“Some seem to take the mystery to be that we cannot know or even conceive of what being dead will be like. This might be thought to follow from the fact that most of us who are living have no recollection of ever having been dead, and thus we lack first-hand experience of what death is like.”

The nexus between life and death cannot be overemphasized. While the idiosyncratic nature and meanings of ‘life’ and ‘death’ appear to a layman as clear and distinct, it seems to be a controversial subject of debate among scholars on what these terms actually entail.

One mystery which relates to life after death is the issue of metempsychosis. Metempsychosis, also known as reincarnation, is the belief that a soul is immortal and passes through cycles of life and death in different bodies.

The theory may have originated from the teachings of Pythagoras, who may have been influenced by the Indian concept of reincarnation.

Metempsychosis is a belief that is common to many religions and philosophies across the world. It was once prevalent in many parts of the world, but is now more commonly associated with Asia, especially India.

Eastern religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism have different beliefs about rebirth. Christianity and Islam have largely rejected reincarnation, though some sub-sects are still interested in it. Theosophical society and other mystic and esoteric schools have their own unique descriptions of rebirth.

It is natural for humans to be curious about death, including the death of others. Death is a universal human experience, and understanding it can help us make sense of our own mortality and the meaning of life. Additionally, death is often surrounded by mystery and uncertainty, which can make it even more intriguing.

Transmigration of souls is a topic which evokes emotive arguments but which is never resolved because it relates to spirits, paranormal and supernatural phenomenon that are not amenable to empiricism. However, there are some aspects which defy rational explanations, hence the mystery. One of such phenomenon is the Akudaya syndrome.

The same goes for the Abiku phenomenon which with the advances in healthcare and improvement in infant mortality the scourge has been considerably reduced, but cannot be dismissed.

According to late Professor Sophie Oluwole, “African Traditional thought claims three types of justification for the belief in reincarnation (Oluwole, 1996). The first is family resemblance, in which case, children resemble their dead ancestors, having some physical and mental features identical with theirs. Secondly, the unnatural and circumstantial marks made on some people, such as gunshot and deliberate deformities on the dead do also reappear on the child that is born. This cannot adequately be explained as a biological family trait. The deformities mete out on the bodies of the babies out of desperation to stop them from coming back, appear on those children when they are reborn. The third justification is memory transfer. This is attested to by the stories of children who could recount real life experiences of their ancestors with astonishing details, yet had no first hand access to the stories of such ancestors. All these justifications for reincarnation are well maintained among the Yoruba people as well.”

The mystery of life and death along with the concept of soul and body is a deep philosophical matter and it requires great rationality, prudence, contemplation, observation and intensive study and analytical research to understand it.

Akudaya is a supernatural phenomenon in Yoruba culture that involves the dead coming back to life, often after burial, and in places where they were not known in life. The story of Iya Risikat narrated here is a case in point.

Dayo, a job seeker in Lagos relates his experience: “Iya Risikat was a popular Ewa Agonyin seller in Brown Street in Ipaja, Lagos. After my secondary school, I left Ekiti to settle down in Lagos with my eldest brother in Ipaja. After my first week in Lagos, I decided to familiarize myself with my new environment. After walking some distance, I saw the shop of the famous Iya Risikat, the Agonyin beans seller.

“On getting there, I was shocked to see Iya Titi; a woman who had died in an auto crash along with her husband many years ago in my village in Ekiti.

“I could not believe it and immediately I ran home and narrated my finding to my brother. He picked up his phone and called our mother in the village to tell her that “Iya Titi is not dead”. Before he could hang up the call, my mother had already told her neighbors that Iya Titi was seen in Lagos selling beans.

“Before dusk, her relatives had already sent emissaries of five family members to investigate the assertion. Before the emissaries could get to Lagos, the news of Iya Risikat’s death had already gone viral throughout the whole area.

“The emissaries arrived in Lagos, but Iya Risikat’s body had already been laid to rest according to the Muslim rite. When they got there, they met everyone crying including her husband and the kids. The emissaries never believed until they saw a big family picture of her sitting beside her husband and children”.

Not only had she started another family in Lagos but had died twice. How do we explain this? Yet: “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

It would not be the last of such stories. A man died in Zimbabwe and was seen by his cousin in New York, he claimed he was there on holidays. Another woman died at childbirth in Lagos and was sighted at Alagomeji entering a bus going towards Oyingbo; she claimed her husband sent her to Oyingbo market. Kunle picked up a lady at a party and brought her home, after getting into the act, he saw her off to her house. She entered her yard in his presence. Next day he went to visit her. After the people in her house interrogated him, they then told him the lady in question had died months ago and could not have been possible. How then do we explain the bizarre story?

A good example of transmigration or bodily resurrection is the all-time story of the resurrection of Jesus in 33 AD. See (John 20:11-18). Jesus wasn’t the only one believed to have risen from the dead. Stories of resurrection appear in ancient cultures around the world. See History Channel.

Jesus said of John the Baptist, “He is Elijah who is to come” (Matt 11:14), which some say is figurative and means that Jesus was talking about the spirit of Elijah coming on to John the Baptist. Spirit or body, it is still a phenomena of transmigration.

The most common view has been that, at death, the soul immediately goes to be with God and there is a continuity of personal existence. There is no interruption of life at the end of this life, but we continue to be alive in our personal souls upon death.

Why then are we scared of death? This can be related to fears of the unknown, of non-existence, of eternal punishment, of the loss of control, or fear of what will happen to the people we love.

In a sense, death is the ultimate purveyor of perspective. It helps us see trivial things for what they are—and face up to the fact that much of what we worry about and consume ourselves with isn’t so important after all. Reflecting on death can help us stop fretting about things that are outside our control. Thi ngs that are metaphysical and supernatural.

One of the most important teachings of the Qur’an is the survival of the soul after separation from the body, and that death is not the end of human life, but is an appendage to another life. All verses in the Quran which are about resurrection also indicate the immortality of the soul.

However, not everything can be known by man with our current mind and intelligence that are far limited to perceive such paranormal phenomenon.

But, one thing is very clear: Human mind’s greatest weakness is to make concepts that fit into its belief and then believe it is the absolute truth. Such diverse beliefs have led to the origin of religions. Each religion and each spiritual teacher differs in their view of existence or mechanism of rebirths. However, there cannot be many truths. So it appears that the “Truth” is beyond the reach of the mind. The only sure thing is that death is inevitable. Thus, we all will find out sooner or later!

At the end of the day, the sterling truth about death is that it is the greatest relief from intractable sickness, miserable life, excruciating pain caused by incurable disease, and a life of misery and pain. Death puts an end to all these and brings succor to the family of the dead.

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un. Last Friday we lost Alhaji Bashiru Ayoola Bakare a director of Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc., and former Executive Director of First Bank Plc. Bashiru was a childhood friend, just as his late father Justice Bakare was my father’s childhood friend too. May Allah admit ‘Bashey boy’ to Jannatul Firdous.

Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend

Milestone: Hurray! Our amiable sister, Dr. Yetunde Aderemi (Hajja Yets), will climb to the seventh floor of life as she celebrates her 70^th birthday tomorrow, 9^th November. We wish her a Happy Birthday. May Allah preserve her, bless and bless her children, bless her new age and grant her good in this world and in the Hereafter; May her days be long.

By Babatunde Jose

Where science ends, philosophy starts. Stephen Hawking was perfectly in line with the ancient philosophers when he acknowledged that physics points to the deeper questions of metaphysics. Indeed, when questions stop becoming scientific, they start becoming philosophical.

The mystery of death is a subject that has fascinated human beings for millennia. Although death is inevitable, it remains a mysterious and frightening phenomenon for many. Religions and beliefs have attempted to provide answers to this question, but death remains an unfathomable mystery.

What precisely happens at the time of death is a question that theologians have struggled over for centuries but have never answered satisfactorily.

Whether there is life after death is a mystery that remains unanswered, and the belief in an afterlife varies widely across cultures and religions. Some people believe that death is the end of existence, while others believe that it is a transition to another form of life or consciousness.

Transmigration of souls, also known as reincarnation or rebirth, is the idea that a soul lives on after death and takes on a new body. The term comes from ancient Greek philosophy, and is a central tenet of many religions and belief systems. This is a topic for another day which would also include the Yoruba concept of ‘Akudaya’ (Akudaya is a supernatural phenomenon in Yoruba culture that involves the dead coming back to life, often after burial, and in places where they were not known in life). The name Akudaya is also used to describe the transmigrated souls. In Yoruba culture, Akudaya is a central part of beliefs about reincarnation and mysterious sightings. It is also known as “Abarameji” in Yoruba culture.

There is however a concept which the Abrahamic religions agree upon; that of Resurrection, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment and what have you. There are however debates about the nature of the resurrection: Will it be only of the soul or bodily resurrection?

In the history of religion, the term eschatology refers to conceptions of the last things: Immortality of the soul, rebirth, resurrection, migration of the soul, and the end of time.

The concept of Qiyamah, or the Day of Resurrection, is a central theme in the Quran and Islamic eschatology: The dead will be resurrected and will be judged for their deeds and faith. The Quran describes how Allah will resurrect people in the same shape, size, and state they were created in, including their fingerprints.

Surah Al-Qiyamah, Quran 75, is devoted to the subject of resurrection. It refutes doubts about the possibility of resurrection and includes themes such as God’s ability to raise the dead bodily.

On the Day of Judgment the (trumpet) will be sounded twice. The result of the first sound will be that everything – the earth, the skies and every living thing in between will perish and when the second sound is given, every dead thing will come back to life.

This therefore alludes to the fact that after death, there would be a bodily resurrection. This is clearly mentioned in the Qur’an: Does man think that We will not assemble his bones?  Yes. [We are] Able [even] to proportion his fingertips.(Quran 75:3-4)

To exemplify the powers to resurrect man bodily for Judgment on the Day of Qiyamah, Allah used the story of the ‘People of the Cave in Surah Al Kahf as an example, See Surah Kahf 9-26.

The story includes lessons, signs, and evidence that testify to the great Power of Allah, ta`ala, and His Wisdom in managing His creations. As narrated, the details of the story proceed as follows:

A king named “Duqyanus”( Roman Emperor Decius 249-251 AD) ordered the people in his territory “Afsus” (Ephesus near the modern village of Selcuk western Turkey) to worship idols. There were some young men who refused to worship the idols having been recent converts to the one true God. Christian legend also speaks about a group of youths who hid inside a cave outside the city of Ephesus (modern-day Selçuk, Turkey) around AD 250.

The king was informed about them and was told, “Those people left your religion, and mocked and defied your idols.” The king called them to his court and ordered them to leave Islam. He threatened them with death if they declined. Then he sent them back to their homes.

In the meantime, King Duqyanus traveled. Those young men took advantage of his departure and consulted each other about running away to rescue their faith.

One of them said, “I know a cave in the mountain. My father used to secure the sheep in it. Let us go there and hide until Allah grants us victory.” They all agreed and fled to the cave.

There were seven of them: Makaslamin, Amlikha, MaraTonis, Yanyunis, Sazamunis, Dawanawanis, and KashfiTiT. Eastern Christian tradition names them Maximilian, Jamblichus, Martin, John, Dionysius, Antonius, and Constantine.

The story is recounted in the Quran’s 18^th Surah, eponymously called the “Surah of the Cave” (Surah al-Kahf). A barking dog named “QiTmir” also followed them.

In the cave, they found fruits and water. They ate and drank. And a few moments later, they slept off on the floor and were in slumber; they were prevented from hearing anything.

Their eyes were wide open, because it was better for them to be exposed to the air so that they would not get impaired with lengthy closure.

It was also narrated that an honorable angel was in charge of turning them around, to avoid sore. After three hundred and nine years of sleep, Allah woke them up.

However, King Duqyanus had long passed away. A pious king was on the throne. The people of the city at that time were engaged in a hot debate over the true nature of resurrection. The king was distressed over the issue. So he made a supplication to ask Allah to make the truth known.

Amlikha, one of the men in the cave who was sent in search of food, reached the city of “Afsus” and looked confused and hesitant. Someone asked him, “Are you a stranger to this city, and what are you looking for?” He said, “I am not a stranger and I am looking for food to buy. I did not find the place where I used to buy food.”

The man led him to the owner of a restaurant. Amlikha took his money out and gave it to the seller. The seller wondered, because the coin had the picture of King Duqyanus on it. That king died three hundred years ago. He thought Amlikha had discovered a treasure and had a wealth of money in his possession. People gathered around Amlikha and took him to the righteous king.

The news of Amlikha reached the king before his own arrival. The king was in fact waiting for him eagerly, because he had heard the story of the youngsters from his grandfather. When Amlikha came, the king asked him about his story. So Amlikha told him what happened to him and his friends.

The king was pleased and said to his people, “Certainly, Allah sent you a sign to show the truth about what you differ.”

The king, along with the people of the city, walked with Amlikha to the cave. After that, Allah concealed the cave and its trace from the sight of the people.

Allah made the story a lesson and reminder to the people of His awesome powers.

Say: “Allah knows best how long they stayed: with Him is (the knowledge of) the secrets of the heavens and the earth: how clearly He sees, how finely He hears (everything)! They have no protector other than Him; nor does He share His Command with any person whatsoever. (Quran 18:26)

The second story that exemplifies the doctrine of bodily resurrection is that of Prophet Uzair (AS). Uzair is considered a righteous prophet in Islam who was sent to guide the Israelites. He is thought to have lived between the time of Suleiman and Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist.

Almighty Allah said: Or are you not aware of the one who passed by a city which was in ruins. He wondered, “How could Allah bring this back to life after its destruction?” So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years then brought him back to life. Allah asked, “How long have you remained ˹in this state?” He replied, “Perhaps a day or part of a day.” Allah said, “No! You have remained here for a hundred years! Just look at your food and drink—they have not spoiled. But now look at the remains of your donkey! And so We have made you into a sign for humanity. And look at the bones of the donkey, how We bring them together then clothe them with flesh!” When this was made clear to him, he declared, “Now I know that Allah is Most Capable of everything.” (Quran 2: 259)

Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend