we all agree that everything has an end. Human life starts from the unity of the sperm and egg and ends with the death of the person. Everyone dies as Allah says in the Holy Quran "every soul shall taste death".

Death is one of those things that we try to ignore as much as possible unfortunately. To the majority, death is the scariest thing there is. Now I do agree with you to some extent that death is a huge thing to take in however we must not neglect it because it's happening to the all of us.

Let's suppose, God forbid, a friend or a family member is laying on the deathbed and saying his will, or last words and you’re just sitting there and asking yourself…. what’s next? What will happen to him/her? Will I really not see him again? Where will he go?

It is worth to mention that the topic of death branches into two parts: the scientific and the religious.

Before we go into where we go after death and what exactly is the afterlife, let us begin by breaking down the two parts just mentioned.

Let’s begin with the scientific aspect of death.

So what happens when we die?

Medically speaking, death happens in two stages. The first, clinical death, lasts for four to six minutes from the moment a person stops breathing and the heart stops pumping blood.

During this stage, organs remain alive and there may be enough oxygen in the brain that no permanent damage occurs.

The second stage of dying, biological death, is the process by which the body’s organs shut down and cells begin to degenerate.

Doctors are often able to halt this process by cooling the body below its normal temperature, allowing them to revive patients before brain damage sets in.

Once biological death has happened muscles begin to relax.

After 12 hours, skin loses its color and blood pools at the lowest point of the body, causing red and purple bruising.

Unless the body is protected, it will start decomposing as soon as blood stops flowing.

A process called putrefaction happens after bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract eats through the abdominal organs, releasing rotten smells which attract insects.

Maggots laid by blowflies eat the rotting body tissue and can consume 60 per cent of the body’s tissue in a few weeks.

The remaining parts are then eaten by plants, insects and animals, which can take a year or more depending on how the body has been buried.

That’s gross but no matter how much you cared for you skin and body, it’ll all be eaten away after you die.

Ok so you are dead right now. But now where do you go?

Many religions around the world think differently as to what happens after we die.
 

Let’s see what the top religious in the world say:

-Christianity

Christian belief in the afterlife depends on what denomination they’re a part of, but most believe in the resurrection of Jesus, the existence of the afterlife, and the choices you make on Earth affect whether you end up in Heaven or Hell. Catholic Christians believe in Purgatory, a place where the dead destined for Heaven must first go if they need purification for their sins.

-Buddhism

Buddhists believe in reincarnation, the cycle of death and rebirth. Since Buddhists don’t believe in the existence of souls, reincarnation means taking on another body in their next life. Bardo, the intermediate state, is the time between death and rebirth where Buddhists experience different phenomena.

The reincarnation cycle is considered a suffering experience, and the goal is to escape this cycle by reaching Nirvana. Nirvana is seen as an end to suffering and to some as a heavenly paradise.

-Hinduism

Hindus, like Buddhists, also believe in reincarnation after death and that the atman, or soul, receives a new body and life depending on Karma, or good and bad actions taken in their previous life. They believe you can be reincarnated as not only humans, but also animals, insects, and plants.

The goal is also to be released from the reincarnation cycle and achieve Moksha, liberation from the cycle. After being freed of the cycle, it’s believed they return to be with Brahman, a member of the highest Hindu caste.

 -Judaism

Jewish afterlife beliefs depend on the individual’s beliefs. Jews focus more on their life on Earth, but most Jews believe there is an afterlife, but it can come in many forms. Some Jews believe in a reincarnation cycle, while others believe in the World to Come, a heaven-like paradise.

-Atheism

Atheist views on life after death vary depending on individual beliefs. Some Atheists don’t believe in any sort of life after death, but others believe in the existence of spirits, afterlife, or reincarnation.

Last but not least is the religion of Islam.

According to a large number of verses of Quran and traditions of the Prophet and Ahlulbayt, death is not the end of the life of man. Islam says that man is transferred to another world called Barzakh after death and continues his life there. The world of Barzakh, which means barrier, is between the perceptive world of this life and the world of the hereafter, where his actions and belief will decide his destiny.

Allah says in the Holy Quran:

Until when death overtakes one of them, he says: Send me back, my Lord, send me back; haply I may do good in that which I have left. By no means! it is a (mere) word that he speaks; and before them is a barrier until the day they are raised. (23:99-100) ……this barrier is the Barzakh.

According to the Islamic belief in Barzakh when we are resurrected, the actions of the people will be reflected before them: the good deeds of man will be presented in a beautiful image of Paradise and the bad will be presented as an image of Hellfire.

There are 70 descriptions of this day in the Holy Quran and each has its special meaning and significance, including: Day of Resurrection, al-Haqqa (The Reality), the Day of Remission, al-Ghasheeya (The Overwhleming), al-Qar’ea  (The Calamity), the Day of Taghabun (The Day of Mutual Disillusion), and so on.

Quranic verses and novels have revealed a lot of signs that fall before the resurrection, including:

 1 The mountains fade away.

 2.Explosion of the sea and its flow.

 3 Occurrence of large and destructive earthquakes.

 4 The stars darken, disappear and fall apart.

 5 Splitting and cracking of the sky.

 6 Blowing of the Trumpet by Israfil.

 7 Gog and Magog come out.

 8 The beast of the earth is gone.

 9 The sun rises from the West.

 10 large cloud of smoke in the sky.