Someone from India sent the following questions to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa:
1. Who is Allah and what is His nature?
2. If the universe started with the Big Bang and has been expanding on its own ever since, does that mean that the entire universe is God?
3. It is said that after we die, we go to Allah. How does this happen? What is the reality of the soul, and can it travel between different parts of the universe where heaven and hell exist? In other words, can the soul move from one place to another?
Huzoor-e-Anwaraa, in his letter dated 10 March 2022, provided the following response to these queries:
“[…] When it comes to the question of whether a soul can move from one place to another in heaven and hell, the first thing to remember is that the soul is subject to the command of Allah Almighty and cannot act of its own free will. Therefore, when the Jews asked the Holy Prophetsa about the soul, Allah the Exalted instructed the Holy Prophetsa as follows:
قُلِ الرُّوۡحُ مِنۡ اَمۡرِ رَبِّيۡ
“‘Say, ‘The soul is by the command of my Lord.’’ (Surah Bani Isra’il, Ch.17: V.86)
“Secondly, in the Holy Quran, two words are mentioned for the records of conduct or of doings of believers and disbelievers in the hereafter: ‘sijjin’ and ‘illiyyin. Explaining the meanings of these words, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra stated:
“The term ‘sijjin’, used for disbelievers, is singular, while the term ‘‘illiyyin’, used for believers, is plural. This difference indicates that Allah the Exalted does not increase the punishment of the disbeliever, but continuously increases the reward of the believer. As a result, the disbeliever remains in the same prison while the believer changes his abode. Each abode is followed by one superior to it, and so on. Likewise, Allah makes the believer journey through many worlds. Hence, the houses of the believer will be many, while that of the disbeliever will be one. (Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 10, pp. 311-312)
“Moreover, the Holy Quran mentions the dwellers of Paradise and the inmates of Hell, and it states that there is a barrier between them, indicating that they will not be able to meet each other. (Surah al-A‘raf, Ch.7: V.47)
“When it comes to the matter of intermingling among people of different levels in Paradise, the Quran and Hadith mention the various places and levels within Paradise, but no hindrance to interaction and mingling among the dwellers of these different levels is mentioned. In fact, Allah Almighty affirms in the Holy Quran that, those who believe and whose children follow them in faith — with them shall We join their children in the highest levels of Paradise. We will also not diminish anything from the good deeds of their fathers and forefathers. (Surah at-Tur, Ch.52: V.22)
“Based on these Quranic ideas, it is evident that righteous souls, with the permission of Allah the Exalted, will have the ability to move from one place to another and meet one another. However, the evil souls who are serving their punishment in Hell will remain confined in their prison until their sentence is completed. Once their sentence is over, they too will be granted mercy by Allah the Exalted and will be able to enter Paradise.”