Barzakh

Barzakh (Arabic: ‫ﺑﺮزخ‬, from Persian Barzakh, "limbo, barrier, partition"[1] is an Arabic word meaning
"obstacle", "hindrance", "separation",[2] or "barrier"[3]) designates a place separating the living from the
hereafter; a veil between the dead and their return to world of the living, but also to a phase happening
between death and resurrection.[4][5]

Barzakh may, according to Ghazali, also be the place for those, who go neither to hell nor to heaven,
resembling the Christian concept of limbo.[6] According to Ibn Hazm, Barzakh is also the place for the unborn
souls, existing in the lowest heaven, where an angel blows the soul into wombs.[7]

Contents
Etymology
Quran and hadith
Significance of body and soul separation
Barzakh and Christian purgatory
Interpretations
Mainstream discourse
Sufism
Shia
Contemporary interpretations and uses
See also
References
Further reading

Etymology
The Arabic word Barzakh is derived from the Middle Persian Barzag, "barrier, partition", which is in its turn
traced back to the Parthian combination burz+ax(v) ("high existence"), similar to the Persian word for hell,
dūzakh < dūž+ax(v) ("evil existence").[1]

Quran and hadith

Mentioned only three times in the Quran, and just once specifically as the barrier between the corporeal and
ethereal, Barzakh is portrayed as a place in which, after death, the spirit is separated from the body – freed to
contemplate the wrongdoing of its former life. Despite the gain of recognizance, it cannot utilize action.[8] The
other two occurrences refer to Barzakh as an impenetrable barrier between fresh and salt water.[9][10] While
fresh and salt water may intermingle, an ocean remains distinct from a river.

In hadith, Ibn al-Qayyim cites that, albeit not mentioned in the Quran, souls in Al-Barzakh would be grouped
with others matching in purity or impurity.[11]
Significance of body and soul separation
In Islam, the soul and the body are independent of each other. This is significant in Barzakh, because only a
person's soul goes to Barzakh and not their physical body.[12] Since one's soul is divorced from their body in
Barzakh, the belief is that no progress or improvements to one's past life can be made.[12] If a person
experienced a life of sin and worldly pleasures, one cannot try to perform good deeds in order to reach
Jannah. Whatever one does in his or her lifetime is final and cannot be changed or altered in Barzakh.
However, there is belief that the fire which represents the own bad deeds can already be seen in Barzakh, and
that the spiritual pain caused by this can lead to purification of the soul.[13]

Barzakh and Christian purgatory

The idea of purgatory is that it is a place where people go after death that holds punishment and purification
for those who are not fit to enter Paradise just yet. People who are in this place do not have enough sins to
warrant their entrance into Hell, but they do not have enough good deeds to go to Paradise. This is a
temporary place, similar to Barzakh.[14] Because they have this in common, some believe that they are the
same idea or concept.[15] Barzakh is actually closer to the idea of limbo, a place that is between life and the
true afterlife.[15] In this place, people await their final judgment, much like in Barzakh. The Quranic idea of
aʿrāf (“the heights”) is closer to that of Christian purgatory. Aʿrāf is also thought of as a place where souls go
whose good and bad deeds are too evenly matched to go directly to Paradise or the Fire.[14]

Interpretations

Mainstream discourse

Some Muslim scholars stress the importance of Barzakh, while others simply ignore it.

Modern Muslim thinkers de-emphasize Barzakh, and focus instead on a person's individual life
and the Day of Judgment. In this view, the state of Barzakh is simply looked past and skipped
once a person dies.[16]
Muslim scholars who do believe in Barzakh still have varying interpretations of this
intermediate state based on different traditions. Some traditions suggest that a person's deeds
in their life will affect their experience in Barzakh. In these traditions, there are two states of
Barzakh. In the state known as "Azaabul-Qabr," a person will be punished for his or her deeds
in their past life.[17] In the other state known as "Tan'eemu Ahlit-Taa'ah Fil Qabr," a person will
receive the blessings and bounties of Allah because of his or her faith and good deeds.[17]
Other traditions suggest that people in Barzakh are given temporary bodies. In this view, a
person is either given a bright body or a dark body. These bodies are believed to be prepared
from either the light or darkness of their deeds.[12] If a person is given a bright body then this
indicates that a person will go to heaven, while a dark body represents hell.[12] In these
traditions, Muslim scholars believe that once a person is given their body in Barzakh, they will
already know their fate for the Day of Judgment. It is worth noting that in these traditions where
Muslim scholars believe in Barzakh, they are basically saying that a person will be familiar with
his or her fate prior to the Day of Judgment. This is based on what a person experiences in this
intermediate state.
Al-Ghazālī states, "After the First Blast, all created beings shall abide for forty (it is unknown if it
is a year or month or etc.) in the Intermediate Realm barzakh. Then shall God quicken
 Seraphiel, and command him to deliver the Second Blast, as He has said (Exalted is He!):
Then shall it be blown again, and lo! they stand, beholding : they shall be on their feet,
watching the Resurrection."[18]
Al-Zamakhshari explains Barzakh to mean hā'il, "an obstacle." His adaptation of the meaning
of the word coincides with mentions of Barzakh in Quran literature: 25:53.
Abdullah Yusuf Ali referred to a Barzakh state as a "quiescent state." The soul lies in a resting
state until Yawm al-Qiyāmah.

Sufism

In Sufism the Barzakh or Alam-e-Araf is not only where the human soul resides after death but it is also a
place that the soul can visit during sleep and meditation.

Ibn 'Arabi defines Barzakh as the intermediate realm or "isthmus". It is between the World of Corporeal
Bodies and the World of Spirits, and is a means of contact between the two worlds. Without it, there would be
no contact between the two and both would cease to exist. It is described as simple and luminous, like the
World of Spirits, but also able to take on many different forms just like the World of Corporeal Bodies can. In
broader terms Barzakh, “is anything that separates two things”. It has been described as the dream world in
which the dreamer is in both life and death.[19]

Barzakh can also refer to a person. Chronologically between Jesus and Mohammad is the contested Prophet
Khalid. Ibn 'Arabi considers this man to be a “Barzakh” or the Perfect Human Being. Chittick explains that the
Perfect Human acts as the Barzakh or "isthmus" between God and the world.[20] Ibn 'Arabi's story of Prophet
Khalid is a story of Perfect Human being.

Khalid's story is of a Prophet whose message never emerged because before he died, he told his sons to open
his tomb forty days after his death to receive the message of Barzakh. The sons, however, feared they would
be looked down upon for opening their dead father's tomb, therefore they decided not to exhume their father.
Thus, his message was never shared. An Ottoman scholar explained that for Khalid to give the knowledge of
Barzakh he would have to travel through the different worlds and then return, but because he was not
exhumed, his message was never heard. Ibn 'Arabi explains that because this mission ended in failure, it does
not conflict with The Prophet Mohammed’s statement: “I am nearest of men to Jesus son of Mary, for there is
no prophet between him and me."[19]

Shia

The idea of Barzakh in Shia is significant though in a perspective and manner different from Sufism. The
Prophet and Shia Imams, particularly the 6th Imam – Imam Jafar As-Sadiq, have explained through various
hadiths the treatment, condition, processes, and other intricate details regarding the passage of Barzakh.[21] In
Shia theology, there are seven checkpoints in Barzakh.[22] The first being kindness/trust/wilayah. Second is
salaat. Third is zakaat/khums. Fourth is fasting. Fifth is hajj. Sixth is cleanliness. Seventh is rights. It is
believed that the terms and conditions to understand Barzakh are limited in scope and full comprehension
because it is Shia's belief that it is incomprehensible, to a certain degree, until one actually reaches the realm
beyond our physical world. A common analogy used is that of a baby in the womb. Just as the baby cannot
possibly begin to understand the vast outside world until they experience it for themselves, we cannot hope to
understand what Barzakh entails until we transition there ourselves. Though despite this obstacle, the Shia
Imams, as cited through various sayings, have explained Barzakh to a significant degree as compared to other
sects within[23] Islam.

Contemporary interpretations and uses

The term has also found its way into more contemporary, non-
religious sectors of life. At least three bands have adopted the name
Barzakh, including an Indonesian Jakarta black metal band, a
Tunisian oriental metal band and Naqash Ali Shawkat band.
Additionally, Barzakh was used as the title of a 2011 documentary
following citizens of a war-torn Chechen community searching for a
lost friend who they believe may have transitioned from our physical
world to the realm of Barzakh.[24]

See also Barzakh: The "isthmus" between this

world and the next
Araf
Bardo
Intermediate state
Malakut
Punishment of the Grave
Sheol

References
1. Richard G. Hovannisian; Georges Sabagh, eds. (1998). The Persian Presence in the Islamic
World (https://books.google.com/books?id=39XZDnOWUXsC&pg=PA49). Cambridge
University Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780521591850.
2. The Encyclopedia of Islam. 1960. pp. 1071–1072.
3. Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. The Qu'ran. Elmhurst, NY. Sur 23: 99-100: Tahrike Tarsile Qu'ran, Inc.
4. Jane Dammen McAuliffe Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān Volume 1 Georgetown University,
Washington DC p. 205
5. Sayyid Moustafa Al-Qazwini Discovering Islam Lulu Press 2014 ISBN 978-1-312-63111-3
6. Brill Islam and Rationality: The Impact of al-Ghazālī. Papers Collected on His 900th
Anniversary, Band 1 ISBN 978-9-004-29095-2 page 100
7. Jane Dammen McAuliffe Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān Volume 1 Georgetown University,
Washington DC p. 206
8. Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. The Qur'an. Elmhurst, NY. Sur 23: 99-100: Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an, Inc.
9. Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. The Qur'an. Elmhurst, NY. Sur 25: 53: Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an, Inc.
10. Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. The Qur'an. Elmhurst, NY. Sur 55: 19-20: Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an, Inc.
11. al-Qayyim, Ibn. "Section 63. Burial" (http://hadithcollection.com/fiqh-ussunnah/386-Fiqh-us%20
Sunnah%20Section%2063.%20Burial/21458-fiqh-us-sunnah-volume-004-funerals-and-dhikr-fi
qh-4095.html). Fiqh-us Sunnah.
12. Khan, Sir Muhammad (December 2011). "The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam- Part12" (ht
tp://www.reviewofreligions.org/5307/the-philosophy-of-the-teachings-of-islam-part-12/). The
Review of Religions.
13. "Feuer" (http://www.eslam.de/begriffe/f/feuer.htm). eslam.de. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
14. Smith, Jane I. "Afterlife: An Overview" (http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType
=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=GVRL&userGroupName=nysl_ce_colgul&tabI
D=T003&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=Advan
cedSearchForm&currentPosition=2&contentSet=GALE%7CCX3424500061&&docId=GALE%
7CCX3424500061&docType=GALE). Encyclopedia of Religion. GaleGroup Online. Retrieved
5 December 2012.
15. Qader, Nasrin (Fall 2002). "Fictional Testimonies or Testimonial Fictions: Moussa Ould Ebnou's
Barzakh" (http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/ral/summary/v033/33.3qader.html). Research in African
Literatures. 33 (3): 14–31. doi:10.1353/ral.2002.0088 (https://doi.org/10.1353%2Fral.2002.008
8). S2CID 201753022 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:201753022). Retrieved
28 November 2012.
16. "Barzakh, al-". The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Missing or empty |url= (help)
17. Islam, Maulana. "Al Barzakh – The Realm After Death in Islam" (http://www.islamicinformation.
net/2008/06/al-barzakh-realm-after-death-in-islam.html). IslamicInformation.net. Retrieved
June 24, 2008.
18. Ghazali, Al- (1989). The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife. The Islamic Text Society.
p. 176.
19. Ibn Al-Arabi, Muhyiddin (2006). Angela Jaffray (ed.). The Universal Tree and The Four Birds.
Anqa Publishing. pp. 29n, 50n, 59, 64–8, 73, 75–8, 82, 102.
20. Chittick, William C. (1979). "The Perfect Man as the Prototype of the Self in the Sufism of Jāmi".
Studia Islamica. Maisonneuve & Larose (49): 135–157. doi:10.2307/1595320 (https://doi.org/1
0.2307%2F1595320). JSTOR 1595320 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1595320).
21. Ayatullah Shaheed Sayyid Abdul Husain Dastghaib. "Barzakh is the Veil of this World" (https://
web.archive.org/web/20131231001606/http://shiastudies.net/article/english/Article.php?id=16
3). Archived from the original (http://shiastudies.net/article/english/Article.php?id=163) on 31
December 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
22. Shirazie, Ayatullah Sayyid Abdul Husayn Dastghaib. "The Hereafter" (http://www.al-islam.org/t
he-hereafter-maad-ayatullah-dastaghaib-shirazi). Al-Islam.org. Ansariyan Publications.
Retrieved 26 January 2015.
23. Qummi, Sheikh Abbas. "MANAZELUL AKHERAH" (http://www.ziyaraat.net/books/ManazilulAa
khira.pdf) (PDF). ziyaraat.net. Madinatul Ilm Islamic Centre. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
24. "Barzakh" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1813175/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1). Retrieved 7 December
2012.

25. http://www.alim.org/library/quran/AlQuran-tafsir/MDD/47/26

Further reading
Archer, George (2017). A Place Between Two Places: The Qurʾānic Barzakh. (https://www.gorg
iaspress.com/a-place-between-two-places) Gorgias Press: Piscataway, NJ. ISBN 978-1-4632-
0612-3.
Corbin, Henry (1977). Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth: From Mazdean Iran to Shi'ite Iran (htt
ps://books.google.com/books?id=feE9DwAAQBAJ). Princeton University Press.

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