Life After Death: the third creation

Life After Death: the third creation

For centuries the images concerning the Life after death played a great role in Christianity. The Book of Revelations, the Last Bible book was often recited. Images of the Divine Judge were carved into churches. Painters pictured the lost souls falling to the left and the redeemed souls rising to heaven. Composers reproduced the sounds of trumpets heralding the Dies Irae, the day of Gods wrath.

Recently these images seem to have faded. The Last Day is something many Christians don’t talk about, don’t know about even. An example is the excellent book by Wimmer and Leimgruber: Von Adam bis Muhammad. Bibel und Koran im Vergleich. The comparison ends quite clearly befóre the Last Day; which to Muslims means they are missing the whole point.

For Muslims the concept of the Afterlife retains the central place it used to have for Christians. The Qur’an even offers Jews and Christians a shining future if they believe in the Last Day.

“Those who believe and those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures,) and the Christians…who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with the Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. 2 The Heifer, 62

So what can it mean, to believe in the Last Day? I put this question to Mehmet Pacaci, expert in Eschatological Beliefs in the Qur’an and the Bible, and a fore fighter of figurative or symbolic Qur’an interpretation.