Islam21c Articulating Islam in the 21st Century
مُمِيتٌ بـِلا مَخَافَةٍ، بَاعِثٌ بـِلا مَشَقَّةٍ
”He causes death without fear, and He resurrects (the dead) without any effort.”
Such a statement echoes the perfection of Allah’s Lordship over all that exists and lays bare the triviality of everything that is other than Him; truly: ‘There is nothing like unto Him’[1]
Allāh is far above the emotion of fear. He does not fear anything or anyone; rather He is: ‘the Doer of whatever He Wills.’[2] He takes the life of whomsoever He wishes; and if He so wished, He could take the life of all creatures as: ‘He is over all things competent’[3][4], and He metes out His punishment with absolute justice: ‘And He does not fear the consequence thereof.’[5]. All of this is based on His infinite wisdom.
The author said: ‘and He resurrects (the dead) without any effort’, meaning He will certainly resurrect all; from the very first of them to the last of them and then that will be: ‘The Day when mankind will stand before the Lord of the worlds’.[6] All of this will occur by the power and might of Allāh and it is not in the least bit burdensome upon Him.
Stating the ease through which Allāh will resurrect all of mankind serves as a refutation of those who deny it like the philosophers, for,: ‘it is He who originates creation, then brings it back again, and it is very easy for Him.’[7] that is to say that surely creating out of nothing, creating ex nihilo, is more difficult then resurrecting a lifeless body.
Allah is al-Mumīt, the one who causes death; just as He is al-Muhyī (the giver of life), and so death does not lead to non-existence, as it is an existential attribute created by Allāh, and hence when someone dies they have not vanished into non-existence but rather the deceased has moved to another abode and that is the abode of al-Barzakh; from there he will be resurrected and brought to account before his Lord.
Points of Benefit
- 1) Death itself is a created entity according to the majority of Ahl al-Sunnah; as Allah said: ‘He created death and life’, where creating implies an existing entity. Also, the Prophet SAW described it as such when he said: ‘On the Day of Resurrection, Death will be brought forward in the form of a black and white ram. Then a caller will call out, ‘O people of Paradise!’ Thereupon they will stretch their necks and look carefully. The caller will say, ‘Do you know this?’ They will say, ‘Yes, this is Death.’ By then, all of them will have seen it. Then it will be announced again, ‘O people of Hell!’ They will stretch their necks and look carefully. The caller will say, ‘Do you know this?’ They will say, ‘Yes, this is Death.’ And by then, all of them will have seen it. Then it (the ram) will be slaughtered and the caller will say, ‘O people of Paradise! Eternity for you and no death; O people of Hell! Eternity for you and no death.’[8]
- 2)The philosophers believe death to mean the end of life and the cessation of all bodily functions that sustain life. This understanding is at odds with the Qur’ān and Sunnah which asserts that death is the moving of life from one abode to another. That is why the people of Paradise and Hellfire will reside for an eternity, as death is no more. Even if we were to say that death is in reality an accident (‘arad), it could be argued that Allah could transform it into physical body. Allāh can make abstract attributes into tangible objects that symbolize those attributes. Allāh will do this when He shows mankind their scales filled with their deeds. This should motivate us to do the best deeds that will be the heaviest on the scales. In another Prophetic Narration the Prophet SAW said: ‘Good deeds will come to the doer of them in the form of a handsome young man, and the bad deeds will appear in the ugliest form.’
Notes:
Sheikh Haitham al-Haddad’s explanation of al-Aqeedah al-Tahawiyyah will soon be published as a hardback book. Islam21c have exclusive rights to share extracts from the book for its readers, and will be posting certain sections of the book on a weekly basis. The book: al-Aqeedah al-Tahawiyyah, is a short text outlining the aqeedah of Ahl al-Sunnah in short statements. Each extract posted is a complete explanation of any one of those statements. Edited by Asim Khan
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[1] Q. Al-Shūrā, 42: 11.
[2] Q. Al-Burūj, 85: 16.
[3] Q. Al-Mulk, 67: 1.
[4] And He says: ‘The creation of you all and the resurrection of you all are only as (the creation and resurrection of) a single person. Verily, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Seer.’ [31:28]
[5] Q. Al-Shams, 91: 15.
[6] Q. Al-Mutaffifīn
[7] Q. Al-Room, 30: 27.
[8] H. Al-Bukhari
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