Source: https://www.al-islam.org/what-everyone-should-know-about-islam-ayatullah-ibrahim-amini/chapter-4-resurrection-or-hereafter
Timestamp: 2019-04-18 20:19:30+00:00

Document:
1. None of the acts are without an aim and objective; whoever does some work also has an objective and goal. The aim and ultimate objective is a thing that motivates the subject to do his work, and in order to accomplish it he makes efforts and endeavors.
2. Although each task is not without an aim and objective, the aims and objectives are not similar; instead they vary with respect to individuals and their tasks. The more a subject is knowledgeable, powerful, and possesses a rational program; he pursues superior and valuable objectives. A young child who peruses a goal in a childish play would never be equivalent to the goals of an engineer, intellectual and director.
3. The human beings whatever tasks they pursue, desire that through the means of the objective and result of that task, to remove a defect from them in order to achieve more perfection. For example when we eat food it is because of the reason that we feel in ourselves a feeling of hunger, we eat food in order to remove the defect caused by hunger. But for divine acts this context is not valid, because God is not imperfect so that through the means of a result or objective, a task should remove His defect and achieve more perfection.
Therefore, it could be said that the result of a task is not applicable to Him but it reaches to his creatures. The objective is not to achieve perfection or to be benefitted rather it is to enrich and to bestow perfection upon His creatures.
God, the Wise, has made the small-world (jah’an-e-asghar) the human being’s skeleton as a sample of the greater world’s (jah’an-e-akbar) existence and has placed a vast universe in his limited body structure. He has created water, earth, air, plants, animals, stars and other existences to meet his requirements; has accumulated thousands of amazing mysteries in the heart of the material world so that the human being could utilize it.
Also he has equipped the human existence with amazing intellectual thoughts in order to explore the hidden mysteries of the world of existence, and to utilize the precious treasures of the material world as well as to conquer it. Because of the above mentioned matters, now let us think; could it be said that: The God, the Wise, created amazing and mysterious human existence, and for his utilization commissioned a most outstanding organization of the material world, only for an insignificant period to live in this world and should simply change the vast divine bounties into a different form, then should die and be annihilated? If such is the case then is not the entire creation of God nonsense, null and void?
Your faculty of reason would never believe about such an issue and the sacred existence of God is too glorified for such a nonsensical task. Non- existence and annihilation could not be the ultimate goal of creation and ultimate result of the human being’s lives, because the accomplishment of a cherished goal requires that the existence should be made more perfect and precious instead of terminating his existence and destroying the book of his age.
Our faculty of reason states that: Since God does not have any need of creation of existences, He does not create them with the intention of earning a profit, and a nonsensical and null and void act is not issued by Him. Therefore, inevitably He has created human beings for the objective of a higher, superior, and precious objective and their lives are not limited to only a transient few days of life of this world and through the arrival of his death, their lives are not ended and the book of their deeds are not closed.
Some human beings are pious and righteous; they are well-farers of the people, help their inferiors and fellow human beings, treat orphans with compassion, do favors towards the destitute and distressed, their conduct is good, they do not speak lies, cheat, oppress others, usurp people’s belongings; they offer their prayers and fast, practice their mandatory obligations and prevent others from committing sins.
Another group is wicked and indecent, they oppress and do injustice to their fellow human beings, usurp rights of the others, are liars rude, and traitors, do not offer divine mandatory obligations, neither do they offer prayers nor do they fast, they do not feel the least embarrassed from indulging in illegitimate and shameful acts, and like beasts day and night are busy in oppression, transgression, and fulfilling their carnal desires.
These two groups continuously had been existing and would remain always, and do not see the punishment of their deeds in this world. We know so many such persons that throughout their lives were engaged in the path of oppression, transgression, usurpation of people’s belongings, sinning, and perusing their carnal desires. They left the world in affluence, luxuries, and joyful without seeing the retribution of their evil deeds. On the other side there were many pious and righteous individuals who remained in complete poverty and harsh conditions without seeing rewards of their good deeds.
Therefore, should there not be another world where deeds of the people could be scrutinized, where the righteous ones should obtain excellent rewards for their good deeds and the wicked ones should be punished for their evil deeds? If the age of the people would end in this very world and their book of deeds becomes completely closed and annihilated then in that case would not the creation of human beings be a nonsensical act opposite to the justice and wisdom of God-Almighty?
If there is no Hereafter and the Day of Judgment of deeds, dispatching of the divine messengers for implementation of divine Command of encouraging good and forbiddance of evil would be irrational and without any profit; if there exists no accounting of deeds and reward and retribution then why should people obey the commands of God and heavenly messengers?
Regarding the basic reality of Resurrection and life after death, our faculty of reason proves it for us however regarding the quality and how it is supposed to be, the reason cannot be our guide; instead we are helpless but to benefit from verses of the Holy Qur’an and sayings of divine messengers and religious saints. It could be understood from the Holy Qur’an, traditions of the Holy Prophet (S) and Infallible Imams (a.s.) that before the Day of Judgment and general resurrection, another world exists where human souls live between death and resurrection called barzakh which is a means between the world and hereafter.
When a person dies in the beginning he enters into barzakh, where he would have some sort of special life. In the beginning of the spiritual life that starts from the grave an overall questioning is conducted in which a person’s faith and belief are reviewed; if his beliefs were true and he had righteous deeds, a door from paradise opens and he is assigned on the path of paradise. He utilizes bounties of paradise and remains in waiting for the occurrence of resurrection and to receive eternal heavenly bounties.
The Holy Qur’an and traditions of the Holy Prophet (S) and Infallible Imams (a.s.) describe the Day of Judgment in the following manner: “The sun and moon would become dark and without illumination, mountains would become scattered, oceans would become burnt and without water; the solar system would be annihilated; the earth and heaven would be changed into a different form; then all dead would be resurrected alive and would be brought to accounting of their deeds. All accounts of deeds of the people are proven and recorded in a book of deeds; even a tiny act of theirs would neither be forgotten nor removed.
On the Day of Judgment curtains would be rolled up from human eyes, they would witness their character and deeds personally; then the accounting of deeds would begin and would be scrutinized with precise accuracy. Unbelievers and sinners who are not pardonable would be sent to hell. The believers and righteous persons would go to paradise.
“The sinners who are illegible for pardon, since they were under punishment in the barzakh and have already tasted the result of their evil deeds; through means intercession of the prophets and infallible Imams would be pardoned, eventually the illumination of monotheism would remove the darkness of their sins and they would enter into paradise.
The dwellers of hell consist of two groups: The first group consists of unbelievers, who are completely deprived of the illumination of faith, and God’s worshipping; this group would always remain in hell under the intense punishment and torture. The second group consists of God worshippers and faithful who indulged in sinning due to the weakness of their belief and due to this reason deserved the punishment in hell.
This group would remain under hell’s punishment temporarily, but eventually the illumination of Monotheism would be dominated over the darkness of their sins and either through the direct pardon of God or through intercession of the chosen prophets would be rescued from hell and would enter paradise. Hell consists of different ranks of various sorts of punishment; everyone would be assigned a place in accordance10 to the degree of his sins and would be punished with special sorts of punishment accordingly.
1. The intercessors would not offer intercession without permission and command of the God of the Worlds.
2. The place of intercession is at resurrection and after the accounting of deeds. It is here that since the file of deeds is scrutinized its obligation should be explicitly declared, and due to this reason the intercessor requests for his intercession and sends him to paradise, who was otherwise destined to go to hell because of his sins.
But in the barzakh, any intercession is not available and the sinning person inevitably must see torture and punishment in accordance with his deeds; although it is possible that there too due to intercession of the Holy Prophet (S) and Infallible Imams (a.s.) he might be given some sort of reduction in his punishment, but this does not constitute as an intercession.
5. Therefore on the basis of the above mentioned matters a human being should not feel proud because of the promise of intercession and do sins; because someone who indulges in sinning with the hope of intercession is like an individual who is poisoned and exposes himself to the danger of hoping that the doctor and medicine would be able to save him.
1. He must be really ashamed from the past sins.
2. He must seriously be determined that he would not commit sins in the future.
3. If people owe something upon you; you must pay them all of their dues.
4. The mandatory obligations not offered must be offered as make up (Qad’a).
5. The flesh that has been grown upon the body through utilization of illegitimate (har’am) food should be melted down completely through means of sorrow and grief about the committed sins.
3. Bihar al-Anwar, v. 6, p-249.
4. Bihar al-Anwar, v. 6, p-145.
The Holy Prophet (S) said that: “The grave is the prime station of hereafter, whoever is rescued from that later on the task would become easier upon him, and whoever is not rescued from it the later punishments are not easier than it.” Bihar al-Anwar, v. 6, p-242.
Imam al-Sajjad (a.s.) said that: “The grave is either a garden from gardens of the paradise or is a trench from trenches of the hell.” Bihar al-Anwar, v. 6, pp-214, 202-282.
6. Bihar al-Anwar, v.7, pp, 54-237.
8. Bihar al-Anwar, v. 8, pp, 71-322.
10. Bihar al-Anwar, v. 8, pp, 222-374.
11. Wafi, 1, part-3, p-183.
12. Nahj al-Balaghah (Printed in Egypt), Part-2, p-253.

References: v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v.