Author: Abu Ayesha
Resurrection After Death (part 36)
Faith in the Resurrection and Its Impact on Human Life
The Harms of Denying Resurrection After Death
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As previously stated, those who deny resurrection after death and refuse to accept it are considered disbelievers by the consensus of Muslim scholars.
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Denying resurrection after death is tantamount to rejecting Allah and His Messenger. This matter has already been established through evidence from the Noble Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
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Denial of resurrection is one of the most dangerous beliefs affecting human behavior. A person who does not believe in life after death and assumes that existence ends with death is more likely to become immersed in sins, wrongdoing, oppression, tyranny, corruption on earth, and the violation of others’ rights. This is because such a person believes that there will be no future life and no accountability for whatever actions he commits. This is one of the greatest harms resulting from disbelief in resurrection. [1]
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Denying resurrection after death reflects having a negative assumption about the Lord of the Worlds. Ibn al-Qayyim (RA) said:
“Whoever believes that Allah Almighty will not gather His servants after their death for reward and punishment in an abode where the righteous will be rewarded and the wicked will receive the consequences of their deeds, and that He will not make clear to His creation the truth concerning their disputes, nor demonstrate to all people the truthfulness of Himself and His Messenger (PBUH), nor expose His enemies who were liars—then such a person has indeed harbored an evil assumption about his Lord.”
Having a bad opinion of Allah Almighty is among the gravest sins, and its punishment is severe. Allah Almighty says: (وَيُعَذِّبَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ وَالْمُشْرِكَاتِ الظَّانِّينَ بِاللَّهِ ظَنَّ السَّوْءِ عَلَيْهِمْ دَائِرَةُ السَّوْءِ وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَنَهُمْ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَهَنَّمَ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا) Translation: “And He will punish the hypocrite men and hypocrite women, and the polytheist men and polytheist women—those who harbor evil thoughts about Allah. Upon them is the evil turn of fortune. Allah has become angry with them, has cursed them, and has prepared Hell for them. What an evil destination it is!” [2]
Consider that Islamic law forbids having bad suspicions about fellow human beings. How much greater, then, is the crime of harboring evil assumptions about the Lord of all creation?
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Another of the greatest harms of denying resurrection and the Hereafter is that it degrades a person to the lowest level of creation, even lower than dogs and pigs.
The consequences of denying resurrection are not limited to the harms mentioned above. Rather, it is a vast and serious matter that effectively negates the divine names and attributes of Allah. Those who deny resurrection act as though they do not truly acknowledge Allah as the Sovereign and Master of this universe.
In summary, if one were to express the significance of resurrection and the enormity of the crime of denying it in a single sentence, it would be this: “The denial of resurrection after death is the foundation of all crimes and sins.”
This is, in fact, a general principle that can be applied to many situations and is supported by observation. Those who fear the Day of Judgment and believe in resurrection are generally more cautious in their actions. Merchants and shopkeepers who fear that Day do not willingly sell goods at prices that unjustly harm people. Employees who are conscious of the hardships of that day do not unnecessarily delay people’s affairs or cause them hardship through needless waiting. [3]
A vital complement to faith in Allah, and a means of purifying hearts from polytheism, idolatry, and deviation, is faith in resurrection and the recompense of deeds. Through this belief, the believer’s relationship with his Lord becomes stronger. He becomes more aware that Allah is watching and monitoring all his actions, and he constantly strives to attain His pleasure and be protected from the terrors of that Day: (يَوْمَ يَقُومُ النَّاسُ لِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ) Translation: “The Day when mankind will stand before the Lord of the Worlds.” [4]
If there were no resurrection, no reckoning, and no reward or punishment for deeds, then faith in Allah would become merely an abstract intellectual concept with little influence on human behavior and no real power to restrain the desires of the soul.
When a believer remembers that Day—the resurrection and the final judgment—and reflects upon its awe and terror, he contemplates the punishment awaiting the disobedient and rebellious. Before committing a sinful act or falling into disobedience, he humbles himself before Allah Almighty and acknowledges his weakness and dependence upon Him. [5]
If a believer constantly keeps this day in mind, then whenever his lower self urges him toward evil and sinful desires pull him toward disobedience, remembering that day serves as a powerful means of freeing him from the influence of passions and worldly temptations. [6]
To be continued…
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Reverences:
- Abdul Latif, Dr. Abdul Aziz bin Muhammad, Nawāqiḍ al-Īmān al-Qawliyyah wa al-ʿAmaliyyah (Nullifiers of Faith in Speech and Action), 1427 AH, p. 224.
- Surah Al-Fatḥ (48), Verse 6.
- Al-Jazā’irī, Abu Bakr Jabir bin Musa bin Abdul Qadir, Aysar al-Tafāsīr li-Kalām al-ʿAlī al-Kabīr (The Easiest Commentaries on the Words of the Most High), 1424 AH / 2003 CE, Vol. 4, p. 6.
- Ibn ʿĀshūr al-Tūnisī, Muhammad al-Tahir bin Muhammad, Al-Taḥrīr wa al-Tanwīr (Liberation of Sound Meaning and Illumination of Renewed Reason through the Interpretation of the Glorious Qur’an), 1984, Vol. 30, p. 178.
- Surah Al-Muṭaffifīn (83), Verse 6.
- Al-Khaṭīb, Abdul Karim Yunus, Al-Tafsīr al-Qur’ānī lil-Qur’ān (The Qur’anic Interpretation of the Qur’an), n.d., Vol. 2, p. 407.
