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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Shia Rebuts Question 10: What is raj‘ah {“return”} and why do you believe in it? Reply: In Arabic, raj‘ah literally means “return” but it is used to mean “the return of a group of people after death and prior to the Day of Resurrection”. This truth is contradictory to neither reason nor the logic of revelation.

From the viewpoint of Islam and other divine creeds, the essence of man consists in his absolute soul, which is also described as the “self” { nafs }, and after the extinction of the body it continues to exist forever. On the other hand, God, the Exalted, from the viewpoint of the Qur’an, is Omnipotent whose power nothing can hinder or limit.

This short introduction makes clear that raj‘ah , from the viewpoint of reason, is not impossible; for, we will find through reflection that the revival of this group of people is far easier than God’s first creation of them. Therefore, the Lord Who created them in the first time is undoubtedly capable of reviving them. According to the logic of revelation, there are examples of raj‘ah in the past nations.

In this regard, the Glorious Qur’an says: ﴿وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَا مُوسَىٰ لَنْ نُؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّىٰ نَرَى اللَّهَ جَهْرَةً فَأَخَذَتْكُمُ الصَّاعِقَةُ وَأَنْتُمْ تَنْظُرُونَ ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَاكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَوْتِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ﴾ “And when you said, ‘O Moses, we will not believe you until we see Allah visibly.’ Thereupon, a thunderbolt seized you as you looked on.

Then We raised you up after your death so that you might give thanks.” [^1] Elsewhere, the Qur’an quotes ‘Isa al-Masih (Jesus the Messiah) ( ‘a ) as saying: "وأحي الموتى بإذن الله." “And I revive the dead by Allah’s leave.” [^2] The Holy Qur’an not only endorses the possibility of raj‘ah but also affirms the occurrence and certainty of the revival of a group of people after their departing the world.

In the two verses below, the Qur’an points to the return of a group of people after death and prior to the occurrence of the Day of Resurrection.

﴿وَإِذَا وَقَعَ الْقَوْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَخْرَجْنَا لَهُمْ دَابَّةً مِنَ الْأَرْضِ تُكَلِّمُهُمْ أَنَّ النَّاسَ كَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا لَا يُوقِنُونَ وَيَوْمَ نَحْشُرُ مِنْ كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ فَوْجًا مِمَّنْ يُكَذِّبُ بِآيَاتِنَا فَهُمْ يُوزَعُونَ﴾ “And when the word {of judgment} falls upon them, We shall bring them an Animal from the earth who shall speak to them that the people had no faith in Our signs.

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