Welcome to Ahmadiyyat, The True Islam — Page 466
− as daylight. An idea of this, although a very imperfect one, may be had from the manner in which a person sees in a dream the embodiment of whatever is predominant in his temperament. . . . From the manner in which internal conditions are presented in physical forms in dreams, we can form some idea of the embodiment of the spiritual conditions of this world in the life to come. After our earthly course is run, we are translated to regions where our deeds and their consequences assume manifest shape; what is hidden in us in this world is there unrolled and laid open before us. These embodiments of spiritual facts are manifest realities, as even in a dream, though the sight soon vanishes away, yet so long as it is before our eyes it is perceived as a reality. It should be borne in mind that the Holy Qur’an describes three − worlds or three different states of the life of man: The first world is the present one which is called the world of earning and of the first creation. It is here that man earns a reward for the good or bad deeds he does. Although there are stages of advancement of the good after resurrection, that advancement is granted simply by the grace of God and does not depend upon human effort. The second world is called. The word means any 'Barzakh' intermediate state. As this world falls between the present life and resurrection, it has been called. . . . The state of is that in 'Barzakh' 'Barzakh' which the soul leaves the mortal body and the perishable remains decompose. The body is thrown into a pit and the soul also is thrown down into a pit because it loses the power to do good or bad deeds along with its loss of control over the body. It is evident that a good state of the soul is dependent upon the soundness of the body. . . . Experience establishes the fact beyond all reasonable doubt that with all its connections severed from the body, the soul can serve no purpose. It is idle to assert that the human soul can, any time, enjoy bliss without having any connection with the body. It may please us as an interesting tale but reason and experience lend no support to it. We can hardly imagine the soul to be in a perfect condition when all its connections with the body are cut off in the face of our recurring experiences that the slightest derangement of the physical system interrupts the functions of the soul as well. There is no doubt that after death, the body of clay is severed from the soul, but then in the , every soul receives temporarily a new 'Barzakh' 466