The Event of Resurrection

By: Sayeda R. Habib

A COMPARISON BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM

Introduction:
Resurrection is defined as the act of bringing back something to life after it has died. Resurrection is a belief of more than one major world religion. The concept of Resurrection is one that is shared by Islam and Christianity. This concept is not used to only explain the immortality of the soul, or to allude to the concept of reincarnation. Instead the concept of resurrection implies that human beings will die, and then will be revived, by God. This revival will be one that will capture a human being in his true essence in body and soul.
Resurrection can be defined in two major views, the first being that both the body and the soul are arisen from the dead. Another view that can be taken is that the body has died but the soul is immortal and has risen away from the body. The Encyclopedia of Religion explains this difference:
“Belief in resurrection presupposes either a monistic view of man, which implies that man as a whole disappears in death and is then revived to a new existence; or a dualistic view, according to which the body dies whereas the soul or spirit lives on and is later united with the body into a renewed being.”[1]
There can be two distinct views on resurrection. The first being that man’s whole being including body and soul, dies. The second view is that man dies in body, but his soul lives on and upon resurrection, his soul goes into his recreated body again and he is resurrected by God. Having seen some of the basic views on resurrection, the purpose of this essay is to observe the similarities and differences between Islam and Christianity on their respective beliefs on Resurrection.

Resurrection in Christianity:
Resurrection in Christianity seems to be closely tied with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For Christians, it is imperative to believe in the resurrection of Jesus if they are to hope for salvation for themselves. From early Christianity, it is believed that Jesus was crucified and then raised for the salvation of human beings. In addition to this, the resurrection was for the benefit of human beings so that Jesus could be raised to the level of God’s son. It was through this process of resurrection that Jesus became the Son of God. The status of Jesus is explained in Rom 1:4
“He was designated the son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead” “he was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification (4:25). The choice of words and the context indicate that (1) that he was dead; (2) that it was God who raised him; and (3) that his resurrection was not merely a return to normal life on earth but a transfer into an existence of a higher kind. The question of body and soul is not discussed.”[2]
Here we can see that the concept of resurrection in Christianity begins with the resurrection of Christ himself. Christ, according to the early scriptures died at the cross, and then was resurrected by God. Once resurrected, he was given a higher status as God’s son and through him; others continue to get their salvation.
Christians, however, also believe in an event of resurrection as the Muslim do, though their interpretation is different to that of Islam’s. Christians believe that once they believe in Jesus Christ and his resurrection, that their link with him is created till their own final resurrection. As we know, Muslims rely on the Quran for their interpretation of the events of resurrection, whereas the Christians take the words of Jesus’ disciples and the books of the bible.
Paul, an apostle and a disciple of Jesus, was a teacher to the Christians. Paul spoke of the blowing of a trumpet to announce the event of resurrection, and here we can consider this to be similarity between the two faiths. It is explained that Paul said in Thessalonians 4: 13-18:
“Asserting that just as Christ died and rose again, the fellowship with him cannot be broken by death: first those who have died in Christ will rise with “the archangel calls and the trumpet sounds,” then those who are still alive will be taken away to heaven to Christ.”[3]
It can be clearly noted that there is a similarity between Islam and Christianity in that Christianity also believes that a trumpet will be blown before the final resurrection. In addition, Christianity believes that those who believe, their allegiance with Jesus Christ will remain upon their death, and as they have remained believers in him as the son of God, they will be taken to heaven upon resurrection, whether they were alive upon this earth or not. It is interesting to note, that the concept of resurrection is not coupled with any concept of judgment. If a Christian believes in Jesus Christ, then he shall be going to heaven. There is a mention of salvation from sins, but it is presumed to automatic for those who believe in Jesus, as he was crucified and resurrected for this very purpose. There does not seem to be a concept of judgment or reckoning here.
Further, the concept of resurrection in Christianity does not make any mention of an immortal soul as being separate from the body. Resurrection refers to the wholeness of body. Man dies and he is recreated in a whole body.
“The question of how the resurrection is going to take place is dealt with by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. The body that rises is not the old body but a new one, just as a new plant comes out of a seed. Nothing is said here of an immortal soul. Man as a whole is perishable; man as a whole is re-created as a “spiritual body.” [4]
So, how does Christianity deal with the concept of the immortal soul? Christianity has adopted the idea of an immortal soul from another school of thought. The values of resurrection and life after death in Christianity have been affected by two differing schools of thought. One being the school of Greek myth and philosophy, the other being the New Testament and the teachings of the apostles. From the Greek school of thought, Christianity has incorporated the idea of there being life after death and the soul being immortal. On the other hand, Christianity has embraced the concept of the resurrection of the body from the New Testament. Carl E. Baaten in his essay The Kingdom of God and Life Everlasting explains:
“Two strands have been woven together in the Christian tradition concerning life after death; one stems from the Greek myth of the immortality of the soul and the other from the New Testament message of the resurrection of the body. Immortality and resurrection both express hope for life beyond the eternal clutch of death. If the soul is understood as the innermost core of personal identity, the “true self,” then the doctrine of the immortality of the soul expresses the hope that what is essentially human will survive death. If, however, the body is an integral part of the human personality, so that without my body I would be no-body at all, then it too must be integrated into the hope of eternal life. So the ancient Christian creeds affirm the resurrection of the body. Still, they do not literally mean the physical body. The apostle Paul made it clear that through resurrection the physical body is transformed into a spiritual body. This means that salvation, as distinct from the Hellenistic soterial, is not a matter of salvaging the soul from its dungeon in the body.”[5]
Clearly then, Christianity accepts the integration of body and soul at all times, even upon resurrection. The body and soul are one, but the resurrection will be of a more spiritual nature as the body will have a spiritual aspect to it. Further, as the body and soul are considered to be integrated, the happiness of each is interdependent. The concept that body and soul are interconnected is a concept that Islam and Christianity share. The idea that bodies and souls are interconnected is very important in Islam because complete thought and actions occur only when the two are combined together. The body does the acting, whereas the soul does the thinking and feeling. Islam teaches humans that every human being will be judged for his or her actions upon resurrection; therefore the combination of body and soul is essential if any actions are to exist in the first place.
Another concept that is tied into the idea of resurrection in Christianity comes from the teachings of the apostle Paul. Paul taught Christians that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and that Christians glorify God in their bodies. This allows Christians the freedom in believing that they are accessing some aspect of the eternal life right here on earth and that their eternity will be spent in Heaven. There is no concept of punishment or fear upon resurrection. Baaten explains:
“but if the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, as Paul said, if each individual is a member of the body of Christ, and if we share a foretaste of eternal life by partaking of this eucharistic body, then we will hear an ethical imperative in Paul’s saying: “You glorify God in your bodies!” This means that the power of eternal life is not something stored up elsewhere, to become real at some other time and place. Rather, impulses of life eternal are being released into the personal, social and political body of this very life. This grants us the possibility of attempting new things, of engaging in a resurrection politics and a liberation practice ahead of the times. We do not have to wait until we are dead before we live at least in a partial way the new life which occurred in the history of Jesus Christ.”[6]
Evidently, the Catholic practice of taking communion and having a piece of the blood and body of Christ enables Christians to have a part of his immortality. Also, they become part of his spirit. In so doing, they not only have a bit of immortality in their everyday lives but also the promise of heaven upon resurrection. Furthermore, it can be understood here that the ritual of communion and their belief in immortality, enables Christians to live a quality of life that they would otherwise not live.

Resurrection in Islam:
The belief in the day of Resurrection is an essential aspect of the Muslim faith. All believing Muslims must adhere to the belief that Allah (swt) created all life as per His will, and He will cause all life to die. Furthermore, He will then bring all the dead back to life when He wishes. This rebirth will be the final day of Resurrection for humanity where all will stand before Allah (swt) and account for their deeds in this world. Allah says in the Holy Quran:

أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الإنْسَانُ أَنَّا خَلَقْنَاهُ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ فَإِذَا هُوَ خَصِيمٌ مُبِينٌ
وَضَرَبَ لَنَا مَثَلا وَنَسِيَ خَلْقَهُ قَالَ مَنْ يُحْيِي الْعِظَامَ وَهِيَ رَمِيمٌ
قُلْ يُحْيِيهَا الَّذِي أَنْشَأَهَا أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ خَلْقٍ عَلِيمٌ

وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَصَعِقَ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَنْ فِي الأرْضِ
إِلا مَنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ نُفِخَ فِيهِ أُخْرَى فَإِذَا هُمْ قِيَامٌ يَنْظُرُون

وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَإِذَا هُمْ مِنَ الأجْدَاثِ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَنْسِلُونَ

فَالْيَوْمَ لا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا وَلا تُجْزَوْنَ إِلا مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ