An Example Of A Physical Punishment In Barzakh

[SoRoUsH]

(bismillah)

(salam)

This interesting post will hopefully help us become more vigilant of our feelings and judgements.

It brings the punishment in Barzakh into our minds, and gives us another strong motivation to keep ourselves away from sins.

http://unveilingthelight.blogspot.com/

Enjoy and Eltemase Dua :)

(salam)

[Shia_Debater]

(salam)

JazakAllah Khair .. but I didn't really understand it. Can you elaborate on what it meant please? ^_^

Edit : I read it again properly this time and I understood what it meant :D

(wasalam)

Edited September 18, 2011 by Shia_Debater

[SoRoUsH]

(salam)

This tradition points to two issues.

1) We should not be inclined towards any ruling before we see and assess the surrounding evidence that are available and accessible to us.

2) How our bodies are punished in Barzakh is directly related to our actions in this world.

The judge was punished in Barzakh, a worm was eating his nose, because of what he did in this world.

In other words, our actions in this world, not only determine our place in the next world, but also our status in Barzakh.

How we are punished or rewarded in Barzakh depends on our actions in this world.

Better? :)

I just read your edit. That's excellent. I'm glad. :)

Edited September 18, 2011 by SoRoUsH

[Nader Zaveri]

(salam)

(bismillah)

Brother, I have commented on the authenticity of this hadeeth on your blog. Click here: http://unveilingthelight.blogspot.com/2011/09/example-of-physical-punishment-in.html?showComment=1316391918618#c2195791359756651396

Wallaahu A`lim.

(salam)

[SoRoUsH]

(salam)

Thank you very much brother Nader.

This is what brother Nader posted.

Nader Zaveri said...

Assalaamu `Alaykum,

This hadeeth is not Hasan (Good). Rather it is Mursal (Disconnect). Unfortunately, al-Majlisi didn't catch this.

There has to be a waasiTa (intermediary) between al-Hasan bin MaHbob and Abee Hamzah al-Thumaali.

Abee Hamzah al-Thumaalee (Dhaabit bin Deenaar) according to al-Najaashi died in the year 150:

و مات في سنة خمسين و مائة.

Al-Hasan bin MaHboob died in the year 224, and lived for 75 years. Which would make al-Hasan bin Mahboob born in the year 149AH. Which would make al-Hasan bin Mahboob 1 year old when al-Thumaalee died.

Therefore there has to be a waasiTah (intermediary) between them, who is not mentioned in hadeeth.

There are also chains in which there are as many as 2 people in between al-Hasan bin Mahboob and Abee Hamzah al-Thumaalee.

أَبُو عَلِيٍّ الْأَشْعَرِيُّ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْجَبَّارِ عَنِ ابْنِ مَحْبُوبٍ عَنْ أَبِي حَفْصٍ الْأَعْشَى عَنْ عَمْرِو [عُمَرَ] بْنِ خَالِدٍ عَنْ أَبِي حَمْزَةَ الثُّمَالِيِّ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ ص قَالَ

Many hadeeth have a minimum of 1 person in between.

عِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ وَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ جَمِيعاً عَنِ ابْنِ مَحْبُوبٍ عَنِ ابْنِ رِئَابٍ عَنْ أَبِي حَمْزَةَ الثُّمَالِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع قَالَ

مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ مَحْبُوبٍ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ سَالِمٍ عَنْ أَبِي حَمْزَةَ الثُّمَالِيِّ قَالَ قَالَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ ع

So this hadeeth is not Hasan (good), but it is Mursal.

Wallaahu A`lim.

Wa `Alaykum Assalaam.

[SoRoUsH]

(bismillah)

(salam)

Since one of the aims of my blog is to keep all the traditions in there acceptable (Saheeh, Hassan, Mawththaq), I am going to remove this tradition from my blog.

However, since I believe the preceding note before the tradition is still useful to read and know, I will copy and paste my post in here first.

Once again, I would like to thank brother Nader for firstly, reading and secondly, bringing this issue to my attention.

An Example of a Physical Punishment in Barzakh

... In this tradition, two lessons stand out, one moral and one (paradoxically) metaphysical.

The moral lesson is a very important one. It directs our attention to our feelings and inclinations before we make a judgement. Often, we strive to make the correct judgments according to the evidence that is available to us. We only focus on the action of judgment itself. However, what this tradition, very clearly, indicates to us is that our feelings and inclinations before we a make judgement are very important as well. Even if we make the correct judgment, the inclinations that we may have had before doing so, are also accounted. This tradition, thus, encourages and guides us to keep even our feelings unbiased. We must remind ourselves that our feelings always affect how we perceive the world. In other words, our feelings influence our judgments of reality. Therefore, we need to be just as vigilant about our feelings before we pass a judgment as we are about passing the correct judgment.

The metaphysical lesson in this tradition is related to our physical status or condition in the intermediate world (Barzakh). As we know, remembering death and the hereafter is strongly recommended in our faith. It is through thinking about death that we learn about the value of life and about the opportunity that we have been given to secure a safe place for ourselves in the hereafter. It is through thinking about death that we learn to detach ourselves from this world and turn our faces and focus to God and the next life. It is through thinking about death that we reassess and change our priorities in this world to train and prepare our souls for the next. Thus, without a doubt, constantly having our upcoming death in mind, injects life into us and pushes us to live and operate with open eyes and functioning intellects.

This tradition provides a slightly different motivation for us to look at death. It makes us realize how our actions are directly linked to what happens to us right after we pass away, in the intermediate world (Barzakh). The thought of this direct connection is very powerful. It supplies us with a cause-and-effect picture in our minds, which is easy to comprehend and understand. Our actions are the causes of what happens to our bodies after death, in Barzakh.

We are all very familiar with the fact that we are judged based on our actions in the hereafter. But how often do we think about how our actions affect our bodies in the intermediate world? How often do we link the decomposition of our bodies to our actions in this world? Rarely. Yet to think so supplies us with a very powerful vision, which in turn helps to keep us away from committing sinful deeds. If we internalize the fact that each sin may cause a specific damage to our bodies after we die, and if we remind ourselves that when we die, in Barzakh, we are alive again and will either be punished or rewarded, then we have a very strong reason and a clear picture in our minds to keep ourselves away from sins.

In this tradition, a specific painful punishment is shown for a specific mental action. Again, I like to emphasize that we need to always keep in mind that we are alive in Barzakh (the intermediate world), and we will either be punished or rewarded based on our actions in this world. The punishment that was mentioned in this tradition is the punishment given to an individual in Barzakh and not the hereafter.

Lastly, notice that this punishment is a physical punishment to the body after we pass away. It is a physical punishment visible to the eyes of people who are alive if they were to see the dead body.

This tradition may remind us of narrations and stories about the exhumed bodies of certain individuals, which were in perfect conditions and completely unharmed and untouched after their deaths.

Arabic Text:

عِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ وَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ جَمِيعاً عَنِ ابْنِ مَحْبُوبٍ عَنْ أَبِي حَمْزَةَ الثُّمَالِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع قَالَ كَانَ فِي بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ قَاضٍ كَانَ يَقْضِي بِالْحَقِّ فِيهِمْ فَلَمَّا حَضَرَهُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ لِامْرَأَتِهِ إِذَا أَنَا مِتُّ فَاغْسِلِينِي وَ كَفِّنِينِي وَ ضَعِينِي عَلَى سَرِيرِي وَ غَطِّي وَجْهِي فَإِنَّكِ لَا تَرَيْنَ سُوءاً فَلَمَّا مَاتَ فَعَلَتْ ذَلِكَ ثُمَّ مَكَثَتْ بِذَلِكَ حِيناً ثُمَّ إِنَّهَا كَشَفَتْ عَنْ وَجْهِهِ لِتَنْظُرَ إِلَيْهِ فَإِذَا هِيَ بِدُودَةٍ تَقْرِضُ مَنْخِرَهُ فَفَزِعَتْ مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَلَمَّا كَانَ اللَّيْلُ أَتَاهَا فِي مَنَامِهَا فَقَالَ لَهَا أَفْزَعَكِ مَا رَأَيْتِ قَالَتْ أَجَلْ لَقَدْ فَزِعْتُ فَقَالَ لَهَا أَمَا لَئِنْ كُنْتِ فَزِعْتِ مَا كَانَ الَّذِي رَأَيْتِ إِلَّا فِي أَخِيكِ فُلَانٍ أَتَانِي وَ مَعَهُ خَصْمٌ لَهُ فَلَمَّا جَلَسَا إِلَيَّ قُلْتُ اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلِ الْحَقَّ لَهُ وَ وَجِّهِ الْقَضَاءَ عَلَى صَاحِبِهِ فَلَمَّا اخْتَصَمَا إِلَيَّ كَانَ الْحَقُّ لَهُ وَ رَأَيْتُ ذَلِكَ بَيِّناً فِي الْقَضَاءِ فَوَجَّهْتُ الْقَضَاءَ لَهُ عَلَى صَاحِبِهِ فَأَصَابَنِي مَا رَأَيْتِ لِمَوْضِعِ هَوَايَ كَانَ مَعَ مُوَافَقَةِ الْحَقِّ

English Translation:

Narrated by a number of our companions from Sahl Ibn Ziyad and Ali Ibn Ibrahim from his father, and all of them from Mahboub from Abu Hamza al-Thumali from Abu Ja’afar, peace be upon him, who said:

Amongst the people of Israel was a judge who used to rule truthfully [according to Haqq] amongst them. On his deathbed he said to his wife, “when I die wash me and shroud me, lay me upon my bed and cover my face and you shall see no evil.”

Upon his death she did so and he remained like that for some time, then she exposed his face to gaze upon him. She saw a worm eating at his nose and [she] jumped away. That night he came to her in her sleep and said, “Has what you have seen terrified you?” She said, “Yes, I was terrified.” He replied, “You would not have been terrified nor would this have befallen but for your brother so-and-so. He came to me in the company of an adversary.

When they came before me I said, ‘Lord, steer justice [Haqq] in his favour and direct the ruling against his companion.’ When they came to me for a ruling he was in the right [with Haqq], and I had seen that clearly from the laws. Thus, I ruled in his favour and against his companion. What has befallen me as you saw is my punishment for being in favour of a [correct] ruling.”

Clarification:

He was in favour of a ruling, before seeing and examining the evidence.

Source:

Al-Kafi, Volume 7, Page 410, Tradition #2

As brother Nader stated, this tradition is Mursal.

Edited September 19, 2011 by SoRoUsH