Chapters
The Companions of the Right and the Close Ones
Beliefs of Islam and They Ask You About the Spirit · Ahmed Alhasan
The Companions of the Right and the Close Ones
As long as the believing human is in kingdom of the heavens, he is counted among the companions of the right. If he [his soul] progresses to the seventh heaven, he will become among the close ones. It has been explained previously that the spirit of faith is in the kingdom of the heavens. As for the seventh heaven, it contains the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the spirit of faith is connected to and within the companions of the right. As for the close ones, the Holy Spirit is connected to them, and is within them.
If we know this, it becomes clear why this happens to the close ones at the time of their deaths: they will not be taken to account, and will not be tortured during their death, even if it is on the day in which there is no intercession: {And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all, and no compensation will be accepted from it, nor will any intercession benefit it, nor will they be aided} Quran Chapter “The Cow” 2:123.
The reason is because they entered the heaven of the intellect and became the people of intellect. The complete intellect protected them from falling into sin in accordance with their degree of progression.[11] They entered into the heaven of the holy spirit, so their spirits became holy and purified. This is as long as they choose to remain where they are. The infallible mentioned in the texts is distinguished from them by his being firmly established in his standing, because he never ever chooses impurity over purity. Thus, God has guaranteed that whoever follows him will stay on the truth forever.
Despite the spirit of faith being connected to the companions of the right and being inside them, as long as they are in the kingdom of the heavens and have not entered the seventh heaven of the complete intellect, their intellects have not become complete and what they have is a shadow of the intellect. Every time the rank is lowered, the human moves further away from infallibility and closer to sin. And every time the believer advances further, the shadow of the intellect has more light and becomes more like the complete intellect, and it becomes a reason for the believer to become closer to infallibility. However, he will remain as an image of the intellect and a manifestation of the complete intellect, and the specter of falling into sin remains.
Footnotes
- ↩Each of the close ones is infallible (masoom) according to the standing they have reached. Their infallibility is limited by their standing. If carried to a higher standing, of course he will fall, make a mistake, and disobey, as had happened to Adam pbuh: {Adam and his wife ate from it, their shame became apparent to them, and they began to fasten the leaves of paradise over themselves. And Adam disobeyed his Lord and erred} Quran Chapter “Ta Ha” 20:121. This is also what happened to Moses pbuh, the details of which were mentioned previously.