Q. At one of the tarawih prayers, while delivering a sermon during a
break in the prayers, the speaker mentioned that some scholars assert that we
existed in some form prior to this life. One got the impression that he was
suggesting some type of reincarnation. Have you ever heard of such a theory?
How do we juxtapose this with the Qur'anic diction
that the next life is an eternal one? How do we know which state of
"reincarnation" we are in and how many of these do we go through
before the everlasting life in the hereafter?
A. The
Qur'an does not give any indication of reincarnation from a previous life. Its
verses are simple and direct: "He it is who has created you from one being, and from that being its mate
" (Q4:1, 39:6)
In fact, the only indication or theories one may propound to indicate some sort
of metamorphosis would be in that first creation. Was the first human fashioned
from clay and that clay directly evolved into a human? Or did that clay mold go
through certain stages before it became a human? And if so, is the Qur'anic story to be seen as symbolic rather than actual?
There is talk among the exegetes that other creations may have preceded us on
earth. The Qur'anic language does not seem to
indicate this, and such talk must therefore remain within the realm of
conjecture.
Sura 19:67 clearly
indicates that we were created ex nihilo. All the talk about a previous
life, etc. seems to be out of a desire to inculcate imported beliefs. For those
who will see an apparent contradiction between Q19:67 and the verses that show
our coming into being from clay, the answer is clear if one understands the
word attributed to Allah "badee"
creating without any matrix, etc. There was no human life, and Allah created us
from that which He had created, i.e. the dust. Previous to this, there was no
human/humanoid life. The Qur'an is concerned with a certain message to us, and
is not, as many would like it to be, a repository of scientific and historical
data.
Regarding the everlasting life
in the hereafter, this is tied to another theory that is dominant among
Muslims: that of life in the grave. The Qur'an gives no such indication. We
die, rot, and are resurrected in a manner that Allah deems fit. Some mufassirs argue as to whether we will be resurrected
in our normal human forms or not. And this has led to several ancillary
theories, indeed laws, some of which argue against cremation and organ donation.
None of these have basis in the Qur'an, which tells us that we die, are buried,
and when Allah chooses, will resurrect us in a manner known only to the Divine:
"On the day when we roll up the heavens like a scroll rolled up for
books (completed), even as We produced the first creation, so shall We produce
a new one; a promise We have undertaken; truly shall We fulfill it."
(Q21:104) I guess one can stretch the verse to give some indication of a type
of reincarnation, except that the term is usually applied to that rebirth
even in a different form which occurs in a terrestrial dimension. Unless one
assumes that the new creation that Allah produces will be on earth, the term
would be problematic: as He created us in the beginning, so too can He in the end. That resurrected being that we become is
the one that presumably will endure permanently. And Allah is the Best Disposer
of all affairs.
Posted January 4, 2004