The factor that distinguishes between the world and
afterlife is “place”. In Holy Quran, there are many verses that tell about the
two places. Globally, perhaps, we can draw conclusions that life in the world
occurs in the earth, while life in the Hereafter also occurs in the earth! How can you be so sure about it? How come life
in the world and in the Hereafter occurs in the same earth?
The present earth and the earth in the Hereafter are not
exactly the same but the earth in the Hereafter will be made of the present
earth after undergoing radical changes as explained by The All Mighty God in QS
Ibrahim (14) verse 48: “On the day when the earth shall be changed into a
different earth, and the heavens (as well), and they shall come forth before
Allah, the One, the Supreme.” This verse is in agreement with QS Al A’raaf
verse 25 that says: “He (also) said: Therein shall you live, and therein shall
you die, and from it shall you be raised.”
Based on the above mentioned verses, we can say that the
life in the Hereafter will occur in the earth—not in Mars, or other planets.
The afterlife will happen in this very earth!
This conclusion may reverse the long rooted belief among
Muslims that the Hereafter life will happen in an unknown faerie. There is an
impression going around that many Muslims think that the Hereafter will occur
somewhere out of the Universe where we are in. However, if we learn the above
mentioned verses, we will conclude that the Hereafter life will still occur in
this planet. How can we be so sure about this conclusion? Let’s go back to the
last verse that says, “He (also) said: Therein shall you live, and therein
shall you die, and from it shall you be raised.” From this verse, we know that
the beginning of the Hereafter is the raising of all the dead. Where were we
buried? In this planet, this earth, weren’t we?
In order that we can be better informed, take a look at the
four groups of people who have different opinions about the Hereafter. The
first group thinks that in the Hereafter all human beings will live without
bodies. The bodies have turned to earth, while the soul is back to the Creator.
This belief is based on the assumption that after all human beings die, they
will be back alive in the immateriality somewhere unknown yet.
The second group of people thinks that the spirit of the
people who died will incarnate to others. This belief is actually influenced by
religions outside Islam. According to this group, spirit had been created by
God before men were created. If God wants to create one human being, He takes
spirit He has created and places it into the body. If the body dies, the spirit
will go into another.
The third group believes that after all human beings die,
they will all be raised in this planet and will live in the Hereafter with their
bodies for many billion years as long as there is heaven and earth.
The last group of people does not accept the three opinions
I mentioned above. They still doubt what will happen after the doom’s day.
Reference : "Ternyata
Akhirat Tidak Kekal" a book by Agus Mustofa