The human Soul has always been a mystery of the unseen world; it is a matter of the metaphysics. No matter how ‘advanced and knowledgeable’ we get, the full image of the soul-life-and-death is still beyond the reach of our little knowledge.
One of the concepts that got viral is that of the reincarnation of the human soul. In the following lines, let’s have a look at this human concept of the soul, which religions adopt the belief of reincarnation, and what Islam says about it, in Qur’an and Sunnah, and about karma, and life and death.
What Is the Concept of Reincarnation?
Reincarnation is the soul-transmigration from a body to another in a cycle of multiple rebirths. It is a belief that the man’s soul after his death moves to another body for another life, and that moving keeps on, until that soul gets purified and perfect enough to join its source, the Universal Soul of God.
That moving from one life to another, and from a body to another depends on karma; if the soul’s actions in the previous life are good, so it transmigrates to a good body, for a good life, and if not, it moves to a bad body, and a bad life.
Which Religions Believe in Reincarnation?
In past times, reincarnation has been arising in various, ancient philosophies and local beliefs like that of ancient Celts, Germanic peoples, and Greeks. So, mainly, reincarnation can be considered as a human thought spread by some thinkers, such as Plato and Pythagoras, that actually has no real evidence, nor proven explanation.
In modern times, reincarnation has been presented attractively and then adopted randomly by many different, dispersed sects and individuals around the world that they don’t exclusively belong to certain religions. However, remarkably, reincarnation is explicitly found and publicly declared, mainly in South Asian and East Asian traditions, particularly the Indian religions: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. In spite of their differences in some details of reincarnation, those three religions see that the soul transmigrates from a life to another until reaching a high level of enlightenment and liberation sufficient enough to get released from that cycle at the end.
On the other hand, in the Abrahamic religions that are based on monotheism, the reincarnation is nowhere mentioned neither in Torah, Bible, nor Qur’an. Therefore, reincarnation is totally groundless and even contradicts the central belief of the resurrection and the Judgment Day in which the monotheists essentially believe as commanded in Torah, Bible, or the Quran.
Does Christianity Believe in Reincarnation?
There is no reincarnation mentioned in the Bible; rather, there is death and heaven. So, to the Christians, there is no need for such constant getting back to life on earth.
It is one life on earth to do good to get blessed with the glory of heaven finally, putting an end to all those earthly sufferings and fears, not to keep repeating them by transferring from life to another by reincarnation! The Bible says,
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us”
(Romans 8:18).
Another reason for the Christians not to believe in reincarnation is that they believe that humans are born imperfect, and no matter how many lives the soul transmigrates from one to another, no human soul can get perfect, no matter what. So, reincarnation is against what the Christians actually believe, and what the Bible clearly states.
Does Judaism Believe in Reincarnation?
Officially, Judaism, as a religion, does not believe in reincarnation. Yet, some of Jewish, some mystic and Kabbalistic traditions believe in soul-transmigration, in one way or another, associating it with the Kabbalistic belief of gilgul. Although many rabbis over history rejected that belief of gilgul, some other rabbis, especially those of the Medial Era, accepted it. Because of its significance in Kabbalah, gilgul has become much more accepted among Hassidic Judaism, especially Ashkenazi Jews.
Yet, the Jewish reincarnation of gilgul is way different that of the Indian religions. The gilgul-reincarnation is a way of God’s Compassion for a certain Jewish soul individually to live enough its Judaism’s 613 mitzvot; some rabbis pointed to some Jewish figures over history to be reincarnations of other ones. Chaim ibn Attar described Rabbi Akiva as the gilgul reincarnation of Cain and Moses as Abel.
So, despite the fact that reincarnation has nothing to do with Judaism and its Scripture, Torah, there are some sects that got captivated by that fascinating, imaginary thought of reincarnation. Important to mention that even their gilgul reincarnation is not like that according to the Indian karma of reward and punishment!
Does Islam Believe in Reincarnation?
In Islam, there is no such thing called “reincarnation”; rather, there is one life, one chance on earth, then death, then resurrection of the one’s soul to be held accountable in the Judgment Day by Allah, the Creator, and then to go to Paradise for the good deeds, or to Hellfire for the bad deeds.
If reincarnation is true, on which life, the soul should be judged then?! So, the man’s life on earth is one and finite, and death is inevitable; there is no going back to the world, nor transmigrating to another body; Qur’an says:
[until, when death comes to one of them, he says, “My Lord, send me back- That I might do righteousness in that which I left behind.” No! It is only a word he is saying; and behind them is a barrier until the Day they are resurrected.]
To Islam, reincarnation is just a false hope, and imaginary thought of the non religious people; as they want to think that the soul keeps spinning in a long cycle of different bodies, actually just to deny and escape the truth of resurrection of everyone to be judged for his own deeds, by The Creator in Judgment Day;
[Those who disbelieve have claimed that they will never be resurrected. Say, “Yes, by my Lord, you will surely be resurrected; then you will surely be informed of what you did. And that, for Allāh, is easy.]
So, reincarnation is not true, nor valid to the Mulims; there are many texts actually in both Qur’an and Sunnah that assures the Muslims that there is a death and resurrection, and Judgement that they live their whole life on earth to succeed that test, till they return to Allah, The Creator. In Sunnah, the Prophet (PBUH) even tell the Muslims about the Day of Resurrection:
“‘You will meet Allah barefoot, naked and uncircumcised.”‘
Do Muslims Believe in Life after Death?
Yes, Muslims believe in life after death; they believe in the inevitable afterlife, where they return to Allah, The Just:
[And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allāh. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be wronged [i.e., treated unjustly].
Actually, believing in the hereafter is essential to become a Muslim. It is one of the pillars of the Islam faith. Hereafter is the destination and the motivation behind every act we do, as Muslims.
Muslims believe that this life is actually nothing but a test, and a chance for preparing for the hereafter. So, they focus on living this worldly life in accordance with Allah’s commands, so that they will be rewarded by a good eternal life in Paradise. The Qur’an says:
[And this worldly life is not but diversion and amusement. And indeed, the home of the Hereafter – that is the [eternal] life, if only they knew.]
Death in this world, to the Muslims, is the finishing line for our lifetime here, and then we will be resurrected to get judged about all the acts we have done in the worldly life, by the Justice of Allah:
[And We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be treated unjustly at all. And if there is [even] the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We as accountant.]
So, there is a resurrection to the Muslims, not a reincarnation.
