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Unlock This CourseDeath and the Afterlife: Linear and Cyclical Views explained that many religions teach a life after death. Islam takes a linear view: each person lives one earthly life, dies, is raised again and then lives for ever in their final home. Muslims do not believe in rebirth.
For Muslims, death is not the end of a person. It is a return to Allah. On hearing of a death, Muslims say the words you met in Life as a Test: 'We belong to Allah and to him we shall return' (Qur'an 2:156). This life is the test you met in Life as a Test: Evil and Suffering in Islam, and akhirah is where the result of that test is given.
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The Qur'an says that behind those who die is a barrier (barzakh) until the day they are raised (Qur'an 23:99-100). Most Muslims understand this as a state of waiting. The dead are not gone, and they are not yet judged.
Many Muslims also believe, from hadith, that two angels, Munkar and Nakir, question a person in the grave about their faith. The righteous are said to wait in peace, and wrongdoers in distress. These details come from hadith rather than a long passage of the Qur'an, so Muslims give them different weight.
Muslims believe the world will end at a time known only to Allah. By tradition the angel Israfil sounds the trumpet (the Qur'an mentions the trumpet, for example in 39:68), and every human being who ever lived is raised. People ask how rotted bones could live again. The Qur'an replies that the one who made them the first time can do it again (Qur'an 36:78-79). It says Allah is able even to put together a person's fingertips (Qur'an 75:3-4).
Every person's deeds are written down. On that day each person is given their record to read (Qur'an 17:13-14). Those given it in the right hand are glad, and those given it in the left hand are in despair (Qur'an 69:19-26). Nothing is hidden: whoever has done an atom's weight of good will see it, and whoever has done an atom's weight of evil will see it (Qur'an 99:7-8).
The Qur'an says that those whose scales are heavy will be successful, and those whose scales are light will lose (Qur'an 101:6-9). Remember the scales of justice from Life as a Test: Evil and Suffering in Islam: the weighing shows that Allah is fair. Muslims also stress his mercy. Allah is the Master of the Day of Judgement and the Most Merciful, so no one can rely on their deeds alone.
The Qur'an describes gardens with rivers flowing beneath them, where the righteous live in peace (Qur'an 2:25). Yet it also says that Allah's pleasure is greater than all of this (Qur'an 9:72). For many Muslims the greatest reward is being close to Allah.
Hell is described as a fire, a place of burning and regret for those who rejected Allah or did serious wrong (for example Qur'an 2:24). Muslims believe it is just. People are given warning and guidance in this life, and they are judged on how they responded.
Almost all Muslims accept resurrection and judgement. They differ on how to read the details.
Because every deed is recorded, many Muslims try to be honest, give to charity and avoid wrongdoing, knowing they will answer for it. A hadith says: be in this world as though you were a stranger or a traveller. It reminds believers not to treat worldly success as the main goal. When someone dies, the belief brings comfort and patience: the person has returned to Allah and believers hope to be reunited with them.
Do not say Muslims believe in rebirth or a cycle: Islam has a linear view. Do not write that deeds alone decide a person's fate: Muslims stress Allah's mercy as well as his justice. Do not confuse barzakh (waiting) with Jannah or Jahannam (the final homes). Do not claim all Muslims agree about whether hell lasts for ever.
Paper 1 style. Parts (a) and (b) test AO1. Parts (c) and (d) test AO1 and AO2.
(a) Identify three beliefs that religious people may hold about life after death. [3 marks]
(b) Choose one religion. Outline two beliefs about life after death in this religion. [4 marks]
(c) Choose one religion. Explain why followers of this religion believe in life after death. [6 marks]
(d) 'Fear of hell is the main reason Muslims try to live good lives.' Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks]
(a) 1. Resurrection of the body (1). 2. Judgement of how people lived (1). 3. Rebirth (1).
(b) Muslims believe that everyone will be raised on the Day of Resurrection (1), when Allah will judge them on their deeds (1). They also believe the righteous will go to Jannah, a garden of peace (1), and the wrongdoers to Jahannam (1).
(c) Muslims believe in akhirah because it is taught in the Qur'an (1), which they accept as the word of Allah, and it is one of the six articles of faith for Sunni Muslims (1). They also believe it shows that Allah is just (1), because wrongdoers who escape punishment in this life will be judged and good people who suffered will be rewarded, as Qur'an 38:28 suggests (1). It gives life a purpose (1): if this life is a test, judgement is the result. Finally, Muslims believe Allah created life once and so can raise it again (1).
(d) Plan. For: the Qur'an describes hell in vivid terms as a warning, and the belief that everyone must answer for every deed can make believers careful. Fear of judgement can stop people from cheating or harming others. Against: Muslims stress Allah's mercy as much as his justice, and the Qur'an says Allah's pleasure is greater than paradise, so love of Allah and wanting to please him is for many a stronger motive. Muslims also live well out of gratitude, because of their duty as khalifah, and because it is right. A humanist would say people can be good without any fear of an afterlife. Conclusion: fear is one motive and matters for some, but it is not the main reason for most Muslims, who are guided by love of Allah and hope for his mercy.
In part (d), cover the word 'main' in the statement: say what else motivates Muslims, then explain why you think fear is or is not the strongest reason.