Life After Death
Muslims believe that all humans will be resurrected from their graves and judged by Allah based on their deeds. Every individual will be held accountable for their actions in this life. Good deeds, sincere faith, and repentance lead to Paradise/Heaven, while persistent disbelief and sinful behaviour lead to punishment in Hell.
There are several stages that occur after death that Muslims believe in:
Stage 1: The questioning of the grave and then in its bliss or torture,
Stage 2: The resurrection of bodies as they were created originally and the gathering of them to one plain.
Stage 3: The Reckoning and The Scales, then the receiving of one’s book of deeds in either the right or left hand.
Stage 4: Al-Ṣirāṭ[1]. This is a bridge over the surface of the Hellfire that people will have to cross.
Stage 5: Entering Heaven or Hell.
The verdict of the disobedient believer after The Reckoning (if Allah forgives him) is that he will enter Heaven from the very beginning, remaining in it forever, and if He doesn’t forgive him is that he will be tortured in the Hellfire for a period of time according to the degree of his sin then he will come out of it and enter Heaven, remaining in it forever.
What is Heaven? It is an abode of enduring bliss, whatever souls desire and eyes delight in will circulate in it. Heaven contains that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and hasn’t crossed the mind of any human being. Heaven includes spiritual and physical bliss; the spiritual is for the delight of the soul such as glorification, worship, the beatific vision of Allah (exalted is He), and His informing of His everlasting satisfaction with the inhabitants of Heaven. The physical is for the delight of the body such as eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse.
What is Hell? It is an abode of enduring torture. Hell contains all types of unimaginable suffering. Hell includes physical torture and spiritual torture.
Muslims believe that bliss and torture are never-ending in Heaven and Hell, their inhabitants will remain in them forever, and that they both exist right now.
[1] Literally “The Path.”