What happens to the soul of the person when he`s asleep?
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:
Assalamu
Alaikum,
First
of all, a million thanks for the good work you are doing for our community.
Please keep it up. May Allah guide us all to follow the right path shown to us
by His Messenger (PBUH).
Brother
Burhan, I had few questions regarding the soul of the human being. I tried
referring few books and websites, but I couldnt really get much on it. Please
help me out with this.
1)
What happens to the soul of the person when he`s asleep?
2)
What happens to the soul of the person after he`s dead? Where does it stay till
the Day of Resurrection ?
3) If
a person sincerely repents for all his sins before his death, will he be still
punished for those sins in the grave?
4) Few
people say that these souls sometimes come and mingle with the people. I am not
really sure if this can be true. Can you please throw some light on it.
Thanks
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Answer:
What happens to
souls sleep
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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
May Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world
and the Hereafter for your kind comments of encouragement for our humble
efforts in the propagation of the Truth.
If our humble and modest efforts have helped even one brother or sister
get closer to Allah and His Deen of Truth, then we would consider ourselves
indeed fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Lord Most Merciful
to serve in His Cause. We hope, beg, and
pray the Merciful Lord accepts our humble and weak efforts, forgives us our
shortcomings, and saves you, us, and all the believers from the torment of the
Hell Fire. Ameen.
Q-1:
What happens to the soul of the person when he`s asleep?
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah
Zumar verse 42:
42 It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death: and those
that die not (He takes their souls) during their sleep: those on whom
He has passed the Decree of death He keeps back (from returning their souls);
but the rest He sends (their souls back to their bodies) for a term
appointed. Verily in this are Signs for
those who reflect.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah
Anaam verse 60:
60 It is He Who doth take your souls by night and hath knowledge of all that ye have done by day. By day doth He raise you up again; that a
term appointed be fulfilled; in the end unto Him will be your return then will
He show you the truth of all that ye did.
The Prophet (saws)
guided the believers that on waking up from sleep one should make the following
supplication: "All Praise be to Allah Who returned my soul (to me), made
my body sound, and permitted me to remember Him."
The Prophet (saws)
instructed his companions (r.a.) that when they go to bed they should
supplicate, "In Your Name, O Lord, I lay me down to sleep. And by Your
leave I raise myself up. So if You take away my (and keep my) soul during
sleep, forgive it, and if You keep it alive (send it back to my body) after
sleep, protect it just as You protect Your pious servants."
The soul of each person every time one goes to sleep is
raised unto their Lord Creator; if the Lord has Willed and Decreed for that
person to live for an appointed time, He returns their soul back to their
bodies; and for those whom the Lord has Willed and Decreed death, He keeps
their souls from being returned back to their bodies.
Q-2:
What happens to the soul of the person after he`s dead? Where does it stay till
the Day of Resurrection ?
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 and/or
place where one’s soul is held between one’s death on earth and when one will
be bestowed life again by the Lord Most Supreme on the Day of Judgement, is
known as the ‘Barzakh’.
Your
Question: …..If a person sincerely repents for all his sins before his death,
will he be still punished for those sins in the grave?
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah
Anaam verse 54:
When those come to you who believe in Our
Signs, say: "Peace be on you! Your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the rule
of) Mercy. Verily if any of you did evil
in ignorance, and thereafter repented and amended (his conduct), Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2338 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Allah
accepts a servant's repentance (taubah) till he gives up his spirit in
death."
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2339 Narrated by Abu Sa'id
Allah's Messenger (saws) said that the
Shaytaan said, "By Thy Might, my Lord, I shall continue to lead Thy
servants astray as long as their souls are in their bodies!" The Lord, Who is Great and Glorious, replied,
"By My Might, Glory and Exalted Station, I shall continue to pardon them
as long as they ask My forgiveness!"
If one sincerely and truly repents for their sins before
they meet with their appointment of death, the Lord Most Gracious Most Merciful
wipes out the sin in its entirety from their ‘book of records’…..neither will
one who has sincerely sought repentance for their sin be taken to account for
their deed by the Lord Most Merciful, nor will they be punished for that sin in
the Hereafter; for the Lord Most Gracious will wipe out from their ‘book of
records’ as if that sin never ever happened!
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2357 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "He who
repents of a sin is like him who has committed no sin."
Your
Question: ….Few people say that these souls sometimes come and mingle with the
people. I am not really sure if this can be true. Can you please throw some
light on it.
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 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 it known to the Last
Messenger (saws) through inspiration, and he (saws) narrated it to the
believers.
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.
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 the
‘Barzakh’!
In light of the absolutely clear guidance of the Quran and
the Sunnah, no soul or spirit of the deceased can escape the secure ‘barzakh’
and the clutches of the Angels of Allah, nor do the Angels of Allah set them
free to go about and ‘haunt’ or mingle with whom they will!!!!! The souls of the deceased will remain in the
Barzakh till the Lord Creator, Glorified and Exalted is He, Decrees for them to
be raised up on that Inevitable and Tumultuous Day of Resurrection.
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 and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan