Darul Uloom Trinidad & Tobago

Question: Asalaamu alaikum, can you please explain where and what is barzakh and how does the soul undergo its journey towards it and also if the soul is in barzakh and and the body is in the grave then how does the body feel the punishment of the grave if it’s soul is in barzakh. Jazakh Allah.

Answer:

Wa Alaikum As Salaam,

Barzakh in Arabic literally means a ‘barrier’, and in the context of ‘life after death’ it refers to the barrier that separates the life of the world from that of the hereafter which starts with the Day of Resurrection. About this, the Holy Quran states, “Until, when death comes to one of them, he says, “My Lord, send me back. That I might do righteousness in that which I left behind.” No! It is only a word he is saying; and behind them is a (barzakh) barrier until the Day they are resurrected”. (Surah Al Muminoon Verses 99, 100).

After a person dies, his body is placed in the grave and he remains in the state/stage of barzakh. Life in barzakh overlaps with the abode in the grave.

After the soul is extracted from the body (which causes death), it is returned to the body in the grave. This brings about a type of life in the grave and this is the stage of barzakh. Life in barzakh is not separate from life in the grave. The grave is the abode in which the state of barzakh comes about.

So, whatever has been mentioned regarding the occurrences in the grave, this itself is barzakh. The place is the grave and the state is that of barzakh. It is not that the body is in the grave and the soul is in barzakh. Both of these are united together to become one in which Allah places a different type of life referred to as the barzakh life. The body and soul then remain together in the state of barzakh which is known as life in the grave.

And Allah Knows Best.

Mufti Waseem Khan.

28/3/2014.