A Comparative Investigation of Barzakh, Life in Barzakh and Barzakh Evolution from the Viewpoint of Shaikh Ahmad Ahsaei and Ayatollah Javadi Amoli

Based on religious teachings, Barzakh is a stage in worlds of existence, and the interval between the world and the resurrection. Life in this world is one of the horizons of human life and an inevitable reality. Muslim theologians have been trying to illustrate the quality of life in this world and its features which are different from worldly life, in the light of the use of Qur’anic verses and especially the hadiths, depending on their religious epistemology approach. Shaikh Ahmad Ahsaei and Ayatollah Javadi Amoli are the two thinkers who have dealt with this issue and the related topics in their works with two different methods and approaches in religious epistemology. The current study is a comparative attempt to identify ideas, perspectives and the similarities and differences of the two thinkers viewpoints about Barzakh world, Barzakh life and Barzakh completion; And in addition to analyze the level of compatibility and incompatibility of their views based on the correct understanding of verses and narrations, this paper also is to provide a comprehensive picture of Barzakh world, Barzakh life and Barzakh completion. The most important finding of the current study is that both thinkers have common perspectives on the existence of Barzakh and the general characteristics of Barzakh life including grave pressure, question and answer, paradise and hell, reward and punishment, the existence of time, the embodiment of deeds, communication and interactions of the people in Barzakh with each other, with people in this world and Barzakh completion. But the two thinkers have some disagreement on issues such as: the naming of the worlds of existence, Barzakh life whether general or not, the form of the Barzakh body, the existence or nonexistence of its duty or Barzakh world, marriage in Barzakh world, as well as the details of the explanation and evidence to prove the questions and answers in Barzakh, the embodiment of deeds, the connection of people in this world with the Barzakh people and the connection of the spirits of sinners with each other and Barzakh completion. Contrary to Sheikh Ahmad Ahsaei’s view, the viewpoint of Ayatollah Javadi Amoli on these issues is consistent with the correct understanding of the Quran verses and the traditions of the Fourteen Infallibles (PBUT).