ভূমিকা
Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Resurrection (Ma’ad) in the Quran Death and its hardships We don’t have proper knowledge of the reality of death, because the reality of life is also unknown to us. Our understanding with regard to these two important matters is only to the limit of their traces not more. A phenomenon, which has a particular condition and which carries the qualities of nutrition, growth and reproduction is considered by us to be a living being.
In some beings, in addition to this, we consider perception and voluntary movement as signs of life. In man, in addition to these, we consider acquisition of intelligence, contemplation and speech as additional signs of life; but all of these are signs of life and not its reality. Death is also like this and any living phenomena, which loses the signs of its life is said to be dead. But these are signs of death and not its reality. The reality of death is unknown.
What is remarkable in this verse is that death is mentioned before life. That which can be stated about death and life is that the soul of man is having two stages of existence. The soul of man in the stage of life is of the type which is in need of a material body to continue its life and to reach to its perfection and it is having a particular life. But after death it is able to live on its own without a material body.
In this stage it would have another life, which is very much opposed to the past life and most important of all, it is an everlasting life. In both conditions it is one person and not more.
The Messenger of Allah (S) has stated: “Death is the first stage in the stages of the hereafter and the last stage from the stages of the world.”[^1] Imam Khomeini says: Death is the transfer of man from the apparent proprietary formation to the unseen celestial formation; along with the fact that death is second celestial life, after the first proprietary life and in any case is an existing matter.