Barzakh
What is Barzakh?
Barzakh is known as a realm that begins with human death and continues until the Day of Resurrection. The realm of Barzakh has differences from the Resurrection, including that in Barzakh there exists an ethereal body (jesm-e mesāli) while in the Resurrection there is physical resurrection. Additionally, the intercession of the Imams is only recognized in the Resurrection, and in Barzakh, there is no intercession from the Ahl al-Bayt.
In narrations, Barzakh is referred to as the grave; Imam Ali (AS) considered Barzakh to be the grave itself and believed that the misguided people have a bitter life there and are in torment.
Scholars have found the descriptions of Barzakh in narrations to be very similar to descriptions of the intermediate realm and believe these two refer to the same external reality. According to Shia narrations, in Barzakh, the meeting and visitation of spirits with each other and with people of the worldly realm is considered possible.
The Reality of Barzakh
The realm of Barzakh is understood to exist from the moment of death until the Day of Resurrection.[1] The Quran also uses the term Barzakh to describe the world between this life and the hereafter: ﴾Until when death comes to one of them, he says: 'My Lord! Send me back! So that I might do good in what I have left behind.' Never! It is but a word that he speaks. And behind them is a Barzakh until the Day they are resurrected!﴿(Al-Mu'minun:99-100) The Quran refers to Barzakh in other instances as well.[2]
Scholars have found the descriptions of Barzakh in narrations to be very similar to descriptions of the intermediate realm and believe these two refer to the same external reality. Imam Sadiq (AS), responding to someone who thought the soul transfers into a bird after death, considered the believer's dignity to be above being placed in the form of a bird. The Imam described the souls of believers as being in bodies similar to their worldly bodies.[3]
Several differences have been noted between the two realms of Barzakh and Resurrection, including the existence of an ethereal body in Barzakh[4] and physical resurrection in the Day of Resurrection.[5] Additionally, narrations from the Imams (AS) clarify that intercession in the realm of Barzakh does not apply to sinners and the afflicted, and is exclusively reserved for the Day of Resurrection. Imam Sadiq (AS) stated that through the intercession of the Prophet (PBUH) and the infallible Imams (AS) on the Day of Resurrection, all Shia will enter Paradise, but expressed concern about the state of Shia in Barzakh.[6]
The Grave and Barzakh
Most verses that speak of the grave and address its stages have been interpreted to mean a realm beyond the physical grave.[7] In narrations, the realm of Barzakh is also referred to as the grave.[8] Imam Ali (AS) considered Barzakh to be the same as the grave and believed that the misguided people have a bitter life there and are in torment.[9] Imam Sadiq (AS) described Barzakh as the period from death until the hereafter[10], indicating that the grave and Barzakh are one and the same.
Punishments and Rewards in Barzakh
In Barzakh, like the hereafter, there exist blessings and torments; the Quran quotes a believing person who was martyred by his people and entered Paradise, saying: ﴾If only my people knew that my Lord has forgiven me and placed me among the honored ones.﴿(Ya-Sin:26-27). Tabarsi, one of the Shia exegetes, believes this verse indicates the blessings of Barzakh.[11] There are other verses that also refer to the blessings and torments in Barzakh. In addition to these verses, narrations also speak of the torments and blessings in Barzakh.[12]
Communication with Others in Barzakh
Various narrations about the meeting of believers and non-believers spirits with people of the worldly realm in Barzakh have been reported, with a separate chapter dedicated to this topic in Al-Kafi, one of the most important Shia hadith sources.[13] Additionally, according to Shia narrations, spirits can meet and visit with each other in Barzakh. It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (AS) that spirits in Barzakh recognize each other and inquire about one another.[14]
References
- ↑ Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Ya‘qūb, al-Furū‘ min al-Kāfī, j 3, ṣ 242, ḥ 3.
- ↑ Sūrat al-Baqara, āya 154. Sūrat Maryam, āya 62. Sūrat al-Mu’min, āya 11.
- ↑ Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Ya‘qūb, al-Furū‘ min al-Kāfī, j 3, ṣ 244, ḥ 1.
- ↑ Sa‘īdī Mihr, Muḥammad, Āmūzish-e Kalām-e Islāmī, 1381, j 2, ṣ 240.
- ↑ Subḥānī, Ja‘far, Manshūr-e Jāvīd, Mu’assisa-ye Sayyid al-Shuhadā, ch 1, 1369, j 9, ṣ 140.
- ↑ Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Ya‘qūb, al-Kāfī, Tehrān, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1365 sh, j 3, ṣ 242.
- ↑ Al-Mufradāt, ṣ 390.
- ↑ Ḥasan-zāda, ‘Uyūn Masā’il al-Nafs, j 2, ṣ 365.
- ↑ Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir, Biḥār al-Anwār, j 6, ṣ 218.
- ↑ Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Ya‘qūb, al-Furū‘ min al-Kāfī, j 3, ṣ 242, ḥ 3. Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir, Biḥār al-Anwār, j 6, ṣ 267.
- ↑ Ṭabarsī, Faḍl ibn Ḥasan, Majma‘ al-Bayān fī Tafsīr al-Qur’ān, j 8, ṣ 659.
- ↑ Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Ya‘qūb, al-Furū‘ min al-Kāfī, j 3, ṣ 244, ḥ 2. Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir, Ḥaqq al-Yaqīn, ṣ 477.
- ↑ Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Ya‘qūb, al-Kāfī, 1407 q, j 3, ṣ 230.
- ↑ Kulaynī, Muḥammad ibn Ya‘qūb, al-Furū‘ min al-Kāfī, j 3, ṣ 244, ḥ 3. Makāram Shīrāzī, Nāṣir, Payām-e Qur’ān, Qom, j 5, ṣ 459.