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Concept of Life and
Death in Quran
Quran describes concept
of ‘life and death’ which is
different from what is commonly
understood. In Quranic
terminology, life is not merely
biological functioning of human
body, nor is ‘death’ merely end of
biological functioning of human
body; life and death are more than
merely relating to biological
functioning of human body. Quran
describes also life as a capability
of human being to obey Allah and
His Messenger (saw), and death as
lack of such capability in human
being.
Quran says:
“O you who have believed,
respond to Allah and to the
Messenger (saw) when he calls you
to that which gives you life/
‘yuhyeekum” And know that Allah
intervenes between a man and his
heart/brain and that to Him you will
be gathered. (al-anfal-24).
This verse, while
addressing the Muslims, states
that Muslims should act
accordingly when Allah and His
Messenger (saw) calls them to
what gives them life. In other
words, Muslims should act upon
the injunctions contained in Quran
and Sunnah, as such obedience on
the part of Muslims gives them
life. Now obviously this command
is being given to Muslims who are
already alive in terms of biological
functioning; it means in this verse
‘life’ does not mean ‘alive body’
rather it means capability to obey
Allah and His Messenger (saw). In
other words, when a Muslim acts
upon directions of Allah and His
Messenger (saw), he shows his
capability to obey Allah and His
Messenger (saw); and such
capability is called ‘life’. The more
a person acts upon the directions
of Allah and His Messenger (saw),
the greater ‘life’ he owns.
Similarly more a person violates
directions of Allah and His
Messenger (saw), the lesser ‘life’
he owns. If a person continues
violating directions of Allah and
His Messenger (saw), ultimately
he becomes totally devoid of
capability of obeying Allah and His
Messenger (saw) and ultimately
he becomes ‘dead’ (not physically
dead).
This concept of ‘life and
death’ has been mentioned at
many places in Quran. Sura al-
anaam-122 states: “: And is one
who was dead and We gave him life
and made for him light by which to
walk among the people like one who
is in darkness, never to emerge there
from? Thus it has been made
pleasing to the disbelievers that which
they were doing”. Sura al-rum-52
states: “So indeed, you will not make
the dead hear, nor will you make the
deaf hear the call when they turn their
backs, retreating”. At all such
places life and death has been
described as capability or lack of
capability respectively to obey
Allah and His Messenger (saw).
This Quranic concept of ‘life and
death’ holds equally good for
Muslims as well as non-Muslims. I
mean non-Muslims are also
bestowed upon the capability of
obeying Allah and His Messenger
(saw). If a non-Muslim continues
violating directions of Allah and
His Messenger (saw), ultimately
he becomes dead. Quran says
about Israelis:
“Indeed, you will not make the dead
hear, nor will you make the deaf hear
the call when they have turned their
backs retreating” (al-naml-80). In
this verse Israelis who did not
listen to Allah’s Messenger (saw)
have been called ‘dead’; who have
become devoid of capability of
obeying Allah and His Messenger
(saw) have been declared as
‘dead’.
This Quranic concept of ‘life and
death’ also holds good for non-
living things. Quran says: “And
[in] the alternation of night and day
and [in] what Allah sends down from
the sky of provision and gives life
thereby to the earth after its
lifelessness and [in His] directing of
the winds are signs for a people who
reason” (al-jathiyah-5) . In this
verse mention has been made
about rainfall which brings ‘life’ to
earth after its death. When earth
is devoid of capability to bring
forth vegetation according to
Allah’s direction, earth is called
‘dead’; and when earth regains its
such capability, it is called ‘alive’.
It does not mean that earth can
disobey Allah’s command; it only
means that earth is first given
capability to act upon Allah’s
direction, and after that earth
obeys Allah’s direction by
bringing forth vegetation. This
concept of life and death relating
to earth has been described at
many places in Quran e.g. al-
rum-19, 50; fatir-9.
It may be noted that many
times Quran says Allah brings
the living out of the dead, and
vice versa (al-imran-27; al-
anaam-95; yunus-31;al-
rum-19). From the present
tense used in these verses, one
may infer that Allah is still
doing it. At all such places the
living and the dead should not
be taken as biologically living
and biologically dead
respectively. Quran clearly
mentions all living things have
been made out of water (al-
anbiyah-30); it means origin of
all biologically living things is
water. Once first biologically
living thing was created out of
water, afterwards every
biologically living thing was/is
created out of previous
biologically living thing. In
other words Allah is not still
creating biologically the living
from the dead and vice versa.
At all such places the meaning
of the living and the dead is
having capability and lacking
in capability respectively to
obey Allah and His Messenger
(saw).

People living un-islamic lives
desiring change must begin by
changing the quality of their life
and environment into an Islamic
one. External change is the
fertile soil necessary for internal
change.

It is Sunnah to observe i’tikaaf
(retreat for the purpose of
worship) in Ramadaan, because
the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) always
did that, as it was narrated in
the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may
Allaah be pleased with her) that
the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) used to
spend the last ten days of
Ramadaan in i’tikaaf until he
passed away, then his wives
observed i’tikaaf after him.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1922;
Muslim, 1172. # Ramadan

WASEELA (OR TAWASSUL IN
ARABIC)
The Quranic term Waseela can be
defined in one word as “means” .
As per the Islamic understanding,
this (waseela) is an action or
practice through which a Muslim
seeks nearness to Allah. In the
modern (especially the South Asian)
world, people have taken the word
waseela to mean something
completely contradictory to the
Quranic understanding of it. in
laymen language, waseela can be
defined as “a path to contact Allah
or a means through which one’s
dua is accepted quickly”.
Unfortunately many have
misunderstood and misinterpreted
this definition in a way which the
shari’ah doesn’t allow. We will be
discussing this in brief.
Types of Waseela according to the
Islamic understanding
They can be broadly classified
into two types –
1. Correct/permissible Islamic
Waseela
2. Incorrect/impermissible
Islamic Waseela
PERMISSIBLE WASEELA – IN
BRIEF
This means seeking to draw close
to Allah through acts of worship
which He loves and which pleases
Him; these may be waajib
(obligatory) or mustahabb
(encouraged) and may take the
form of words, actions or beliefs.
These forms are studied and
derived from the Quran, Sunnah
and religious practices of the
righteous predecessors [1st three
generations which include the
companions of the Prophet (peace
be upon him), taba’een (students of
the companions) and taba’ taba’een
(students of the taba’een)].
Some types of permissible
waseela are as follows:
1. Seeking to draw close to Allah
by means of His names and
attributes
Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “And (all) the most
beautiful names belong to Allah, so
call on Him by them” [Quran
7:180]. So when a person makes
duaa’ to Allah, he begins by
praising and calling on Allah with
the name that is most apt and
praiseworthy, such as “Al-
Rahmaan” (the Most Merciful) when
seeking mercy and ‘’Al-
Ghafoor’’ (the All-Forgiving) when
asking for forgiveness etc.
2. Seeking to draw close to Allah
by means of faith and Tawheed.
A powerful dua from the Quran
helps us understand this category.
“Our Lord! We have indeed
believed: forgive us then our sins
and save us from the agony of the
fire.” [Quran 3:16]. There are
similar duas from the ahadith also.
3. Seeking to draw close to Allah
through righteous deeds
This is where a person asks
Allah by the virtue of the
best deeds that he has done,
such as salaah, fasting,
reading Quran, avoiding
haraam things and so on. An
example of this is the sahih
hadeeth narrated in the
Books ‘Sahih Bukhari’ &
‘Sahih Muslim [Ref: Sahih
Bukhair, Vol. 3 Book 36,
Hadith no. 472]’ about the
three people who entered a
cave, and a rock fell and
blocked their way out. They
asked Allah by the virtue of
their best deeds (to save
them).
A person may also ask Allah
by virtue of his total
dependency upon Him, as
Allah mentions in the Quran
(interpretation of the
meaning): “[Ayyoob said:]
‘Verily, distress has seized
me, and you are the Most
Merciful of those who show
mercy.’ [Al-Anbiya’ 21:83]
A person may also ask Allah
by admitting his own
wrongdoing and his need for
Allah, as Yoonus is described
as saying: ‘None has the
right to be worshipped
except you (O Allah).
Glorified (and exalted) are
you. Truly I have been of the
wrong-doers.’” [al-Anbiya’
21:87]
The rulings on correct tawassul
vary according to its type. Some
types are waajib, such as seeking to
draw close to Allah through His
names and attributes and through
Tawheed (believing in His absolute
Oneness), and some are
mustahabb, such as seeking to
draw close to Him by virtue of all
kinds of righteous deeds.
4. Seeking to get your dua
accepted by sending blessings
upon the Prophet (peace be upon
him)
Whenever a Muslim makes
dua, it is necessary for him
to first prase his Lord, then
send blessings upon the
prophet (peace be upon him)
and then make his dua. The
blessings ( for e.g durood e
Ibrahim) sent upon the
prophet is also considered to
be a waseela for our duas to
reach Allah and this is
supported by various
authentic Ahadith which state
that Umar (RA) narrated that
the Prophet (peace be upon
him) said: ‘Du’a is detained
between the heavens and the
earth and no part of it is
taken up until you send
blessings upon Prophet
(peace be upon him)’ [Al-
Tirmidhi #486]
5. Seeking to approach Allah by
asking someone pious (whose
Alive) to pray for you (while he
is alive)
Another permissible form of
waseela is by asking someone
who is a righteous or pious
person. One may request that
person to invoke Allah for
him and pray for him. This is
supported by various ahadith
and Quranic verses as well.
IMPERMISSIBLE WASEELA
This is the attempt to draw close to
Allah by means of things that He
does not like and that do not
please Him, and it is not supported
by the teachings of our beloved
Messenger (peace be upon him) and
neither is it supported by the
practices of the greatest of
Muslims – the companions
(sahabah) of the Messenger (peace
be upon him).
These could be practices or actions
whether they are words, deeds or
beliefs. This particular context has
a lot of subdivisions and examples
to quote and explain but however
one such example of this is trying
to draw close to Allah by calling on
for help to those beside Allah or
using intermediaries who are
absent from this world or to invoke
someone other than Allah is
considered a form of association
(Shirk) with Him, which is against
the principles of tawheed and takes
a person out of the fold of Islam.
The venue, place and methodology
may differ in this type, however
the concept of calling or seeking
help via or from the absent
remains the same.
Calling upon someone, whether it
is for a purpose such as asking
Him to grant some benefit or to
ward off some harm, or as an act
of worship to express humility and
submission before Him, can only
be addressed directly to Allah. If
duaas or prayers are addressed to
anything or anyone else, that would
amount to shirk. This is the type of
waseela i.e. impermissible waseela
which will be explained, proved and
described with the will of Allah in
this document in a comprehensive
yet brief manner. I have
summarized this document in the
form of Questions and Answers
hoping that it may have a better
appeal to the reader regarding this
significant and sensitive context.
Note: The subject of this document
is to speak on the specific kind of
‘Impermissible waseela’ mentioned
in the title of this document. Hence
whenever the word waseela is
mentioned (unless specified to
point/implied towards something
else), kindly consider it to mean
‘Impermissible waseela’ (or in other
words waseela through the people
who are dead).
=============================
=============================
==============
Q1. Will everyone die (face
physical death)?
Allah says: “Every soul shall have
taste of death (Arabic word used
here is Maut); in the end to us
shall be brought back.’’ (Quran
29:57)
=============================
=============================
==============
Q2. Will the Sahabas (RA), (who are
the walis of walis, the greatest of
awliyas and the best of Muslims)
live forever until the Day of
Judgment? Did they face death?
Narrated by Abu Hurairah (RA) that
the Prophet (peace be upon him)
said, “The life span of my
followers is between sixty and
seventy, very few of them do
exceed this age.” [Reported by:
Sunan Al Tirmidhi,Book 39,
Chapter 23, hadith no. 2338, Also
in Sunan ibn majah 4236 )
=============================
=============================
==============
Q3. Did the Prophet (peace be
upon him) face death? (No
disrespect intended)
1) The holy Prophet was but a
Prophet. There had been prophets
before him and they all died
(Arabic word used here for dead is
‘Mata’ which comes from ‘Maut’).
He also should die or be put to
death (Maut); would they (Muslims)
turn back upon him? [Ale-Imran:
144]
2) “Thou (O Mohammad) are surely
going to die (Maut) and they surely
are going to die (Maut)” [Al-Zumar:
30]
3) Narrated `Aisha (Umm al
Momineen) : The Prophet died
when he was sixty three years
old. [Ref: Sahih Al Bukhari Vol. 4,
Book 56, Hadith 736]
4) The greatest of wali, the best
man after the messengers – Abu
Bakr as-Sideeque (RA) said “O ye
men, whoever amongst you
worshipped Muhammad, let him
know that Muhammad is dead
(arabic word used by Abu Bakr is
Maut), and whoever amongst you
worshiped ALLAH, let him know
that ALLAH is living, there is no
death for him” [Ref: Sahih Bukhari,
Vol. 5, Book 59, Hadith 733]
Note: Some may say Abu bakr
(RA) said “worshipped” but we
don’t worship our awliyas
The word worship is the English
translation of the Arabic
word ُﺪُﺒْﻌَﻳ (Ya’budu) used by Abu
bakr (RA) in the above hadith and
obviously he didn’t mean to say
“WHO TOOK MUHAMMAD AS GOD”
because he was addressing the best
of people after the messengers and
the best of Muslims ALLAH has
ever raised i.e. he was speaking to
the Sahabas (May ALLAH be pleased
with them all) and obviously the
Sahabas didn’t take the Prophet
(peace be upon him) as God
( Nauzubillah) because they knew
what Tawheed means and no one
can follow Islam better than them.
What Abu Bakr (RA) actually meant
by the phrase “those who
worshipped Muhammad” was that
those who “relied” upon
Muhammad (peace be upon him)
for (physical presence) help and
other issues as the sahabas used to
personally consult the Prophet
(peace be upon him) in their daily
affairs, and henceforth they would
not be able to do the same since
he is dead.

It was narrated from Abu
Salamah that Abu Hurayrah said:
“The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: ‘Whoever fasts
Ramadaan out of faith and
seeking reward, his previous sins
will be forgiven.’” (Narrated by

"And there is none equal to
Him." Surat Al-'Ikhlāş (112):4.
Allaah closes the chapter with a
restatement of the opening
verse. If God is unique, nothing
can be equal to Him. If nothing
is equal to Him, then He alone is
Unique. If He alone is Self-
Sufficient and all creation is in
need of Him, nothing in creation
can be equal to Him. If He does
not bear offspring, nor did
anyone or anything give birth to
Him, nothing or no one can be
equal to Him as every created
thing came into existence after a
period of non-existence. # Allah
# Unique

Narrated Anas bin Malik (ra): 
“We used to travel with the
Prophet (pbuh) and neither did
the persons observing # Saum
( # fast) criticize those who were
not observing Saum (fast), nor
did those who were not
observing Saum (fast) criticize
the ones who were observing
Saum (fast).”
Sahih Al Bukhari, Vol. No. 3, The
book of # Fasting, Hadith No.
1947

If Allah pushes you to the edge
of difficulty, be patient and trust
in Him fully because one of two
good things can happen; either
He will catch you when you fall
or He'll teach you how to fly.
There is always a way out, as
Allah said, "Allah will make an
exit for whoever fears His
displeasure, and provide for him
from where he would least
expect it." (Qur'aan, 65:3)

Abu Hurairah (ra) reported that
the Prophet (pbuh) said:
"When one of you fasts, One
should not behave immorally
nor arrogantly And If someone
# fights him or # abuses him, he
should say: 'I am # fasting , I am
fasting."
Sunan Abu Dawud, Vol. 3,The
Book of As- # Saum, Hadith No.
2363

QUALITIES OF THE BELIEVERS
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh)
said:
“Whoever believe sin # Allah and
the Last Day
- Should not his neighbor
- Should # entertain his # guest
generously
- Should talk what is good or
keep # quiet ”
Sahih Bukhari, Volume No. 8,
The Book of Al Adab, Hadith No.
6136

Prophet (pbuh) said:
“Whoever follows a path to seek
knowledge, Allaah will make easy
for him the path to Paradise.
The angels beat their wings in
approval of the seeker of
knowledge, and those who are in
the heavens and on earth pray
for forgiveness for the scholar,
even the fish in the water. The
superiority of the scholar over
the worshipper is like the
superiority of the moon over all
other heavenly bodies. The
scholars are the heirs of the
Prophets, for the Prophets did
not leave behind dinars or
dirhams, rather they left behind
knowledge, so whoever gains
knowledge has gained great good
fortune.’” (narrated by al-
Tirmidhi, 2606; classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani).
# Knowledge # Islam # Paradise