Al-Barzakh
The nature of the life in the grave
The life after this one, before the Day of Resurrection is known in Arabic as Al-Barzakh, which literally means a 'barrier' or 'veil'. The people who have died and entered Al-Barzakh cannot return (except in rare circumstances in the past where Allah caused some people at the time of the Prophets to 'come back to life' for a specific purpose) and they will stay there until the Day of Resurrection.
Similarly, people who are alive now cannot enter the world of those who have died and speak to them or communicate with them in any way, without actually dying themselves. The people who have died cannot hear us (hearing the footsteps of their companions at he gravesite is an exception to the general rule) or see us and they have no knowledge of what is happening in this life, and vice versa.
The two lives are completely separate, just if there was a barrier between them that can never be crossed - hence the name Al-Barzakh. Just as they are separate, they are also very different. It therefore serves no purpose for a person to speak to a dead person with the thought that the person can hear them, let alone ask them for help since the latter is bordering on the greatest sin a person can commit, Shirk (ascribing partners with or seeking help from anyone or anything other than Allah).
Just because we in this life cannot see what is happening to the people in Al-Barzakh, this does not mean that it is not occurring. Some people question how it is that the angels make a person sit up to be questioned in the grave when there is no space and we cannot see this happening. To us it appears as though nothing is happening to the body, but in the life of Al-Barzakh the grave is being compressed or widened and the body is being tormented or furnished in the clothes from Paradise, and so on and so forth.
Whilst it may not be the best analogy, the following is given purely for the purpose of helping the reader to understand that just because an observer may not see something happening to a person, it does not mean that it is not very real to the person experiencing it:
e.g. when a person is asleep they sometimes have dreams, and often these may be very vivid. Vivid to the point that the person may feel scared, or very happy or sad or very worried. A person may feel as though their body is actually walking or swimming and they think that they are on a mountain top or in a desert.
Yet, to someone watching the person sleep, there is no clue as to what dramas the sleeping person is going through, they look as though they are sound asleep without a care in the world. On some occasions it does become apparent that a sleeping person is 'somewhere else' because a dreaming person may think they are in great pain or experiencing great joy to the point that they may scream or shake or smile and so on. It is possible for a person to awake from a dream with their legs aching from 'running a marathon' or feel very sad because they dreamed they lost a loved one.
This should demonstrate that our bodies and souls can undergo all kinds of emotions and experiences without an onlooker's knowledge - and that is in this life! In the life of Al-Barzakh the people are in a different world all together and there is no reason why Allah can't cause the people in the present life to not see the happenings of the people of Al-Barzakh, for things appear differently to us and them. Also, Allah is able to do all things and nothing is difficult for Him - least of all allowing some people to see one thing and other people to see another.
The exact nature of Al-Barzakh is one of the things of the unseen that Allah has not revealed to us. Other examples of the unseen are angels, the future and so on. There is surely wisdom in us not being able to see what happens to the deceased in Al-Barzakh. It would be a great torment for those still alive to see the punishment their deceased friends and family members may be undergoing. Furthermore, if it was made absolutely clear to us what would happen to us after death, there would be little test of faith required since it would be very apparent that there is life after death.
Where are the bodies and souls of the people in Al-Barzakh?
Whilst there have been many theories posed as to where the souls of the people in Al-Barzakh are, the following points are those based on authentic evidence from the Qur'an and the Sunnah (practices and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)).
In the case of the pious believers (as opposed to the disobedient Muslims), their souls are in Paradise and their bodies are in the grave. In this way the person is able to experience the most pleasure since the soul experiences the incomparable bliss of paradise, whilst the body is also experiencing pleasure in the grave through things such as smelling the fragrance of Paradise, sleeping the sleep of a bridegroom and having a wide and spacious grave. Sometimes however, the soul of the pious believer is connected with the body in the grave so that it they experience some pleasure together. The souls of the pious believers are free to roam and communicate with the souls of other pious believers in Al-Barzakh.
In the case of the disbelievers, the soul and the body are both confined to the grave and it is there that both the body and the soul undergo the torment of the grave commensurate with the sins they committed in the previous life.
With regard to a person who dies and their body is destroyed (in an accident or fire for example) or cremated, then the designated punishment or pleasure will still reach their body. If this was not the case it would not be divine justice since some evildoers would receive punishment whilst others wouldn't, or some faithful believers would receive their reward whilst others wouldn't. In any case, the fact that the body may be scattered or turned to ashes is no problem for Allah, Who is able to do all things.
What happens to the bodies in the graves?
The bodies of the people in the grave disintegrate except for the tailbone (the importance of this is discussed later). The exception is the bodies of the prophets and messengers of Allah, whose bodies are kept intact and the earth is forbidden to 'eat them up'. This does not mean that the prophets and messengers are still alive however (with the exception of 'Eesa (AS))!
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