Principles of the Shi’ite Creed

Lesson 15: The Second Reason to Establish The Resurrection

The God in whom we believe is All-wise an All-knowing and His actions arise from wisdom and He pursues some objectives in creating this world and mankind and endowing man with the faculty of thought and sending magnificent prophets to enlighten them.

Is the objective behind the creation of man limited to this life in which man might fulfill his whims and gratify his hunger and thirst and finally die after a life of luxury or deprivation?

If the objective of creating mankind is confined to this, it should be confessed that his creation is futile and if the Creator of the universe is All-wise, He won’t do anything aimlessly.

With a little reflection and contemplation, we reach the conclusion that the aim of creating mankind is not confined to this transient life but rather he has been created for an eternal and immortal life that is the same as the hereafter. The great Qur’an has raised this argument and reads,

“Do you suppose that you have been created aimlessly and you won’t return to Us.”[^1]

The Resurrection is Corporeal

As it is learned from the Holy Qur’an, the resurrection and revival is corporeal, that is, the spirit is restored to the body and the soul and the body both face the consequences of their deeds.

One day, one of the opponents of Islam called Ubay ibn Khalf brought a rotten bone to the Prophet and crushed it into powder and scattered the powder and tried to use this to deny the Resurrection and show the impossibility of the scattered powder’s restoration to its original form, and said, “What power can revive these rotten bones?”

God, the Exalted, commanded the great Prophet to say this in response, “The same God who fashioned these bones from dust in the first place and bestowed life and vivacity upon them, He is capable of restoring these rotten bones which are scattered everywhere and reviving them.”

“Ubay ibn Khalf says, ‘Who will revive these rotten bones?’ O our messenger! Tell him, ‘The One who initially created them and endowed them with life will revive them.’”[^2]

The Implications of the Faith in the Resurrection

The faith in the Resurrection enhances one’s diligence and determination in fulfilling their obligations because one knows that no action will be overlooked and God is a meticulous and fair judge who is aware of the within and without of everyone and thus he will retain his hope and resolve in serving and reforming himself.

The faith in the Resurrection heralds an eternal life and one knows that he is not created for this ephemeral life and with death he enters a new phase of life which is substantially vaster than this worldly life and he recognizes that this life is the preamble to the life in the hereafter and that eternal life will be shaped by one’s conduct and deeds in this life and in other words, he will reap what he has sown in this life. Regarding this, the great Qur’an says,

“Anyone who performs a good deed even if this weighs as much as a little seed, he will receive its reward, and anyone who commits a sin, even if that weigh as little as a seed, he will suffer the consequences.”[^3]

[^1]: Surah al-Mu’minun 23:115.

[^2]: Surah Yasin 36:79.

[^3]: Cfr. Sura al-Zalzala, 99.