The Return of Wilayat and the System of Divine Justice

Introduction

The concept of raj‘a (return) is grounded in doctrinal necessity and numerous narrations. These narrations speak of the manifestation of all divine signs following the appearance and presence of the Imam of the Age (may Allah hasten his relief) and his martyrdom. Raj‘a entails the return of human essence and its inner reality to the elemental body after a temporary, voluntary death. It involves a practical, intelligent, and systematic re-engagement with inner faculties and past deeds. It manifests through a just, wilayat-based reckoning and intelligent retribution within a system characterized by freedom, awareness, natural integrity, and communal coexistence in the material realm (nasut). This aims to realize a relatively absolute, just self-manifestation in accordance with the exigencies of nasut. Such just integrity cannot be achieved after the soul’s withdrawal without connection to the body. However, in nasut, it is attainable through the return of inner reality and the retrieval of the corporeal form, subject to the conditions and laws of nasut.

Qur’anic Evidence for Raj‘a

The Qur’an addresses the scene of raj‘a and its governing system in the following verse:

“And when the word [of punishment] comes to pass against them, We will bring forth for them a creature from the earth speaking to them, [saying] that the people were not certain of Our signs.” (Qur’an, Surah al-Naml, 27:82)

This verse describes the divine, systematic, and inevitable execution of retribution and punishment in nasut against disbelievers. It aims to compensate for their deficiencies. This judicial system pertains neither to the intermediate realm (barzakh) nor to the Day of Resurrection. A narration explicitly confirms its connection to the natural and existential system of nasut.

Narrations on Raj‘a

Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Qummi narrates:

From Abu Basir, from Abu Abdillah (peace be upon him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his progeny) approached Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon him) while he was sleeping in the mosque, having gathered sand and placed his head upon it. He nudged him with his foot and said, “Arise, O creature of Allah.” A man from his companions asked, “O Messenger of Allah, may we call one another by this name?” He replied, “No, by Allah, it is exclusive to him. He is the creature of the earth mentioned by Allah in His Book: ‘And when the word comes to pass against them, We will bring forth for them a creature from the earth speaking to them, [saying] that the people were not certain of Our signs.’” Then he said, “O Ali, when the end of time arrives, Allah will bring you forth in the most beautiful form, with a mark by which you will brand your enemies.” The man said to Abu Abdillah, “The general populace claims this verse means ‘wounding them’ (taklumuhum) instead of ‘speaking to them’ (tukallimuhum).” Abu Abdillah replied, “Allah will wound them in the fire of Hell. Here, it means he will speak to them. The proof that this pertains to raj‘a is His statement: ‘And [mention] the Day when We will gather from every nation a company of those who deny Our signs, and they will be driven until, when they arrive, He will say, “Did you deny My signs while not encompassing them in knowledge, or what was it that you were doing?”’ (Qur’an, Surah al-Naml, 27:83-84). The signs refer to Amir al-Mu’minin and the Imams (peace be upon them).”

The man asked Abu Abdillah, “The general populace claims that ‘the Day when We will gather from every nation a company’ refers to the Day of Resurrection.” Abu Abdillah replied, “Would Allah gather only a company from each nation on the Day of Resurrection and leave the rest? No, this pertains to raj‘a. The verse for the Day of Resurrection is: ‘And We will gather them and not leave behind a single one of them.’” (Qur’an, Surah al-Kahf, 18:47)

This narration clarifies that raj‘a occurs before barzakh and the Resurrection. It also notes that some exploit interpretations to promote violence, ignorance, and distortion instead of knowledge and justice.

Distinction Between Raj‘a and Ma‘ad

Ma‘ad (eschatological return) is a return to the essential reality from which existence emanates. Raj‘a is a return to the same realm from which one originated. Ma‘ad is a qualitative, existential, and positional matter, with quantity and time subordinate to it. One may embody the Resurrection in this world. Raj‘a, however, is bound by time and does not occur until its appointed moment.

A person whose Resurrection is realized in this world has no barrier between themselves and their Lord. They transcend the trumpet blast of Israfil, the Bridge, the Scale, the Reckoning, and other eschatological stations. They encompass the Resurrection itself. Such a divine human is unaffected by the trumpet blast that initiates the Resurrection. They are beyond its station. Their worldly and otherworldly existence is unified. Their deeds and rewards are one. They are annihilated in the Truth, living through its reality. Absolute goodness, the Face of Allah, and eternal permanence belong to them. They require no purification or eschatological stations. They are immune to the purgatorial cells of barzakh. Thus, ma‘ad is the manifestation of the Exalted Truth in determination and the return of determination to its origin. The Qur’an states:

“To whom does sovereignty belong today? To Allah, the One, the Subduer.” (Qur’an, Surah Ghafir, 40:16)

In raj‘a, the return is from the imaginal realm of nasut to its corporeal domain. Not all individuals can return; only a select group possesses this capacity.

Marked Offenders in Raj‘a

In raj‘a, offenders and those who have violated significant rights or committed oppression are marked. They are identified through spiritual insight (tawassum) and discernment by observing their visages. These offenders are enemies of wilayat and adversaries of the justice of Amir al-Mu’minin and Allah. They are systematically and inwardly marked according to the criterion of Amir al-Mu’minin’s wilayat. Distinguishing between the two groups by their faces and signs is one method of recognition in this world. Higher forms of recognition, as in the hereafter, achieve ultimate clarity and manifestation.

The marking described in the narration indicates that raj‘a is an era of awareness and modern, inward discourse. It is rooted in wilayat-based knowledge and the systematic realization of divine justice. Pursuing offenders and administering retribution does not rely solely on appearances. At minimum, the system of tawassum governs it. Offenders and oppressors cannot hide or remain unrecognized. They are known and evident to the system of justice.

Tawassum and marking represent a specific form of inward awareness based on penetrating insight into truths and inner realities, not judgment by appearances.

The System of Tawassum

The system of tawassum becomes the foundational and minimum standard of inward awareness in recognizing inner realities. It governs nasut during the era of the appearance and presence of the Imam of the Age (may Allah hasten his relief). A narration states:

When the Qa’im of the House of Muhammad (peace be upon them) arises, he will judge among people with the judgment of David, requiring no external evidence. Allah, the Exalted, will inspire him. He will rule with his knowledge. He will inform each people of what they conceal within. He will distinguish his ally from his enemy through tawassum. Allah, the Sublime, says: “Indeed, in that are signs for those who discern. And indeed, it is a straight path.” (Qur’an, Surah al-Hijr, 15:75-76)

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) states that when the Qa’im arises, he will judge like David. He will need no external evidence. Allah will inspire him. He will rule with his knowledge. He will reveal what each group conceals. He will distinguish friend from foe through an intelligent system. Allah confirms that this is a lesson for the discerning and a straight path for believers.

Tawassum and discernment are more accessible means of perceiving inner realities. They are divinely bestowed upon certain individuals. In the era of appearance and raj‘a, this form of inward awareness becomes the formal and legal framework for administrative, communicative, and informational systems. It does not rely on confessions or sensory perceptions. It employs inward perception to uncover hidden truths behind veils.

Raj‘a and the Necessity of Justice

The material realm (nasut) cannot exist without conflict, opposition, or friction. Encounter is inherent to nasut’s nature. What matters is that encounters and confrontations are lawful and based on justice and equity. In nasut, corruption, sin, and the desires of the accursed—along with their followers and weak, vile parasites—obstruct the realization of fairness and the governance of justice. Without justice and equality, the inner reality does not manifest in the outer form. What appears is disconnected from its inner essence and nature. The true nature and reality of phenomena remain concealed. Phenomena, unable to manifest their inner faculties and exigencies, are lost to artificial and unnatural obstacles. When a phenomenon’s nature cannot express itself, it suffers premature, artificial, and unnatural deaths. Such entities become unfulfilled and, from the perspective of justice, demand restitution.

Natural death, aligned with freedom and servitude, culminates in martyrdom. Natural death without manifestation of all faculties, not leading to martyrdom, is for the rejected. A natural human enjoys a long lifespan. Short lifespans result from unnatural human existence, collective corruption, oppression, and moral vices. Thus, the prolonged life of the Imam of the Age (may Allah hasten his relief) is natural. Short human lifespans are unnatural, contrary to reason and knowledge.

In a nasut without raj‘a, one person harms another, encroaching upon their rights and wasting their opportunities. The offender faces no commensurate retribution. Barzakhi or eschatological punishment benefits the victim little. It does not heal the wounds of a life lost to affliction and injustice. The victim is deprived of the perfection and fulfillment they could have attained in the world. The offender faces no retribution in nasut, nor do they compensate for their injustice.

Barzakh and the Resurrection, without retribution in this world, result in incomplete justice. To ensure justice is executed in nasut in the most perfect manner, Allah institutes raj‘a after the appearance of the perfect divine guardian and the establishment of a just wilayat-based governance. Raj‘a fosters justice and nurtures love. It allows the pure love and inner faculties of divine saints, hindered by premature deaths, to find expression. It grants those harmed by oppressors the opportunity to return to the world. They witness the trial, punishment, and retribution of their oppressors. Oppressors and victims are systematically and mechanically revived in a fully natural system. They return to nasut with corporeal bodies. Rightful individuals and those with inner perfection gain the opportunity to attain their natural fulfillment in a system free from oppressive obstacles.

Raj‘a serves those whose natural exigencies were thwarted by oppression and those who caused such harm. Offenders face the dire consequences of their actions. Divine saints, through Allah’s support, systematically govern in this world, as the Qur’an states:

“Indeed, We will surely support Our messengers and those who believe during the life of this world and on the Day when the witnesses arise—the Day when the excuse of the wrongdoers will not benefit them, and they will have the curse, and they will have the worst abode.” (Qur’an, Surah Ghafir, 40:51-52)

The Mechanism of Raj‘a

In raj‘a, every action is returned to its agent with precision, based on divine justice and inward intelligence. This occurs through a communal and interwoven review. The system of reckoning and retribution delivers the consequences of actions to all involved parties, whether direct or indirect, within the capacity of nasut. This return of deeds, their outcomes, and consequences is termed raj‘a. Thus, raj‘a is the return of actions, not merely the revival of the dead.

In raj‘a, the agent, action, actor, and deed—whether good or evil—are reconnected with utmost care, precision, and intelligence. They are bound inseparably in terms of retribution. Raj‘a ensures no one escapes the system of justice or evades accountability for their actions. These actions determine the success or failure of themselves and others. No negligence occurs in delivering retribution within nasut’s capacity. The wilayat-based system, rooted in the seal of Alid justice, addresses the most significant deeds, good or evil.

This nasut-based wilayat reckoning differs from the precise communal reckoning in barzakh and the hereafter, which relies on divine knowledge, justice, or mercy. It follows raj‘a and definitive death. Raj‘a’s capacity for complete justice is limited. Its calculations, though precise, are provisional and lenient in executing punishment. Raj‘a may recur multiple times for some to maximize justice and satisfy rightful claimants within the communal system of creation.

Narrations Supporting Multiple Raj‘a

A lengthy narration in Muntakhab al-Basa’ir states:

From Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Abdillah al-Utrush, from Ja‘far ibn Muhammad al-Bajali, from al-Barqi, from Ibn Abi Najran, from Asim ibn Humayd, from Abu Ja‘far al-Baqir (peace be upon him), who said: Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon him) said: “Allah, Blessed and Exalted, took a covenant from the prophets to believe in us and support us. This is His statement: ‘And [recall] when Allah took the covenant of the prophets, [saying], “Whatever I give you of the Book and wisdom, then there comes to you a messenger confirming what is with you, you must believe in him and support him.”’ (Qur’an, Surah Aal-E-Imran, 3:81) This means you must believe in Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny) and support his successor. They will all support him. No prophet or messenger has yet supported me, as Allah took their souls to Himself. They will support me in the future. Sovereignty from the east to the west will be mine. Allah will revive every sent prophet from Adam to Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny). They will have no need for dissimulation (taqiyya). I possess return after return, raj‘a after raj‘a. I am the master of raj‘as, returns, assaults, retributions, and wondrous dominions. I am a horn of iron.”

Raj‘a facilitates the return of those perfected in knowledge and those pursuing awareness. It includes those who, due to nasut’s exigencies, could not study under divine saints or reach a secure station. They remained wayfarers, yearning to coexist with Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon him) and serve in the presence of perfected divine saints. Their daily sustenance was the desire to support their governance. The era of raj‘a is one of attainment, a nasut-based response to the covenants ordinary humans made with the divine human during occultation.

Raj‘a as the Manifestation of Love and Unity

Raj‘a is the manifestation of love and unity, the anguish of which burns inwardly during occultation. It is the era of quenching the thirst of those yearning for wilayat-based support and divine allure. It ends the accumulated heedlessness of the pre-appearance era and the occultation of love. Through divine justice and the presence of the divine human, it establishes a governance of eternal love, unity, and freedom. Each individual attains their unique nature. Every wilayat-based lover is led to barzakh as a martyr for their unique return to the Exalted Truth, not through a natural death reserved for the rejected.

Wilayat-based individuals in raj‘a are uniquely remarkable. Each possesses distinct perfections and wilayat, forming a gradational unity and singular beauty through coexistence. The eyes of lovers are illuminated by the captivating beauty of divine saints for extended periods. These saints, appearing one after another, govern nasut for prolonged durations. They manifest their divine faculties in nasut. No claim remains unfulfilled. Every individual attains the love they harbored but could not fulfill. No true love is thwarted by nasut’s obstacles or the oppression of the accursed.

The vision of the divine human in raj‘a, with its wilayat-based seal, is a vision of collective perfections. It is the visitation of all divine individuals in a single, simple form, embodying maximum integrity within nasut’s constraints.

The Role of Divine Saints in Raj‘a

Divine saints with an intrinsic, beloved journey face no obstacles in any realm. In nasut, however, manifesting their perfections fully would overwhelm phenomena, lacking the capacity to endure their splendor. Due to the dominance of the accursed, they conceal their faculties. They adopt a gentle, water-like nature, infinite purity, and magnanimous, oppression-breaking humility. They avoid authoritarian or physical confrontations with adversaries. They are compelled to defer to the era of raj‘a. In raj‘a’s just system, they manifest their heart-based life, supra-abstract presence, freedom, natural self-realization, awareness, love, and unity through multiple returns.

Non-Retrievable Individuals and the System of Human Retrieval in Raj‘a

Non-Retrievable Individuals

Corporeal humanity, trapped in horizontal progression and confined to material nature, may not have attained the soul. Alternatively, with the emergence of a material soul, they are akin to dead chaff and debris. They have not pursued awareness or wilayat. Their nasut-based aspiration is limited to sustenance and desire. They are not receptive to wilayat. They have not participated in significant oppression or violation of rights. Due to their material existence, they lack the potential for ascending growth or attaining higher perceptions. They die a natural death or experience a premature, unfulfilled death. Raj‘a and return to nasut are not for them. In the disconnected imaginal realm of nasut, they undergo a transformation from a painful state to a more tormenting one, termed the “pressure of the grave.”

An exception exists. By divine grace, they may encounter the seal of Amir al-Mu’minin’s wilayat (peace be upon him). By acknowledging it, they transform from chaff, debris, base multitudes, or weak mosquitoes into humans capable of vertical ascent, growth, and vitality.

Given their nasut-based nature, the transfer of their coexisting material particles to an animal (maskh), plant (faskh), inanimate object (raskh), or another human (naskh) serves as a form of confinement or cell. This does not lead to the invalid notion of two souls coexisting in one body or metempsychosis. Such a transfer is not rationally impossible. However, whether it occurs requires extensive eschatological analysis. These transfers involve pressure, torment, and distress, akin to the pressure of the grave.

A human devoid of wilayat and the luminosity of divine saints, lacking divinely guided mentorship, remains a horizontal thinker. Regardless of intellectual knowledge, they are self-reliant and cerebrally self-organized. Like animals, they move downward, crawling horizontally. They are trapped in ignorance, aimlessness, and vagrancy. They lack attention to the correctness, integrity, or clarity of the path.

The Qur’an explicitly distinguishes between these two movements. In Surah al-Mulk, verse 22, it states:

“Is he who walks prone on his face more guided, or he who walks upright on a straight path?” (Qur’an, Surah al-Mulk, 67:22)

Those who have attained a relative imaginal subtlety, experienced a definitive natural death, and transitioned to the imaginal barzakh are not subject to raj‘a. They do not return. The reason for this will be discussed later.

The System of Human Retrieval in the Qur’anic Perspective

In raj‘a, individuals who have not experienced definitive death are retrieved. They have transitioned from nasut to the disconnected imaginal realm of nasut. Their death was premature, coerced, or unfulfilled. They have a claim for justice that can only be addressed in nasut. Oppressive individuals are also retrieved. They require worldly retribution within the intelligent system of deed-based recompense.

The Qur’an mentions several types of death. One is mawt, a definitive death leading to the disconnected imaginal barzakh and eschatological return. Another is tawaffa, a non-definitive death without entry into barzakh. The Qur’an states:

“[Recall] when Allah said, ‘O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself.’” (Qur’an, Surah Aal-E-Imran, 3:55)

The term “tawaffa” denotes taking something in its entirety, complete acquisition, or fulfillment. When one fully recovers a debt, they have fulfilled their claim. Wafa (fulfillment), wafat (death), and istifa (fulfillment) share the same root. The opposite of wafa is fawt, meaning loss.

Allama Tabataba’i, in his exegesis of this verse, suggests that Allah may have taken Jesus, raised him, and preserved him. Thus, tawaffa does not explicitly indicate definitive death. This is akin to what occurs in sleep. During sleep, the human essence undergoes temporary death (tawaffa). Allah takes the human essence to Himself, seizing it. He then returns it to fulfill its sustenance and rights in nasut. This temporary death recurs with each sleep. The concept of raj‘a operates on the same mechanism. Temporary deaths are retrievable.

The Qur’an further elaborates:

“Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die [He takes] during their sleep. Then He keeps those for which He has decreed death and releases the others for a specified term. Indeed, in that are signs for a people who give thought.” (Qur’an, Surah al-Zumar, 39:42)

This concept appears in Surah al-An‘am:

“And it is He who takes your souls by night and knows what you have committed by day. Then He revives you therein that a specified term may be fulfilled. Then to Him will be your return; then He will inform you about what you used to do.” (Qur’an, Surah al-An‘am, 6:60)

Thus, tawaffa and death are of two types: temporary and permanent. In temporary death, the soul is seized but retains the capacity to return to nasut. It returns to the body it has organized and with which it is connected, not to a pre-existing, alien body. In permanent, definitive death, the soul loses its permanent connection to material particles. Its return to the body, even its own, is rationally impossible. No raj‘a or return is possible.

Allama Tabataba’i elaborates in Al-Mizan:

“Then He detailed the statement regarding the souls taken during sleep, saying: ‘Then He keeps those for which He has decreed death and releases the others for a specified term.’ This means He preserves the soul for which death is decreed, as He preserves the soul taken at death, without returning it to its body. He sends the other soul, for which death is not decreed, back to its body until a specified term, at which life ends. Designating the specified term as the endpoint of sending indicates that sending refers to its genus. Some souls are sent once, others repeatedly, until the specified term is reached.”

The verse implies that both death and sleep involve tawaffa. They differ in that death is a tawaffa without subsequent sending, while sleep is a tawaffa that may be followed by sending.

Thus, Allah seizes the souls of those subject to raj‘a. He elevates them, removing them from earthly perception. When raj‘a occurs, these souls, not subject to definitive death, are returned to their nasut-based bodies in this material world. They are not in the ascending disconnected imaginal realm or barzakh, managing their bodies from there.

This clarification eliminates rational objections associated with corporeal resurrection. In raj‘a, the soul returns without experiencing definitive death. The composite reality of soul and body remains intact, avoiding permanent dissolution. It does not involve invalid metempsychosis or the eater-eaten dilemma. Examples include the birds Abraham slaughtered and recalled, the People of the Cave, Ezra with his food and donkey, and other cases to be discussed later. Each instance of soul seizure is unique and cannot be analogized with others.

Philosophical Perspectives on Raj‘a and Ma‘ad

Ibn Sina (d. 428 AH) in his Shifa acknowledges his inability to rationally comprehend corporeal resurrection in ma‘ad. He considers the path of reason closed in this matter. He submits to the teachings of the truthful prophet and divine revelation. He writes:

“It must be known that part of ma‘ad is transmitted through the Sharia. There is no way to prove it except through the Sharia and affirming the Prophet’s report. This pertains to the body at the time of resurrection.”

Ibn Sina, a rationalist, cannot refrain from studying existence rationally. In his Risala al-Adhawiyya fi al-Ma‘ad, without mentioning submission to tradition, he rejects corporeal resurrection in ma‘ad. Submitting to a proposition contradicted by rational proof involves the conjunction of opposites.

Ibn Sina’s argument for the impossibility of corporeal resurrection also applies to the return of a soul after definitive death and entry into the imaginal barzakh to a worldly body. However, as explained, this argument is specifically excluded from raj‘a. This will be elaborated later.

Scientific Retrieval and Near-Death Experiences

Empirical science may develop technologies for temporary soul seizure, preservation, and return to the body at a later time. This constitutes a voluntary death and a form of time travel to the future. Experimental research on temporary death and prolonged sleep has been reported. The success and outcomes of such experiments, which are time-intensive, must be obtained from their authorities and sources upon completion. These entities hold exclusive access to the latest information.

If such experiments gain credibility and are conducted systematically with the patient support of enlightened, intelligent, and scientific governments, humanity could identify individuals experiencing temporary death whose souls can return to their bodies. This would prevent premature burial certifications by forensic medicine and repeated premature deaths. Repeated retrievals after burial may occur. Each instance of retrieval and subsequent premature death is highly distressing for the individual.

Research on near-death experiences (NDEs), if not solely involving connection to the connected imaginal realm or the individual’s subjectivity, may involve actual soul exit, temporary death, and entry into the disconnected imaginal realm of nasut. This aligns with the discussed framework.

A beneficial outcome of NDE research is that it opens scientific and research pathways. It enhances the resilience of academic institutions to analyze raj‘a and various forms of human death. Researchers can present their findings in a resilient societal context, moving beyond oral traditions and anecdotal reports.

NDEs are of two types. One involves the soul’s ascent and connection to the individual’s connected imaginal realm and internal subjectivity. As this is material, it can be studied through neuroscience. External phenomena are perceived through internal visions. The other type involves connection and coexistence with a segment of the disconnected imaginal realm of nasut, external to the internal connected imaginal realm.

In NDEs, no definitive death or entry into the ascending disconnected imaginal barzakh occurs. Such a return to nasut and the worldly body would be rationally impossible, as Ibn Sina argued for corporeal resurrection. A return from the disconnected imaginal barzakh, where souls enter after definitive death, is impossible and involves the same objections, particularly invalid metempsychosis.

Thus, in NDE research and documentaries, no one can return from the disconnected imaginal barzakh to report it. Claims otherwise involve misunderstanding or fallacy. These experiences pertain to individuals with premature death, seized in this world, who at most enter the imaginal realm of nasut.

Ibn Sina’s Argument on the Impossibility of Corporeal Resurrection and Mulla Sadra’s Transcendent Philosophy

Ibn Sina’s Argument on the Impossibility of Corporeal Resurrection

This book presents accepted philosophical or mystical views as axiomatic principles. To avoid tediousness, specialized scientific discussions are deferred to their appropriate contexts. However, addressing the impossibility of returning from barzakh to nasut after definitive death is necessary. This is because the concept of raj‘a, which can affirm the perfection and centrality of divine justice in Shi‘i thought, has been neglected scientifically and rationally. Divine justice is a pivotal principle in Shi‘i doctrine. The lack of knowledge and insight diminishes faith.

We reconsider the argument of Abu Ali Husayn ibn Abdullah ibn Sina (d. 428 AH) on the impossibility of corporeal resurrection. This argument could also apply to the impossibility of corporeal raj‘a. Ibn Sina’s argument is as follows:

A human is the body. Life is a determination sustained by the body. Death is the cessation of life and the annihilation of the body. Corporeal resurrection would mean restoring the annihilated or creating a likeness of life and body. Restoring the annihilated is impossible. No phenomenon is ever annihilated.

Phenomena are known to Allah. What is known to Allah never becomes unknown. The principles, determination, and existential (not essential) individuality of each manifestation of Allah’s Beautiful Names are eternal. The annihilation of principles or the individuality of entities cannot be justified.

Death pertains to attributes, not to the existential individuality of phenomena. Death does not annihilate the manifest aspect of a phenomenon. It bestows a new attribute. Death is a form of severance and dissolution of a composite determination. This determination depends on a specific conjunction. The characteristics and attributes of the determination arise from this conjunction. These attributes are never static across moments. They are constantly transforming. With death, the form and attributes dissolve. However, the composition and conjunction of the body’s components, constituting the phenomenon’s individuality, persist. In another realm, a body suited to that realm is formed: a barzakhi body for those with definitive, natural death, or a nasut-based body for those with premature death. The latter depends solely on agentive causes, not receptive causes like material attributes, material suitability, or appropriate coexistence. Thus, the eschatological body is the imaginal determination and celestial manifestation. The nasut-based body, coexisting with the deceased after premature death, constitutes only the imaginal determination of nasut, devoid of the material attributes of the elemental body.

Thus far, we assumed the human is the body. Restoring life to such a body after definitive death is impossible.

The second assumption is that the body accompanies the soul, which persists after death. The soul re-enters the original body by reassembling its components. The deceased’s body turns to dust, raising the eater-eaten dilemma.

The third assumption is that life pertains not to the original body but to a new body with different components. Dust cannot accept the soul’s governance without composite elements like the sperm’s amalgamation or the body’s division into flesh, skin, etc. It becomes suitable for another soul’s emergence. This leads to two souls in one body, which is metempsychosis. Metempsychosis is impossible.

Every phenomenon, material or immaterial, traverses the valuable opportunity of life in nasut through existential movement. It manifests its inner faculties and actualities. It becomes independent of material corporeality. With definitive death and shedding the material body, it begins a psychic and imaginal life. Death is liberation and transition from nasut to supra-nasut, not merely liberation from the body. The soul, having separated from its body and attained abstraction, cannot attach to another body and remain in the natural realm. This would contradict its natural existential movement toward perfection, regressing backward. The soul and body together constitute the phenomenon’s individuality. Since matter is a weaker degree of manifestation, its perfection and actuality depend on the soul, which has a subtler and greater manifestation. The soul, through existential movement, progresses toward perfection. It is corporeal in origin, emerging from the body. It becomes spiritual in persistence and intellectuality. It gradually detaches from the material body. It acquires the attributes and individuality of an abstract entity. Metempsychosis is impossible due to the unitive conjunction between soul and body. Regression from a stronger to a weaker manifestation, negating individuality and reality, is invalid.

Each phenomenon has a unique individuality with distinct determinations. Repeating a manifestation in one individual or for two individuals in one determination is impossible. Allah does not manifest twice in one determination or for two individuals in one determination.

As a poetic verse states:

“Metempsychosis is heresy and invalid, for it stems from narrow-mindedness.”

The soul’s attachment to another elemental body—whether elemental, celestial, natural, or barzakhi—constitutes metempsychosis and is impossible.

Based on the principle of existential-manifestational movement, corporeal origination, and spiritual persistence, all forms of metempsychosis are invalid. The soul’s attachment to the body is a personal, unitive, and natural conjunction, not artificial or additive. The determinations of soul and body are in flux and movement. Both manifest their inner perfections according to their circumstances. As long as the soul is attached to the elemental body, its degrees of manifestation align with those of its specific body. Each soul, through its actions and deeds in worldly life, achieves manifestation. Its regression to a prior determination or individuality is impossible, just as an animal’s body, once matured, does not revert to a sperm. Movement is intensification and emergence from inner to outer. Reverse movement is incidental. If the soul, after separating from its body, attaches to another body at the embryonic stage, the body would be at a prior individuality, while the soul is at a later manifestation. Since their coexistence is natural and unitive, with both manifesting as one individuality, conjunction between two phenomena with different prior and later individualities is impossible.

Mulla Sadra’s Theory of Transcendent Philosophy

Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Shirazi, known as Mulla Sadra (d. 1050 AH), addressed the issue of corporeal resurrection. The theological notion of reassembling the scattered material components of a body, even if never annihilated, to restore the original body for soul attachment, involves the problem of metempsychosis. Based on his philosophical principles, Mulla Sadra proposed a novel approach to corporeal resurrection.

In Sadrian philosophy, based on the reality of existence and the manifestation of phenomena, raj‘a and ma‘ad concern the essence of entities—their manifestational and illuminative connection to the Exalted Truth. The individuality of each phenomenon is defined by its unique mode of manifestation and determination. Thus, the identity of each entity is always preserved, despite changes in its states.

Based on gradation in existential manifestations and affective-existential movement, each phenomenon moves toward manifesting its inner essence, a manifestation of one of Allah’s Beautiful Names, in an intensifying and perfective motion. Even after perfection and manifestation, it remains the same weaker manifestation that has reached a higher degree of determination, individuality, and perfection. This manifestation and illuminative connection is singular and simple. It allows only the precedence and succession of determinations and manifestations. Each manifestation encompasses all prior perfective determinations, realizing multiplicity in unity.

The essence of a coexisting phenomenon (loosely termed composite) lies in its manifest determination, not its inner essence. The relation of inner to outer is that of hidden to manifest. The hidden requires manifestation, but the reverse is not true. Human manifestation can be divided into outer and inner aspects. However, its comprehensive, final, and collective manifestation, encompassing all human perfections, depends on its most manifest and final determination.

The manifestation and individuality of the body depend on the soul’s determination, which is the human’s ultimate individuality, not on the body’s mass, which is subject to decay and dissolution of its particles’ conjunction. The true human individuality is the soul, which holds the content of its manifestation in a clear determination, not the body, whose individuality and unity persist through the soul’s continuity. The body’s attributes, concomitants, and components change through affective-existential movement. The body transitions from a natural elemental determination to a subtle material soul’s determination, then to an abstract determination with an imaginal body.

As a body, it transfers its individuality and faculties to the soul. Thus, human individuality, transferred to the soul, constitutes the human’s unity and individuality. It remains preserved despite changes in the body’s conjunction.

The soul, through its innovations and determinations, possesses personal unity. Human psychic unity is identical to its multiplicity. The mode of manifestation secures each phenomenon’s personal unity. The unity of all phenomena is not identical. Through the soul’s manifest determination, various concepts can be derived without neglecting or negating any phenomenon’s degrees. When the soul descends to its material body, it assumes prior determinations. When it returns to its perfected and present manifestation, it is independent of matter and its concomitants. It possesses an independent, collective individuality and determination.

Given the fourfold division of realms and the relative abstraction of imaginal representations, which depend on the soul, not the body, at the stage of abstraction, all human souls, after definitive death or martyrdom, reach the barzakhi and imaginal stage of relative abstraction. They can innovatively produce determinations within themselves without external material. The distinction between sensation and imagination ceases. The human imaginal determination is perfected. What the soul once accomplished through sensation and matter, it now achieves through abstract imagination. The soul’s agency over these imaginal representations is inventive and creative. The soul autonomously sustains these imaginal determinations. After this world, each soul resides in its supra-nasut realm, derived from its epistemic determinations, awareness, and wilayat.

Given the collective preservation of the soul’s determinations at the final stage of human perfection, what appears in the hereafter is the same individual who existed with body and soul in nasut. Observers recognize them as the same person from this world. When this eschatological determination descends to its material body, it assumes the same role. Thus, the barzakhi and eschatological body is the same worldly body, not in its imperfect natural aspect but in its perfected degree. The eschatological body is identical to the worldly body, not different or similar. The soul, which determines individuality, is the same in the barzakhi, eschatological, and worldly bodies. The worldly body, imaginal body, and eschatological body are three degrees and realms of one individuality, a continuation of the nasut-based body, distinguished only by their characteristics. The soul preserves the worldly body’s gender, carrying it to supra-nasut realms. They differ as worldly, barzakhi, or eschatological, distinguished by intensity, subtlety, and realm-specific attributes. They are stages and transformations of one individual, like the distinctions between a child’s, youth’s, and elder’s body in this world. Gender remains integral to their individuality and is preserved across all realms.

The objection that, after definitive death, the body has no effect on the soul, merely acting as a shadow, is invalid. Through affective-existential movement, the soul and body achieve such harmony that no discord remains.

In this world, the soul is initially the body. In nasut-based barzakh, it is the nasut-based imaginal body. In the eschatological imaginal barzakh, it is the imaginal body that ascends. It carries all its determinations. It is impossible for a phenomenon’s manifest determination to be separated from it.

The body gradually attains abstraction, forming the soul and the barzakhi and eschatological imaginal body. It transitions to these. The soul, with all its determinations, including imaginal ones, governs the barzakhi body, keeping it concomitant. It attains bliss or torment in the barzakhi and eschatological realms. Those who reach the intellectual stage primarily manage and manipulate their imaginal body in this world, enabling intervention in nature.

Supra-Nasut Realms and Human Existence

Barzakh and supra-nasut realms, for eternity, depend on the soul’s worldly faculties and awareness. Each individual, based on their awareness, love, and coexistence, possesses a realm and eschatological creativity. The supra-nasut human, for eternity, subsists on their awareness, deeds, faith, love, and knowledge with abstract or intellectual imaginal bodies. All supra-nasut realms are constructed from nasut-based awareness, knowledge, deeds, and love. A human with premature, unfulfilled death, in nasut-based barzakh, with a nasut-based body refined by perfective growth, is a guest of their deeds and knowledge.

The corporeal human, beginning with a material body in nasut, transforms the body through nourishment of awareness, knowledge, love, prayer, and successive shedding of determinations toward subtlety and abstraction. Through affective-existential movement, this body reaches the soul’s abstraction. From this body, a subtler body emerges—the barzakhi body for its imaginal and supra-nasut existence. The human individuality, initially in the body, with newer determinations and their manifestation, becomes those later determinations. After definitive death, the true human individuality is the soul with its final collective determination, encompassing all prior determinations. On the Day of Resurrection, it is resurrected for eternity, immune to corruption or dissolution.

The eater-eaten dilemma and the scarcity of earthly elements for reviving the dead are irrelevant. They are specifically excluded from this discussion.

The unity of the elemental body with the barzakhi body arises because the worldly body transitions to the barzakhi body. The true human individuality and body is the barzakhi body. The nasut-based body is like extraneous matter—hair, nails, or impure residue—expelled from the barzakhi body and soul through affective-existential movement, becoming nasut-based waste. The barzakhi body and soul, through this movement, constitute the final human individuality. Pursuing abstraction, with the imaginal realm’s abstraction and persistence through the soul’s potency, it creates and innovates in eschatological realms. Though derived from the individual’s knowledge and deeds, these realms have a distinct manifestation and are not solely dependent on the knowing agent or their deeds.

Philosophical Conclusions

Philosophical inquiry yields the following conclusions:

• No phenomenon is annihilated. The revival of the dead in celestial, resurrectional, or nasut-based realms is not the restoration of the annihilated.
• Metempsychosis, in all its forms, is impossible—whether the soul’s attachment to an elemental, celestial, or barzakhi body.
• These propositions do not permit homology between the material body, governed by natural laws, and the perfected, actualized soul to connect them during revival. Despite numerous degrees between material and abstract, natural laws dominate nature. The material body, at death, is like discarded waste, abandoned by the soul. Though the soul may retain attachments, this does not necessitate revival, reconstruction, or retrieval.

Qaysari’s Theory of Al-Fukuk on Types of Retrieval

Qaysari’s Three Types of Retrieval

In his book Al-Fukuk, Sadr al-Din Qunawi (d. 673 AH) describes three types of retrieval.

Qunawi reflects on the narrative of Ezra’s revival. He posits three modes of preserving the elemental conjunctions of entities.

The first mode preserves the original conjunction. It prevents change or corruption. It maintains identity and individuality. The entity remains intact as it was initially. The Qur’an refers to this in Surah al-Baqarah:

“So look at your food and drink; it has not changed with time.” (Qur’an, Surah al-Baqarah, 2:259)

The preservation of Ezra’s food and drink exemplifies this retrieval. It involves reassembling specific components into their original form after dissolution. The individuality and determination remain preserved in their nasut-based loci. The locus may change. However, the individuality and determination of the food remain uncorrupted. The Qur’an alludes to this in Surah al-Qiyamah:

“Does man think that We will not assemble his bones? Yes, [We are] able to restore even his fingertips.” (Qur’an, Surah al-Qiyamah, 75:3-4)

The second mode preserves the conjunction of Ezra’s body components from disintegration. His soul is seized and taken from the body. Reports exist of exhumed bodies remaining intact years after death. In this mode, the soul cannot maintain the body’s conjunction. It seeks higher perfections and detaches from the body. Due to its weakness, it cannot preserve the body’s components.

This mode has another variant. Strong, perfected souls are not distracted by any task. Their presence in the imaginal barzakh or other realms does not preclude engagement elsewhere. They are not confined in barzakh. They can manifest in nasut at will. A narration states:

“From Abu al-Darda’, from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny), who said: ‘Indeed, Allah has forbidden the earth to consume the bodies of prophets.’”

This prohibition stems from the blessing of the prophet’s holy soul’s companionship with the body. Through this conjunction, the body acquires the soul’s attribute of permanence. The soul governs it. Such a body, preserved from disintegration, can regain life if supported by a force and directed toward equilibrium. The soul’s return is facilitated through governance. Ezra’s revival exemplifies this retrieval.

The third mode preserves the essence of manifestation and the phenomenon’s individuality in a realm visible to those with unveiling. The conjunction of its components dissolves. This preserved individuality and final determination is termed ‘ajb al-dhanab. It is the essence of the material phenomenon’s corporeality.

Qaysari cites the preservation of Ezra’s donkey as an example. The donkey’s retrieval involves its original essence but with different attributes, resembling the prior ones. The Qur’an references this preservation and retrieval with new attributes in Surah al-Baqarah:

“And look at the bones, how We raise them and then clothe them with flesh.” (Qur’an, Surah al-Baqarah, 2:259)

The full verse states:

“Or [consider such an example as] the one who passed by a town that had fallen into ruin. He said, ‘How will Allah bring this to life after its death?’ So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years; then He revived him. He said, ‘How long have you remained?’ He said, ‘I have remained a day or part of a day.’ He said, ‘Rather, you have remained one hundred years. Look at your food and your drink; it has not changed with time. And look at your donkey; and We will make you a sign for the people. And look at the bones, how We raise them and then clothe them with flesh.’ When it became clear to him, he said, ‘I know that Allah is over all things competent.’” (Qur’an, Surah al-Baqarah, 2:259)

Qaysari notes that this is the secret of Ezra’s state, which Ibn ‘Arabi did not disclose.

Qaysari’s Rational Analysis

Qaysari, known for precision, critique, and analytical rigor, aligns his rational analysis with the apparent meaning of the verse. He refines and evaluates ideas with scholarly competence.

Regarding Ezra’s prolonged temporary death, the verse presents three types of imata (gentle death) and ihya (revival). All are experientially demonstrated for Ezra with divine power. Soul seizure varies greatly, with each individual experiencing it uniquely. Ezra’s hundred-year temporary death allows him, upon retrieval, to achieve maximal compatibility with the phenomena of his time through coexistence and co-breathing.

Ezra’s question does not concern corporeal return in this world. He inquires about the revival of the dead in the hereafter. Revival in the hereafter suits that realm’s nature. Nasut lacks the attributes of barzakh to demonstrate eschatological corporeal resurrection. The verse illustrates divine knowledge, might, wisdom, and power. It proves certain forms of raj‘a to this world with a nasut-based body. It concretely presents temporary death in nasut and return to the body for Ezra’s observation. This facilitates belief in eschatological revival through analogy and simulation.

Ezra’s statement that he felt he slept for a day or less reflects his perception of a century as mere hours. Observing the retrieval of his food and donkey in nasut, he gains scientific awareness of retrieval. This is not through celestial vision or presence in the celestial imaginal realm, as he remains in nasut.

Mulla Sadra’s Caution on Eschatological Knowledge

Mulla Sadra warns:

“Beware of seeking the realities of eschatological states except through prophetic reports and faith in the unseen. Attempting to grasp these realities with a confused intellect or flawed reasoning is futile. Aspiring to understand eschatological states through philosophy or theology is tantamount to denial. Whoever seeks to comprehend the Resurrection with celebrated wit or esteemed rational faculty, unknowingly denies it.”

Raj‘a in Philosophical Discourses

Diverse Perspectives on Raj‘a

Scholars discuss raj‘a differently from this book’s approach. Their common view considers raj‘a as the soul’s return from the disconnected celestial imaginal realm. This realm is the post-nasut abode for those who enter it through irreversible, definitive death.

Most theologians view raj‘a as the soul’s return to its original body in this world. They see it as corporeal retrieval, akin to their belief in corporeal resurrection.

Majlisi, citing a treatise by Sayyid Murtada in response to the people of Ray, states: Raj‘a means Allah will revive a group of Shi‘a who died before the Mahdi’s advent. They return to receive the reward of supporting and witnessing his governance. Allah also revives some of the Mahdi’s enemies. They face retribution, witnessing the truth’s triumph and the exalted status of its followers, leading to their sorrow.

This text conflates the era of the Mahdi’s advent with his specific raj‘a period. It reduces the grand system of divine collective justice in raj‘a to personal vengeance and emotional satisfaction. This diminishes the profound significance of raj‘a.

Some philosophers, due to rational objections to the soul’s return to its former body, which they deem invalid metempsychosis, interpret raj‘a as the return of the rightful governance without reviving the dead.

Philosophers who have not deeply explored raj‘a may view it as a manifestation of resurrection or corporeal ma‘ad. Examining their intellectual stance can reveal their position on raj‘a.

Ayatollah Muhammad Ali Shahabadi (d. 1369 AH) addresses rational objections to the soul’s return to a material body. He interprets raj‘a in two ways: First, the return of the Ahl al-Bayt to the community, manifesting absolute wilayat at the moment of death. Second, the community’s return to the Ahl al-Bayt, summoning their souls in this world. In both cases, the material body plays no role. Wilayat’s manifestation or soul summoning occurs with an imaginal body.

Shahabadi considers Jesus’ return and his following of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief) as soul summoning with a barzakhi body.

Shahabadi outlines three structures for bodily return: First, the manifestation of the barzakhi body, possible for both strong and weak souls. Second, return with an elemental body, where strong souls condense the barzakhi body into an elemental form. Third, creating a material body from natural elements, typical for weak souls. He cites Gabriel’s manifestation as Dihya al-Kalbi as an example of the third. Weak believers and disbelievers, unable to return to an elemental body, rely on the assistance of divine saints’ souls.

Philosophical Treatises and Revival Mechanisms

Taqrirat Falsafa by Imam Khomeini aligns with Shahabadi and Qunawi on the revival of the dead in raj‘a. It suggests that in raj‘a, the celestial realm may manifest in a nasut-based or terrestrial form. This occurs not with a natural material body but with an imaginal, barzakhi body, divinely manifested in a terrestrial form.

The book cites Gabriel’s manifestation as Dihya al-Kalbi and Ezra’s revival with his donkey as examples of imaginal revival, as discussed by Shahabadi and Qunawi.

Taqrirat Falsafa examines Ezra’s and his animal’s revival. It notes that the donkey’s or Abraham’s four birds’ bodily components were reconstituted through the soul’s substantial motion. This creation defies ordinary nature. Instead of an egg, four birds emerged abruptly from mixed flesh. These birds’ bodies are not identical to the original ones. The soul, detached from material elements, creates a new, similar bird. This serves as an example of barzakhi body representation to soothe an anxious heart. The issue remains unresolved scientifically. The book argues that verses about Ezra and Abraham’s birds do not imply the reassembly of elemental components.

Later, Taqrirat Falsafa asserts definitively: There is no implausibility in stating that the souls of those undergoing raj‘a create a worldly body. They return to this world with this constructed terrestrial body. Indeed, this is certainly the case.

Taqrirat Falsafa accepts Qunawi’s view on the creativity of perfected souls in raj‘a. A soul with complete power can create thousands of bodies. All are its true bodies. Each engages in tasks without hindering others. Amir al-Mu’minin appears at the bedside of dying believers and non-believers. Despite numerous simultaneous deaths, he is present with multiple constructed bodies.

Taqrirat Falsafa holds that the Qur’an is an invitational text. Explaining the mechanism of reviving the dead exceeds its scope and purpose. This requires complex philosophical and rational premises.

We previously noted in discussing revelation: The Qur’an elucidates matters beyond ordinary human knowledge and reason, which are unseen. The mechanism of reviving the dead in raj‘a is one such matter. The Qur’an details the process and quality of revival through concrete examples. We cited interpretations from Allama Tabataba’i’s Al-Mizan and Qaysari’s Al-Fukuk. We deemed Tabataba’i’s explanation the most precise regarding raj‘a.

Beyond these verses, other instances of revival and retrieval are reported with their mechanisms in verses such as Surah al-Baqarah 2:55-56, 2:72-73, 2:243, 2:260, and Surah al-Ma’ida 5:110. These require interpretation. Thus, the Qur’an is not silent on this matter but offers an epistemic framework.

Taqrirat Falsafa clarifies that the imaginal nature of bodies in the raj‘a era does not contradict religious essentials. The principle of raj‘a is essential, not its mechanism. It reiterates that raj‘a may involve imaginal manifestation in nasut.

The book raises a valid concern: The essentiality of an issue among superficial masses or unworthy claimants of knowledge should not lead to accusations of heresy. It should not hinder theorizing about its mechanism.

Hassan Hassanzadeh Amoli (d. 1400 SH), commenting on Qaysari’s statement that perfected saints are not barred from manifesting in the witnessed world while in the unseen, cites his teacher, Allama Sheikh Muhammad Husayn Fazil Tuni. Tuni stated that Qaysari refers to raj‘a, a belief of the Imami Shi‘a. He affirmed that raj‘a is valid in this sense.

Sayyid Jalal al-Din Ashtiani (d. 1384 SH) offers similar interpretations of raj‘a. He views return as occurring with an imaginal body or through body creation. However, the souls remain confined in the disconnected celestial barzakh. Return is not possible for them. He writes:

“Know that all objections to the notion of souls returning to elemental bodies apply to raj‘a if it occurs in this world, with additional critiques. The truth is that raj‘a is realized through their manifestation with imaginal bodies in this world, as with Jesus (peace be upon him) at the advent of the Awaited One (peace be upon us), or through souls creating bodies, as their attachment to bodies is voluntary.”

This final statement refers to the soul’s outer and inner dimensions. Every soul contains lower degrees, including the body, within its inner essence. Manifesting these results in a natural, elemental body. The body is a lower degree and descent of the soul. Raj‘a, as described, can occur repeatedly.

These rational scholars, through conceptual engagement, interpret raj‘a as imaginal manifestation with an imaginal body or the soul’s creation of a nasut-based body. The soul remains in the celestial realm, governing nasut from there. The manifestation pertains to either the body in the barzakhi, post-nasut realm or the body in nasut. The soul’s individuality and determination are imaginal and celestial, not nasut-based. This avoids rational objections to the soul’s return to a material body. However, these scholars posit the soul in the celestial realm post-death. After natural death, the soul severs all ties with its body. It loses connection to the body and cannot return to it.

These theories have sparked debates. Some view them as free of conflict with religious appearances. Others consider them misleading. Some accept the premises of corporeal retrieval based on Mulla Sadra’s principles but pursue different conclusions.

Challenges in Philosophical Theories

In discussions of corporeal ma‘ad, raj‘a, ascension, and visitation, involving body, time, place, soul, and soul-body relations, philosophers have failed to provide a demonstrative theory. Such a theory should be profound, align with religious propositions and sacred guidance, and bring epistemic tranquility.

No similarity exists between the natural elemental body and the manifest body in the hereafter, as depicted by Mulla Sadra and his followers. One cannot derive an imaginal outcome from rational premises. This critique applies to post-Sadrian theories, such as those of Hakim Aqa Ali Zunuzi (d. 1268 SH) and Ayatollah Sayyid Abu al-Hasan Rafi‘i Qazwini (d. 1353 SH). They argue the soul retains a connection with remaining material components, preventing metempsychosis. However, no homology exists between the material body, governed by natural laws, and the perfected, determined soul to link them. These theories remain entangled in metempsychosis, even if the body persists through the soul’s illuminative relation. A theory must preserve the inseparable attributes of each realm and avoid conflating their specific rulings.

Raj‘a Beyond Perfected Souls

Raj‘a is not limited to perfected souls capable of forming nasut-based bodies and manifesting across realms. Perfected souls can manifest in any realm. Their barzakhi and celestial realms are complete. Their resurrection is established. Manifestation in one realm does not preclude presence in another or attention to the sacred realm. They can govern their elemental body and possess countless nasut-based, imaginal, celestial, and spiritual bodies. These bodies arise from their soul’s inner essence, heart, and spirit. Their journey is vertical, ascending or descending. Raj‘a aligns with this path. However, they do not undergo multiple cycles of descent, returning to nasut in recurring arcs. Every nasut-based phenomenon, natural or divine, has one cycle of life with a nasut-based body, predetermined sustenance, and natural death or martyrdom. This opportunity, as these scholars suggest, is not repeatable. Life in nasut ends with definitive death or martyrdom, transitioning to supra-nasut realms without repetition, even for perfected saints.

With the definitive martyrdom of perfected saints and their entry into supra-nasut eschatological realms, barzakhi, celestial, spiritual resurrection, or supra-abstract divine realms, nasut-based wilayat passes to other divine saints. Wilayat in nasut is always singular and exclusive. Other saints cannot interfere in the rulings or effects of the present saint in nasut. They cannot act in this realm or its wilayat domain without the permission of the nasut-based saint.

Divine saints return to nasut through raj‘a based on wilayat, premature martyrdom, manifesting inner perfections, and their claims. They return to educate and perfect the souls of their devotees and lovers. During the era of the seal of wilayat’s governance, they realize the perfection and completion of wilayat in nasut concretely.

At death, perfected souls may retain some attachment to the body. They maintain a form of connection, governing the body’s components and guiding them to their specific perfection. This may leave no body at the burial site.

Raj‘a is not confined to perfected souls. It encompasses a broader scope. It includes the souls of infants, youths, and all justice-seekers deprived of their sustenance and rights, unable to achieve justice and perfection. It also includes oppressive souls who violated others’ rights, hindering their growth. These souls must be retrieved collectively in this world under divine governance. Rights are fulfilled in a just, natural, free, and aware system. Offenders face nasut-based punishment. During this era, like the time of an infallible Imam’s presence, faithful and humble people accept and obey based on awareness, love, and knowledge. Rebellion is subdued. Most people submit to religion and the Qur’an’s revelation. Wilayat, knowledge, love, unity, and nasut’s flourishing reach their fullest potential.

Necessity of Raj‘a and Corporeal Ma‘ad

This text concludes that raj‘a and corporeal ma‘ad are not merely possible but necessary and inevitable. Rational necessity stems from fulfilling rights and executing justice in this world. Religious reasons affirm this. The completion of monotheism, religion, and wilayat depends on it.

The raj‘a of divine saints occurs with a nasut-based body. It is not a mere imaginal representation or substitute body. Nasut is the core and reality of their presence with body, soul, and inner spirit.

At death or martyrdom, divine saints perceive the Angel of Death, Azrael. Azrael’s presence for their soul’s seizure is ceremonial. The divine saint, by the divine will of their true Lord and the fourteen infallible saints, visits their coexisting companions. They respond with submission, surrendering their soul to the Beloved. They seize their own soul. Such individuals exemplify the following verse:

“So do not die except while you are Muslims [in submission].” (Qur’an, Surah al-Baqarah, 2:132)

Such a death resembles voluntary sleep. Through voluntary death, one can traverse nasut-based, celestial, and eschatological barzakhs. The divine human, instead of earthly journeys, travels through celestial skies, other realms, and presences. They can manifest, summon souls and phenomena, coexist with them, and engage in dialogue.

Reality, Value, and Divine Justice

Nothing but the Exalted Truth possesses existence and reality. The Exalted Truth, inherently unique, embodies ultimate perfection, goodness, beauty, and absolute good. It is desirable in every state. The existential love of existence for perfection and good necessitates the most beautiful and optimal manifestation.

Beauty introduces the discussion of values and their relation to reality. Evil, ugliness, and corruption are forms of existential manifestation. They arise secondarily through intensified love and excess. Evils are not non-existence but secondary manifestations and reflections.

Nasut is a conscious, intelligent, and scientifically complex, orderly, and precise realm. However, especially in the era of savages and humans dominated by power and knowledge without love, conflicts and transgressions abound. Nasut becomes tainted with evils and imperfections. Justice is not fulfilled. Deeds are provisional and accommodating. This necessitates at least one other realm for definitive reckoning and the realization of divine justice. This realm ensures complete fulfillment in a collective system of mercy and love. It completes creation as perfect, optimal, and the best. This eternal realm, built on this world as a field with eternal harvests or an eternal wasteland, is termed ma‘ad or the hereafter.

Need for Further Exploration

Understanding ascending imaginal barzakhs and eschatological resurrection, rooted in knowledge and awareness, requires a separate treatise. These realms integrate matter, imagination, celestiality, and intellectual abstraction. Their axis is wilayat and wilayat-based resurrection. Each person joins their nasut-based Imam. The topic’s vastness, the need to fulfill its due, and its immense importance demand this. Prominent scholars’ eschatological discussions often err due to limited intellectual perception and weak inner vision. Most claimants exploring this eternal topic lack even faint experiences of ascent or involuntary trials. They cannot perceive the disconnected nasut-based imaginal realm, the closest to corporeal life. Far less can they achieve experiential presence in ascending supra-nasut imaginal, celestial, or divine realms, all within divine creation, or the supra-abstract true and divine realm.

Closing Benediction

Dear, aware, coexisting, and sympathetic wayfarer, until a new meeting and fresh greetings, farewell. May you be under the divine protection of peace and security:

“Peace be upon you for what you patiently endured. How excellent is the final home!” (Qur’an, Surah al-Ra‘d, 13:24)

Under the light of truth, where the unity of the pure wine’s intoxication and the absorption in truth is truth itself:

“Allah bears witness that there is no deity except Him.” (Qur’an, Surah Aal-E-Imran, 3:18)