BARZAKH

BARZAKH

Al-barzakh is the period between a person's death and his resurrection on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever dies as a Muslim, obeying Allah, will be in a blessed state, and whoever dies as a kaafir, disobeying Allah, will be punished.

Man’s life is divided into three sections:
1 – The life of this world, which ends with death.
2 – The life in al-barzakh, which starts after death and ends when the Hour begins.
3 – The life of the Hereafter, which begins after the people are raised from their graves, and is spent either in Paradise (we ask Allah of His Bounty) or in Hell (we seek refuge with Allah). So the life of al-barzakh lasts from after a person dies until he is resurrected. [1]


Linguistic
Linguistically, “Barzakh” means a veil, barrier or partition between two things. Ibn Abbas (radhi allahu anhu) defines Barzakh as, a Hijab (a partition of veil). Adh-Dhahhak (a Tab’ieen scholar of Tafseer) says: ‘Barzakh is the stage between this world and the Hereafter. Al-Qurtubi, in his exposition on these various interpretations states: ‘The Barzakh is a barrier between two things. It is the stage between this world and the other world - from the time of death until the time of Resurrection. Thus, whoever dies enters the Barzakh”[2][3]

Islamic meaning
In shari’ah, barzakh refers to the period from death until the Resurrection. Allah (the Mighty and Majestic) says:...And behind them is barzakh (a barrier) until the Day when they will be resurrected. (Qur’an Surah Mominoon 23: 100) [4]

Qur’an
Allah says: The Fire, they are exposed to it morning and evening. And the Day the Hour appears [it will be said], "Make the people of Pharaoh enter the severest punishment." [Qur’an Surah Ghaafir 40:46] [5]

Between them is a barrier [so] neither of them transgresses. Qur’an Surah Rahman 55:20

Because of their sins they were drowned and put into the Fire, and they found not for themselves besides Allah [any] helpers. Qur’an Surah Nuh 71:25 [6]

Hadith
A hadeeth was narrated in Saheeh al-Bukhaari which describes the torments of al-barzakh which will befall some of those who committed major sins. It was narrated that Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) often used to ask his companions, ‘Did any one of you see a dream?’ So dreams would be described to him by those who Allah willed should speak. One morning, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Last night, two people came to me (in a dream), and woke me up and said, ‘Let’s go!’ I set out with them, and we came across a man who was lying down, with another man standing over him, holding a big rock. He threw the rock at the man's head, smashing it. The rock rolled away, and the one who had thrown it followed it, and picked it up. By the time he came back to the man, his head had been restored to its former state. Then he (the one who had thrown the rock) did the same as he had done before. I said to my two companions, ‘Subhaan Allaah! Who are these two persons?’ They said, ‘Move on!’ So we went on, and came to a man who was lying flat on his back, with another man standing over him, holding an iron hook. He put the hook in the man's mouth and tore off that side of his face to the back (of his neck), and he tore his nose and his eye from front to back in a similar manner. Then he turned to the other side of the man's face and did likewise. No sooner had he finished the second side but the first side was restored to its former state, then he went back and did the same thing again. I said to my two companions, ‘Subhaan Allaah! Who are these two persons?’ They said, ‘Move on!’ So we went on, and came to something like a tannoor (a kind of oven, lined with clay, usually used for baking bread). – I think the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, in that oven there was much noise and voices. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) added: - We looked into it and saw naked men and women. A flame of fire was reaching them from underneath, and when it reached them, they cried out loudly. I asked them, ‘Who are these?’ They said to me, ‘Move on!’ So we went on and came to a river – I think he said, red like blood. – In the river there was a man swimming, and on the bank there was a man who had gathered many stones. Whilst the swimmer was swimming, the man who had gathered the stones approached him. The swimmer opened his mouth and the man on the bank threw a stone into it, then the swimmer carried on swimming. Each time he came back, he opened his mouth again, and the man on the bank threw another stone into his mouth. I said to my two companions, ‘Who are these two persons?’ They said, ‘Move on, move on!’ We went on and came to a man who had the most repulsive appearance imaginable. Beside him there was a fire, which he was kindling, and he was running around it. I asked my companions, ‘Who is this man?’ They said, ‘Move on, move on!’ So we went on until we reached a garden of deep green dense vegetation, with all kinds of spring colours. In the midst of this garden was a very tall man, whose head I could hardly see because of his great height. Around him there were children, a great number such as I have never seen. I said to my companions, ‘who is this man, and who are these children?’ They said, ‘Move on, move on!’ So we went on, until we came to a huge garden, bigger and better than any I have ever seen. My two companions said to me, ‘Go up.’ So we went up into it, until we reached a city built of gold and silver bricks. We went to the gate and asked for it to be opened. It was opened and we entered the city, where we found men with one side of their bodies more handsome than the most handsome person you have ever seen, and the other side uglier than the ugliest person you have ever seen. My two companions ordered those men to throw themselves into the river. There was a river flowing through the city, and its water was pure white. The men went and threw themselves in the river, and came out with the ugliness in their bodies gone, and they were in the best shape. (My two companions) said to me, ‘This is the Paradise of ‘Aden (the Garden of Eden), and that is your place.’ I looked up and saw a palace like a white cloud. They said to me, ‘That is your place.’ I said to them, ‘May Allah bless you both, let me enter it.’ They said, ‘For now you will not enter it, but you shall enter it (one day).’ I said to them, I have seen many wonders this night. What do all these things mean that I have seen?’ They said: ‘We will tell you. The first man you came across, whose head was being smashed with the rock, is the man who studies the Qur’an then he neither recites it nor acts upon it, and he goes to sleep, neglecting the obligatory prayers. The man you came across whose mouth, nose and ears were being torn from front to back, is the man who goes out of his house in the morning and tells a lie that is so serious that it spreads all over the world. The naked men and women whom you saw in a structure that resembled an oven are the adulterers and adulteresses. The man you saw swimming in the river with rocks being thrown into his mouth is the one who consumed riba (usury). The ugly-looking man whom you saw kindling a fire and walking around it was Maalik, the keeper of Hell. The tall man whom you saw in the garden was Ibraaheem, and the children around him were the children who died (young) in a state of fitrah (natural state of mankind, i.e., Islam).’ – Some of the Muslims asked, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, what about the children of the mushrikeen?’ He said, ‘And the children of the mushrikeen too.’ – ‘As for the men who were half handsome and half ugly, they were people who had mixed a good deed with another deed that was bad, but Allah forgave them.’” (narrated by Muslim, no. 6525) [7]

Departure of the Soul
When a person dies, the Angel of Death and his helpers take the soul from the body of the deceased. The soul leaves the body from the mouth. As it travels through the throat, the dying person will hear a rattling sound as the soul makes its exit. The person’s eyesight will then fixedly stare at the soul as it ascends with the angels. This event is mentioned in the following Hadith : Narrated Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him):
Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying, “Did you not see when the man died and his eyes were fixedly open?” He (Abu Hurayrah) said, ‘Yes.’ He (the Holy Prophet) said, “It is due to the fact that when (the soul leaves the body) his eyesight follows the soul.” [Muslim: Book 4: Hadith 2005]

Scholars view
Shaykh Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him):
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned ten things which will bring about expiation, one of which is the torment in the grave. He said, “Whatever befalls the believer in this world, in Al-Barzakh and during the Day of Resurrection of pain which is a torment, Allah will cause that to expiate for his sins. It was reported in al-Saheehayn that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Nothing befalls the Believer of disease, affliction, grief or harm, even a thorn which pricks him, but Allah will cause it to expiate for his sins’” [Majmoo’ al-Fataawaa, 24/375].

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him and save him from the torment of the grave) said:
If a person is a kaafir (we seek refuge with Allah), then there is no way that the delight will ever reach him, and his torment will be continuous. If a person was a sinner but he was a believer, then his torment in the grave will be commensurate with his sin, and perhaps the punishment for his sin will take less time than the time in al-barzakh between his death and the onset of the Hour, in which case it will cease. (al-Sharh al-Mumti’, vol. 3, p. 253) [8] [9]

⦁ FROM ONE WORLD TO ANOTHER!
'Why, but when the soul reaches the throat of the dying and at that moment you are watching -and We are nearer to him than you, but you do not see US.'1 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 nor 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 1 Al- Waqi'a (56): 83-85 5 someone's death in our own time. I was with my grandmother 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, ifit is a pure soul and has relatives in the Next World who are people of the Garden, they corne 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 levelled 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 and 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. For details and confirmation of what I have said I will quote a sound hadith of the 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, "Whois 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 Myslave 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." 'Hissoul is then returned to his body and two angels come to him. They make him sit up and say to him, "Whois your Lord?"He replies, "MyLord 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 7 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, "0 Lord, let the Last Hour come soon so that I may rejoin my family and my property!" 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, "Whois 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.' 8 The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, 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.'2 '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 anything 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.'3 '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, "Myslave 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, "0 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.
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