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Question: Please can you explain death to me - I have lost my dearest mother just last week... I have lots of questions which no on can seem to answer Please can you tell me will my mum now how and where she is ? Will she miss us ? How does the process work after the burial? I now these are all silly question but I need to know.
Answer: First and foremost, our deepest condolences on the passing away of your mother. Inna Lillahe wa Inna ilaihi Raaji'un. May Allah grant her peace and forgive her sins. And may Allah make her grave a garden of Paradise. Ameen.
It is our belief as Muslims that each and every soul will taste death. The Qur’an states that ’Every should shall taste death’ (3:185). Because of the way language works we tend to associate death with nothingness. Death is the opposite of life; when we are alive, we can see, hear and feel things. Therefore we tend to think that when a person is dead, the deceased cannot do anything at all. Islam’s position is different to this approach. Imam Qurtubi defines Mawt when he writes: ‘Death (al-Mawt) does not mean mere nothingness. Rather, it means the transferral from one state to another.’ In other words, death only implies departure from this world. It does not mean total obliteration or non-existence after death. When someone visits the grave, then the deceased recognise the visitors. It is only that we have no means to hear and acknowledge this. Barzakh is the name given to the period between death and the resurrection and we sometimes talk about the Aalam Barzakh (world of Barzakh), when referring to this period. According to his faith and actions in the previous life, a person will either enjoy the favours of Allah during this period or he will be punished. In Barzakh, different souls are kept at different places according to their degree and status. Some souls will reside in the graves whilst others will live between the sky and earth. Other fortunate souls will reside in the gardens of paradise.
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