Decomposition - Recombination

Comment: In my agnostic worldview, however, death means a decomposition of a living? complexity (person) with functioning 'chunks' surviving with/in other complexities (a hint to seers/dreamers with personal fragments showing up). Such idea - of course - opposes the judgemental-day recombination into the original person to be judged. But I never claimed my ideas to be correct. 

Response: From what I gather from the Quran: 

[a] a person dies when the angel of death removes the person's 'nafs' (soul?) from the body (32:11)

[b] a person's fate/deeds are tied to his neck, which will be reproduced as an open book on the Day of Resurrection (17:13)  

[c] resurrection has been likened to seeds germinating when water falls on barren land 

I think the thing that is removed from the body, which causes death, perhaps contains the original person data, the 'essence' I suppose, which will be used for reconstruction. The body is simply a shell which has served its purpose for this terrestrial, temporary abode, and returns to the Earth to be re-cycled. 

EDIT JULY 2, 2020 
The body is essentially the human, and shall be reconstructed. How that addresses the comment above, or resolves the contradiction in point [c] above, I do not know. However, please read: Human: Body or Soul?   

Life is once in a death experience!

A discussion on death and what it means:
P: Death is a once in a lifetime experience that I look forward to, but I'm in no hurry and have things I wish to get underway (or complete) before embracing it.
M: Does the “soul” die, or just the outer shell called the physical body?
S: Samiya, do I read you as saying there is reincarnation? Do you believe that our eternal souls return to new lives after death? Or did I misread your post? "We will die and again be reborn." (?)

And my views on it:
Life is once in a death experience!
We were dead, then we were born in this world.
We will die and again be re-born.
In this world, death is decreed for all souls; in the hereafter, immortality is decreed... this is about the only thing we can count on... rest is all uncertain! As I understand it, death is like sleep, only prolonged. In the Quran, it is explained as:
It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death; and those that die not (He takes) during their sleep: those on whom He has passed the decree of death, He keeps back (from returning to life), but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed verily in this are Signs for those who reflect. 
(  سورة الزمر  , Az-Zumar, Chapter #39, Verse #42)
I can not speak with any knowledge about the soul's existence without the body, but it appears that it is in a state of sleep, as about resurrection, it is said that: They will say: "Ah! Woe unto us! Who hath raised us up from our beds of repose?"... (A voice will say:) "This is what ((Allah)) Most Gracious had promised. And true was the word of the apostles!" 
(  سورة يس  , Ya Seen, Chapter #36, Verse #52)

The way I interpret the scripture, this life on Earth is the first bodily life, hence there was no former bodily existence, rather from non-living(death), we were brought into existence(life). We will taste death again(removal of soul from body), and then given life again(resurrected). However, there is the the concept of some form of existence as the life of this world and the judgment to follow are based upon a responsibility (trust) we humans volunteered for (Quran 33:72,73).

And to give an analogy from this life, God explains: And He it is Who makes the Night as a Robe for you, and sleep as Repose, and makes the Day (as it were) a Resurrection. 
(  سورة الفرقان  , Al-Furqan, Chapter #25, Verse #47)

As I replied to M, we will be reborn, but not here, rather in the Hereafter, on the day of retribution, and then life will be eternal. So, its not death which is a finality, rather its life which is a finality, hence its not death that need be feared, rather eternity, as that life, good or bad, will be perpetual! In this life, we atleast taste good times and bad, there it'll be continuously good or bad. So, reincarnation, yes, but with a twist :)

Few verses related to the topic:
Every soul shall have a taste of death: And only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the object (of Life): For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception. 
(  سورة آل عمران  , Aal-e-Imran, Chapter #3, Verse #185)
And Allah sends down rain from the skies, and gives therewith life to the earth after its death: verily in this is a Sign for those who listen. 
(  سورة النحل  , An-Nahl, Chapter #16, Verse #65)
Then contemplate (O man!) the memorials of Allah's Mercy!- how He gives life to the earth after its death: verily the same will give life to the men who are dead: for He has power over all things. 
(  سورة الروم  , Ar-Room, Chapter #30, Verse #50)
It is Allah Who sends forth the Winds, so that they raise up the Clouds, and We drive them to a land that is dead, and revive the earth therewith after its death: even so (will be) the Resurrection! 
(  سورة فاطر  , Fatir, Chapter #35, Verse #9)
Know ye (all) that Allah giveth life to the earth after its death! already have We shown the Signs plainly to you, that ye may learn wisdom. 
(  سورة الحديد  , Al-Hadid, Chapter #57, Verse #17)

Life span, medical enhancements and immortality

A friend posted: ... And if past enhancements (in medical) are any indication then we will get to know exactly what cause death and how to reverse or stop this from happening. In my honest opinion, it's not question of IF but WHEN.
Just take a look at Ray Kurzweil's Transcend: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever.
... Moreover I've found following on wikipedia about Ray Kurweil's stance on religion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Kurzweil)
... According to Kurzweil “The primary role of traditional religion is deathist rationalization—that is, rationalizing the tragedy of death as a good thing. In order to benefit from what the Singularity can bring, we need to overcome our deathist rationalization. We need to sweep traditional religion out of our road.”
Answer: Raymond Kurzweil: Interesting and well accomplished... wow! As far as life span is concerned, well of course it can be possible to increase the average life span from the current less than 100 to may be 200, 500, 1000, who knows. But will it make humans immortal, or help escape reckoning?
Some relevant verses are:
The Holy Quran2:96 And verily, you will find them (the Jews) the greediest of mankind for life and (even greedier) than those who ascribe partners to Allah (and do not believe in Resurrection - Majus, pagans, and idolaters). Everyone of them wishes that he could be given a life of a thousand years. But the grant of such life will not save him even a little from (due) punishment. And Allah is All-Seer of what they do.
2:28 How can you disbelieve in Allah? seeing that you were dead and He gave you life. Then He will give you death, then again will bring you to life (on the Day of Resurrection) and then unto Him you will return
3:185 Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception.

Comments on Islam, Muslims, terrorism and personal beliefs

In response to a letter about Islam and terrorism
There are two things that I'd like to draw attention to:
First, this forwarded letter only sketches the picture of what some so called muslims are doing in the name of Islam. While correct, it is also true that there are many other non-muslim terrorists also who are all together trying to foment hatred, terror and destruction in the name of ideologies and religions.
Secondly, rising above and beyond the general state of this world, please remember that we are all individuals. We have all come to this world, and each one of us has an expiry date... one day we must leave this temporary abode we call home. The important question is, is there a reason why we're here, is there a life after death, if so, do we need to prepare for it, and is/are there any guidance in that matter? If the after-life is eternal/immortal, then does the quality of that life depend on this life? If our eternity depends on this temporal life, should we not try to 'rise above the noise and confusion to get a glimpse beyond this illusion'; earnestly worry and seek guidance. If we are just 'dust and to dust we shall returneth' and that is the end of us, then it doesn't really matter, but if there is a purpose to this life, if there is a life beyond, should we not focus our attention to seeking the truth, sifting it out from the myriad of falsehood, subjecting it to moral and scientific scrutiny, trying our level best to be our best possible selves?!

Beyond the Veil

My two cents on a discussion on beyond the veil...
Hi,I just wanted to chip in this interesting discussion with the Islamic perspective. As you know, we muslims definitely believe in after-life. But, we also believe that when we die, we will remain in a sleep-like state(*) till the Day of Reckoning, when all souls will be raised back to life.
Some believe that the dead do have dreams... pleasant dreams for the good people, scary dreams for those who've accumulated many bad deeds in their worldly life. But, no, I don't think they travel in their dreams to our realm. I'm not very clear on this, but I understand the bodies will be reconstructed and perfected for immortal, eternal life. Reason being that
(i) we are told that we will abide their forever
(ii) on judgement day, our own bodies, hands, feet, et all, will testify against ourselves, such that nobody can except to get away with lying.
This brings up the interesting question of how do we explain visions of those who are no more... do they return? Well, the one explanation that most religious scholars seem to concur on is that these are basically dJinns(genies) who
(i) have information of our and other people's past lives
(ii) they appear as that person
How do they have intimate information? It is also believed that there is a dJinn associated with each human throughout our lives, such that they know of all things past. dJinns themselves are a community, and as such, able to exchange notes.
As far as the Holy Quran is concerned, though it acknowledges the existence of dJinns, and speaks of their ability to whisper thoughts in our minds, it nowhere explicitly details the above explanation, at least as far as I know. Nothing can be stated for certain, as none of the living have crossed over and returned to tell the tale; and the few who do, well we really don't know what their source is.
We believe dJinns are another creation, created from smokeless fire; generally invisible to humans. Satan is a dJinn. We also believe that they are communities of dJinn, families, procreation, etc, like any other human or animal community we are able to observe; There are good dJinns and bad dJinns, believer and non-believers, helpers and hinderers; dJinns are known to have served Prophet-King Solomon. Satan(named Iblis) was one of the angels when God created Adam... when God ordered all present to prostrate/submit to Adam, Iblis refused (Holy Quran 2:34); he was haughty, because he took pride in his being created from fire, whereas Adam was from clay; God dislikes arrogance, and thus Iblis was disgraced. Instead of repenting, he vowed to take it upon himself to hinder humans from the path of God, and asked God to grant him permission till the end of this-world time (doomsday) to mislead humans (Holy Quran 4:119). We are told that Iblis and his host of satans have no real power upon us, that it is in our will whether to do their bid or to reject it, and those who remember God and seek guidance will ultimately be the ones who prevail.(Holy Quran 7:200-206)
A question:If the dJinn can "whisper thoughts in our minds," would you describe them as spirit-beings as opposed to material (physical) beings? Do they have gender, form, specific names and identities?
Yes, I'm sure they all must have some names or numbers or codes to interact within their community; spirit-beings as in 'in another dimension? like angels, invisible to us?' yes, if that's what you are trying to ask; material(physical) beings also as they are created from smokeless fire... guess the correct answer is spirit-beings to us, physical beings in their own dimension(world)

(*)except those who have proven beyond doubt that they deserve punishment, for them the torture probably begins in the grave; (Pharoah is one of the examples usually cited).

Violence, Pain, Death

Question: It is clear from the fossil record, and nearly two centuries of examination and interpretation by paleontologists, that long before the human species existed, pain, suffering and death were present on this planet. The earliest amphibians, their successors the dinosaurs, and the mammals that roamed the earth before humankind suffered sickness, pain and death. They killed and ate each other. In fact, even before the vertebrates, the earliest microbes were killing and preying on each other.How could humans be responsible for a situation that predated their very existence?On the larger, cosmological scale, the universe(s) of which we are aware include galaxies millions of light years away from us, whose light is only now reaching us. Astronomers tell us that numberless suns, and even galaxies, have been destroyed in cataclysms of violence in the past, that perhaps millions of planets with life forms have been erased in violence and, obviously, pain. All of this long before people existed. How are we responsible for this?It seems that violence on a vast scale, pain and death have been part of the universe all along. We, a species present on planet earth for such a short period, can hardly be called responsible for it.Whatever organizing principle, force or creative energy lies behind all that is–in other words, God–seems responsible. Is God then a monster? Does this organizing principle, which basic logic insists must exist, create life, beauty and all that is good only to subsequently destroy it?Why are most species forced to kill in order to eat? Why do predators such as lions, foxes or hawks have to rend and tear creatures, causing great fear and pain, in order simply to survive? Why do humans have to do so? Why did God create a situation in which every thing that lives must kill other things to live, and ultimately end its own existence in pain and suffering?The idea of original sin seems to me a very feeble and inadequate excuse for all of this. What answers do members of this list–especially those who are people of the book (Jews, Christians and Muslims)--offer? Could you point me to passages in any scriptures that deal with it? I've found some passages in the Upanishads, for example, that touch on it. Where in the Old and New Testaments, Torah, the Holy Koran and Hadith, etc. might I find it discussed?

Answer: Species [are forced to] kill in order to survive is because we are all part of the great Circle of Life….. Allah, in His infinite wisdom, has created bio-degradable substances essential for the survival of all who inhabit Earth, for the sake of survival and sustenance of planet Earth itself. Carnivores eat animals, Herbivores eat plants[which are also living things], Plants get sustenance from the nutrients in the soil, sunlight, air and water, and so the circle continues. Why is killing to eat such a repulsive idea, whereas breaking off plant parts to eat is not? Are plants any less living than animals? In fact, as muslims, we are ordered to pronounce the name of Allah on food, especially when slaughtering an animal, to remind ourselves of the sacredness of life and this blessing of food that we are receiving from Allah.We humans begin/build/make/start a lot of things, and then end them as well…… you think it is wrong to do so? From a divine standpoint, I guess the Creator who creates life has every right to take it back as well. Besides, He is also promising us eternal life in the Hereafter, which, you know is more scary, in case we end up in Hell instead of Heaven………. This life of a century or less seems nothing compared to eternity! If He has been kind enough to give us guidance as to how to live this life in order to be successful in the hereafter, I think we should grab the chance, and be grateful.While dwelling on the bio-degradable, how would it have been if FOOD were to have been inorganic objects, example minerals from the soil? Would we then have to be rooted to the earth to get nourishment? Or, if we had to mine our food? Or, maybe, synthetic food that we had to manufacture, like plastic? In that case, how would pre-technology people survive? And how would it affect the environment? How long would planet Earth and its inhabitants survive? Let us not try to judge the Creator.

A Stranger on this Earth

Question: i am a stranger on this earth and have sensed it for decades.............but, i have no comfort when it comes to an understanding of why i am here and where, if anywhere, i will go at physical death............

Answer: We are all strangers, sent to planet Earth for a temporary abode, for a trial, an open-book examination. Our grades will depend on our deeds, not our achievements. Most scriptures of most religions speak of after-life, though the description and accountability vary greatly. I, being a muslim, believe in the description presented in the Quran, which is Heaven and Hell, and eternal life in either one based on our beliefs and deeds, based on all the evidences within and without us, and our ability to perceive, ponder and understand, in this trial period……. a brief century or less, which is absolutely nothing compared to eternity. I like to compare this life to exams taken by students at the end of their school term. Each gets a paper based on his/her capability level, and is marked based on the ability to respond to the specific situation.