Three States of Existence — Essence of Islam Vol. 2

14 Sep, 2026 Essence of Islam 0

Essence of Islam Book Cover by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS)

Introduction

In this discourse from Essence of Islam (Volume 2), Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, expounds upon Three States of Existence, presenting profound spiritual insights and scriptural verities.

Book Series: Essence of Islam (Volume 2)
Author: Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (AS)
Section: Part 16: Resurrection
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411 RESURRECTION Satan creates many doubts and the most dangerous doubt that arises in the mind of man and makes him a loser in this world and in the hereafter is with regard to the life after death. A great source of virtue and righteousness, in addition to other means and sources, is belief in the hereafter.
When a person regards the hereafter and all that concerns it as a mere tale or story, then it may be taken that he has been rejected and has lost both worlds. The fear of the hereafter makes a person anxious and afraid and drives him to the true fountain of understanding. True understanding cannot be achieved without the fear of God. Remember, therefore, that the arising of doubt concerning the hereafter puts faith in danger and makes a person’s end uncertain.
[Malfuzat, vol. I, pp. 53-54]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 2, p. 411]

According to the Holy Qur’an, there are three states of existence. The first is the world, the name of which is the first creation and the house of earning. In this world a person earns good or ill. There is progress in good in the hereafter, but that is through the pure grace of God. It has nothing to do with a person’s effort. The second state of existence is called Barzakh (PurgaBarzakh is the state when the temporary human formation is dissolved and the soul and the body are separated from each other….
Though this mortal body is separated from the soul after death, yet in the intervening state every soul is temporarily invested with a body so that it might experience the result of its actions. That body is not like the earthly body, but is prepared from light or darkness according to the actions of each person. It might be said that in that state a person’s actions serve as his body. In the Word of God, this is mentioned several times and some bodies are described as bright and some as dark, which are prepared from the light or from the darkness of actions. This is a mystery but is not beyond reason. A perfect person can acquire a bright body in this very life, apart from his earthly body, and there are many illustrations of it in the state of visions. It is difficult to explain this to a person whose mind is not keen, but those who have some experience of the state of visions would not look upon a body which is prepared from actions with wonder or incredulity, but would appreciate this explanation. This body which is created from actions becomes a source of the recompense of good and evil in the state of Barzakh. I have experience of this matter. I have often, in a state of complete wakefulness, met some dead persons in a vision and I have observed the bodies of some wicked and misguided persons which were so dark as if they had been compounded of smoke. I am personally acquainted with this condition and I affirm emphatically that as God Almighty has said, everyone is bestowed a body after death, which is either bright or dark. It would be a mistake to seek to prove these fine truths through the agency of reason alone. It should be realized that as the eye cannot demonstrate the taste of something sweet and the tongue cannot see anything, in the same way, the knowledge of the hereafter which is gained through visions cannot be tested by reason. God Almighty has appointed separate means for the perception of that which is hidden. Then seek everything through its proper means and you will find it. It should be remembered that in His Word God has described as dead those who are involved in vice and misguidance and has described the virtuous as alive. The means of life of those who are heedless of God, for instance, eating and drinking and following their passions, are cut off and they do not partake of spiritual sustenance. Thus they are truly dead and will be alive only to suffer punishment. Allah the Glorious has pointed towards this mystery as He says:

إِنَّهُۥ مَن يَأۡتِ رَبَّهُۥ مُجۡرِمٗا فَإِنَّ لَهُۥ جَهَنَّمَ لَا يَمُوتُ فِيهَا وَلَا يَحۡيَىٰ

“Verily, he who comes to his Lord a sinner — for him is Hell; he shall neither die therein nor live.” (Surah Ta Ha, 20:75)

The portion of him who comes to his Lord a sinner is hell; he shall neither die therein nor live. But those who love God Almighty do not die on death as they carry their sustenance with them. Barzakh is followed by a state of existence which is called resurrection. At that stage every soul, good or bad,

righteous or disobedient, will be granted a definite bodily form of its own. That day has been appointed for the perfect manifestation of God when every person shall become acquainted fully with the existence of his Lord and shall arrive at the extreme point of his recompense. No one need wonder how God will accomplish this for He has power and does whatever He wills, as He has said Himself: 177 178
[Islami Usul ki Philosophy, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 10, pp. 402-407]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 2, p. 411]

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Introduction