Maulvi Qutb-ud-Din Sahibra enquired:
“What is the reality of the relationship that we hear about between the soul and the grave?”
The Promised Messiahas said:
“The fact of the matter is that everything narrated in the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, about the relationship of souls and graves is absolutely true and correct. The deeper nature and essence of this relationship is another matter, of which knowledge is not necessary. Albeit, it can be said that we are responsible for proving that such a relationship between graves and souls does in fact exist, and that such a phenomenon is not a rational impossibility.
The law of nature demonstrates a parallel in this respect. As we observe, the truth and reality of certain things is ascertained only through the tongue, and in reality the phenomenon in discussion is similar. We can say in broader terms that Allah the Exalted has put in place various methods through which we learn of the deeper reality of things. The properties of certain things are observed through the eye, while other truths are learned of through the ear alone. Moreover, other things are discovered through multiple senses. Further still, how many a truth do we discern through the nucleus of our faculties — the heart. To summarise, Allah the Exalted has designed various methods and means by which to ascertain the truth. For example, if someone were to place a lump of crystallised sugar (misri) on their ear, they would not be able to experience its taste, nor would they be able to perceive its colour; similarly, if brought before the eyes, one would not be able to say anything as to its taste. This clearly demonstrates that there are varying faculties and powers by which one attains to the deeper reality of things. Now, if a person desires to experience the taste of something and places it before their eyes, would we say that the edible thing is tasteless? Or if there was a sound and someone tried to hear it using their tongue instead of their ears, would this be possible? The philosophically inclined in this day and age suffer from the illusion whereby they reject a truth due to their own lack of knowledge. Even in daily matters we observe that all tasks are not done by the same person, rather, different people are assigned varying tasks. A water-carrier will fetch water, a launderer will wash clothes, and a cook will prepare food. Hence, division of labour is a phenomenon we observe even in the system instituted by man himself.
Therefore, always bear in mind that different faculties are responsible for various tasks. Man has been vested with many a great faculty, and diverse duties have been assigned to each for their perfection. The ignorant philosopher seeks to determine all matters on the basis of their own limited reason, even though this is completely inappropriate. Historical matters can only be determined by history itself. Moreover, how can one acquire a knowledge of the properties of things except by true experience. Inductive matters are settled through reason. Similarly, there are individually distinct means in place to acquire a knowledge of various things. Man falls to deception and deprives himself of a deeper knowledge of the reality of things when he attempts to attain a complete knowledge of matters by one avenue alone. I do not deem it necessary to speak on the truthful nature of this principle, because even the least bit of reflection makes this manifestly clear and we observe the truth of these matters in our daily lives. Hence, when the soul separates itself from the body or forges a relationship with it, these phenomena cannot be determined by our faculty of reason alone. For if this was the case, philosophers and thinkers would not have gone astray.
(Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, Malfuzat, Vol. 2, pp. 8-9)
