The Dead Are Alive in Their Graves | The Other Side: Barzakh and Beyond Ep. 1
What happens when our loved ones die? What will your life in the grave—and in the world that surrounds it—be like? Those we have buried are not actually dead. They have entered the Barzakh, a parallel existence where there are people right now that are just as alive as you. Everything about their lives is determined by their deeds in the dunya. Are they blessed or wretched? Happy or horrified? It's up to the choices that they made, and that we make every day.
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NOTE: All depictions of Barzakh are purely conceptual and only vocals were used in the making of the soundtrack.
References
- It is narrated that one day, Ibrahim ibn Adham went out into the wilderness when he was met by a soldier. The soldier asked him, "Are you a slave?" Ibrahim replied, "Yes." The soldier then asked, "Where is the nearest settlement?" Ibrahim pointed toward a graveyard and said, "There." The soldier, irritated, said, "I meant a place of habitation!" Ibrahim responded, "That is the true habitation." Angered by his response, the soldier struck him on the head with a whip, wounding him, and then sent him back to town. As Ibrahim entered, his companions saw his injury and asked what had happened. The soldier explained what had transpired, and they told him, "This is Ibrahim ibn Adham!" Realizing his mistake, the soldier immediately dismounted, kissed Ibrahim’s hands and feet, and began apologizing. Later, someone asked Ibrahim, "Why did you say, 'I am a slave'?" He replied, "He did not ask, 'Whose slave are you?' He simply asked, 'Are you a slave?' So I answered truthfully—yes, I am a slave of Allah." Then he was asked, "And when he struck you, what did you do?" He said, "I prayed to Allah to grant him Paradise." The people were astonished and asked, "How could you pray for him when he wronged you?" Ibrahim replied, "Because I knew that I would be rewarded for the harm he caused me, so I did not want my share from him to be good while his share from me was evil." [Al-Ghazali, Ihya’ ‘Uloom ad-Deen, vol. 3, p. 70]
- Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Narrate from the Children of Israel, and there is no harm in doing so, for indeed, among them were astonishing events." Then the Prophet (ﷺ) began to relate a story, saying: "A group from the Children of Israel once set out until they came upon one of their cemeteries. They said, ‘Let us pray two rak‘ahs and ask Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, to bring forth a man from among the dead so we may ask him about death.’So they did so. While they were engaged in this, suddenly, a man raised his head from one of the graves. He was of dark complexion, and between his eyes was the mark of prostration.He said, ‘O people! What do you want from me? I died a hundred years ago, yet the heat of death has not subsided from me until this very moment. So, pray to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, to return me as I once was.’" [Imam Ahmad, az-Zuhd, no. 88]
- The Prophet ﷺ led the prophets in prayer at al-Aqsa, then conversed with them throughout the seven heavens. [Sahih Muslim #172]
- The Prophet ﷺ led the prophets in prayer at al-Aqsa, then conversed with them throughout the seven heavens. [Sahih Muslim #172]
- The Prophet ﷺ saw Musa praying alone in his grave. [Sahih Muslim #2375]
- Hassan al-Basri said about us: “O Son of Adam, you are nothing but a number of days. Whenever a day passes, then a part of you has gone.” [Al-Isfahani, Hilyat al-Awliya’]
- Do not be hasty with them. Indeed we are counting down their days. [Qur’an, 19:84]
- Ibn Abbas said: We're counting down every one of their breaths in this life. [Tafsir Ibn Kathir]
- When ‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan stood by a grave, he would weep until his beard became wet. It was said to him, “You remember Paradise and Hell and you do not weep, but you weep because of this?” He said: “The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Verily, the grave is the first stage of the Hereafter. If one is saved from it, whatever comes after will be easier for him. If one is not saved from it, whatever comes after will be harder for him. I have never seen anything more harrowing than the grave.’” [Jami’ at-Tirmidhi #2308]
- Masrooq said: "There is no home better for a believer than his grave. He has been relieved from the affairs of the world or from the punishment of Allah." [Wakee’ ibn al-Jarrah, Kitab al-Zuhd]
- Uthman ibn Sawda said that his mother Raahiba, who was a righteous woman, lifted her head toward the sky when she was dying and said: “O my ultimate treasure and my only true reserve! O the One upon whom I place my complete trust in life and after death! Do not forsake me at the moment of death, and do not leave me in loneliness within my grave.”Then, she passed away.Uthman said: "I used to visit her grave every Friday, praying for her and seeking forgiveness for her and the people of the graves. One night, I saw her in a dream and asked, ‘O my mother, how are you?’She replied: ‘O my son, death is indeed a severe ordeal. But, by the grace of Allah, I am now in a blessed state in the Barzakh, where we recline upon fragrant basil and rest upon silk and brocade until the Day of Resurrection.’I asked, ‘Do you need anything?’She said: ‘Yes. Do not stop what you are doing—your visits and prayers for us. For every Friday when you leave your home to visit, I receive glad tidings. It is said to me: "O Rāhiba, your son is coming to visit you." This brings me joy, and it brings joy to those around me from among the dead.’" [Ibn al-Jawzi, Sifat as-Safwa, ]
- When Abdullah ibn Ghalib (ra) died, an amazing smell came out of his grave like mist right after he was buried—then he was seen in a dream and asked about that smell and he said that was the breath of my recitation and thirst. [Ibn Rajab, Lata’if al-Ma’arif]
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. See you on the other side. Are you sure? Where are you going? And how do I know I'll make it there? What's it like over there? Is there a way you can tell me about it? Do people know me there? Have you seen my home? Am I viewed amongst the righteous or the wicked? What's real about what's around me right now? There's this world you're in and another world that simultaneously exists that you can't see, but it sees you. Allah, the angels and other elements of the unseen are watching you. And the things you see around you are deeper than they look and can perhaps even perceive that realm better than you. And you're only one step away from it. It starts with a basic truth. Those we have buried are not actually dead. They've entered the barzakh, a parallel existence where there are people right now that are just as alive as you. Some of them are watching green birds that were once in bodies of martyrs soar above them. Others are drowning in rivers of blood. Some are dwelling in beautiful homes among family members that have been dead for decades. Others are busy being devoured by beasts with many heads. So what is this realm? And what do we know about the people who reside in it? And what would knowing about that world do for us today to make sense of the world we live in right now? And what does it mean for us in our own individual journeys, trying to find our way back to Allah? Centuries ago, there was a soldier that wandered in the desert near Kufa in Iraq,
and he was trying to find the city center. And as he's wandering around looking for the city, he comes across one of the most famous scholars of his time, Ibrahim ibn Adham, but he had no idea who he was. So he goes up to him and he asks him, are you a slave? Ibrahim says, yes. He says, which linguistically means, where are the city dwellings? Where is everyone at? So Ibrahim ibn Adham said, follow me. And then he takes him to a graveyard. And the man said, I asked you to take me to the city dwellings. Ibrahim ibn Adham said, it's right here. And he pointed to the graveyard again. So the man ends up striking him in the head and then dragging him to the actual city while the people come to him rushing saying, what are you doing? That's Ibrahim ibn Adham. He said, but I asked him if he was a slave, as if that would have made his action okay. So they said to Ibrahim ibn Adham, oh, our teacher, why didn't you just tell him who you are? He said, well, he asked me if I was a slave, but he didn't say to whom, meaning I'm a slave to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. They said, well, what did you say when he struck you? He said, I made dua for Allah to give him Jannah. They said, why would you do that? He said, because I knew I would be rewarded because of him and I didn't want him to be punished because of me. They said, okay, but why did you take him to the graveyard in the first place? He asked you for Al-Imran. He asked you where the city center was. And Ibrahim ibn Adham said, I've noticed that when people move to their graves, they settle there, but no one ever comes back here from there. Meaning the graveyard is where the living actually are. They say that the secret to success is being one step ahead. For the pious predecessors, the secret was being one stop ahead. They were all ready for all spiritual practical purposes, living in the next life. But what if we could walk up to the graves of our ancestors and just ask them to tell us what it's like for them now? In one narration from Jabir radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu, the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said that there was
a group from Bani Israel in the past that were traveling, and as they were traveling, they passed a cemetery. And when they get there, they say to each other, let's pray two rak'ahs and ask Allah to bring back some of these people so that they can tell us about death and they can tell us about life in the grave. So they all pray two rak'ahs, and then they made dua to Allah. And right after that, this man rises from the grave, shaking the dust off. And he says, oh people, you saw nothing but this. I died a hundred years ago, and the heat of the moment of my death has not yet cooled down. So can you ask Allah to return me to the state that I was in before? The thing is, we don't need the dead to tell us how real death is and how we're all going to end up in the barzakh someday. And every single soul who has ever walked the face of the earth and passed away is there right now. Think about it. Right now, the global population of earth is nearly eight billion people. But in the barzakh, we're talking about estimates of 117 billion human souls. And since it's impossible to know for sure, just think of when Allah says, and so many people and nations in between. How many years will you live there? Until the day of judgment. That means the vast majority of humanity would have had a longer life in barzakh than on this earth. And you might move in there tomorrow and end up living for a thousand years or more there. And it's called the life of the barzakh for a reason. You have a full life, you have a family, you have friends, you have adults and children, you have a home, and you have neighborhoods, you have food and drink, and it even has its own animals in that realm. All of the features of life are there, but with its own unique set of dimensions and time and space. So it's not like dunya in that you age, or like jannah, where we're all the same age. You can also seemingly be in two places at once, or at least transfer between them with remarkable
speed. So think of the Prophet ﷺ leading the prophets in prayer at Masjid al-Aqsa in one moment, and then almost in an instant talking to each of them throughout the seven heavens. What if you could be in your grave one moment, and then right under the throne of Allah the next? See, the more righteous you are, the more range you have to travel first class all over that world as you like. And most importantly, the Barzakh is happening right now. Think about Musa and Fir'aun alive in that world. The Prophet ﷺ saw Musa praying alone in his grave. As people read about the moment, he was alone in the cradle in the Nile River. Then while we're still reading about Fir'aun throwing people into ditches of fire here, Allah is throwing him into a ditch of fire there. This is all as real as what's in front of us right now. And while we can't physically perceive it yet, we have these portals into the Barzakh to remind us of its rich dimensions. We may enter into it at times in our sleep through our dreams. And when we're awake, the grave stares at us like this door to a world of new realities made possible by the changes you're willing to make in your current reality. And we're all just one heartbeat away from entering into this dimension or one bomb. Imam Hassan al-Basri said about us all, يَبْنَ آدَمُ إِنَّمَا أَنتَ أَيَّامٌ O son of Adam, you are nothing but a number of days. Whenever a day passes, then a part of you has gone. For our oppressors, we also remember that they too are but a set of days. فَلَا تَعْجَلْ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّمَا نَعُدُّ لَهُمْ عَدَّ Allah says, do not be hasty with them. Indeed, we are counting down their days. Ibn Abbas said, that means نَعُدُّ أَنفَاسَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا We're counting down every single one of their breaths in this life. And when you awake to that world, do you really know
which category you'll belong to? Will you fly with the shuhada who never feel pain again because they sacrificed a whole life for Allah? Or will you rot in pain with the tyrants for all the lives you made miserable on earth? Will you gather with the sincere believers truly resting in peace and joy in anticipation of a greater joy to come? Or will you be with the disbelievers and hypocrites previewing eternal punishment instead? Or are you somewhere in between a flawed believer with a mix of good and bad who will pay for your sins there or hope that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala overlooks them? It's at this station that everything will be made clear. And that's why when Uthman radiya Allah ta'ala Anhu would stand by a grave, he would weep until his beard would become wet. And it was said to him, when paradise and hellfire are mentioned, you don't weep like this. But when you stand next to a grave, why do you cry so much? And he said the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, إِنَّ الْقَبْرَ أَوَّلُ مَنْزِلٍ مِنْ مَنَازِلِ الْآخِرَةِ That verily the grave is the first station of the hereafter. If it is good, then everything after it will be better. And if it is bad, then everything after it will be worse. And I have never seen anything more harrowing than the grave. But the grave doesn't have to just be a place of the frightening unknown. It can also be a place of rest and reward. For some people, the grave is rest. Masrooq rahimahullah said, there is no home better for a believer than his grave. قَدْ اِسْتَرَاحَ مِنْ أَمْرِ الدُّنْيَةِ أَوْ مِنْ عَذَابِ اللَّهِ He has been relieved from the affairs of this world or from the punishment of Allah. And for those of us who lost someone who was the greatest source of joy in our lives, the grave can be a place where we finally get to reunite with the ones that we love so much. Uthman ibn Saudah rahimahullah said that his mother Rahiba rahimahullah, who was a righteous woman, looked at him and said to him at the time of her death, my son, do not forsake me in life
or in death. And so he would go and visit her grave as he used to visit her home and make dua for her. And then he sees her in a dream where his mother is looking beautiful and receiving these endless gifts of silk garments and perfume. And then she turns to him in that dream and says, I'm pleased to receive you when you come to visit my grave. So do not stop visiting me. But for now, think about your grave, which you will one day visit and live in for an unspecified period of time. What does that grave look like? What does it feel like? What does it smell like? When Abdullah ibn Ghalib rahimahullah died, an amazing smell came out of his grave like mist right after he was buried. Then he was seen in a dream and asked about that smell. And he said, that was the breath of my recitation and my thirst. So as you start Ramadan, I want you to think about that with your fasting breaths. Your grave is breathing. It's a home under construction and the door to a reality that most people pay no heed to, though it is absolutely inevitable. So what does your other side look like? What have you built that awaits you? And what answers will we find beneath the surface that will give us enough clarity to make the cruel world above it make a bit more sense?
I may do good in what I have left behind. No! It is but a word. He is the one who says it. And from behind them is a barrier until the Day they are resurrected.
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