Death: On Hearing of the Death of a non-Muslim Friend

What should one say or read on hearing of the death of a non-Muslim friend?

You may say: "To God belongs what He gives, and to Him belongs what He takes. We all belong to God and to Him we all return." You may also offer condolences to his family and help with whatever you can. You may also attend the funeral, but not the service held in a church or a temple.

Death: The Dead, Their Reward & Grades

You mentioned in an earlier answer that a dead parent benefits by his child's prayer, and that a parent's position may be upgraded. How could this happen when before the Day of Resurrection the dead are in the intermediate stage of the barzakh? Does it mean that the soul would have already reached heaven? How can a person do something for his deceased relative? What actions can a parent or a son do to increase the reward of their dear departed ones?

When questions about what happens after death are concerned, I do not like to embark on detailed discussion. I prefer to limit myself to the obvious meaning of what is mentioned in the Qur'an, or what the Prophet, peace be upon him, has told us. We should accept this without asking too many questions about method and form. The fact is that we cannot comprehend the nature of the life to come within the terms of our present life. The two are totally different.

Of course, there is a time gap between people's death and the Day of Resurrection. This is what is termed as the barzakh, which literally means a gap in between two things. As far as life is concerned, this is the intermediate stage. However, when people are questioned in the grave about their actions, they learn something about the outcome of their test in this life.

The Hadith, which tells people about the improvement in their prospects as a result of a child's prayer, means that they are told of this.

How and in what way, we certainly do not know. Needless to say, a child's prayer is one of the three ways that people may have reward added to their credit after their death. The other two methods are a continuous act of charity and a useful contribution to knowledge.

We may benefit the dead by offering Zakah and charity on their behalf, and by doing the pilgrimage or the Umrah and dedicating its reward to them.

We may also read the Qur'an, and request God to credit them with the reward of our reading. Any act of worship that may be done by proxy can also be offered on behalf of a deceased person.

Death: Things to Do after Parents' Death

Could you please explain what are the best things that one may do to benefit one's departed mother, or father, after their death? Is it true that the body of a dead person hears what we tell to that person until the body is buried? Are the souls of dead people kept in a particular place until the Day of Judgment? Do people meet after their death, so that a son would know his parents and be with them?

There are several things one may do to benefit a departed parent. The simplest thing that is available to everyone at all times is to pray for our parents and dead relatives. God tells us in the Qur'an, that we should always pray for them saying: "Our Lord, have mercy on them as they have brought me up when I was young." This brings the association that a person is most indulgent of, and compassionate to, a young child, overlooking naughty behavior and allowing love and compassion to determine his responses. When God, with His infinite grace and limitless mercy, looks at people and weighs their deeds from the same angle, He forgives them all their sins. This is exactly what every one of us needs in order to be certain of a happy new life in heaven.

Perhaps the best thing that one may do on behalf of one's deceased parents is to offer the pilgrimage or the Umrah on their behalf. It is well known that a goodly pilgrimage, which is free of sin and misbehavior, is rewarded with the forgiveness of all past sins. So, when you offer the pilgrimage on behalf of your deceased mother, or father, God grants them forgiveness of all their sins. Needless to say, you need to offer the pilgrimage on behalf of one of them at a time. You cannot do it on behalf of both at the same time. You may also give money to charity, i.e. Sadaqah, on their behalf. If this is of the continuing type, then you ensure a continuous reward for them. You may also read the Qur'an, and request God to credit the reward of your recitation to your parents.

All such actions ensure a better reward for one's parents. The Prophet, peace be upon him, mentions that a dead person may find that his position in heaven is upgraded. Such a person addresses a question to God Almighty asking him how come that his position is so improved, and the answer given to that person is: "This increase is due to your child's prayer for you."

When we die, we are unable to perform any action. No one may hear what the living are saying, or know what they are doing. God says to the Prophet: "You cannot make those already in the graves hear what you say." (35: 22) Although the reader is asking about the time before burial, yet even then, the same applies.

After death, souls are in what is called "the life in the barzakh", which is a status in between this life and the second life that begins on the Day of Judgment. We do not know the details of this life and how it is conducted, but it is a life where no actions are done, and no reward is administered. We only know that the people who have done well in this life, being devout and doing what God requires them to do will be in a happy state, while determined sinners will suffer what is termed as the "torment in the grave." Whether people will be united with their loved ones after death, before the Day of Judgment, is unknown, but they certainly do so in heaven.


Death: Torment in the Grave

Since Arabic has only two tenses, past and present, all references to the hereafter and the Day of Judgment are made in the present tense. This means that when a person dies, he or she immediately goes to either heaven or hell. This means that the reward or punishment they receive will be immediate. as we do not have reference to it in the Qur'an and this also means that the common notion about torment in the grave is inaccurate. I think that when a person is dead his or her spirit is no longer confined to their bodies. The spirit would be immediately facing God. Actions of the person concerned would have been immediately reviewed. Since time does not apply there, it is difficult to imagine how this happens. Hence God describes it in the Qur'an in a way which we can understand. Please comment.

The reader starts with a false premise. While Arabic may be said to have two tenses, past and present, it expresses the future very clearly by adding a modal to the present. There are two modals, "Sa" for the immediate future and "Sawfa" for the distant future. Thus, to say that the hereafter starts immediately on one's death is a misconception. It starts with a day when all creation will be gathered together. This means that there is a time gap between one's death and resurrection for the hereafter.

While torment in the grave is not mentioned in these words in the Qur'an, there are clear references to it. One such reference occurs in verse 46 of Surah 40, which speaks about the people of Pharaoh and states: "They are brought by the fire morning and evening; then when the Last Hour occurs, (it shall be said:) Place the people of Pharaoh in the most severe torment." The verse clearly provides for a sequence of actions: the bringing of those people before the fire twice a day; then their entry in hell where the worst place is reserved for them.

Now how does all this occur and what sort of time applies there, we do not know. But we take what the Qur'an says about the Hereafter at face value and believe in it without hesitation. Why should we bother ourselves with its being a mental picture drawn in a way that is possible for us to understand or as a reality described in real terms? This affects the truth of the Hereafter in no way. If we believe in God, we take His word, i.e. the Qur'an, as it is and believe in it as it is expressed.

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