Barzakh which means a partition or barrier is the name of the place or the state in which people will continue living after death and before the Resurrection Day. There, the soul has to stand on its own foot and merits, and rarely anything may come to him from the material world that he has left behind.
In many verses of Qurän, reference is made to the wonderful world of BARZAKH, which is the dwelling place of Man's soul, after his death and up to the Day of Doom. Instances of such verses that may prove this amazing world of deads, is in S 3:169ِ171 which are as follows:ِ
``And count not those who were slain in Allah's way as deads. They are alive; living with their Lord, and are provided with sustenance....
Rejoicing for what Allah Has bestowed on them of His Grace, and are joyful in those behind them, who have not yet joined them, that they are neither to fear nor to grieve. Rejoicing in Allah's bounty and grace, that Allah will not waste the reward of the believers.''
Not only the believers of high grade and dignity are alive after death; the worst of the disbelievers too, according to the S 40:46 are alive. These are the folk of Pharaoh, who will then taste the severest of penalty in the Resurrection Day. They also are punished painfully in the Intermediate World:ِ
``They (i.e. The people of Pharaoh) will be brought in front of the Fire in the morning and evening, and in the Day when the Final Judgement is established, it will be said:ِ (to the guards of Hell) cast you the people of Pharaoh to the hardest of torment.''
The above verses and many others, will prove that, whether Man be a believer or unbeliever, he will continue living after death, either in prosperity or anguish.
There are also many traditions narrated from the prophet and from the infallible Imams (AS), which not only proves the existence of
the Intermediate World, that gives also some details about how the life after death is.
The opinion of the life after death and before Resurrection Day is accepted with unanimous approval of the learned and scholars of all Islamic sects, particularly the two main group of Sonni and Shiite.
It is generally believed that in the Intermediate World, the soul of Man will continue living in accompany with a new BODY; which is very much finer than the coarse material body that we have in the present world! A body perhaps made of electric or magnetic, or other kind of finer field like gravity.
In Islamic literatures, this body is named, the SIMILAR BODY which is exactly the same as our material body in form and shape. It is also sometimes called the second body.
Some of the Islamic scholars and men of knowledge, have understood the Intermediate World to be similar to the world of sleep which is void of time and space. They say that the Finer Body or the Similar Body, already exists within us, and after death it will apear and manifest itself when it is separated from this material body.
Some of the jurists are of opinion that, in the Intermediate World people are divided in there groups; the believers, the unbelievers, and the weaklings. The Intermediate life is for the first two group of people, and those who are the weaklings, will live there in some sort of an unawareness, until the Resurrection touches them.
