Of them their chieftains, who enjoyed more Divine Favours than the others, in their opulence became so oblivious of the Akhirah that they outrightly denied it. They told one another that the Prophet^-AS was just like any other human being with human needs such as food and clothing etc. So why should they obey a person who was just like them, for that would be a sure loss, they said. They, in other words, evaluated the slave of Allah^-SWT on human attributes, which are the same in every human being.

Human Being And Allah^-SWT ’s Slave

The real test for a slave is his loyalty to his master and who the master is. Whether one chooses to be a slave of desires in this temporal world or of Allah^-SWT , is the real trial Allah^-SWT’s blessings are extended to everyone in this world. Therefore, the criterion of guidance is whose servitude one opts for Obedience to a person who is Allah^-SWT’s slave would also amount to Allah^-SWT’s obedience; as such a devout would only be conveying the Message of Allah^-SWT , without any alteration. And who could have been better slaves of Allah^-SWT than His^-SWT Prophets^-AS?

Since the chieftains were themselves devoid of belief in the Akhirah, they tried to delude others away from Prophetic teachings. What the Prophet^-AS conveyed that they would be quickened after being reduced to dust was incredible for them. They said that it could never happen while the Worldly life was the only reality. They argued that both birth and death were natural phenomena observed by everyone and it was an open fact that those who died never returned to life.

Denial Of Requital In Grave Amounts To Denial Of Akhirah

Ironically, they did believe in Allah^-SWT but in their own way. That is why they declared Allah^-SWT’s Prophet^-AS to be lying about Allah^-SWT and decided not to listen to him^-AS under any circumstances, whereas their own birth was very strong evidence of Divine Omnipotence. Same is the condition of contemporary deniers of requital in the grave and the life of Barzakh, who also believe in Allah^-SWT . They, however, find it very difficult to conceive that once a body is cremated, or eaten away by a beast, or drowned in water, it can be requited in Barzakh. But because they are obliged to believe it in the light of Quran and Sunnah, they resort to misinterpretation. They assert that a new body, an astral one, is given to the Ruh in Barzakh and it is this astral body which bears punishment or enjoys the reward in Barzakh. How absurd indeed! A body which neither entered the world, nor was it given any Divine Injunctions, nor was a Messenger^-AS sent to it, nor did it indulge in disbelief or adopt obedience what for would be it requited?

The fact is that no matter what transformations a human body may go through, it still remains in the form of matter. The connection of the human Ruh with the body in terms of worldly life is terminated, but it does not end absolutely. Therefore, when Ruh is punished or rewarded in the Barzakh, the body receives its share, no matter how scattered its particles might be. A non believer or a polytheist is bound to receive the share of flames, like the Pharaoh’s folk, who, according to Quran ‘perished and entered the fire’, and that they are heated on fire morning and evening. This Quranic expression refers to people with bodies and Arwah together, who were drowned and admitted to Fire, and not to some celestial body or Ruh alone. A believer’s Ruh has a very strong link with his body, while that of a martyr’s is so strong that he is termed alive. This is endorsed by Quran and Sunnah, along with visual experiences and spiritual observations recorded consistently. And for the exalted Arwah of the Prophets^-AS, what better habitation can there be than their own auspicious physical bodies? On completion of worldly life they shift to Barzakh, and their lives are governed by the commands of Barzakh. However, their life is not transformed into some other type of existence and stays as it was before. This is termed as ‘Hayat-un-Nabi’ (Life of the Prophet^-AS).

When the defying nations crossed all limits in denial, their Prophet^-AS conceding their helplessness called out to Allah^-SWT for help. In response they were assured that the days of these deniers were numbered. They were about to be punished and would surely regret. So they were seized by an awful cry, a punishment that reduced them to litter. Woe be unto the infidels, for they estranged themselves from Allah^-SWT’s Clemency forever!

Once again, the land became inhabited by new nations, which in turn met their own end. None could ever defer or alter the time preordained for them. All of them were invited to guidance through Prophets^-AS raised one after the other. Those who accepted the Divine Message were successful, while the refuters obeying their fellow beings became self-proclaimed leaders for one another. Allah^-SWT wreaked havoc upon them, and they were reduced to mere tales of the past inscribed on the leaflets of time. Of these a well known event is of the Pharaoh’s folk, also known to these infidels. Prophets Musa^-AS and Harun^-AS were sent to the Pharaoh and his people with logical evidence and manifest miracles. All of them resorted to arrogance, inebriated with power. They said how could they possibly follow two fellow men, who could not even imagine to equal them in status and whose nation served them as slaves? So they persisted on denial and were eventually destroyed. Prophet Musa^-AS had brought Allah^-SWT’s Book to them so that they may be guided to Allah^-SWT’s Pleasure by becoming believers and their destruction was not the aim of his^-AS raising.

What a great miracle was given to Prophet ‘Isa^-AS and his^-AS mother that he^-AS was procreated without a father. She^-AS conceived a blessed child to be adorned with the light of Prophethood.