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:

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh; Brother, is it possible that we see or talk to ghost in this life time? Where are the ghosts from the time we die till the judgment day? What are Jinns. Can we see or talk to them? May God provide you with His Mercy. 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Jinns/Ghosts

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: Brother, is it possible that we see or talk to ghost in this life time?

There is no such thing as ghosts! The only beings whom Allah has created who have the choice to do good and evil as they will, are the human beings and the jinns.

Your question: Where are the ghosts from the time we die till the judgment day?

Again, we reiterate our statement that there are no such things as ghosts!

In light of the Quran and the established teachings of the Messenger of Allah (saws), when a person dies, his soul is taken to a place called ‘barzakh’. There is absolutely no contact from the ones in barzakh to the ones who are alive in this world, and vice versa!

It is beyond our comprehension to understand the exact nature of the life of Barzakh, as it is a life completely different from our worldly lives of flesh and blood. Indeed, the soul is something completely different from the body. After separation from their bodies, souls do experience and feel far more pleasure and pain than they experienced when they were joined together. They are subject to confinement, pain, punishment, sickness, and grief as they are to various states of joy, rest, bliss, and freedom. There are four abodes of the soul, and each abode is bigger and greater than the previous one.

The soul's first abode is the womb of the mother, where there is confinement, compression, seclusion, and three layers of darkness. The second abode is its earthly habitat where it grows, does good and evil, and accumulates deeds for its ultimate success or failure. Its third abode is the abode of barzakh, which is more spacious and immense than the abode of this world. The fourth abode is the abode of eternity, either Paradise or Hell. There is no other abode after these. Allah causes the soul to pass through these abodes in stages, until it reaches the abode most suitable for it, an abode that only it deserves, and for which it is uniquely suitable, because this abode was created for it, and the soul was given the ability to perform the deeds that lead precisely to this abode.

Your question: What are Jinns.

Jinns are a creation like the human beings of Allah Subhanah, who have been given the power of intelligence and free will to choose between virtue and sin, good and evil, the Straight Path or fall astray. The Jinns were a being created by Allah from a flame of heat, before the creation of man.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 15 Surah Hijr verses 26-27:We created man from dried clay of rotten earth; and before him We had created the Jinn from the flame of heat.

Your question: Can we see or talk to them?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraaf verse 27:He (Iblis the Jinn) and his party see you from where you cannot see them. We have made these Shaitaans the friends of those who do not believe.

It is evident from the above aayah, that human beings cannot see the Jinns; but they are able to see us. There are some evil human beings, who with the help of some evil acts, are able to contact some jinns; but this is clearly an act of ‘kufr’ and disbelief; and a believer must abstain from these evil acts, if he sincerely fears Allah and the Last Day. But the truth is that most of the people who claim to talk to, or control jinns, are nothing but liars and fraudsters, who try to devour the earnings of innocent and simple people and debar them from the Straight Path of Islam. Allah has Himself declared that He has made these Shaitaans (Jinns) the friends of those who do not believe.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan