Author: Abu Ayesha
Resurrection after Death (part 28)
Sixth Doubt: Lack of Evidence for the Existence of the Hereafter
One of the doubts raised by those who deny the Hereafter is that the existence of the Day of Resurrection and the Hereafter is merely a claim and that there is no evidence to prove it.
Response to the Doubt
Although we have previously established, through numerous definitive proofs—including Qur’anic verses, the Hadiths of the Prophet (PBUH), the statements of scholars, and rational arguments—that the Day of Resurrection and the Hereafter do indeed exist, we will nevertheless address this doubt by discussing three points:
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Discussing the Hereafter and presenting evidence for its existence is secondary to first establishing certain attributes of Allah Almighty, such as wisdom, justice, and truthfulness. In other words, we must first prove the existence of Allah Almighty along with His attributes. Only then can we proceed to discuss the hereafter and the evidence for it. It is unreasonable to expect an independent rational proof for the hereafter without first recognizing Allah Almighty. This is because the concept of the Hereafter is not an independent religious doctrine separate from belief in Allah; rather, it is intrinsically connected to faith in Him and cannot be examined or established independently.
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Another point is that those who deny the Hereafter, throughout the centuries during which they have advanced this claim, have never been able to produce a single proof for its nonexistence. Consequently, they have ultimately limited themselves to considering it improbable.
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The details of the Hereafter—such as the beginning of the Resurrection, the gathering of humanity, Paradise, Hell, and other related matters—are established through religious texts (the Qur’an and the Hadiths of the Prophet), not through reason alone. [1] At this point, we should pause and humbly acknowledge that although reason can comprehend many things, it is completely incapable of grasping such matters. It can never independently comprehend realities that belong to the unseen, which Allah (SWT) has concealed from us. Therefore, we do not subject these matters to rational speculation; rather, we affirm with certainty and conviction whatever Allah Almighty and His Noble Messenger (PBUH) have informed us about.
Seventh Doubt: The Return of the Soul to the Body Is Reincarnation
Some people claim that those who affirm both bodily and spiritual resurrection are actually proponents of reincarnation, because they maintain that the human soul is transferred from one body to another.
They argue that if bodies are restored, this would constitute reincarnation, which is the transfer of a soul from one body to another. They reason that the first body is not identical to the second body, since the Hadiths mention that the inhabitants of Paradise will be youthful, handsome, hairless, and beardless, while the tooth of an inhabitant of Hell will be as large as Mount Uhud. Therefore, they conclude that those who believe that bodies will also be resurrected are effectively affirming reincarnation. [2]
Response to the Doubt
In response, it should be said that reincarnation only applies if the second body is not created from the essential components of the first body. Calling such a restoration “reincarnation” is merely a matter of terminology. According to those who actually believe in reincarnation, it means that souls return to physical forms in this worldly life, not in the Hereafter. They deny Paradise, Hell, and all other matters related to the afterlife. [3]
First, it is important to understand that reincarnation has a specific definition. What we are discussing here is the return of the soul on the Day of Judgment to its original body so that it may receive the reward or punishment for the deeds it performed in this world. This is entirely different from the false concept of reincarnation to which some people subscribe. Even if someone chooses to label it “reincarnation” according to his own understanding, there is no issue, because whatever has been affirmed by the Shari‘ah must be accepted wholeheartedly. [4]
Note: In order to understand what reincarnation is, how it occurs, and who believes in it, we will, Allah willing, discuss this subject in detail in the next section.
To be continued…
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References:
[1]. Qarāmalikī, Muhammad Hasan, Al-Ma‘ād: Ajwibat al-Shubuhāt al-Kalāmiyyah (5), Arabic translation by Musa Ahmad Qusayr, 1440 AH, pp. 44–45.
[2]. Al-Hanafi, Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh Kitab al-Fiqh al-Akbar li’l-Imam Abi Hanifah (RA), n.d., p. 12.
[3]. Al-Hanafi, Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh Kitab al-Fiqh al-Akbar li’l-Imam Abi Hanifah (RA), n.d., p. 12.
[4]. Al-Masir, Dr. Muhammad Sayyed Ahmad, Al-Ruh fi Dirasat al-Mutakallimin wa al-Falasifah, 1988, p. 190.
