Does the Soul Come Home After Death?

Question

Umar says that souls — whether good or evil — cannot return to this world, and, having come here, cannot exercise any tasarruf (influence). As proof he cites that Mawlana Thanawi writes in the book “Ashraf al-Jawab” (vol. 2, p. 119) that the soul of a dead person does not return to the world. Bakr, on the other hand, says that the souls of the dead can return to the world and can exercise tasarrufat; as proof he cites from “Fatawa Dar al-‘Ulum” (the new edition in fiqh order, vols. 5–6, p. 140)

Answer

Whether the souls, after passing away, come to the house [left behind] in the world or not is neither one of the matters of creed in which belief is obligatory, nor one of the particular matters of fiqh without the resolution of which action is not possible. So what need is there to become entangled in this perplexity?

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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