Worlds in Relation to the Soul and Body
Source: Fatāwā Amun Pūrī by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amun Pūrī
The Question
How many worlds exist in relation to the connection of the soul (rūḥ) and the body (jism)?
The Answer
ʿAllāmah Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله (d. 792H) explained:
There are three worlds:
① Dunyā (Worldly Life)
② Barzakh (Intermediate Realm after Death until Resurrection)
③ Qarār (Final Abode: Paradise or Hell in the Hereafter)
Explanation
- Allah ﷻ has set specific rulings for each world.
- The human being is a combination of body and soul, so the rulings of each realm apply to both body and soul.
- In the Dunyā, laws apply to body and soul.
- In the Barzakh, the punishments and rewards also reach both body and soul.
- On the Day of Resurrection, reward and punishment will be for both body and soul together.
Reality of the Grave
- The grave can either become a garden from the gardens of Paradise or a pit from the pits of Hellfire.
- This reality is in full harmony with reason and is beyond doubt.
- A person may be buried next to another:
- One may be in the fire of Hell,
- The other in the gardens of Paradise,
yet neither is affected by the condition of the other.
This is entirely within Allah’s power, which is far greater than what the human mind can fully comprehend.
Wisdom Behind the Unseen
- People may deny what their limited intellect cannot grasp, even though Allah has already shown in this world phenomena more astonishing than the torment of the grave.
- If Allah were to make such realities apparent to all, there would be no test of faith in the unseen (īmān bil-ghayb), and people might stop burying the dead.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“If I did not fear that you would stop burying the dead, I would have supplicated to Allah to let you hear the torment of the grave.”
(Sharḥ al-ʿAqīdah al-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, p. 401)
Conclusion
- The soul and body experience three realms: Dunyā, Barzakh, and the Final Abode.
- Rewards and punishments affect both body and soul in each realm.
- Belief in these unseen realities is part of faith, even if human intellect cannot fully comprehend them.
