Predestination and Life After Death (Akhirah)
Al-Qadr: The Divine Masterplan
One of the most thought-provoking Islamic beliefs is al-Qadr, often translated as predestination or the divine masterplan. Islam teaches that Allah is all-knowing — His knowledge extends to everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen. The Qur’an expresses this in Surah al-Ahzab (33:38): “And ever is the command of Allah a destiny decreed.” This does not mean that Allah causes evil or forces people to sin; rather, it means that nothing in creation falls outside His knowledge or control.
The concept of sifat (Allah’s attributes) is relevant here. Because Allah’s knowledge (Al-‘Alim) is eternal and infinite, He knows every choice every person will make before they make it. This is sometimes called Allah’s foreknowledge. However, Muslims emphasise that Allah’s foreknowing a choice does not force the person to make it: the person still chooses freely, and Allah’s knowledge simply reflects that choice. Surah Yusuf (12:42) illustrates the tension between divine decree and human agency through the story of Yusuf, whose life involved betrayal, imprisonment and eventual triumph — all part of a divine plan that unfolded through human decisions.
Free Will and Human Responsibility
The relationship between al-Qadr and free will is one of the most discussed questions in Islamic philosophy. Most Muslims hold that both are true simultaneously: Allah has foreknowledge of all events, and human beings genuinely choose their actions and are held accountable for them on the Day of Judgement. The Qur’an insists on human responsibility: “Every soul, for what it has earned, will be held in pledge” (Surah al-Muddathir 74:38, which is associated with the section on accountability cited in the plan for al-Ma’ad).
The question of how to reconcile divine foreknowledge with human freedom produced two major schools of Islamic thought. The Mu’tazilite school (active from roughly the 8th to 10th centuries) emphasised human free will. They argued that if Allah predestined every human action, then it would be unjust to punish people for sins they could not avoid. Since Allah is perfectly just, the Mu’tazilites concluded that human beings must have genuine freedom of choice.
The Al-Ash’ari school, founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari (874–936 CE), became the dominant Sunni theological position. Al-Ash’ari theologians taught that Allah’s decree encompasses all events, but that humans “acquire” (kasb) their actions — meaning they are morally responsible even though Allah is the ultimate originator of all things. This preserves both divine sovereignty and human accountability, though it requires accepting a degree of mystery in how exactly the two coexist. Most Shi’a theologians, influenced by Mu’tazilite thought, have tended to place a stronger emphasis on human freedom as a corollary of divine justice (Al-Adl).
Akhirah: Life After Death
Akhirah is the Islamic term for the afterlife. It is one of the six Sunni articles of faith and the fifth Shi’a Root of Usul ad-Din (Al-Ma’ad). Islam teaches that this life is only a preparation for what comes next: every action, word, thought and intention is being recorded, and on the Day of Judgement each soul will face a full and perfectly just accounting before Allah. The Qur’an frames this life as a trust and a test: “We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient” (Surah al-Baqarah 2:155).
The belief in Akhirah is inseparable from the Islamic concept of stewardship. Because every person is accountable to Allah for how they have lived, Muslims are motivated to be responsible stewards of the earth, fair in their dealings, and compassionate towards others. The afterlife belief is not merely about personal salvation but about the moral seriousness of every human choice.
Barzakh: The Interval Between Death and Judgement
Barzakh is the period between an individual’s death and the Day of Judgement. The Arabic word means “barrier” or “partition.” Islamic teachings describe Barzakh as a state of waiting in which the soul is aware of its condition but cannot return to the world of the living. The exact nature of Barzakh is not described in detail in the Qur’an, but Islamic tradition teaches that it is a real state of existence — neither full paradise nor full punishment, but a foretaste depending on the individual’s deeds. Surah al-Isra (17:49-51) touches on the question of resurrection, asking those who deny it how the dead could possibly be brought back, and asserting that Allah has the power to do so.
Barzakh is the intermediate state between death and the Day of Judgement. It is described as a barrier between the world of the living and the afterlife. The soul remains conscious during Barzakh but cannot return to the world. It is a waiting period, not a permanent state of reward or punishment.
The Day of Judgement
On the Day of Judgement (Yawm al-Din or Yawm al-Qiyamah), all souls will be resurrected and brought before Allah. Surah al-Qari’ah (Surah 101) describes the Day of Judgement as a time when “the mountains will be like wool” and the earth is transformed — powerful imagery conveying the magnitude of the event. Each person’s book of deeds will be opened: those whose scale of good deeds is heavy will enter paradise; those whose scale is light will face punishment. The angel Israfil will blow the trumpet to signal the beginning of this event.
Al-Jannah and Jahannam
Al-Jannah (paradise) is described in the Qur’an using rich and vivid imagery: gardens, flowing rivers, shade, fruit, and the ultimate reward of being in the presence of Allah. It is not simply a place of pleasure but of spiritual fulfilment and closeness to God. Jahannam (hell) is described as a place of fire and suffering, experienced by those who died in rejection of Allah or in unrepented serious sin.
Muslims disagree about whether descriptions of al-Jannah and Jahannam should be read literally or metaphorically. Some scholars, particularly in more traditional and Sunni circles, take the descriptions at face value — there are real gardens, real rivers, real fire. Other scholars, especially those influenced by Sufi or philosophical approaches, understand the imagery as pointing to spiritual realities that cannot be fully expressed in human language. Both positions are found within mainstream Islamic scholarship.
Martyrdom has a special place in Islamic eschatology. Classical Islamic theology teaches that those who die as martyrs in the path of Allah (shahid) are believed to bypass Barzakh and enter paradise immediately, without waiting for the Day of Judgement. This belief has been interpreted in very different ways — from those who see martyrdom only in the context of self-defence or just war, to extremist interpretations that have been widely condemned by mainstream Muslim scholars as distortions of the tradition.
Al-Jannah (paradise) is the eternal reward of the righteous — a state of spiritual fulfilment and closeness to Allah, described in vivid imagery including gardens and rivers. Jahannam (hell) is the place of punishment for those who rejected Allah. Surah 101 (al-Qari’ah) vividly depicts the Day of Judgement when all will be held to account, connecting eschatology to the theme of moral responsibility that runs throughout Islamic belief.