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The Fallacy of Reincarnation

What is Reincarnation?

What does the Quran say about reincarnation?

What does the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) say about reincarnation?

What do Islamic scholars say about reincarnation?

What do the mind and reason say about reincarnation?

Questions and Answers

 

What is Reincarnation? Does reincarnation exist in the Quran?

Does reincarnation(transmigration of the soul from one body to another) exist in the Quran?

Man seeks the truth since he is naturally venerable but he sometimes meets the wrong and keeps it thinking that it is the truth. While he digs for the truth, he finds something wrong and takes it thinking that it is the truth.

Reincarnation is something that is wrong like that and it never belongs to Islam and the Quran. However, we see sadly that some miserable people appear on TV channels and try to show it as if reincarnation is true. Unfortunately, they deceive people. It makes us even sadder that people there are some theology professors among these miserable. They make us think, "Are these the people who are responsible for protecting the religion of the ummah?" 

The reason for preparing this work: To prove thatreincarnation does not exist, to save the belief of Muslims from a danger, to show the real faces of the so-called professors who talk as if reincarnation exists and to protect Muslims from their other evil thoughts. 

That is, the problem is not the issue of reincarnation only. It is to warn the ummah of Muhammad against them by showing how far away the people who advocate reincarnation are from Islam and belief. 

In this work called “the Fallacy of Reincarnation”, we will prove definitely that reincarnation is impossible to happen. Success and help come from Allah.    

WHAT IS REINCARNATION?

Reincarnation means the transmigration of the soul. It means the transmigration of the soul of a person to another person after his death and coming to the world again in another body.

We will analyze the impossibility of reincarnation under four headings:

·First, we will look at the Quran and see what the Quran says regarding the issue.

·Then, we will look at hadiths and see whether the Prophet (pbuh) said anything about it.

·After that, we will examine the views of Islamic scholars on reincarnation. What did they say about it?

·Finally, we will explain the evidences that reincarnation is impossible to take place based on logic and reason. 

An issue can be true only if

·the Quran gives information about it,

·the Prophet (pbuh) mentions it,

·Islamic scholars agree unanimously on it,

·or, at least, it is logical and reasonable.

If

·the Quran rejects something let alone mentioning it,

·the Prophet (pbuh) does not mention it at all,

·Islamic scholars regard it as unbelief,

·logic and reason reject it, it means that thing is completely wrong.

We will prove that reincarnation is wrong under four headings. Now, we start with the viewpoint of the Quran on the issue:  

What does the Quran say about reincarnation?

EVIDENCE 1

(In Falsehood will they be) until, when death comes to one of them, he says: "O my Lord! send me back (to life)― In order that I may work righteousness in the things I neglected."― "By no means! it is but a word he says Before them is a Partition till the Day they are raised up. (al-Muminun 99-100)

The verses above reject reincarnation clearly. Let us analyze the verses:

Question: How do they start to pray and beg when death comes to them?

Answer: They wantto return to the world and do the righteous deeds that they abandoned.   

Question: Will they be allowed to do so?

Answer: No, they will not be allowed.

Question: What is said about their requests?

Answer: “It is nothing but a word”

Question: What happens to them?

Answer: They are taken to the place called Barzakh (Partition) to stay until the Day or Resurrection.

How can a Muslim believe in reincarnation since the expressions of the verses are so clear? How can a person who believes in reincarnation be called a Muslim?

Those who advocate reincarnation claim that the soul continues its journey in this world in other bodies to reach perfection. However, in the verses that we interpret, those who die as sinners want permission to go back to the world in order to do the good deeds that they abandoned - that is, according to those who advocate reincarnation, to reach perfection - but they are not given permission. That is, the claims of reincarnationists are completely contrary to the Quran.

Barzakh (partition), which is mentioned in the verse and described as the place where they will remain until the Day of Judgment is the name of the realm where the spirits of the dead people wait. The souls of those who have not been born yet wait in the Realm of Souls but souls of those who die wait in the Realm of Barzakh. The Realm of Barzakh is like the waiting room of the hereafter.

In conclusion, we can say that verses 99 and 100 of the chapter of al-Muminun reject reincarnation clearly.

What does the Quran say about reincarnation?

EVIDENCE 2

Say: "The Angel of Death, put in charge of you, will (duly) take your souls: then shall ye be brought back to your Lord." If only thou couldst see when the guilty ones will bend low their heads before their Lord, (saying:) "Our Lord! We have seen and we have heard: now then send us back (to the world): we will work righteousness: for we do indeed (now) believe." If We had so willed, We could certainly have brought every soul its true guidance… (as-Sajda 11- 12-13)

The verses above also reject reincarnation. Now, let us analyze the verses above:

Question: Whatdo the guilty ones ask from Allah by bending their heads low? 

Answer: They want to be sent to the world again and do righteous deeds.

Question: What do they show as evidence that they will do righteous deeds?

Answer: They show it as evidence that they have seen and heard the truth and add that they will not do wrong again.

Question: What is the answer given to them?

Answer: Their requests are rejected and they are addresses as follows: “If We had so willed, We could certainly have brought every soul its true guidance.” Thus, it is stated that the guidance of every soul is not the divine wish.

They claim that the soul enters another body. However, their requests about it are clearly rejected by the verse.

They claim that the soul attains perfection by entering another body. However, the following verse clearly expresses that the guidance of every soul is not the divine wish: “If We had so willed, We could certainly have brought every soul its true guidance.” Yes, God Almighty becomes pleased if all of His slaves find true guidance but He has not willed the guidance of all of them. He left them free to choose belief or unbelief. The following verse of the Quran indicates this reality: “Say "The Truth is from your Lord": let him who will, believe, and let him who will, reject (it).” (al-Kahf 29)

Besides, if Allah had willed the guidance of all of His slaves, He could have given guidance to all of them before they died and the souls would not have had to change so many bodies. However, if it had been like that, the testing and the creation of Hell would have been meaningless.

In conclusion, we can say that verses 11, 12, 13 of the chapter of as-Sajda reject reincarnation clearly and state that it is impossible to come to the world again after death. Anyone who believes in reincarnation after seeing it will have denied the verses above and Allah. A sane person will be ashamed of doing it and will shiver at the thought.

What does the Quran say about reincarnation?

EVIDENCE 3

…Then will the wrongdoers say: "Our Lord! Respite us (if only) for a short Term: we will answer Thy Call, and follow the messengers!" "What! were ye not wont to swear aforetime that ye should suffer no decline?” (Ibrahim 44)

The verse above also rejects reincarnation clearly and shows that the idea of reincarnation is wrong as follows: Those who advocate reincarnation believe that there is no elimination and death for them. As it will be explained later, what lies at the basis of the idea of reincarnation is the desire to live very long in the world. According to them, their souls will come to the world many times in other bodies and they will never leave the world. That is, according to their belief, there is no elimination for them.  

Now, let us see the answer that the verse gives them. “What! were ye not wont to swear aforetime that ye should suffer no decline?’”

This verse slaps their faces and virtually says,  

“You believe that your souls will come to the world many times in other bodies and you swear for it. You claim that there is no elimination for you. Then, why do you beg that your death be postponed? Go back to the world if you can. They cannot.”

That is, the souls are not at large; they cannot go to the world and return as they wish. Can you imagine the feelings and the shape of the faces of those who believe in reincarnation at that time? 

What does the Quran say about reincarnation?

EVIDENCE 4

Therein will they cry aloud (for assistance): "Our Lord! Bring us out: we shall work righteousness, not the (deeds) we used to do!"― Did we not give you long enough life so that he that would should receive admonition? And (moreover) the warner came to you. So taste ye (the fruit of your deeds): for the Wrongdoers there is no helper." (Fatir 37)

The verse above also rejects reincarnation clearly as follows: According to those who believe in reincarnation, man comes to the world many times to attain perfection and this journey goes on until it is completed. However, the verse above rejects this view. Let us analyze the verse and see how it rejects them:

Question: Why do they want to come to the world again?

Answer: To do righteous deeds; that is, to attain perfection.

Question: Are they allowed?

Answer: No they are not.

Question: What is the reason why they are not allowed?

Answer: They had a life long enough to think and to do righteous deeds and warners were sent to them but they did not do righteous deeds.

That is, no permission is given to anyone to go to the world again to attain perfection. If it had been possible, their wishes would have been accepted. However, according to the clear expression of the verse, their wishes are rejected and they are not sent to the world again. 

How can reincarnation be accepted despite the clear expression of the verse? We can understand, to some extent, those who are unaware of these verses to believe in reincarnation due to their ignorance though ignorance is not an excuse. However, we cannot understand the professors who claim to know the Quran advocating this view. Do they not see those verses? Or, do they aim something else? That is, are they the people appointed to deprave the creed of people?  We cannot think of anything else? Let alone a professor, an ordinary person who reads the Quran understands that reincarnation is completely contrary to the Quran. How do they not understand? We think they understand it but their aim is something else.

What does the Quran say about reincarnation?

EVIDENCE 5

Nor will they there taste Death, except the first Death. (ad-Dukhan 56)

The verse above states that man tastes death only once but reincarnationists claim that man tastes death several times and that he comes to the world in another body every time he comes to the world. Should we believe in the Quran or reincarnationists?

In addition, we wonder if those who advocate reincarnation see the verse above or not. In fact, we have mentioned beforehand that they do not advocate it because they believe in it. What they want is to steal the belief of this nation. 

“Nor will they there taste Death, except the first Death.”This verse is so clear that we do not need to analyze it and move to the next verse.

What does the Quran say about reincarnation?

EVIDENCE 6

… Who believe in the Unseen … (al-Baqara 3)

As this verse expresses, this world was created for testing; and the secret of the testing is belief in ghayb (the unseen, the unknown). That is, we are asked to believe without seeing the truths of belief. 

In other words, God Almighty created this world to see who will believe and who will not believe and asked His slaves to believe in ghayb. 

However, there is no ghayb left for the soul that leaves the body and that soul sees all of the truths of belief. That is, it sees the angels, reward and punishment, etc and the secret of the testing becomes clear for it. Therefore, there is no point in sending that soul to the world again. Since there is no point in it, it will definitely not be allowed to return to the world. 

There are many verses regarding death and resurrection in the Quran. There is no expression showing that the soul transmigrates to another person or creature in any of those verses. Contrarily, there are a lot of verses rejecting reincarnation. We regard the six verses above sufficient and do not want to present more verses as evidence so as not to bore you. For, we will refer to three more sources and first ask the Prophet (pbuh), then to Islamic scholars and finally to the mind and reason about reincarnation.

Before we end this part, we will give some of the numbers of the verses and the names of the chapters that reject reincarnation. Those who wish can read the interpretations of these verses and see how far away reincarnation is from the spirit of the Quran.

Verse 18 of the chapter of an-Nisa, verse 93 of al-An’am, verse 11 of as-Sajda, verses 10-11 of al-Munafiqun 10-11, verses 45-46 of al-Mu’min, verse 13 of al-Mumtahina, verse 97 of an-Nisa and all of the other verses stating that rewards and punishment will occur just after death reject reincarnation.

“…So take what the Messenger assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you…”(al-Hashr 7) As the verse above orders, a Muslim has to take what the Prophet assigns him and must take what he withholds from him. For, the Prophet (pbuh) is the greatest interpreter of the Quran and the conveyor of the religion of Islam. 

Then, as Muslims, we need to apply to the Prophet regarding the issue of reincarnation; if he says take it, we need to take it; if he says do not take it, we must not take it.

Then, we ask those who advocate reincarnation: Can you report a hadith or a word from the Prophet regarding the issue?

They cannot report anything. Even if they search the east, west, north and south, and all of the words of the Prophet, they cannot find even a single hadith. If Islam had the belief of reincarnation, the Prophet (pbuh) would definitely have mentioned it. For, he is the teacher and instructor of this religion and we learn this religion from his hadiths. However, the Prophet did not say anything about reincarnation; he said that rewarding and punishing would start immediately after death in hundreds of hadiths, rejecting reincarnation.

Would it ever be possible for the Prophet (pbuh) not to know reincarnation and not mention about it if reincarnation was permissible and possible? Can there be anybody else more authorized and knowledgeable than the Prophet (pbuh)?

It is very interesting that those who speak on behalf of the religion do not take into consideration what the Prophet (pbuh) said regarding the issue and speak based on their own delusions. Can the religion be based on delusions only? How much to the point can an understanding that leaves the Prophet out be? If everybody judges based on their own delusions, why were the prophets sent?

To sum up, we say that reincarnation does not belong to Islam and the Quran. If it were so, the Prophet (pbuh) would definitely have taught his Companions and his ummah about it as he taught the other truths of belief. Since he did not teach it and did not say anything about it, the belief of reincarnation is wrong and non-Islamic.

What is wondered about reincarnation

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1-“They (the unbelievers) will say:" Our Lord! Twice hast Thou made us without life, and twice hast Thou given us Life! Now have we recognized our sins: is there any way out (of this)?”(al-Mu’min 11) Is therean indication of reincarnation in the verse above when “killing twice and reviving twice”is mentioned?

Definitely not! If it had mentioned reincarnation, it would not have said “killing twice and reviving twice” but “killing tens of times and reviving tens of times”. For, according to those who believe in reincarnation, the soul dies and revives tens of times. If the verse mentioned above had indicated reincarnation, it would have been as follows: “Our Lord! Tens of times hast Thou made us without life, and tens of times hast Thou given us Life…” However, the verse does not say so; killing twice is mentioned only. It means this verse has nothing to do with reincarnation. 

Abdullah b. Masud, Abdullah b. Abbas, Qatada, Dahhak and Abu Malik stated the following regarding killing twice mentioned in the verse:  The first death is the state before the soul is blown. What is meant by death in the verse is being dead in the body of the parents. The second death is dying after coming to the world. 

The verse above is similar to the following verse: “How can ye reject the faith in Allah? Seeing that ye were without life, and He gave you life; then will He cause you to die, and will again bring you to life; and again to Him will ye return” (al-Baqara 28)

In the verse,

Attention is attracted to the state in the body of the parents by the expression “you were without life”,

coming to this world alive is meant by the expression “and He gave you life”,

our death in this world is meant by the expression “then will He cause you to die”,

resurrection in the grave is meant by the expression “and will again bring you to life”,

going to the Gathering Place by coming out of the grave is meant by the expression “and again to Him will ye return”.

To sum up, the verse has no connection with reincarnation. The verses mention life in the grave and barzakh.  

2- In some stories about saints, it is stated that the souls of the saints take the form of man. Does this not resemble reincarnation?

Answer: It does not resemble reincarnation at all. Yes, Allah made the souls of some saints appear like humans. However, it is only in appearance; those holy souls did not enter other bodies. Angels and jinn can also appear like human beings and do various things; there are also several stories about prophets that even Satan can appear like human beings. However, none of them is reincarnation. The appearance of the souls of saints like human beings is like that. They have nothing to do with reincarnation; they are like the appearance of a person in the mirror.  

3- Some newborn children mention their previous lives. How can it be explained?

Answer: It is stated in hadiths that jinn can enter human body, affect man’s nerves of feelings and movement and produce movements and sounds. Man is not aware of these words and movements of jinn. Some children and ill people have been seen talking due to this trick of jinn. The jinn that make them talk mention the words of people living in distant places or in the past; some people thought these children have two souls or carry the souls of some other people.The ignorant people who are not aware of the influence of jinn on man think it is reincarnation and become putty in the hands of jinn and Satan.

That is, what happens is jinn entering the body of some people, affecting theirnerves of feelings and movement and producing movements and sounds as a result of this effect.

4-Sometimes, a person feels that he has experienced something before. How can it be explained?

It is called déjà vu. Déjà vu is the feeling of having experienced something or having been to somewhere before.

This can originate from the brain being unable to perceive an input like a vision or sound due to tiredness or some other reason. When the brain perceives it, the person may have the feeling that he has experienced it before. 

Another reason to have this feeling is as follows: 

During sleep, man’s connection with the material realm breaks off; so, his other faculties and feelings contact the unseen realm. The windows that close due to sleep open to the spiritual world. The soul watches and thinks about those realms through the windows that open. The soul sometimes sees the manifestations of Lawh al-Mahfuz (the Preserved Tablet) and sometimes the examples of the letters of qadar (destiny).

Then, when he sees in the material world what he has seen in his dream, he has the feeling that he has experienced or seen it before. What makes him have this feeling is the fact that he cannot remember what he has seen in his dream.

In addition, it may originate from the fact that the right lobe of the brain operates with a difference of time smaller than a millisecond from the left lobe. Since one lobe perceives something before the other lobe, the lobe that perceives it later makes man feel that he has experienced it before. This originates from a tiny deviation in the nerve axons.

The opposite of déjà vu is jamais vu; in jamais vu, people may feel as strangers in the places that they are familiar with. 

They are all related to the functions of the brain and they have nothing to do with reincarnation.
Our work called “the Fallacy of Reincarnation” ends here. As we have mentioned before, our aim was not to prove that reincarnation was wrong only; we wanted to prove that those who advocated reincarnation were actually so far away from Islam and the Quran and to protect the ummah of Muhammad from their evil. 

May Allah Almighty protect the ummah of Muhammad from their evil and make us attain the belief that He will be pleased with! Amin!

WHAT DO THE ISLAMIC SCHOLARS SAY ABOUT REINCARNATION?

Abu Hanifa read the whole Quran every day and Imam Shafii read the whole Quran twice every day; many true scholars read the whole Quran every three days or every seven days by considering its meaning. These scholars memorized tens of thousands of hadiths of the Prophet including their chains of narrators.

If reincarnation were present in the Quran and if hadiths mentioned reincarnation, these careful people would definitely have noticed it. However, they did not mention it; let alone mentioning it, they stated that it was a wrong view and that those who believed in it would exit Islam.  

For instance, Imam Rabbani says: Some people whose hearts are ill and who have very little knowledge and some irreligious people who introduce themselves as scholars believe in reincarnation. They say, “Before the souls become perfect, they move from one body to another after death. After they become perfect, they do not go to people; they become perfect through reincarnation.”Then, they make up a lot of stories about reincarnation. He who believes in reincarnation exits the religion of Islam and becomes an unbeliever.

Ibn Hazm, another scholar says, "There is consensus among Islamic scholars that a person who believes in reincarnation exits the religion of Islam."

In the books called Bariqa and Hadiqa and all of the other source books of Islam, it is stated that those who believe in reincarnation exit the religion of Islam. No true scholar accepted by the ummah of Islam mentions that reincarnation is possible; all of them say unanimously that reincarnation is unbelief.    

What can be the importance of a few ignorant people who lack in taqwa and deeds today in the presence of the consensus and statements of the scholars? How can they make their consensus and statements invalid?

WHAT DO THE MIND AND REASON SAY ABOUT REINCARNATION?

Now, let us show in items that the mind and reason reject reincarnation:

1- Even if one out of a thousand people experienced reincarnation, it would be a great number compared to the population of the world. However, the number of those who claim it can be counted on the fingers of one hand. This proves that reincarnation is not true.

2- We want to ask the person who believes in reincarnation: Resurrection after death will be through both the body and the soul. Both will be punished and rewarded. How will a soul that entered thousands of bodies be revived and accounted? 

3- If you answer as based on the last body, we will ask: If a soul that changed ten bodies and the first nine bodies were cruel but the last one was righteous went to Paradise as a righteous person, would it not be cruelty not to be accounted for the oppressions he made in the first nine bodies? However, Allah never acts cruelly.

4- Or, think of the opposite. If a soul that changed ten bodies and the first nine bodies were righteous but the last one was cruel went to Hell as a cruel person, would his worship in the first nine bodies be lost?  However, Allah says, “Then shall every soul be paid what it earned.”

That is, that resurrection takes place through both the body and the soul makes reincarnation impossible.

5- It is known that the inherent properties and qualities of things cannot be separated from them; the inherent qualities of a species cannot be transferred into another species. For instance, a person is not the same as another person in terms of his knowledge, creed, intelligence, etc. The decent soul of Imam Ghazali is different from the other souls. If there were reincarnation, more Imam Ghazalis would have come to the world. However, there are not any Imam Ghazalis except the original one in the pages of history. This proves that reincarnation does not exist.

6- If the souls became perfect through reincarnation and all of the souls that were not perfect attained perfection through this journey, for whom was Hell prepared? Who will be tortured there?

7- If our spirit had lived in other bodies before this body as the reincarnationists say, now we would know what we did in our previous bodies. However, none of us remembers anything like that. This proves that reincarnation is nonsense. 

8- According to the belief of reincarnation, the number of the souls in the universe is definite. Then, the population of the world would be the same and there would not be any increase in it. However, the reality is just the opposite. 

9- Belief in reincarnation does not comply with the reality of the prophets being sent and the divine books being sent down. If the souls came to this world repeatedly to attain perfection, there would be no need to the prophets and divine books. For, Allah Almighty sent them for the development and perfection of humans and to make man turn toward the eternal life. If reincarnation could do it alone, why were the prophets and divine books sent?  It means reincarnation is contradictory to the reality of the prophets being sent and the divine books being sent down.

10- The statements of the Quran and the other divine books that sins can be forgiven through repentance make it unnecessary and meaningless. Allah can transform all sins into rewards at once without such a long journey. That is, reincarnation is contradictory to the vastness of Allah's forgiveness.

11- Among the people who were subject to prophets and who followed them were some people who did very bad deeds previously. After a long and dirty past, they reached a lofty level that surpassed that of saints. What is the point in coming to the world repeatedly in other bodies though it is possible to reach to the summit of perfection at once, which fits Allah's grace more?

We can present some more evidence regarding the nonsense of reincarnation. However, since it has become as clear as the sun, we do not need any other evidence. We stop here and move to some questions asked about reincarnation and their answers.