What happens when our loved ones die? What will your life in the grave—and in the world that surrounds it—be like? Those we have buried are not actually dead. They have entered the Barzakh, a parallel existence where there are people right now that are just as alive as you. Everything about their lives is determined by their deeds in the dunya. Are they blessed or wretched? Happy or horrified? It’s up to the choices that they made, and that we make every day.
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NOTE: All depictions of Barzakh are purely conceptual and only vocals were used in the making of the soundtrack.
References:
- It is narrated that one day, Ibrahim ibn Adham went out into the wilderness when he was met by a soldier. The soldier asked him, “Are you a slave?” Ibrahim replied, “Yes.” The soldier then asked, “Where is the nearest settlement?” Ibrahim pointed toward a graveyard and said, “There.” The soldier, irritated, said, “I meant a place of habitation!” Ibrahim responded, “That is the true habitation.” Angered by his response, the soldier struck him on the head with a whip, wounding him, and then sent him back to town. As Ibrahim entered, his companions saw his injury and asked what had happened. The soldier explained what had transpired, and they told him, “This is Ibrahim ibn Adham!” Realizing his mistake, the soldier immediately dismounted, kissed Ibrahim’s hands and feet, and began apologizing. Later, someone asked Ibrahim, “Why did you say, ‘I am a slave’?” He replied, “He did not ask, ‘Whose slave are you?’ He simply asked, ‘Are you a slave?’ So I answered truthfully—yes, I am a slave of Allah.” Then he was asked, “And when he struck you, what did you do?” He said, “I prayed to Allah to grant him Paradise.” The people were astonished and asked, “How could you pray for him when he wronged you?” Ibrahim replied, “Because I knew that I would be rewarded for the harm he caused me, so I did not want my share from him to be good while his share from me was evil.” [Al-Ghazali, Ihya’ ‘Uloom ad-Deen, vol. 3, p. 70]
- Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Narrate from the Children of Israel, and there is no harm in doing so, for indeed, among them were astonishing events.” Then the Prophet (ﷺ) began to relate a story, saying: “A group from the Children of Israel once set out until they came upon one of their cemeteries. They said, ‘Let us pray two rak‘ahs and ask Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, to bring forth a man from among the dead so we may ask him about death.’
So they did so. While they were engaged in this, suddenly, a man raised his head from one of the graves. He was of dark complexion, and between his eyes was the mark of prostration.
He said, ‘O people! What do you want from me? I died a hundred years ago, yet the heat of death has not subsided from me until this very moment. So, pray to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, to return me as I once was.’” [Imam Ahmad, az-Zuhd, no. 88] - The Prophet ﷺ led the prophets in prayer at al-Aqsa, then conversed with them throughout the seven heavens. [Sahih Muslim #172]
- The Prophet ﷺ led the prophets in prayer at al-Aqsa, then conversed with them throughout the seven heavens. [Sahih Muslim #172]
- The Prophet ﷺ saw Musa praying alone in his grave. [Sahih Muslim #2375]
- Hassan al-Basri said about us: “O Son of Adam, you are nothing but a number of days. Whenever a day passes, then a part of you has gone.” [Al-Isfahani, Hilyat al-Awliya’]
- Do not be hasty with them. Indeed we are counting down their days. [Qur’an, 19:84]
- Ibn Abbas said: We’re counting down every one of their breaths in this life. [Tafsir Ibn Kathir]
- When ‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan stood by a grave, he would weep until his beard became wet. It was said to him, “You remember Paradise and Hell and you do not weep, but you weep because of this?” He said: “The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Verily, the grave is the first stage of the Hereafter. If one is saved from it, whatever comes after will be easier for him. If one is not saved from it, whatever comes after will be harder for him. I have never seen anything more harrowing than the grave.’” [Jami’ at-Tirmidhi #2308]
- Masrooq said: “There is no home better for a believer than his grave. He has been relieved from the affairs of the world or from the punishment of Allah.” [Wakee’ ibn al-Jarrah, Kitab al-Zuhd]
- Uthman ibn Sawda said that his mother Raahiba, who was a righteous woman, lifted her head toward the sky when she was dying and said: “O my ultimate treasure and my only true reserve! O the One upon whom I place my complete trust in life and after death! Do not forsake me at the moment of death, and do not leave me in loneliness within my grave.”
Then, she passed away.
Uthman said: “I used to visit her grave every Friday, praying for her and seeking forgiveness for her and the people of the graves. One night, I saw her in a dream and asked, ‘O my mother, how are you?’
She replied: ‘O my son, death is indeed a severe ordeal. But, by the grace of Allah, I am now in a blessed state in the Barzakh, where we recline upon fragrant basil and rest upon silk and brocade until the Day of Resurrection.’
I asked, ‘Do you need anything?’
She said: ‘Yes. Do not stop what you are doing—your visits and prayers for us. For every Friday when you leave your home to visit, I receive glad tidings. It is said to me: “O Rāhiba, your son is coming to visit you.” This brings me joy, and it brings joy to those around me from among the dead.’” [Ibn al-Jawzi, Sifat as-Safwa, ] - When Abdullah ibn Ghalib (ra) died, an amazing smell came out of his grave like mist right after he was buried—then he was seen in a dream and asked about that smell and he said that was the breath of my recitation and thirst. [Ibn Rajab, Lata’if al-Ma’arif]
