Hujjat al-Islam

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali

(1058-1111)

The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife,

from The Revival of the Religious Sciences
(Ihya `ulum al-din)
as-Salaamu `alaykum,

Al-Ghazali : The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife

(Kitab dhikr al-mawt wa-ma ba'dahu) ISBN: 0 946621 13 6 (Islamic Texts Society)
Book XL of The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya `ulum al-din) translated with
an introduction and notes by T. J. Winter
[Introduction by the modern fan of al-Ghazali who put it on the net]
The following is a section from the above book, the book is an remarkable piece of work on eschatology
by probably the greatest scholar of Islam, Imam Hujjat al-Islam (The Proof of Islam) Abu Hamid alGhazali (1058-1111). The Imam was a theologian, logician, jurist and mystic, was born and died at the
town of Tus in Central Asia, but spent much of his life lecturing in Baghdad or leading the life of a
wandering dervish. His most celebrated work, of which this is the culminating section, exercised a
profound influence on Muslim intellectual history by exploring the mystical significance of the practices
and beliefs of Islamic orthodoxy, and earned him the title of "Hujjat al-Islam", the "Proof of Islam".
Many people consider the Imam to be the fulfillment of the hadith found in Bukhari:
6.420: Narrated Abu Huraira:
While we were sitting with the Prophet Surat Al-Jumu'a was revealed to him, and when the
Verse, "And He (Allah) has sent him (Muhammad) also to other (Muslims).....' (62.3) was
recited by the Prophet, I said, "Who are they, O Allah's Apostle?" The Prophet did not reply
till I repeated my question thrice. At that time, Salman Al-Farisi was with us. So Allah's
Apostle put his hand on Salman, saying, "If Faith were at (the place of) Ath-Thuraiya
(Pleiades, the highest star), even then some men or man from these people (i.e. Salman's
folk) would attain it."
Anyone who is acquainted with the work of the Imam would unhesitatingly agree with this statement,
as Imam Ghazali deals primarily with issues of faith (Aqid`ah) as well as other Islamic issues and is of
Persian descent. Imam Nawawi has said that "if all the books of Islam were lost, the Ihya would suffice
them all", such is the depth and detail of this remarkable work.
The translation is a masterful one by T. J. Winter (`Abdal-Hakim Murad), who is a historian and a
teacher of Arabic. Currently the book is out of print but will be made available again soon, insha'Allah, I
consider this a must for every Muslim and I am currently making a second reading of this gem. Those
who have read it relate that the book brings about much awareness of the brevity and fragility of life in

this world and contemplation of the life in the next. Although the book deals with a subject that brings
about much fear, it is not a morbid or pessimistic discourse and so it leaves the reader full of hope
instead of fear, such is the style of Imam al-Ghazali (RahimuAllah).
May Allah (SWT) enable other sections from Ihya 'ulum al-Din available in English as we are in much
need of classical, orthodox and quality literature.
Wa'as-Salaam
Mas`ud

An exposition of the grave's discourse to the dead, and of their utterances,

either on the tongue of common speech, or that of the Spiritual State (lisan
al-hal) (from Chapter Seven)
Now, the tongue of the Spiritual State (lisan al-hal) is even more eloquent in
communicating with the dead than that of the speech when communicating with the
living. The Emissary of God (May God bless him and grant him peace) said, 'When the
dead man is laid in his grave it speaks to him, saying, "Woe betide you, O son of
Adam! What distracted you from contemplating me? Did you not know that I am the
house of trial, the house of darkness, the house of solitude and the house of worms?
What distracted you from me? You used to pass me by, strutting on!" Now if he had
worked well, then someone will reply to the grave on his behalf, saying, "Do you not
see that it was his practice to enjoin the good and forbid the evil?" And the grave
replies, "Then for him shall I turn to verdure [a condition of freshness or healthy
growth.], and his body shall become radiance, and his spirit shall soar up to God
(Exalted is He!)".' (According to the narrator, 'strutting' [faddad] is to take large
strides.) [Ref: al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi, 161; Abu Nu`aym, VI. 90; Abu Ya'la, al-Musnad
(Haytami, Majma', III. 45-46)]
Said `Ubaid bin `Umayr al-Laythi 'Not a single man dies without being called by the
pit in which he is buried, which declares, "I am the house of gloom, and of loneliness
and solitude! If you were obedient to God during your lifetime then today I shall be a
source of mercy for you, but if you were rebellious then I am an act of vengeance
against you. The obedient who enter me shall come forth joyful, while the rebellious
who enter me shall emerge in ruin".' Said Muhammad ibn Sabih 'I have heard that if
a man is laid in his tomb to be tormented or afflicted by something which is odious to
him, his dead neighbours call out to him, saying, "O you who leave your bretheren
and neighbours behind you in the world! Was there never a lesson for you in us? Was
there no clue for you in our preceding you? Did you not see how our actions were
severed from us while you still had some respite? Why did you not achieve that which
passed your bretheren by?" Then the regions of the earth call out to him, saying, "O
you who were beguiled by the outer aspect of the world! Did you not take heed from
your relatives who had vanished into the earth's interior? Those who were beguiled

by the world before you and then met their fate, and entered into their graves? You
watched them being borne aloft [To the cemetery], availed nothing by those they
loved, and taken to the abode which they could not escape."'
Said Yazid al-Ruqashi 'I have heard it said that when the deceased is set in his tomb
his works amass around him and are given to speak by God, so that they say, "O
bondsman, alone in his pit! Your family and friends are now separated from you, so
that today we are your sole companions".'
Said Ka'b [al-Ahbar], 'When the righteous bondsman is laid in his tomb he is
surrounded by his righteous acts, such as his prayer, his fasting, his pilgrimage, his
engagement in the Holy War, and the charity he used to distribute. Then the Angels
of Chastisement approach him from the direction of his feet, but are told by Prayer,
"Get back from him, you have no authority over him, for upon those [feet] he stood in
me at length for the sake of God". Then they approach him from the direction of his
head, but Fasting says, "You have no authority over him, for in the world's abode he
thirsted at length for the sake of God". Next they draw near to him from the direction
of his trunk, but Pilgrimage and Holy War say, "Get back from him for he exhausted
himself and wearied his body when he accomplished the Pilgrimage and the Holy War
for the sake of God; no authority do you have over him". Then they approach him
from the direction of his hands, but Charity says, "Back! Retreat from my master, for
how many an act of charity issued from those two hands to fall in to the hand of God
(Exalted is He!), while he acted only for His sake; no authority, do you have over
him". Then he shall be told, "Rejoice! Good you have been in life and in death!" Next,
the Angels of Mercy come, and spread a heavenly cloth and resting-place out for him,
and his grave is widened around him for as far as the eye can see. A candle is
brought from Heaven, and from it he has light until God resurrects him from his
grave.'
Said `Abd Allah ibn `Ubayd ibn `Umayr at a funeral, 'I have heard it said that the
Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) once declared, "The dead
man sits up and hears the footsteps of those that are present at his funeral, but none
addresses him save his tomb, which says, 'Woe betide you, O son of Adam! Did you
not fear me and my narrowness, and my corruption, terror and worms? What have
you prepared for me?"
[Ibn al-Mubarak, (riwaya Nu`aym ibn Hammad), 41; Ibn Abi'l-Dunya, K. al-Qubur
(Zabidi, x.397; Suyuti, Sharh, 114).