What can the living do to the rescue the dead person from punishment?

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful

Image Source

"To Allah belongs the intercession altogether. To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth:" (Surah Az-Zumar 39:44, The Holy Qur’an)

'The livings go on and the dead do not.'

A man is living in our midst. Suddenly death snatches him from us. We wail and wear black. We set up the funeral tents and so forth. In short, we do what is necessary. Then we forget him on the premise that 'The livings go on and the dead do not.' Or else we continue to remember him and abandon ourselves to our grief, living a life of constant anguish, claiming to be faithful to the dead. So our life is spent either in forgetfulness or grief. However, life is short. There is no time in it for either forgetfulness or grief. Real life does not consist of forgetfulness. Real fidelity is not to persist in grief.

Let us consider together how we can help the dead person. Who has left us. How can we support him in that severe trial? He is in fact in greater need of us than the living. He is now alone, buried in a grave inside the earth. The possibility of action is now finished for him. His subterfuges have come to an end. However, the benefit he can derive from actions which the living perform on his behalf have not come to an end, provided that Allah gives permission, since Allah said in His Mighty Book,

'Who will intercede with Him except by His permission?'  (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:255, The Holy Qur’an)

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,

'When a man dies, his actions cease except for three things: a sadaqa which goes on, knowledge which continues to benefit people or a righteous son who makes supplication for him.'

There are many things which the living can do to rescue the dead .They include supplication for them, asking forgiveness for them, acts of generosity, hajj, fasting and other sorts of worship. These can be attributed to the dead person with Allah's permission.

Even more important than all these is to settle the dead person's debts, whether that debt be financial or spiritual debts to other living persons or debts of worship owed to Allah the Great.

When someone who is alive intercedes for a dead person who is being punished, his punishment is halted, even if only for a time. When he intercedes for the person enjoying bliss, that person is raised a degree.

Ibn Abi’d-Dunya mentioned that one of his companions said, 'My brother died and I saw him in a dream. I said, "How was it when you were placed in your grave?" He replied, "Someone brought me a fiery flame and if it had not been that someone else made supplication for me, I think he would have hit me with it."

Bashar b. Ghalib said, ‘I saw Rabi’a, on whose behalf I used to make frequent supplication, in a dream. She said to me, "Bashar b. Ghalib! Your gifts have been brought to me on plates of light, covered in silken cloths." I asked, "How can that be?" She replied, "That is what the supplication of living believers is like. When they make supplication for a dead person, that supplication is answered for them on plates of light, veiled in silken cloths. Then they are brought to the dead person for whom the supplication was said and they are told, 'This is the gift of so-and-so to you.'

Hence A righteous son or a daughter is a true treasure for a man and profits him during his lifetime and after his death. Every father or mother should try as hard as they possibly can to bring up righteous children. Every son should try to obey his parents during their lifetime and after their death. It must be realised that a dead person knows what his living relatives and brothers are doing. It is said that a man in his grave delights in the righteousness of his children after him.

Courtesy of: An Abridgement of Ibn Al-Qayyim’s kitabur Ruh.

What you do in your dreams?

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful

Image: Dream

In sleep, the soul can also move freely about the world and meet with the souls of people who are still alive and gain knowledge from them. Some of what it learns is true and some false. The false part is the normal dream or the chatter of the soul.

If the sleeper is a liar and likes what is false, his soul still rises to heaven during sleep, moves freely about the world, meets with other souls and learns true information about the Unseen. However while the soul is returning to the body, it meets Shaytan in mid-air and he mixes the true with the false like he does when a person is awake. Then when he wakes up, the person is confused and muddled about what Allah the Mighty and Majestic has let him see and consequently does not understand it, only remembering what Shaytan showed him. Those are confused dreams.

In confirmation of these things, we will mention what Allah the Great has said in the sura, az-Zumar, ''Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and that which has not died, in its sleep. He withholds that against which He has decreed death, but looses the other until a stated term. "( Az-Zumar (39): 42)

In the sleeping state, the soul does not completely leave the body as it does in the case of death, but remains inside the body not leaving it to move freely through the heavens. We can liken it to a ray or a thread whose end remains connected to the body. The ray of this soul stretches out to the heavens and then returns again to the body when the sleeper wakes up. It is like the rays of the sun. The orb of the sun is in the heaven but its rays are on the earth. The two cases are not exactly the same, but it is a way of making the meaning clearer. In the case of death, the body remains in the ground while the soul is in the inter-space between the two worlds. An 'inter-space' is something which separates two things: heaven and earth, or this world and the Next World.  In other words, it is the period between death and resurrection. The bliss or punishment of the Inter-space is not the same as the bliss and punishment of the Next World. It is something that happens between this world and the Next World. Despite the fact that the soul is in the inter-space between the two worlds and the body is inside the earth, the' two are still connected.

Consequently, the bliss or punishment happens to both of them. We have likened this condition to the sleeping state, but naturally there is a distinction. In sleep, the soul subsists fundamentally in the body. It emerges as something like a ray to the heavens ·so that the sleeper has a dream in which he feels either happy or miserable. He experiences either bliss or punishment in his sleep.

In death, the soul subsists fundamentally in the Inter-space, not in the body. When Allah the Great desires bliss or punishment for the soul, He connects it to the body. It is in Heaven, but at the same time it looks at and is connected to the body in the ground. The soul is diffused in more than one place at the same time. The proof of this is that the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, saw Musa, peace and blessing be upon him, on the night of the Night Journey standing in prayer in his grave and he also saw him in the sixth and seventh heavens.

In spite of that, bliss or punishment happen at times to both' body and soul simultaneously. At other times, it happens only to the soul. The dead person can lose aware-ness for a time but then the bliss or punishment continues. That is dependent on the will of Allah the Great and dependent on a man's own actions.

One of the people of earlier times thought that if his body were burned to ashes and then some of the ashes were cast into the sea and some onto dry land on a very windy day, he would be saved from the punishment of the grave. He therefore told his children to do that. However Allah commanded the sea to collect together the ashes that had been thrown into it and the land to do likewise and then said, 'Get up!' and the man found himself standing before Allah. Allah questioned him, asking 'What made you do what you did?' He replied, 'I feared You,my Lord, but You are the one who knows best.' Because of that Allah forgave him.Doing that could not eliminate the punishment and the bliss of the Grave which affect those parts which no longer exist. If a righteous man were to be buried in a fiery furnace, his portion of bliss would still reach his soul and body and Allah would make the fire cool and peaceful for him. For the wrongdoer, the cool air becomes fire and hot wind. The elements and the matter of the universe obey their Lord, Originator and Creator. He makes them behave in whatever way He wills. None of them are able to do anything except what He wills. Everything obeys His will in humble sub-mission to His decree.

Courtesy of: An Abridgement of Ibn Al-Qayyim’s kitabur Ruh.

The Meaning and truth of death!

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful

Image: death

'Every soul will taste death"

(The Holy Quran 2:185)

What is death? Is it total annihilation? Or is it simply the severing of the soul from the body? When the soul is separated from the body, what happens to each of them? What happens to man himself, the owner of this transient body and eternal soul? Does his consciousness come to an end when his body dies? Or does his awareness continue to live on in his eternal soul? Do the dead feel enjoyment and pain the way the living do? Can the awareness of a living man whose soul is locked in his body compare with the awareness of a dead man whose soul has been released from his body?

Naturally the answer to this last question is, No! The living is aware and the dead are aware. But there is a difference and there is no way to compare them. Death is not pure annihilation. It is merely movement from one world to another. When the dead man feels the bliss or punishment of the grave, it does not mean that he is alive in his grave, needing food, clothes and so on. Nor does it mean that his soul permeates all the parts of his body as it did when he was in this world. The soul returns to the body again in a way which is not the same as in this world so that the dead man can be questioned and tested in the grave.

We can get some idea of this by likening death to sleep which is the 'lesser death', even though there is of course a natural disparity between the two. In sleep, a man's soul out though his nostrils and travels until it comes into the presence of the Lord of the Throne. If the sleeper is in a state of purity, his soul prostrates before its Creator. Then it may encounter the world of dreams or meet with the souls of people who have died, but what it is in fact faced with is a page of Allah’s knowledge of the Unseen containing the good or evil He has decreed for this particular human being. If the sleeper is truthful, generous, and pure, and someone who does not concern himself with stupid things during the time he is awake, then when his soul returns to him it conveys to his heart the truth of what Allah, the Great and Majestic, has let him see. When this happens, it is called a 'truthful dream'.

Courtesy of: An Abridgement of Ibn Al-Qayyim’s kitabur Ruh.

Deepest sorrow and regrets for the disbeliever's soul both in this world and life after death!

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

When an unbeliever is about to depart from this world and go forward into the Next World, angels with black faces descend from the heavens carrying rough hair- cloth and sit around him in throngs stretching as far as the eye can see. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits at his head and says, "Foul soul, come out to the wrath and anger of Allah!" Then his soul divides up in his body and it is dragged out like a skewer is pulled out of wet wool. Then the angel takes hold of it. When he has grasped it, the other angels do not leave it in his hand even for the twinkling of an eye. They take it and wrap it in the rough hair-cloth and a stench comes out of it like the worst stench of a corpse on the face of the earth.

'Then they take it up and whenever they take it past a company of angels, they ask, "Who is this foul soul?" and the angels with the soul reply, "So-and-so the son of so-and-so," using the worst names by which people used to call him in this world. They bring him to the lowest heaven and ask for the gate to be opened for him. It does not get opened.'

The Messenger of Allah, May Allah bless him and grant him peace, and then recited, 'The gates of heaven 'Will not be opened to them nor 'Will they enter the Garden until the camel passes through the eye of the needle.' 'Then Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will say, "Register his book in Sijjin in the lowest earth." Then his soul is flung down.'

The Prophet then recited, 'whoever associates any- thing with Allah, it is as though he has fallen from heaven and the birds snatch him away or the 'Wind sweeps him headlong into a place far away. ''Then his soul is returned to his body and two angels come and say to him, "Who is your Lord?" He replies, "Alas, alas, 1 do not know!"Then a voice calls from on high, "My slave has lied, so spread out carpets from the Fire for him and open a gate of the Fire for him!"Then a hot blast from it comes to him, his grave is made so narrow for him that his ribs are pressed together, and a man with a hideous face and clothing and a foul odour comes to him and says, "Grieve on account of what has brought you disgrace for this is the day which you were promised." He asks, "Who are you? Yours is a face which presages evil." He replies, "I am your bad actions."Then he says, "O Lord, do not let the .Last Hour come!"

Allah the Exalted says in His Mighty Book regarding the words used by the two angels who question the dead person in the grave, 'Allah confirms those who believe 'With the firm word, in the life of this world and in the Next World. Allah leads astray the wrongdoers, and Allah does whatever He 'Will. '

Courtesy of: An Abridgement of Ibn Al-Qayyim’s kitabur Ruh.

What happens when a believer's soul depart from this world?

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful

Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He said,

'When the believer is about to depart from this world and go forward into the Next World, angels with faces as bright as the sun descend from the heavens and sit around him in throngs stretching as far as the eye can see. Then the Angel of Death comes and sits at his head and says, "Good soul, come out to forgiveness and pleasure from Allah!"Then his soul emerges like a drop of water flows from a water-skin and the angel takes hold of it.When he has grasped it, the other angels do not leave it in his hand even for the twinkling of an eye. They take it and place it in a perfumed shroud and a fragrance issues from it like the sweetest scent of musk found on the face on the earth.

'Then they bear it upwards and whenever they take it past a company of angels, they ask, "Who is this good soul?" and the angels with the soul reply, "So-and-so the son of so-and-so," using the best names by which people used to call him in this world. They bring him to the lowest heaven and ask for the gate to be opened for him. It is opened for him and angels who are near Allah from each of the heavens accompany him to the subsequent heaven until he reaches to the heaven where Allah the Great is. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says , 'Register the book of My slave in 'Illiyun and take him back to earth. I created them from it and I return them to it and I will bring them forth from it again."

'His soul is then returned to his body and two angels come to him. They make him sit up and say to him, "Who is your Lord?"He replies, "My Lord is Allah."They ask him, "What is your religion?" He replies, "My religion is Islam." They ask him, "Who is this man who was sent among you?" He replies, ''The Messenger of Allah."They ask him, "How did you come to know these things?" He replies, "I read the Book of Allah, believed it, and declared it to be true." Then a Voice from on high declares, "My slave has spoken the truth, so spread out carpets from the Garden for him and open a gate of the Garden for him!" Then some of its fragrance and perfume comes to him, his grave is expanded for him as far as the eye can see, and a man with beautiful garments and a fragrant scent comes to him and says, "Rejoice in what delights you for this is the day which you were promised." He asks, "Who are you? Yours is a face which presages good."He replies, "I am your good actions." Then he says, "O Lord, let the Last Hour come soon so that I may rejoin my family and my property!"

Courtesy of: An Abridgement of Ibn Al-Qayyim’s kitabur Ruh.

Assalamu Alayka - Maher Zain!

My heart is so full of longing
I wish to be close to my Beloved
I dream to walk in the streets of Medina
And to quench the thirst of my spirit
By visiting you, O Muhammad!

Chorus:
Assalamu alayka ya
Ya Rasool Allah
Assalamu alayka ya habibi
Ya Nabiyya Allah
Assalamu alayka ya
Ya Rasool Allah
Assalamu alayka ya habibi
Ya Nabiyya Allah, ya Rasool Allah

(May salutations be sent upon you
O Messenger of Allah
May salutations be sent upon you O my Beloved
O Prophet of Allah
May salutations be sent upon you
O Messenger of Allah
May salutations be sent upon you O my Beloved
O Prophet of Allah, O Messenger of Allah)

I left all my troubles and worries
As I entered your Mosque so gently
And as I finally stood there before you
I couldn’t stop my tears from falling
In your presence O Muhammad!

CHORUS

O Taiba (Medina), your breeze is so blessed
Indeed it brought life back to my spirit
I’ve left my heart with my Beloved
Sending blessings on Muhammad

CHORUS

Lyrics: Maher Zain & Bara Kherigi
Melody: Maher Zain
Arrangement: Emre Moğulkoç
Mixing: Emrah Moğulkoç

Mawlaya - Maher Zain!

Mawlaya salli wa sallim da’iman abadan
‘Ala habibika khayril khalqi kullihimi (x2)
Ya Rabbee salli ‘aleeh (x3)
Salawatu Allahi ‘aleeh
(My Lord send you peace and blessings always and forever
Upon Your beloved, the best of the entire creation (x2)
My Lord send your peace upon him (x3)
May Allah’s salutations be upon him)

All the poetry ever written
Every verse and every line
All the love songs in the world
Every melody and rhyme
If they were combined
They would still be unable to express
What I want to define
When I try to describe my love for you

CHORUS

Every sound and every voice
In every language ever heard
Each drop of ink that has been used
To write every single word
They could never portray
Everything I feel in my heart and want to say
And it’s hard to explain
Why I could never describe my love for you

CHORUS

There’s not a single person
Who can ever match his worth
In character and beauty
To ever walk on earth
I envy every rock and tree
And every grain of sand
That embraced his noble feet
Or that kissed his blessed hands
Ya Rasool Allah
Ya Habiba Allah
Grant us the chance to be with him
We pray to You Allah

CHORUS

Lyrics: Bara Kherigi & Maher Zain
Chorus Melody: Islamic Folklore
Verse & Bridge Melody & Arrangement: Maher Zain
Mixing: Ronny Lahti

I love you so - Maher Zain!

I pray to God
With my heart, soul and body
Every single day of my life
With every breath I solemnly promise
To try to live my life for you
O Allah, you did revive my soul
And shone Your light into my heart
So pleasing you is now my only goal
Oh I love you so
I love you so

Chorus:
Now I know how it’s like
To have Your precious love in my life
Now I know how it feels
To finally be at peace inside
I wish that everyone could see
How Your love has set me free
Set me free and made me strong

O Allah, I’m forever grateful to You
Whatever I say could never be enough
You gave me strength to overcome my uncertainties
And stand firm against all the odds
You are the One who did revive my soul
You shone Your light into my heart
So pleasing you is now my only goal
Oh I love you so
I love you so

CHORUS

My love, my life, my days, my nights, my wealth, my prayers – all for you [X2]
And I swear that I will never put anyone
Or anything before You
My love, my life, my days, my nights, my wealth, my prayers – all for you

CHORUS

Lyrics: Maher Zain, Bara Kherigi & Bilal Hajji
Melody & Arrangement: Maher Zain
Mixing: Ronny Lahti

Forgive me Ya Allah - Maher Zain!

I’m about to lose the battle and cross the line
I’m about to make another mistake
And even though I try to stay away
Everything around me keeps dragging me in
I can’t help thinking to myself
What if my time would end today, today, today?
Can I guarantee that I will get another chance
Before it’s too late, too late, too late

Chorus:
Forgive me… My heart is so full of regret
Forgive me… Now is the right time for me to repent, repent, repent..

Am I out of my mind?
What did I do? Oh, I feel so bad!
And every time I try to start all over again
My shame comes back to haunt me

I’m trying hard to walk away
But temptation is surrounding me, surrounding me
I wish that I could find the strength to change my life
Before it’s too late, too late, too late

CHORUS

I know O Allah You’re the Most-Forgiving
And that You’ve promised to
Always be there when I call upon You
So now I’m standing here
Ashamed of all the mistakes I’ve committed
Please don’t turn me away
And hear my prayer when I ask You to

CHORUS

Lyrics: Maher Zain & Bara Kherigi
Melody & Arrangement: Maher Zain
Mixing: Ronny Lahti

Open your eyes - Maher Zain!

Look around yourselves
Can’t you see this wonder
Spreaded infront of you
The clouds floating by
The skies are clear and blue
Planets in the orbits
The moon and the sun
Such perfect harmony

Let’s start question in ourselves
Isn’t this proof enough for us
Or are we so blind
To push it all aside..
No..

We just have to
Open our eyes, our hearts, and minds
If we just look bright to see the signs
We can’t keep hiding from the truth
Let it take us by surprise
Take us in the best way
(Allah..)
Guide us every single day..
(Allah..)
Keep us close to You
Until the end of time..

Look inside yourselves
Such a perfect order
Hiding in yourselves
Running in your veins
What about anger love and pain
And all the things you’re feeling
Can you touch them with your hand?
So are they really there?

Lets start question in ourselves
Isn’t this proof enough for us?
Or are we so blind
To push it all aside..?
No..

We just have to
Open our eyes, our hearts, and minds
If we just look bright to see the signs
We can’t keep hiding from the truth
Let it take us by surprise
Take us in the best way
(Allah..)
Guide us every single day..
(Allah..)
Keep us close to You
Until the end of time..

When a baby’s born
So helpless and weak
And you’re watching him growing..
So why deny
Whats in front of your eyes
The biggest miracle of life..

We just have to
Open our eyes, our hearts, and minds
If we just look quiet we’ll see the signs
We can’t keep hiding from the truth
Let it take us by surprise
Take us in the best way
(Allah..)
Guide us every single day..
(Allah..)
Keep us close to You
Until the end of time..

Open your eyes and hearts and minds
If you just look bright to see the signs
We can’t keep hiding from the truth
Let it take us by surprise
Take us in the best way
(Allah..)
Guide us every single day..
(Allah..)
Keep us close to You
Until the end of time..

Allah..
You created everything
We belong to You
Ya Robb we raise our hands
Forever we thank You..
Alhamdulillah..

Artist: Maher Zain
Album: Thank You Allah
Copyright: Awakening Records 2009

From one world to another!

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful

“Why, but when the soul reaches the throat of the dying and at the moment you are watching –and We are nearer to him then you, but you do not see Us”

(Surah Al-Waqi’a 56:83-85, The Holy Qur’an)

When someone dies, the Angel of Death comes to take his soul, no matter where he is. The dying person sees him, hears him, and speaks to him, but not with his eyes, his ears, or his tongue. How then? I do not know exactly. All I do know is that when he begins to move to another world, he sees, hears, and speaks, by some means which we, the living, do not perceive. Many instances of this have been recorded:

            Ibn Abi'd-Dunya mentions that on the day 'Umar b. 'Abdu'l-'Aziz died, he said to those with him, 'Sit with me.' When they sat down next to him, he said, 'I am the one You commanded and I failed you. You forbade me and I rebelled.'He said this three times. Then he said, 'But there is no god but Allah.' Then he lifted his head and stared. They said, 'You are looking very intently, Amir al-Mu'minin,' He replied, 'I see a presence which is neither man nor jinn.' Then he died.

Fadala b.Dinar said, 'I was with Muhammad b.Wasi' when he was very near to death. He began to say, "Welcome to my Lord's angels! There is no strength or power except by Allah!" I smelled the sweetest fragrance that I had ever smelled. Then his eyes glazed over and he died;' Why do I need to look so far into the past, to the days of the first Muslims? I myself was present at the moment of someone's death in our own time. I was with my grand-mother when she was dying. It was at the time of the Dawn Prayer. She was in pain and gasping for breath, moaning from the intensity of the pain but in spite of that, she kept repeating with great joy, 'Allah! Death is sweet!' and saying the shahada over and over for several minutes. Then it was all over. This is where our job, those of us who are still alive, begins.

After the soul is taken, if it is a pure soul and has relatives in the Next World who are people of the Garden, they come to meet the soul with yearning and great joy. They ask it about the condition of those who are still alive in this world.

The angels then bear the soul from one heaven to the next until it comes into the presence of Allah, glory be to Him and may He be exalted! Then it returns and sees the washing of the body, its shrouding, and the funeral procession. It says either, 'Take me forward! Take me forward!' or 'Where are you taking me?' The people there cannot hear this.

When the corpse has been placed in the grave, the soul inserts itself between the body and the shroud so that the questioning can take place. Then the soul hears the receding footfall of the last of the people who followed the funeral and the earth is leveled over him. The earth, however, does not prevent the angels from reaching him.

Even if a stone had been hollowed out for him and he had been placed into it an the opening sealed over with lead, it still would not stop the angels from reaching him. These dense substances cannot prevent the passage of souls. They do not even stop the jinn. Allah - glory be to Him! - made stone and earth the same for the angels as air is for birds. The Grave expands and stretches for the soul, and as a result for the body as well. The body is in a grave of the narrowest dimensions and yet it expands, because of the soul, as far as the eye can see. We shall continue this journey in the next article “What happen when believer depart from this world” In-Sha-Allah.

Courtesy: An Abridgement of Ibn Al-Qayyim’s kitabur Ruh.