Author: Muhajer Azizi
Sikhism; Its Origins and Fundamental Beliefs (Part 20)
2. Rejection and Criticism of the Belief in Reincarnation from the Islamic Perspective
Belief in Resurrection on the Last Day is an important pillar of the pillars of faith after faith in Allah Almighty; because the effectiveness and efficiency of this belief affects all other pillars of faith, and any weakness in the belief in Resurrection also has its practical effect on other beliefs. Resurrection and belief in the Hereafter is a promise that Islam has attributed to human, based on which he will be held accountable for all his deeds on earth; and this does not depend only on the ability of the human mind to distinguish reward and punishment; because its realization depends on spiritual matters that we do not know and cannot find a way to understand them; but we believe that they are in the same form as they have reached us through revelation; but reincarnation (transmigration) of souls, – as the Sikhs believe – is contrary to Islamic belief; Because this is following the fantasies and desires of the flesh and surrendering to the temptations of Satan. And since belief in the resurrection is the basis of Islamic belief, the Holy Quran has explained it in a detailed and extensive manner, and has mentioned many details about it, including the reckoning, reward and punishment, Paradise and its degrees, Hell and its classes, and a precise description of each of these. [1]
There are many verses that reject this false theory and belief and prove life after death as we mention the relevant verses below with their interpretation and explanation:
1. The verses of the Holy Quran have established the concepts of the resurrection based on the resurrection of bodies after death and emphasized that Allah will return people to answer for their deeds; As Allah Almighty says in this matter: «وَنُفِخَ فِي ٱلصُّورِ فَصَعِقَ مَن فِي ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَن فِي ٱلْأَرْضِ إِلَّا مَن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ۖ ثُمَّ نُفِخَ فِيهِ أُخْرَىٰ فَإِذَا هُمْ قِيَامٌ يَنظُرُونَ ﴿٦٨﴾ وَأَشْرَقَتِ ٱلْأَرْضُ بِنُورِ رَبِّهَا وَوُضِعَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبُ وَجِاىٓءَ بِٱلنَّبِيِّـنَ وَٱلشُّهَدَآءِ وَقُضِىَ بَيْنَهُم بِٱلْحَقِّ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ» Translation: “And the Trumpet will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and the earth will be struck down, except as Allah wills; then it will be blown again, and suddenly they will all stand up and look, and the earth will be illuminated with the light of its Lord, and the records will be placed, and the prophets and the witnesses will be brought, and judgment will be given between the people with truth, and they will not be wronged.” [2]
Yes, this phenomenon occurs after a general cataclysmic event that changes the characteristics of the world; the earth will split open, the mountains will move, the dead will rise, and the registration will begin, the heavens will split open, the stars will scatter, and the world will be completely transformed.
Reincarnation is in complete contradiction to this idea; Because reincarnation is based on a concept that depicts the continuous and endless transfer of souls between different bodies in this world, while the precise divine system is constantly based on reward and punishment in this world and the hereafter, and does not believe in the return of souls or their reincarnation. [3]
2. This verse also clearly refers to the return after death, as it says: «حَتّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءَ أَحَدَهُمُ ٱلْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ٱرْجِعُونِ ﴿٩٩﴾ لَعَلِّىٓ أَعْمَلُ صَـٰلِحًا فِيمَا تَرَكْتُ ۚ كَلَّآ ۚ إِنَّهَا كَلِمَةٌ هُوَ قَآئِلُهَا ۖ وَمِن وَرَآئِهِم بَرزَخٌ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبعَثُونَ» Translation: “Until death approaches one of them and he says, ‘My Lord, send me back so that I may do good deeds that I have never done before.’ But never! This is what he says. And before them is a prison until the Day they are resurrected.” [4]
These verses of the Quran clearly show that the Quran has completely cut off the hope of those who desire the worldly life returning after death and has considered it impossible. Just as the word «کلا» (never) in response to the request for return indicates an impossible thing, which in the terminology of the Quran is reincarnation. [5]
Ibn Kathir (may Allah bless him) said in his commentary on this verse: “This verse describes the state of a dying person who fears death and asks Allah to return so that he can correct his actions, but there is no more time for correction.” [6]
3. In the following verse, Allah rejected the return after death and said: «وَأَنفِقُوا مِن مَّا رَزَقْنَـٰكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِىَ أَحَدَكُمُ ٱلْمَوْتُ فَيَقُولَ رَبِّ لَوْلَآ أَخَّرْتَنِىٓ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍۢ قَرِيبٍ فَأَصَّدَّقَ وَأَكُن مِّنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ * وَلَن يُؤَخِّرَ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِذَا جَآسءَ أَجَلُهَا ۚ» Translation: “And spend out of what We have provided for you before death approaches one of you and he says: My Lord, why did You not grant me respite for a little while that I may give charity and be among the righteous? And Allah never grants respite to anyone when his term has come.” [7]
4. And in another place, it is said: «وَلَوْ رُدُّوا لَعَادُوا لِمَا نُهُوا عَنْهُ ۚ» Translation: “If You return them, they will return to that from which they were forbidden.” [8]
5. The following verse also implies (non-return to the world after death); Allah the Most High says:
«فَلَوْلَا إِذَا بَلَغَتِ الْحُلْقُومَ، وَأَنتُمْ حِينَئِذٍ تَنظُرُونَ، وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنكُمْ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تُبْصِرُونَ، فَلَوْلَا إِن كُنتُمْ غَيْرَ مَدِينِينَ، تَرْجِعُونَهَا إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ، فَأَمَّا إِن كَانَ مِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ، فَرَوْحٌ وَرَيْحَانٌ وَجَنَّةُ نَعِيمٍ، وَأَمَّا إِن كَانَ مِنَ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ، فَسَلَامٌ لَّكَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ، وَأَمَّا إِن كَانَ مِنَ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ الضَّالِّينَ، فَنُزُلٌ مِّنْ حَمِيمٍ، وَتَصْلِيَةُ جَحِيمٍ» Translation: “Then why do you not turn it back when it reaches the throat – and We are nearer to it than you, but you do not see – if you are truthful, if you are not condemned? So, if he is from the near ones, then he will have comfort and a pleasant fragrance and a paradise of bliss. And if he is from the companions of the right hand, peace be upon you from the companions of the right hand. And if he is from the disbelievers and the misguided, then his abode will be a place of boiling water and the blazing fire of Hell”. [9]
Also in Surah Yasin, the text of which clearly states that after death, there is no return to worldly life in any form of incarnation: «وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ اتَّقُوا مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَمَا خَلْفَكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ، وَمَا تَأْتِيهِم مِّنْ آيَةٍ مِّنْ آيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ إِلَّا كَانُوا عَنْهَا مُعْرِضِينَ،» Translation: “And when it is said to them, ‘Fear what is before you and what is behind you that you may receive mercy,’ no sign comes to them from the signs of their Lord except that they turn away from it”. [10]
It Is also stated: «أَفَلَمْ يَرَوْا كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُم مِّنَ الْقُرُونِ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِمْ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ» Translation: “Have they not seen how many generations before them We destroyed and that to them they will not be returned?” [11]
There is evidence in the above verses of the Quran that this theory is invalid and contradicts the principles of the Quran that are the basis of the Islamic faith. We add that the issue of resurrection is of such importance that it cannot be based on speculation and conjecture, because it is one of the great pillars of faith. It must be so clear and firm that there is no difference in its understanding over time in order for Allah’s proof in it to be complete, and this is completely missing in the arguments of the proponents of reincarnation to prove their theory. [12]
6. it is proven in the words of Allah Almighty: «وَمِن وَرَائِهِم بَرْزَخٌ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ»that after death, there is a life of purgatorial for man, in which he enjoys blessings or is punished. This is confirmed in other verses of the Quran, as well as in the Prophetic Sunnah and numerous hadiths. The authentic hadiths regarding the life of purgatorial state that questioning and punishment are certain for the soul of a believer, because without it, the call, blessing, or punishment have no meaning. The soul is busy with its owner, either interceding for him or testifying against him, [13] as Allah Almighty has said: «كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ» Translation: “Every soul is held in pledge for what it has earned”. [14]
Dr. Abdullah Al-Samerai criticizes the claim of some proponents of reincarnation who claim that the punishment of the grave is evidence for the truth of reincarnation, and provides a very logical answer, saying: “The claim of some proponents of reincarnation who consider the punishment of the grave as evidence for the truth of reincarnation is a completely false claim, because there is no connection between the Islamic image of the punishment of the grave and the reincarnation image of worldly punishment. Islam establishes the punishment of the soul in a life other than this worldly life, which it calls “Barzakh,” while the theory of reincarnation establishes that the punishment of the soul is realized by its return to another body in this worldly life; Even if some proponents of reincarnation say that the soul may undergo stages of purification before entering another body in this worldly life, the torment of the grave will not cleanse the person of his grave sins; rather, after resurrection, he will be tormented again in hell. This idea is completely contrary to the view of proponents of reincarnation who do not believe in resurrection and do not accept punishment in the form mentioned in the Holy Quran – whether in the blessings of heaven or the torment of hell – while punishment in the theory of reincarnation is realized by transferring the soul to different bodies.” [15]
Dr. Saeed Ramadan Al-Bouti has said in rejecting this absurd belief (reincarnation): “It is not possible for the soul to separate from its owner and reside in another body to experience a new behavior and a different existence in it. No wise person can reconcile belief in reincarnation with belief in what happens after death from questioning and torment, because these two are clearly contradictory. “Believing in one of them means denying the other.” [16]
Based on the explanations given, reincarnation is a belief based on desires and intellect and has no religious or historical basis. None of the groups that believe in this belief (reincarnation) can provide a logical reason that even intellect can accept, let alone a religious reason; therefore, the reincarnation that Sikhs believe in is a superstitious and blasphemous belief that has been influenced by other false religions.
Continues…
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References:
1. Transmigration of souls, its origins and the Islamic ruling on it, p. 221.
2. Al-Zumar: 68-69.
3. Islam in the Face of Esotericism, Abu Al-Haitham, pp. 47, 48.
4. Al-Mumemnun, verses 99-100.
5. Transmigration of souls, its origins and the Islamic ruling on it, p. 232.
6. Tafsir Ibn Kathir, vol. 5, p. 493.
7. Al-Monafeqoun, 10-11.
8. Al-An’am, 28.
9. Al-Waqi’ah: 83-94.
10. Yasin: 45-46.
11. Yasin: 31.
12. Transmigration of souls, its origins and the Islamic ruling on it, p. 233.
13. Ibid, 233.
14. Al-Muddaththir: 38.
15. D. Abdullah Al-Samerai, Extremism and Expensive Sects, p. 131.
16. The Greatest Universal Certainties, p. 315.
