Why do Muslims in India Pray for the Souls of the Deceased?

The following are the Beliefs of Muslims in India about ‘Birth’, ‘Life’, ‘Death’ and’ Life After Death’:- 

The ‘Muslims’ believe that human beings are created by God the Almighty called ‘Allah’, who has no image.

Islam views death to be a natural threshold to the next stage of existence.

Indian Muslim

Islamic doctrine holds that human existence continues after the death of the human body in the form of spiritual and physical resurrection.

Muslim burial

There is a direct relation between conduct on earth and the life beyond.

The afterlife will be one of rewards and punishments which is commensurate with earthly conduct.

Islam

Paradise/Heaven and Hell which are Real and Eternal will be the final dwelling places for the faithful and the damned after the Last Judgment.

 A Day will come when God will resurrect and gather the first and the last of His creation and judge everyone justly. 

People will enter their final abode, Hell or Paradise/Heaven.

Heaven Or Hell in Muslims

Muslims believe that immediately after death, a person enters an ‘intermediate phase of life’ between death and resurrection.

Resurrection will be preceded by the end of the world,when Allah / God will command a magnificent angel to blow the Horn.

At its first blowing, all the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth will fall unconscious, except those spared by God. 

The earth will be flattened, the mountains turned into dust, the sky will crack, planets will be dispersed, and the graves overturned.

People will be resurrected into their original physical bodies from their graves, thereby entering the third and final phase of life.

The Horn will blow again upon which people will rise up from their graves, resurrected! God will gather all humans, believers and the impious, jinns, demons, even wild animals. It will be a universal gathering.

The angels will drive all human beings naked, uncircumcised, and bare-footed to the Great Plain of Gathering.

People will stand in wait for judgment and humanity will sweat in agony.

The righteous will be sheltered under the shade of God’s Magnificent Throne.

When the condition becomes unbearable, people will request the prophets and the messengers to intercede with God on their behalf to save them from distress.

The balances will be set and the deeds of men will be weighed and the disclosure of the Records of the deeds performed in this life will follow. 

The one who will receive his record in his right hand will have an easy reckoning and he will happily return to his family.

However, the person who will receive his record in his left hand would wish he were dead as he will be thrown into the Fire. 

Then God will judge all His creations and they will be reminded and informed of their good deeds and sins.

The faithful will acknowledge their failings and be forgiven, while the disbelievers will have no good deeds to declare because an unbeliever is rewarded for them in this life.

Some scholars are of the opinion that the punishment of an unbeliever may be reduced in lieu of his good deeds, except the punishment of the great sin of disbelief.

The ‘Siraat’ is a bridge that will be established over Hell extending to Paradise and anyone who is steadfast on God’s religion in this life will find it easy to pass it.

Siraat Bridge Over Hell

Prayers of the Muslims for the Souls of the Deceased Muslims:

Muslims Prayer For the Deceased

Upon death of a Muslim, all the Muslims in their community gather together and pray for the forgiveness of the soul of the deceased Muslim and their prayer recited by them  is called the ‘Salat al-Janaza’ or the ‘Janaza Prayer’.

Dua Namaz e Janaza Prayer for the Dead

According to the Islam Religion it is obligatory for every Muslim Adult Male to perform the funeral prayer / Janaza Prayer upon the death of any neighbor or known Muslim, whether, relative or not.

Muslims Pray for the Dead before burial

The repeated recital of the prayer “Peace be upon him” / PBUH is performed as the prayer of the muslims for the deceased people.

Peace Be On Him

It is notable that, the Muslim doctrines about ‘Life After Death’, an Intermediate Phase Before the Coming of God For Giving the Final Judgement and their prayer for the souls of the deceased relatives and others are similar to the Christian Doctrines on the related matters.

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