What is death? The Greeks said it was a gateway to the underworld. The Egyptians said it led to a mysterious afterlife. Christians and Muslims say that it leads to heaven, purgatory, or hell. But nobody really knows what it actually is.
When people die, they do not “live” to tell what happens afterward. They withdraw from physical existence. There is no “them” anymore. So, what really happens?
A lot of religion is actually made to answer this question. The Qur’an describes in detail the rivers of honey and milk in Jannah (paradise) and the rivers of fire in hell, and what must be done to achieve both of them. The bible speaks about a purgatory as well, in addition to hell and heaven. Pagans had different explanations; some said that it leads to the underworld, some said it leads to a mysterious and unexplainable “afterlife,” and some said it ends a person’s very existence spiritually and physically.
So, back to the question: what really happens when a person dies? All we can do to answer this question is ponder it and believe in what little we understand.
Huzaifa Liaqat is a 14-year-old eighth grader who loves to write essays and stories on topics that most people don't think about as often as they ought to, and his goal is to change that. Currently, he is studying a wide variety of subjects at school and likes to ponder life itself. He plays football and cricket and loves to read. He lives in Lahore, the capital city of Punjab Province in Pakistan, with his parents and an elder brother and sister.
