He created life and death that He might put you to the test...

He created life and death that He might put you to the test and find out which of you acquitted himself best. He is the Mighty, the Forgiving one." ( 68:1) In such a short sentence, Quran has given a complete and perfect definition of life and death. It gives a full account of the origin and the prospect of life and death. Briefly we can highlight the impor tant features of life and death from this shor t verse of the Holy Quran.

1 - Life is not the accidental product of some spontaneous bio-chemical reactions. Rather, it is the great creation of All-Mighty Allah Subhanahu taala. 2 - Death is not the disorder of physio-chemical functions of organic systems of the body. Rather, it is also another kind of creation of All-Mighty Allah Subhanahu Taala. 3 - Both, life and death have a well defined purpose in the existence of a living being. 4 - Death is not the end of life but the beginning of another kind of life.

This complete and perfect definition of life and death opens our mind to think seriously about the life after death. What happens after death? From medical point of view, a person whose breathing and hear tbeat has completely stopped is considered dead. Many changes occur immediately after death.

For example, the temperature of the body drops to that of its surroundings, the muscles of the body become stiff, the circulation of the blood stops and produces reddish-purple discoloration in the lowest par t of the body, and finally the bacteria and other tiny organisms grow on the corpse and cause it to decay. So, there is no dispute or doubt that death is the end of worldly life. But we believe that a human being is made-up of two components. i.e., organic body and nonphysical soul.

Thus, death is the termination of organic functions. We can say death is caused by the separation of soul and body or we can also say, the sparation of soul and body causes death. So death is the end of organic life but not the absolute end of whole life. This means that there is some kind of life after death and death is simply a major change in the present kind of life. This is true.

The entire edifice of Islam is based on this fact that death is not the end of life but it is a sharp turning point from where another kind of life begins. A large number ahadith and Quranic verses are there which clearly explain the philosophy of life and death. If we understand them correctly then we will realize that life in this world has a direct effect on the life after death.