Please tell me about ghosts and if they exist in our world.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's
Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Please tell me about
ghosts and if they exist in our world. I thought that after death the spirit
either goes to heaven or hell. Do some spirits stay on the earth and cause
these so called "hauntings" ? What does the quran say about the
spirit after one has died? I have heard so many stories on t.v and from friends
that they have encountered ghosts and such things. Are there such spirits that
have died but have no idea they have faced death and so they wonder the earth
and become these apiritions that people talk about? When one has died, i have
heard that they are in a so called "waiting room" and don`t get
sentenced to heaven or hell till judgement day? Is this true? Please reply as
soon as possible...this topic is very confusing and so I turn to you for the
answer...Thank you.
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Answer:
Ghosts barzakh death grave
In the
name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness.
Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray,
none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no
person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai, nobody!) worthy of
worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His
slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Your Question: Please tell me
about ghosts and if they exist in our world.
In
light of the absolutely clear guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, there is
absolutely no such thing as ghosts! The
only beings whom Allah has created who have the choice to do good and evil as
he wills are the human beings and the jinns. Ghosts are nothing but the imaginations,
whims, conjectures and guess-works of the ignorant people!
Your Question: I thought that
after death the spirit either goes to heaven or hell. What does the quran say
about the spirit after one has died?
Dear
and Beloved brother, whatever happens to the soul after death in the grave, on
the Day of Judgment, etc. is what is known as the knowledge of the ‘unseen’;
and none possesses the Knowledge of the unseen except Allah Subhanah, the Lord
of the Worlds, Alone. Thus to know what
exactly transpires after death or in the grave, we must rely on only
what is Declared by the All-Knowing Lord in His Glorious Quran, or what Allah
Subhanah has made known to Prophet Mohamed (saws) through inspiration, and he
(saws) narrated it to the believers in his authentic traditions.
One
cannot of himself say ‘I think…’, ‘I suppose…’, ‘I assume….’, or ‘it is said….’
etc. when it comes to knowledge of the unseen!
The Only One Who has the Absolute Knowledge of the Seen and the Unseen
is none other than the One Who Created everything in existence; and He Alone
has the Right to declare in Truth what exactly transpires in the events of the
‘unseen’. Thus for any information of
the ‘unseen’ the believers must rely only on what is declared by
the All-Knowing Lord in His Glorious Quran, or what He Willed to make known to
the Last Messenger (saws) through inspiration, and he (saws) narrated it to the
believers.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 8 Surah Anfaal verses 50-51:
50 If thou couldst see when the Angels take the souls of the
unbelievers (at death) (how) they smite their faces and their backs (saying):
"Taste the penalty of the blazing fire
51 Because of (the deeds) which your (own) hands sent forth: for Allah
is never unjust to His servants.”
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 47 Surah Muhammad verses 27-28
27 But how (will it be) when the Angels take their souls at death and
smite their faces and their backs?
28 This because they followed that which called forth the Wrath of
Allah and they hated Allah's good pleasure; so He made their deeds of no
effect.
In
light of the above guidance of the Glorious Quran, it is evident that the
Angels of Allah Subhanah take control of the soul of the deceased. Neither the soul has the power to ‘flee’ from
the Angels, nor do the Angels of Allah set these souls free so that they may go
where they please; and the Quran guides that the souls are placed in a place
called the ‘Barzakh’.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Muminoon verses 99-103:
99 (In Falsehood will they be) until when death comes to one of them he
says: "O my Lord! send me back (to life)
100 In order that I may work righteousness in the things I
neglected." By no means! It is but a word he says; before them is a ‘Barzakh’
(Veil or Partition) till the Day they are raised up.
101 Then when the Trumpet is blown, there will be no more relationships
between them that day nor will one ask after another!
102 Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy they will attain
salvation:
103 But those whose balance is light will be those who have lost their
souls; in Hell will they abide.
The
literal meaning of the term ‘barzakh’ is something of a barrier or a veil, or something which is kept hidden. In Quranic terminology, the period between
one’s death on earth and when one will be granted life again by Allah on the
Day of Judgement, is known as ‘Barzakh’.
What
happens immediately to the soul of the deceased is narrated in truth by the
Messenger of Allah (saws):
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4735 Narrated
byAl-Bara' ibn Azib
The Prophet (saws) said:
“When a believer is buried in the grave two angels will come to him
(Munkar and Nakir, both have dark faces
and blue eyes), make him sit up, and ask :
‘Who is your Lord?’ He will
reply: ‘My Lord is Allah.’ They will ask him: ‘What is your religion?’ He will reply: ‘My religion is Islam.’ They will ask him: ‘What is your opinion about the man who was
sent on a mission among you?’ He will
reply: ‘He is the Messenger of Allah
(peace be upon him).’ They will ask: ‘
Who made you aware of this?’ He will
reply: ‘I read Allah's Book, believed in
it, and considered it true.’ Then a
crier will call from Heaven: ‘My servant
has spoken the truth. So spread a bed for him from Paradise, clothe him from Paradise, and open a door for him into
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 5352 Narrated
by Abu Sa'id
The Prophet (saws) said:
"The grave (or the life of the soul between one’s death and one’s
resurrection on the Day of Judgment) is one of the Gardens of Paradise, or one
of the pits of Hell!"
Your Question: Do some spirits
stay on the earth and cause these so called "hauntings" ?
In
light of the absolutely clear guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, no soul or
spirit of the deceased can escape the clutches of the Angels of Allah, nor do
the Angels of Allah set them free to go about and ‘haunt’ whom they
will!!!!!
The
souls of the deceased are secured by the Angels of Allah and are placed in a
place called the ‘Barzakh’; neither can the soul of the deceased leave this
secured place, nor can they come down to earth, nor do they have the power to
interact with any human beings or jinns from ‘Barzakh’!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Muminoon verses 99-100:
99 (In Falsehood will they be) until when death comes to one of them he
says: "O my Lord! send me back (to life)
100 In order that I may work righteousness in the things I
neglected." By no means! It is but a word he says; before them is a ‘Barzakh’
(Veil or Partition) till the Day they are raised up.
In
light of the above clear guidance of the Glorious Quran, the souls of the
deceased will remain in the Barzakh till the Lord Creator, Glorified and
Exalted is He, Decrees to raise them up on the Day of Judgment.
Your Statement: I have heard so
many stories on t.v and from friends that they have encountered ghosts and such
things. Are there such spirits that have died but have no idea they have faced
death and so they wonder the earth and become these apiritions that people talk
about?
When
one hears a ‘story’ from any source other than from the Quran and the Sunnah
regarding any information of the ‘unseen’, then one should know with absolute
conviction that they are without an iota of a doubt, just ‘stories’ which the
ignorant have invented themselves through their imagination, whims, fancies,
conjectures and guess-works!!
The
stories are invented by the ignorant without right or authority and have
absolutely no basis to truth and reality; and these ignorant people spread
these self-invented stories to amuse, frighten, and scare the other ignorant
people of the earth!
The
believers who sincerely believe in Allah and the Last Day believe with absolute
conviction news or information of the ‘unseen’,
ONLY what is Declared in Truth by their Lord and His Messenger (saws).
Your Statement: this topic is very
confusing and so I turn to you for the answer.
If one
relies with absolute conviction on the Truth that is Declared by Allah Subhanah
in His Glorious Quran and what is related in the authentic and established
narrations of the Last and Final Messenger, Mohamed ar-Rasool Allah (saws);
this topic of what happens to the soul after death is absolutely crystal clear.
If one
listens or gives ear or believes the innumerable self-invented stories of the
ignorant regarding what ‘they assume’ will happen in the ‘unseen’, it is only
natural that one would be led into the state of doubt, fear, and confusion!
If one
trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger
(saws), one can be assured of never
ever being misled; but if one believes,
obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His
Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.
Whatever
written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance,
and whatever of error is of me alone.
Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Wister