالدون
الأنبياء: 34
We have given no man immortal before you. How can you die, but they will be immortal?
21. Anbiya-34
.
So in the Quran “Death-موت” can only happen to the “Bashar-بشر” or the “physical body“.
.
Many deaths
.
و من ورائه جهنم…و یاتیه الموت من کل مکان و ما هو بمیّت و من ورائه عذاب غلیظ
ابراهیم – 16 , 17
He will face Hell…and death will reach him from all sides, yet he will not pass away for ever. And he will face the heavy punishment .
14 . Abraham – 16 , 17
.
The phrase “from all sides death will approach him” could be about many deaths due to different reasons man experiences in many lives on Earth. There is an important difference between dead by emphasizing اَلمَیّت and dead by mitigation اَلمَيْتٍ . The word dead with اَلمَيْتٍ means the lifeless body, while the word dead with اَلمَیّت means the spirit that has left the physical body . In other words the latter one is the other side of the life or a bodyless life!
.
بمَیّت = Physical body
.
Now in the context of the verses above the word dead with بمَیّت means that he has a PHYSICAL BODY but his spirit doesn’t leave it . Now how can someone has a physical body in Hell in the SPIRIT WORLD?! The only explanation is that it must be here in the PHYSICAL WORLD.
.
So the بمَیّت indicates the last death by which the spirit would be liberated from the physical body for ever and therefore no other death will be experienced anymore as it is in the case of the believers:
.
أفما نحن بمیّتین إلا موتتنا الأولى و ما نحن بمعذبين إن هذا لهو الفوز العظيم
الصافات – 58 , 59 , 60
Will we not experience death anymore except our previous death? And we will not suffer anymore? This is indeed the Great Victory!
37. As-Saffat – 58,59.60
.
However when that will not take place then that means the cycle of the deaths will not come to its end either. In other words he will continue facing many deaths:
.
و الذين كفروا لهم نار جهنم لا يقضى عليهم فيموتوا و لایخفف عنهم من عذابها
فاطر – 36
Those who deny the truth shall remain in the fire of Hell. That is not going to end so that they die and leave the body for ever. And their punishment will not be eased.
35. Fatir-36
.
الله يتوفى الأنفس حين موتها و التي لم تمت في منامها فيمسك التي قضى عليها الموت و يرسل الأخرى إلى أجل مسمى
الزمر – 42
God gathers up the spirits of those who die, and of those who do not die, in their sleep; then He keeps back those ordained for death, and sends the others back for an appointed term.
39 . Az-Zumar-42
.
فلما قضينا عليه الموت ما دلهم على موته إلا دابة الأرض تأكل منسأته
سبأ: 14
When We decreed his death, none but the weevil, that was eating away his staff, pointed out to them that he was dead.
34. Saba – 14
.
.
Two Opposite kinds of deathlessness
.
By putting the following verses together, we can get a clear understanding. The first line is about the most impure disbelievers in Hell and the second line is about the purest believers in Heaven:
.
و یاتیه الموت من کل مکان و ما هو بمیّت من ورائه عذاب
ابراهیم – 17
أفما نحن بمیّتین إلا موتتنا الأولى و ما نحن بمعذبين
الصافات – 58 , 59
.
Those with red color are common and known for us, while those with blue color are unknown and different . However the first result gives us a clear meaning of those two blue phrases which I prefer to show them in this way:
.
یاتیه الموت من کل مکان = موتتنا الأولى
.
Because these two phrases define and explain the INNER meaning of each others.
.
The second result shows that بمیّت/بمیّتین or the death in both those verses is the death of the physical body on Earth by which the spirit leaves the physical body:
.
و ما هو بمیّت = أفما نحن بمیّتین
.
إنك ميّت و إنهم ميّتون ثم إنكم يوم القيامة عند ربكم تختصمون
الزمر – 30 , 31
.
So the high level believers will enjoy the immortality while the disbelievers on the contrary will suffer of not experiencing the last death by which the soul would get the liberation from the painful cycle of deaths and live an immortal life:
.
إنه من يأت ربه مجرما فإن له جهنم لايموت فيها و لايحيی
طه – 74
Indeed whoever has commit crime to his Lord – so undoubtedly for him will be Hell; there he neither will be liberated from the physical body (the final death), nor live a spiritual life .
20 . Taha – 74
.
.
The Actual Meaning
of the Khold-خلد
.
One of the most interesting and important subjects which has to be clarified is the concept of the “Khold-خلد” or “forever“. According to the Quran both the most impure people in HELL and the purest in HEAVEN will be in their conditions, “forever”:
,
بلى من كسب سيئة و أحاطت به خطيئته فأولئك أصحاب النار هم فيها خالدون و الذين آمنوا و عملوا الصالحات أولئك أصحاب الجنة هم فيها خالدون
البقره – 81 , 82
Of course the one who earns evil and is encompassed by his sin; he is from the people of Fire (Hell); they will remain in it forever. And those who believe and do good deeds – they are the People of Heaven/Paradise; they will abide in it forever.
2 . Al-Bagharah-81. 82
.
But what is the actual meaning of the “forever” in the Quran? The following verse gives us a crucial insight.
و ما جعلنا لبشر من قبلك الخلد أفإن مت فهم الخالدون
الانبیاء – 34
21. Al-Anbiya – 34
.
The verse above shows clearly that “خلد” means “Immortality” or “deathlessness” . That is confirmed by the following verses which are describing the “deathlessness” of the purest believers:
.
إن المتقين في مقام أمين…لايذوقون فيها الموت إلا الموتة الأولى
الدخان -51-56
The purest are in a condition of safe and security…They will not experience death anymore in such a condition after having died before.
44. Ad-Dukhan – 51 until 56
.
The adverb/pronoun “فیها” refers to the “فی مقام امین” or “in a condition of safe and security”. And the whole “لايذوقون فيها الموت” means the “stage of Immortality or deathlessness”. In other words “Khold-خلد” means “No death anymore“
.
However it doesn’t mean that right in HEAVEN they won’t die, but rather they will not FALL DOWN from the spiritual level of Heaven to the physical level of Earth which is the level of the death. In other words it is only on the quality of the PHYSICAL LIFE that man experiences the DEATH. So if those believers in Heaven would die, they have to fall down to Earth and take the physical body first, in order to LEAVE that body later . In other words they need a body to die and get separated from it.
.
Suppose the believers would to leave Heaven. So where do they go? There is no other place to move than to fall down towards Earth! Because either you are in Heaven or on Earth. You don’t have a third option to move there! That was the case of Adam and Eve:
.
قال اهبطوا بعضكم لبعض عدو و لكم في الأرض مستقر و متاع إلى حين قال فيها تحيون و فيها تموتون و منها تخرجون
الاعراف – 24 , 25
He said, Go down as enemies to each other. For a while, there is an abode for you and a provision on earth. There you will live; there you will die; from there you will be raised up again
7 . Al-A’raf – 2 , 25
.
Notice that there is a difference between “فیها تموتون” and “تموتون فیها“. The first one emphasizes that it is – only – on Earth we will die.
.
Now we can have a clear understanding of these verses which are about those criminal people who will be remained in the cycle of deaths so long as the whole universe exists. Unless God wills something else.
.
فـأما الـذين شَـقـوا ففي الـنار لهـم فيـها زفـير و شهـيق خالـدين فـيها ما دامـت السـموات و الأرض إلاّ ما شـاء ربـك إن ربـك فعـال لـما يـريد و أما الذين سعدوا ففي الجنة خالدين فيها ما دامت السموات و الأرض إلا ما شاء ربك عطاء غير مجذوذ
هود – 106 الی 108
So those who are ill-fated, are in the fire – they will bray like donkeys in it. Remaining in it as long as the heavens and earth remain, except as much as your Lord willed*; indeed your Lord may do whatever, whenever, He wills.
11. Hud – 106 to 108
.
Likewise those who are fortunate will be remain in deathlessness unless God gives other blessings.
.
Now we get a clearer picture of the concept of the “Khold-خلد” which has been emphasized many times throughout the Quran. If death would be only once, based on the law of nature/creation, then it would be meaningless and even wrong to emphasize the “deathlessness” as a great victory and reward for the purest believers throughout the Quran. Because they don’t have any other CHOICE! How could they celebrate something they didn’t have free will to gain it?
.
Great hadith of Muhammad
.
عن أبي سعيد الخدري قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم
.
إذا دخل أهل الجنة الجنة و أهل النار النار – يجاء يوم القيامةبالموت كأنه كبش أملح ، فيوقف بين الجنة و النار فيقال: يا أهل الجنة هل تعرفون من هذا؟ فيشرئبون فينظرون فيقولون: نعم هذا الموت قال: و يقال: يا أهل النار هل تعرفون هذا؟ قال: فيشرئبون و ينظرون فيقولون: نعم هذا الموت. قال: فيؤمر به فيذبح قال: ثم يقال
يا أهل الجنة خلود فلا موت و يا أهل النار خلود فلا موت…خلود فيما تجدون لا موت فيه أبدا…کل خالد فیما هو فیه
ثم قرأ رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم و أنذرهم يوم الحسرة إذ قضي الأمر و هم في غفلة و هم لا يؤمنون [مريم: 39] و أشار بيده إلى الدنيا
.
.
Translation
.
On the authority of Abu Saeed Al-Khudri, who said: The Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said:
.
If the people of Paradise enter Paradise and the people of Hell fire – death will come on the Day of Resurrection as if it were a saltier ram, and it would be stopped between Paradise and Hell, and it would be said: O people of Paradise, do you know who this is? So they drink and look and say: Yes, this is death. He said: And it will be said: O people of Hell, do you know this? He said: So they drink and look and say: Yes, this is death. He said: Then he will be commanded and slaughtered. He said: Then it will be said:
.
O people of Paradise, Be in Eternity, Without Death, and O people of Hell, Be in Eternity, Without Death…Eternity in what you find there will never be death in it…Everyone is immortal in what he is in it.
.
Then the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, recited the following verse:
.
And warn them of the Day of Regret when the matter will have been decided; and they are in neglect, and they do not accept faith.
19. Maryam: 39
.
And he pointed with his hand to the material world.
.
The Two Opposite directions of
Kholood-خلود
In order to understand the hadith I would like to draw this analogy; in this context DEATH is like a LADDER that the people of Hell are at the feet or bottom of the ladder which is Earth and the people of Heaven are at the top of the ladder which is the Sky/Heaven. Now once this “Ladder of Death” is removed, neither the people of Heaven will be able to come down to Earth and later to experience death again, nor the people of Hell will experience their last death in order to move up to Heaven forever. In other words neither the people of Heaven experience death once again nor the people of Hell will experience the liberating death simply because you can’t stop the cycle of deaths without being dead!
.
There is a similar hadith among Shiite Muslims, and I will mention one of the most important hadiths from Ahl al-Bayt (which refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad):
.
لحسين بن سعيد أو النوادر: النضر بن سويد، عن درست، عن أبي المغرا، عن أبي بصير قال: لا أعلمه ذكره إلا عن أبي جعفر (الامام محمد الباقر) عليه السلام قال: إذا أدخل الله أهل الجنة الجنة و أهل النار النار جئ بالموت في صورة كبش حتى يوقف بين الجنة و النار، قال: ثم ينادي مناد يسمع أهل الدارين جميعا: يا أهل الجنة يا أهل النار، فإذا سمعوا الصوت أقبلوا، قال فيقال لهم: أتدرون ما هذا؟
هذا هو الموت الذي كنتم تخافون منه في الدنيا
قال فيقول أهل الجنة: اللهم لا تدخل الموت علينا، قال: و يقول أهل النار اللهم أدخل الموت علينا، قال ثم يذبح كما تذبح الشاة، قال: ثم ينادي مناد
لا موت أبدا، أيقنوا بالخلود، قال: فيفرح أهل الجنة فرحا لو كان أحد يومئذ يموت من فرح لماتوا، قال ثم قرأ هذه الآية
أفما نحن بميتين إلا موتتنا الأولى و ما نحن بمعذبين إن هذا لهو الفوز العظيم لمثل هذا فليعمل العاملون
قال: و يشهق أهل النار شهقة لو كان أحد يموت من شهيق لماتوا، و هو قول الله عز و جل
و أنذرهم يوم الحسرة إذ قضي الامر
جلد ۸ الصفحه بحار الانوار ۳۴۵
.
The hadith above reveals important points. The first point is by death means the EARTHLY DEATH . So the believers in Heaven are happy to not experience the EARTHLY DEATH anymore . A death which requires to be returned to the EARTHLY LIFE .
.
The second point is the Voice tells the believers that they will not die anymore (abada-ابدا). That indicates to the experience of many deaths on Earth before. And that is the actual meaning of the “Kholood-خلود“. In other words the “deathlessness”! The third point is the hadith refers to the following verses which give us the correct interpretation and understanding of them:
.
أفما نحن بمیّتین إلا موتتنا الأولى و ما نحن بمعذبين إن هذا لهو الفوز العظيم لمثل هذا فليعمل العاملون
الصافات – 58 الی 61
Will we not experience death (on Earth) anymore except our last earthly death? And we will not suffer anymore? This is indeed the Great Victory! For such an example, everyone should strive.
37. As-Saffat – 58 to 61
.
Remember that the word “بمیّتین” means PHYSICAL DEATH by which the spirit leaves the physical body.
.
كل نفس ذائقة الموت ثم إلينا ترجعون و الذين آمنوا و عملوا الصالحات لنبوئنهم من الجنة غرفا تجري من تحتها الأنهار خالدين فيها نعم أجر العاملین
العنکبوت – 57 , 58
یوم الخلود و یوم الخروج
.
There are two concepts in the Quran :
.
The “Time of Kholood-خلود” which means “No death anymore”.
The “Time of Khorooj- خروج” which means “Re-birth”.
.
As we see in the following verses these two concepts are opposite to each others:
.
و أزلفت الجنة للمتقين غير بعيد هذا ما توعدون لكل أواب حفيظ من خشي الرحمن بالغيب و جاء بقلب منيب ادخلوها بسلام ذلک یوم الخلود…و استمع يوم ينادي المناد من مكان قريب يوم يسمعون الصيحة بالحق
ذلك يوم الخروج إنا نحن نحيي و نميت و إلينا المصير يوم تشقق الأرض عنهم سراعا ذلك حشر علینا یسیر
ق – 31 الی 44
And Paradise will be brought close to the pious, not far away from them. This is what has been promised for everyone who turn to God and strongly keep Him in mind, who fears the Compassionate One, though He is unseen, and comes to Him with a penitent heart. So enter there in peace; this is the Day of Deathlessness or No death anymore…And listen thou for the day when the caller shall call from a near place. The day they actually hear the blast, will be the Day of Rising of the dead or No birth anymore. We are the one who give life and death, and to Us will be the destination. The day the Earth will split asunder they will come out hurriedly. That Hashr (Returning) is easy for Us.
50 . Qaf – 31 t0 44
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Because without death there will be no birth . Likewise without birth there will be no death.
.
عذاب الجحیم
The Cycle of Suffering and Burning!
.
The two following verses show that the Cycle of Death and Life is a painful and suffering cycle . However this cycle will ended once we have reached a certain spiritual development. That’s why the Quran says about those pious المتقین (Al-Mottaghin) that they will not experience death anymore and therefore will be saved from suffering and burning عذاب الجحیم (Azabol-Jahim) after their last experience of death:
.
ان المتقین فی مقام امین…لا يذوقون فيها الموت إلا الموتة الأولى و وقاهم عذاب الجحيم فضلا من ربك ذلك هو الفوز العظيم
الدخان -51-57
The purest are in a condition of safe and security …They will not experience death anymore in such a condition after having died before. So the Lord has saved them from suffering of the Burning Fire. That is the munificence of your Lord; this is the Great Victory.
44. Ad-Dukhan – 51 until 57
.
أفما نحن بمیّتین إلا موتتنا الأولى و ما نحن بمعذبين إن هذا لهو الفوز العظيم
الصافات – 58 , 59 , 60
Will we not experience death anymore except our previous death? And we will not suffer anymore? This is indeed the Great Victory!
37. As-Saffat – 58,59.60
.
Now the question is why the Quran has used the word الجحیم (Al-Jahim) instead of جهنم (Jahan’nam) ?
.
The difference between الجحیم and جهنم
.
The word جهنم (Jahan’nam) is general and vague. That’s why the word has always come without definite article (Al) in the Quran which means it is about any kind of suffering either the disbelievers are in the material world or in the spirit world. The following verse makes it clear that جهنم (Jahan’nam) surrounds the disbelievers from all directions and in any conditions:
.
و ان جهنم لمحیط بالکافرین
التوبه – 49
And Hell will enclose the disbelievers from all sides.
9 . At-Tawba – 49
.
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So the word جهنم (Jahan’nam) is referring to the suffering itself. Whereas الجحیم (Al-Jahim) with definite article (Al) is specific and known which seems is about sufferings in this world and/or in the Cycle of the Death and Birth as well . For instance in the following verse the Quran uses the word الجحیم (Al-Jahim) for punishing and torturing the prophet Abraham in this material world:
.
قالوا ابنوا له بنيانا فألقوه في الجحيم
الصافات – 97
They said, Construct for him a furnace and throw him into the burning fire. 1
37. As-Saffat – 97
.
FootNote
.
1 – There are also other verses which in my mind indicate clearly that the word الجحیم (Al-Jahim) is the painful Cycle of Death and Birth. Like:
.
أئذا متنا و كنا ترابا و عظاما أئنا لمدينون قال هل أنتم مطلعون فاطلع فرآه في سواء الجحيم قال تالله إن كدت لتردين و لولا نعمة ربي لكنت من المحضرين أفما نحن بميتين إلا موتتنا الأولى و ما نحن بمعذبين إن هذا لهو الفوز العظيم
الصافات – 53 الی 60
That when we have died and become dust and bones, we will indeed be recompensed? He said, Would you look? And he looked and saw him in the midst of Hell. He said, “By Allah, you almost would ruin me! If not for the favor of my Lord, I would have been of those brought in . Then, are we not to die anymore after our previous death, and we will not suffer by punishment? Indeed, this is the Great Victory.
37. As-Saffat – 53 until 60
.
I recommend you to research those I have highlighted with blue color. And don’t forget you have to search and analyze them within the Quran itself ONLY!
.
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The End of Part 1
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Reza Asgharzadeh
Iran
rezaasgharzadeh@yahoo.com
Reincarnation ( التناسخ . التقمص ) in the Qur'an & Islam 