Christianity vs. Islam Afterlife Beliefs
Christianity can be defined as a religion that bases its life teachings on Jesus Christ. Christianity is followed by Christians, following Christ, who died on the cross to save them from their sins. Islam, on the other hand, is a monotheistic religion that, as opposed to the Christians’ messiah, believe in one God known as Allah. In place of Jesus for Christians, Islam region believes in Muhammad. The afterlife can be defined as the existence after death, or a future period in one’s life after their life is renewed. So to say, life after one’s death is a fundamental belief in most religions, and one of the pillars that hold people’s lives together. Islam and Christianity are some of the most prominent religions in the world, and both of these religions believe in an afterlife, which is based on the person’s code of conduct and good or bad deeds during the time they were alive.
Christians have a high expectation of the end times for the church and individual believers. Christian teachings conceptualize life after death. The belief that there is indeed a continuation of life even after one dies is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is because according to Christian teachings, his death and resurrection were part of God’s plan for his people, seeing as he died on the cross as a punishment of the sins of humankind, to restore the relationship between God and man, in other words, atone for their sins (Turner Jr). Jesus Christ was crucified and died, but after three days, he was raised from the dead. To Christians, this action signified some victory over both sins and death, to mean that although people still go against the will of God and sin, they still have a choice to abide by him and be rewarded with eternal life.
Christians have a belief that after they have died, they will be summoned into the presence of the Almighty, where they will answer for their actions on earth and be held accountable for them. They believe that they will be judged for the things they should have done and did not do, or those they did and should not have (Moreman). This particular belief, however, varies to some degree, because while some believe that there will be a day of judgment for every human being during the end times, others believe that they will only be judged after they die. At the same time, others believe that there will be personal judgment and definitive judgment at the end.
On the same concept of life after death, Christian teaching states that God gave people free will to choose between right and wrong, good and bad. This then means that while God wants people to accept him, love, and obey him, there are human beings that will still reject him. On this idea, Christianity brings in the aspect of hell. Hell for Christians has been painted as a place where there is a fire that burns for all eternity, a symbol of pain and suffering for non-believers and sinners (Turner Jr). Still, on the same note, certain Christians, for instance, the catholic church goes on to teach that spinners and non- believers after death go through a stage called purgatory, where they go through cleansing fire as a second chance to be purified off their sins. After they are purified, they are then accepted by God into heaven. This Catholic Church teaching is arguable for most Christians, arguing that there are only two options, heaven and hell, and both are for all eternity.
In comparison, the afterlife is also vital for the Islamic religion. The Muslim religion teaches that there is life after everyone dies, and they term it as Akhirah. Islam religiously-based people believe that Allah decides when each person dies. Muslims also believe that after they are dead, they will remain in their graves until judgment day, when they will then be raised from their graves and taken into Allah’s or God’s presence (Smith). There, they will be judged according to how they lived their earthly lives. Muslims believe that after a person dies, their physical form is then transformed, and their souls exist forever. Similar to the Christian beliefs, the life after death of an individual is shaped mainly by the kind of lives they lead while on earth.
However, as opposed to Christians either being on the good or the wrong side, Muslims believe that on their day of judgment, the people who have done more good deeds in comparison to their bad ones will be accepted into paradise, which they refer to as Jannah (Smith). This is because according to their teachings, seeing as God is forgiving and all-merciful, once a sinner repents, Allah will forgive them and, as for those that despite being sinful, have done good things in their lives, Allah will have mercy on them. Islam describes paradise as a place filled with bliss that is everlasting, and where there will be ample and endless peace. This concept and the fact that they associate it with no illness, no pain and no sadness are similar to the Christina perception of heaven. On the other hand, Muslims believe that the people that will enter hell, in their case Jahannam are those that will have performed more bad deeds as compared to their good ones. Islamic teachings state that Jahannam is a place where human beings will experience physical and spiritual suffering.
The Islamic religion has a few names for the judgment day, such as day of reckoning, the day of awakening and the encompassing day, among others. Muslims are taught to believe that immediately they die, they are bound to figure out their destinies while in their graves, seeing as they might start suffering or be at peace while in there (Smith). This religion also teaches that human beings will experience a physical resurrection after Allah has procreated or renewed their already decayed bodies. Muslims describe the judgment day as one where someone will have to pass over hell on top of a very narrow bridge, and enter into heaven (Maʻsúmián). At that moment, they believe that the weight of someone’s sins or rather evil deeds will weigh them down, and they will fall, while those with more good deeds will survive.
For both Christian and Islam believers as well as non-believers, the greatest question regarding their lives is what happens after death. Meanwhile, death remains the most excellent certainty for all humankind. Religious people on either one of these religions base their beliefs on eternal life according to their specific scriptures. Although Christians and Muslims differ on the terms that will determine the eternal afterlife and other aspects like for the Islamic religion, the physical resurrection of human beings, they have similar beliefs regarding heaven and hell. In comparison, life after death is a fundamental teaching in both religions. Somehow, a person’s life here on earth, how they behave, how much they love God or Allah and abide by his laws will have a significant influence on their lives after they die, and most importantly, on their final judgments. In the end, both religions advocate for eternal life in paradise.
Works Cited
Moreman, Christopher M. Beyond the threshold: Afterlife beliefs and experiences in world religions. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.
Maʻsúmián, Farnáz. Life after death: A study of the afterlife in world religions. Kalimat Press, 2002.
Smith, Jane Idelman, and Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad. The Islamic understanding of death and resurrection. Oxford University Press, 2002.
Turner Jr, James T. On the resurrection of the dead: A new metaphysics of afterlife for Christian thought. Routledge, 2018.