Author: Mohajer Azizi
Scientology; Its Origins and Beliefs (Part 17)
The Invalidity of Reincarnation from the Islamic Perspective
The belief in the cycle of the soul’s life, or reincarnation, which Scientologists adhere to, is a false creed rooted in whims and desires. No sound intellect accepts it, and from both rational and textual (scriptural) perspectives, this belief is invalid. In what follows, this belief is critically examined from the viewpoints of reason and Islamic law.
In the Noble Qur’an, there are numerous verses that categorically reject and invalidate reincarnation, while affirming the transfer of the soul to the realm of Barzakh and the Hereafter.
“وَنُفِخَ فِی ٱلصُّورِ فَصَعِقَ مَن فِی ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَن فِی ٱلْأَرْضِ إِلَّا مَن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ۖ ثُمَّ نُفِخَ فِیهِ أُخْرَىٰ فَإِذَا هُمْ قِیامٌ ینظُرُونَ • وَأَشْرَقَتِ ٱلْأَرْضُ بِنُورِ رَبِّهَا وَوُضِعَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبُ وَجِاىٓءَ بِٱلنَّبِیـنَ وَٱلشُّهَدَآءِ وَقُضِىَ بَینَهُم بِٱلْحَقِّ وَهُمْ لَا یظْلَمُونَ” Translation: “And the Trumpet will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will fall unconscious, except whom Allah wills. Then it will be blown again, and behold, they will be standing, looking on. And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord, and the record will be placed, and the prophets and the witnesses will be brought, and judgment will be passed between them in truth, and they will not be wronged.”
This scene occurs after a great and devastating event—an event that transforms everything in the universe. The earth will be split apart, the mountains will be set in motion, the dead will be resurrected, and the gathering (of the Day of Judgment) will be established. The heavens will be torn apart, the stars will scatter, and the entire universe will assume a new state.
Reincarnation stands in complete contradiction to this Qur’anic depiction, because reincarnation is based on the continuous and endless transfer of souls within this worldly life. In contrast, the divine system is founded upon accountability and recompense in this world and the Hereafter, and it does not accept the return of the soul to other bodies or repeated worldly lives. [2]
Another verse further clarifies that return after death is impossible. Allah the Exalted says: “حَتّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءَ أَحَدَهُمُ ٱلْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ٱرْجِعُونِ • لَعَلِّىٓ أَعْمَلُ صَـٰلِحًا فِیمَا تَرَكْتُ ۚ كَلَّآ ۚ إِنَّهَا كَلِمَةٌ هُوَ قَآئِلُهَا ۖوَمِن وَرَآئِهِم بَرزَخٌ إِلَىٰ یوْمِ یبعَثُونَ” Translation: “Until, when death comes to one of them, he says: ‘My Lord, send me back, so that I may do righteous deeds in that which I left behind.’ No! It is but a word he speaks, and behind them is a barrier (Barzakh) until the Day they are resurrected.”
These verses clearly show that the Qur’an has completely closed the door to returning to the world after death. The word “kallā” (never) explicitly rejects such a request and declares it impossible—this, in Qur’anic terminology, is a direct negation of reincarnation. [4]
Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, says in his commentary on this verse: “This verse describes the state of a dying person who fears death and asks Allah to be returned so that he may correct his deeds, but no opportunity for reform remains.” [5]
Likewise, Allah the Exalted declares the request for return after death to be baseless in the following verse: “وَأَنفِقُوا مِن مَّا رَزَقْنَـٰكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن یأْتِىَ أَحَدَكُمُ ٱلْمَوْتُ فَیقُولَ رَبِّ لَوْلَآ أَخَّرْتَنِىٓ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ قَرِیبٍ فَأَصَّدَّقَ وَأَكُن مِّنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِینَ • وَلَن یؤَخِّرَ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِذَا جَآءَ أَجَلُهَا ۚ“ Translation: “And spend from that which We have provided you before death comes to one of you and he says: ‘My Lord, if only You would delay me for a short term so I would give charity and be among the righteous.’ But Allah will never delay a soul when its appointed time has come.”
This verse also explicitly states that once the appointed time arrives, there is neither return nor a second opportunity. This reality completely refutes the belief in reincarnation.
From a rational perspective as well, the doctrine of reincarnation is invalid. Even if we were to assume it were true, reward and punishment would not apply to the soul alone, because the body is also a partner in sin. To clarify this point, the scholars present an example:
A blind man and a cripple entered a shop to steal. The cripple said: “You cannot see, and I cannot walk. Carry me on your shoulders; I will guide you, and you will carry me.” When the shopkeeper arrived, the blind man excused himself by saying that he could not see and that the cripple guided him. The cripple said that he could not walk and that the blind man carried him. However, the shopkeeper punished both of them, because both were partners in the crime. Likewise, the soul and the body are partners in human actions, and the soul cannot be complete without the body. Therefore, reward and punishment must involve the soul, and the reality of punishment must also be manifested in the body. [7]
Christians and some philosophers claim that spiritual punishment (purely conceptual torment) is sufficient. However, this type of punishment is so weak that it neither prevents oppression nor restrains wrongdoing. Real pleasure and pain are always connected to the body—touch, sight, pain, and enjoyment all pertain to the body, not merely to mental perception. If punishment were only spiritual, how could it deter human beings from evil?
Anyone who is punished must know for what act and for what reason they are being punished. Followers of reincarnation claim, for example, that a street sweeper or garbage collector is being punished for sins committed in a previous life. Yet this person has no knowledge of any “previous sin” and says: “I know nothing about it.” Such punishment, therefore, is contrary to justice. [8]
Based on the above explanations, the Scientology theory is one that considers the purification of the soul and mind and the attainment of worldly happiness as its fundamental principles, while completely denying the existence of the Hereafter. Moreover, this theory, influenced by certain Eastern religions, believes in the cycle of the soul through different bodies. From the Islamic perspective, the Hereafter and the Day of Resurrection are established realities that no sound intellect can deny. Reincarnation, or the cycle of the soul through various bodies, is a false belief that Islam firmly rejects with strong and decisive evidence.
Continues…
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References:
[1]. Surah Az-Zumar, verses 68–69.
[2]. Islam in Confrontation with Batinism, Abu al-Haytham, pp. 47–48.
[3]. Surah Al-Mu’minun, verses 99–100.
[4]. Reincarnation of Souls: Its Origins and the Ruling of Islam Regarding It, p. 232.
[5]. Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol. 5, p. 493.
[6]. Surah Al-Munafiqun, verses 10–11.
[7]. Al-‘Aqidah as-Samawiyyah (Commentary on al-‘Aqidah at-Tahawiyyah), cited from Science of Sects and Religions by Shams al-Haqq Afghani, pp. 261–262.
[8]. Ibid.
