In Islam, the idea of the soul and its experience during life, death, and the afterlife has deep roots in the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. According to Muslims, the soul forms a fundamental aspect of human existence and is created by God to be tried in this life before embarking on eternal journeys in the Hereafter. The passage of the soul is simply considered to be a continuous process that begins at the time of its creation, passes through the road of life and death, and eventually leads to either Heaven (Jannah) or Hell (Jahannam), based on the person’s deeds and faith.
Creation of the Soul
Allah, in the Quran, relates that He has created every human being with a particular soul that He breathes into the body at a stage of fetal development. In Surah Al-Hijr (15:29), Allah says:
“And when I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My spirit, then fall down before him in prostration.”
This has the implication that the soul is directly from Allah and breathes in a life given through him, making humans different from any other living thing.
In Islamic belief, it has been narrated that the souls of people existed before when they were born and were all congregated at one point where they swore an oath to worship Allah. The Quranic verse Al-A’raf (7:172) states,
“And mention when your Lord took from the children of Adam from their sides their descendants and made them testify as you are now; and called them as a witness against themselves, saying, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said, ‘Yes we testify.'”
This covenant means that every soul is born with a basic cognition regarding Allah and his responsibilities to fulfill his mission in life by worshiping Him.
The Purpose of Life on Earth for the Soul
In Islam, life on earth is but a temporal phase in the journey of the soul. The soul is tested through varied experiences and challenges. All these happen to shape one’s fate in the afterlife as a result of the free will that has been accorded to human beings. God has given human beings the free choice between good and evil, and the choices they make in life determine their afterlife. Allah has said in the Quran that life is a test for the soul, wherein it will observe how the individual soul would behave with guidance and tests. The sayings of Allah are as follows in Surah Al-Mulk 67:2
“[He] who created death and life that He might put you to the test: as to which of you is best in works—and He is the Exalted in Power, the Forgiving.”
For Muslims, faith, intentions, and deeds here can be of the utmost importance as to the path their soul will take when they die. Life is a preparation for the Hereafter, in which the ultimate aim of life is to obtain Allah’s mercy and enter into Jannah or Paradise.
Now, let us talk about the moment of death: the separation of the soul.
Islam believes in death as a transition from one phase of life to another. The soul is taken out of the body, and this is considered a natural separation between one’s soul and body. When death strikes, an angel called Malak al-Mawt comes to take a person’s soul from his body. He said this in the Quran in Surah As-Sajdah (32:11):
Say, “The angel of death is entrusted with you. So let him take your soul; then to your Lord, you will be returned.”
This moment is soothing and consoling to the righteous soul. According to a very famous hadith, where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) narrated that when the soul of a believing person is taken away, fragrances of Paradise greet it, and gently as a drop of water flows from a cup, it leaves the body. And then it is taken up to the heavens followed and honored and then returned to the grave.
But it is distressing and fraught with terror to the wrongdoer’s soul. The angels of punishment come with faces all blackened, and soul is dragged from the body bodily according to a host of hadith that starkly juxtaposed the two.
The Barzakh: Life in the Grave
After leaving the body, the soul finds its way into the Barzakh-which is this state between death and resurrection. Muslim teaching holds that this is the stay of the soul in between before the judgment Day. In this period, the soul tastes either pleasure or torment resulting from acts performed in the life world.
Righteous souls reportedly receive a preview of the joys experienced in Jannah while still in their tombs, serenely and with great satisfaction. The sinful souls might experience some of the punishment as harassment of the outcomes of their action, an antecedent of the major judgment.
The Prophet Muhammad taught that the grave can be either “a garden from the gardens of Paradise or a pit from the pits of Hell.”
Day of Judgment: Final Judgment
The soul thus reaches its final journey at the Day of Judgment, when all creatures are resurrected and stand accountable for their deeds. It is described with great vividness in the Quran as the day of tremendous fear and awe, when every individual will be judged according to his deeds, faith, and intentions.
On this very day, the soul will stand before Allah, and the deeds of a person will be weighed in a balance. Those people who followed the course of faith and were engaged in good work would find reward in Jannah, the place of eternal bliss. Those who rejected the faith and performed evil acts would be given some form of punishment in Jahannam.
Jannah, The Immortal Paradise
Jannah is a kind of prize for the righteous soul. In the Quran, the concept of Jannah is described as one of complete peace, happiness, and beauty that no one can even think about. There will be no sadness, pain, or sorrow in Jannah; rather, it is eternal bliss with Allah. The Quranic verses in Surah Al-Insan (76:12-13) say this of Jannah:
“And reward them for what they patiently endured with a garden [in Paradise] and silk [garments]. [They will be] reclining therein on adorned couches. They will not see therein any [burning] sun or [freezing] cold.”
Moreover, the happiness of Jannah encompasses all things that the person could enjoy. The greatest reward is seeing Allah quoted from the hadith.
Jannah, The Immortal Paradise
Contrarily, Jahannam is the place for tormentors as well as evil deed-doers who renounced Allah’s guidance. The Quran describes it as an epitome of extreme agony; those souls are left to experience torture and pain. The Quran has elaborately depicted Jahannam and cautioned its people against bad habits which will take them to this extreme position. Surah Al-Mulk (67:6-7) says:
“And for those who disbelieved in their Lord is the punishment of Hell, and wretched is the destination. When they are thrown into it, they hear from it a [dreadful] inhaling while it boils up.”
Conclusion
The journey of the soul in Islam is a description of the person’s spiritual state in life and his or her actions. Everything about a soul- from being created to the afterlife-is all owing to the relationship that it has had with Allah and to what extent it has followed Allah’s guidance. Allah wants all souls to achieve His mercy so they can enter Jannah and be blessed with eternal happiness. But this journey is a reminder to us of how heavy our thoughts are here and how they can have eternal consequences in the Hereafter.
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