Islamic Belief In Ghosts, What is agreed upon as to what they are or are they real. Options

[AbdullahUS]

There are a lot of television series about people hunting ghosts or the paranormal. It has become a renewed interest in scientific and non-scientific research.

I would like to know what other muslims think about this field of study.

1. Are "ghosts" really the souls of deceased humans walking the earth?

2. If so, why have they not moved on to either Heaven or Hell?

3. Are these "ghosts" really something else, like, maybe, Jinn?

I have my own theories. What do you say?

[juan]

Yes I would like to hear everyones thoughts on this also.

[Killed Bill]

1. Are "ghosts" really the souls of deceased humans walking the earth?

Ghosts do not exist

2. If so, why have they not moved on to either Heaven or Hell?

See answer to question 1

3. Are these "ghosts" really something else, like, maybe, Jinn?

Anything that may be seen that may possibly look/react like a Ghost is more than likely a Jinn.

A ghost is supposedly the soul of a deceased person that walks around the earth, and somehow can interact with the living.

A Jinn is a creature that lives and dwells in our planet, among us, that we cannot see with our eyes. They can take the form of humans so if anyone was to see something dodgy it would be a Jinn.

[NOSHADYLADY4]

First of all, our thoughts on this type of subject should be because we are commanded to believe in the unseen whether invisible or/and inaudiable. Likewise it also covers all that is not directly accessible through other human sensory faculties. We also know that an "ifrit" is of the Jinn realm and was traditionally known as a ghost.

Allah says: 15:22
"We possess inexhaustible treasures of everything, but We do not cause them to descend except in well-defined and calculated measure."

Allah says: “This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah; who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them.” [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 2-3]

1. Ghosts-My opinion is no. The soul of the dead person is behind barzakh - a barrier where that the soul cannot go on to heaven nor return to earth. The body is in the grave, so it does not do anything. So if the soul is restricted and the body cannot move without it, this makes ghosts inpossible to me.

2. See #1

3. There are "ghost" spirits said to be among the Jinn, They were called Ifrits. I believe that there are jinn who do things of the supernatural.

There are two types of Qareen- in a person's life:
1.The Arabic word Qareen has two meanings. It may mean a friend or a companion, as stated in the following verse: “A speaker of them saith: Lo! I had a comrade.” (As-Saffat: 51) i.e. (I had an unbelieving friend who was trying to lead me astray during my life).

2. The other meaning of the word Qareen is the demon permanently assigned to each person during his/her life whose job is to seduce human beings. Allah Almighty says: “His comrade saith: Our Lord! I did not cause him to rebel, but he was (himself) far gone in error.” (Qaf: 27) i.e. the devil assigned to seduce him will say: “My lord! It was not me who seduced him at the beginning, but it was he himself who preferred blindness to guidance. So, I helped him achieve his goal through seduction.”

Sometimes the demons can take the shape of the human and do all sorts of things. They can wreck havoc in the human world and cause pain, suffering, personality change, etc. This reminds me of what the Prophet once said:

In another hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) tells us that a demon is assigned to every human being: “There is no one among you but a comrade from among the jinn is assigned to him.” They (the Companions present in that occasion) said: “Even you, O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “Even me, but Allah granted me victory over him and he became Muslim (or: and I am safe from him), so he only enjoins me to do that which is good.”

In this world, there are some things that cannot be explained, but there are jinn that do little things that cause fear in people. I myself have witnessed many unusual things in my lifetime. I just invoke Allah's protection, and not dwell on it. There is lots more to say, but I wait to hear from others, Inshallah!

[AbdullahUS]

First of all, our thoughts on this type of subject should be because we are commanded to believe in the unseen whether invisible or/and inaudiable. Likewise it also covers all that is not directly accessible through other human sensory faculties. We also know that an "ifrit" is of the Jinn realm and was traditionally known as a ghost.

Allah says: 15:22
"We possess inexhaustible treasures of everything, but We do not cause them to descend except in well-defined and calculated measure."

Allah says: "This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah; who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them." [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 2-3]

1. Ghosts-My opinion is no. The soul of the dead person is behind barzakh - a barrier where that the soul cannot go on to heaven nor return to earth. The body is in the grave, so it does not do anything. So if the soul is restricted and the body cannot move without it, this makes ghosts inpossible to me.

2. See #1

3. There are "ghost" spirits said to be among the Jinn, They were called Ifrits. I believe that there are jinn who do things of the supernatural.

There are two types of Qareen- in a person's life:
1.The Arabic word Qareen has two meanings. It may mean a friend or a companion, as stated in the following verse: "A speaker of them saith: Lo! I had a comrade." (As-Saffat: 51) i.e. (I had an unbelieving friend who was trying to lead me astray during my life).

2. The other meaning of the word Qareen is the demon permanently assigned to each person during his/her life whose job is to seduce human beings. Allah Almighty says: "His comrade saith: Our Lord! I did not cause him to rebel, but he was (himself) far gone in error." (Qaf: 27) i.e. the devil assigned to seduce him will say: "My lord! It was not me who seduced him at the beginning, but it was he himself who preferred blindness to guidance. So, I helped him achieve his goal through seduction."

Sometimes the demons can take the shape of the human and do all sorts of things. They can wreck havoc in the human world and cause pain, suffering, personality change, etc. This reminds me of what the Prophet once said:

In another hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) tells us that a demon is assigned to every human being: "There is no one among you but a comrade from among the jinn is assigned to him." They (the Companions present in that occasion) said: "Even you, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Even me, but Allah granted me victory over him and he became Muslim (or: and I am safe from him), so he only enjoins me to do that which is good."

In this world, there are some things that cannot be explained, but there are jinn that do little things that cause fear in people. I myself have witnessed many unusual things in my lifetime. I just invoke Allah's protection, and not dwell on it. There is lots more to say, but I wait to hear from others, Inshallah!

[AbdullahUS]

Excellent, NoShadyLady.

These are my thoughts and knowledge as well. I wanted to see if I was on the right track.

How about the suicides? I have been told, and as you know, that one who commits suicide cannot go to Jannah but they do not exactly go to Jehannum either. They are stuck in the Barzakh untill the day of judgement. This Barzakh allows them to move about their place of death only (ghost), like a house or some other place unseen to the living. This is becasue Jannah cannot take them and the ground cannot or refuses accept them neither.

What do you think of this?

[AbdullahUS]

1. Are "ghosts" really the souls of deceased humans walking the earth?

Ghosts do not exist

2. If so, why have they not moved on to either Heaven or Hell?

See answer to question 1

3. Are these "ghosts" really something else, like, maybe, Jinn?

Anything that may be seen that may possibly look/react like a Ghost is more than likely a Jinn.

A ghost is supposedly the soul of a deceased person that walks around the earth, and somehow can interact with the living.

A Jinn is a creature that lives and dwells in our planet, among us, that we cannot see with our eyes. They can take the form of humans so if anyone was to see something dodgy it would be a Jinn.

[AbdullahUS]

I thought so. Thank you for your perspective. Please read my response to NoShadyLady and share your thoughts to the question also.

[NOSHADYLADY4]

As far as suicide:

(4:29) O you who believe, do not consume each others' properties illicitly - only mutually acceptable transactions are permitted. You shall not kill yourselves. GOD is Merciful towards you.

(4:30) Anyone who commits these transgressions, maliciously and deliberately, we will condemn him to Hell. This is easy for GOD to do.

"...And whoever commits suicide with piece of iron will be punished with the same piece of iron in the Hell-Fire.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari)

The Prophet once said:
"A man was inflicted with wounds and he committed suicide, and so Allah said: My slave has caused death on himself hurriedly, so I forbid Paradise for him.”

“And surely We shall try you with something of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth and lives and crops; but give glad tidings to the steadfast, who say, when a misfortune striketh them: Lo! To Allah we belong and unto Him we are returning.” (Al-Baqarah: 155-56)”

This is forbidden in Islam. No one has the right to take the life Allah gave them. They will go to Jahannam because they were in their right mind when they committed the act. They just wanted to escape life or figured that the world would be better off without them. No heaven will be granted to them, Allah says.
Suicide is not an option for us. Islamic teachings tell us that in committing suicide, one will incur the wrath of Allah to the extent that after death, one will suffer eternal punishment, i.e. a person committing suicide will be made to kill himself over and over again by the same means with which he took his own life. Be it by gun, knife, drowning, walking in front of a car, taking poison, etc.

On the other hand, there are those people who have legitimate problems of mental illness, deformed mental capabilities, or a person who commits suicide as a result of a mental disorder like depression or some other severe form of anxiety is not in full control of his senses. However we cannot say what Allah will do to these people.

Forced Suicide:is a method of execution where the victim is coerced into committing suicide to avoid facing an alternative option they perceive as much worse, such as suffering torture or having friends or family members imprisoned or tortured. I do not know the situation of these people or if they to will go to Paradise for their sacrifice, but Allah knows.

I remember reading where a man committed suicede during the Prophet's time, which made his very distressed. He himself did not perform janaza but ordered the companions to do so. They prayed for him so I guess that at some point only Allah knew what was going on with the person and maybe he will be pardoned for what he did, Allahu Alim.

I believe that the soul of the suicide person also has to wait for their punishment as no one is judged at this time, Allahu Alim.

[AbdullahUS]

I believe that the soul of the suicide person also has to wait for their punishment as no one is judged at this time, Allahu Alim.




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[AbdullahUS]

So if the soul of the suicide person must wait for their punishment, then they could be walking around on another plane of existence, in the barzakh of the place where they died.?.

[NOSHADYLADY4]

They too are in Barzakh-they are not just freely roaming. If they dies on earth, their souls will not be allowed to come back to the earth. What is "roaming" is not the soul but perhaps a Jinn!