The Baháʼí Faith affirms the existence of life after death while not defining everything about it. The soul on death is said to recognize the value of its deeds and begin a new phase of a conscious relationship with God, though negative experiences are possible.
Death, dying, the soul and the afterlife Teachings and beliefs The soul is not considered subject to natural law. Instead, it is subject to spiritual law as a covenant between man and God, and it takes identity at the conception of the embryo, but not "in" the body, rather, associated with it like light to a mirror. The Baháʼí writings describe the mind–body dualism using various analogies to express the independence of the soul from the body. Human nature is likened to a rider on a horse or steed, a bird in a cage, or the sun shining on a mirror.Savi, Julio (1989). Eternal Quest for God: An Introduction to the Divine Philosophy of Abdu'l-Baha. Oxford: George Ronald, 1989.Khursheed, Anjam. Body, Mind, Soul and Spirit in Singapore Baháʼí Studies Review, vol. 3, pp. 109-182, 1998.
Heaven is a soul being close to God, not a place but a condition, as it undergoes an eternal spiritual evolution. Anyone who learns and applies virtues and guidance of God "goes to" heaven. Hell is similarly being far from God, not a place, but failing to understand and apply virtues and guidance from God. Progress from even the worst condition is possible even in the next world, but not until the individual fundamentally overcomes rejecting Godly virtues. The labels we call ourselves by and the theologies we claim to adhere to are not as important as the reality of spiritual virtues like courage, justice, love, understanding, etc., expressed by choice in our lives. Development of the spiritual life reaches a milestone whether in this life or the next in developing the "spirit of faith" a gift of the Holy Spirit, which then continues to grow in the individual's soul. But if our ability to express Godly virtues is conditional, so is our condition in the afterlife - there is a spectrum of achievement. Hence, a purgatory-like environment is possible for those who have not well embraced Godly virtues and those who have not largely rejected them. Indeed, the next world's life is sometimes delineated in stages. Baháʼís believe a significant purpose of revelation is to guide the spiritual development of the individual and that accepting the prophet of God is important as a significant chance at advancing the conditional achievement of discovering the virtues themselves and expressing them. If one succeeds in achieving these to a superlative degree then that person will be of benefit to all mankind from the afterlife while those who are far from God have no power to affect the living any more. Indeed, evil is not viewed as a power in the next world - people who are evil are described as "atrophied" and "enfeebled" and that accounts of "possession" are about people who have yielded to their own darker passions and baser nature.
Even though heaven is a condition more than a place, it is still described as a realm where those close to God are also close to each other. Thus in the afterlife one encounters the prophets of old and other historical people. While the individual experiences dramatic changes from birth and the stages of life in this world, then death and life beyond, Baháʼís hold that it is the same soul, the same sense of identity, through the dramatic changes of circumstances. However, the worlds of the womb, life in this world, and the life beyond are actually interwoven. It's not like moving to a distant place - the afterlife is also "here", unseen by those living on earth. Life in this world and life in that one affect this. Death is about letting go of the physical frame and its requirements, and has no real identity itself.
Judgement Day is perceived to be about the time after a new Revelator when the followers of the former dispensation are judged/tested. If they are affirmed they are "raised" or "return" (not as individuals but as types of people, like John the Baptist was the return of Elijah but not Elijah himself.) The circumstances of mass "resurrection" in the last days refers to when the process will be world embracing rather than in one country or people or another. This is also one of many reasons why Baháʼís do not believe in the literal return to earth of the same individual soul as is believed by those who hold to reincarnation. Thus this Judgement Day is not the same as the judgement that happens after death but there too there is a judgement and the reality behind the words one lived by are measured. Rewards for correctly applying virtues and punishments for incorrectly doing so are settled, but ongoing learning still takes place starting in the last moments of earthly life. Baháʼís believe we will know and converse with those we have known and those who have already died.
Expressing information about the afterlife is inherently limited in this life. It is explained that the next life is fundamentally different in many ways from this life. The parallel is made comparing life in the womb with this life and the changes from birth to death. Realities of the latter are not available even as concepts in the former - they are ineffable. The idea of a body in the next world is still present, but it is a heavenly body. There is a realm of lights and reunion with deceased associates. God will be witnessed as if it were a sun in the sky, but there is no night. The sanctity of human nature is affirmed when it reflects the light of God and the truths of existence become known, a basic fear of death is overcome, and a universal acceptance of the religions as coming from one source.
Laws and rules Among the specific rules Baháʼís are to try to follow concerning death are, depending on the civil law of their country: No cremation or embalming. It is not harming the soul itself, but the body is to be respected, not destroyed or harmed in general. Donation to science is allowed if the other rules can be followed. Suicide is seen as a rejection of God's plan for humans and is forbidden to followers of the religion. The religion teaches that the souls of adherents can "suffer spiritually" if they commit suicide, but recommends that bereaving families be comforted. No mourning rituals are specified, but there is a shared prayer for the dead to be read for Baháʼís. There is a ring with an inscription that Baháʼís should wear when buried, and the body wrapped in a shroud. The inscription should read (in whatever translation of language) "I came forth from God and return unto Him, detached from all save Him, holding fast to His Name, the Merciful, the Compassionate." Interment of the body should be in a coffin. Burial should take place no more than an hour's travel from the place of death. The appropriate marker on the gravestone is a nine-pointed star and/or the word Baháʼí. Other inscriptions are allowed but not required. Baháʼí-run funerals for non-Baháʼís require none of these requirements. Infants who die are under the mercy and bounty of God.
Mourning, the distress and pain of the loss of contact with friends and kin for Baháʼís is, aside from cultural issues and norms in society, characterized as another stage of life. This temporary condition will be changed someday, just as someday the infant in the womb comes into the material world through birth and into the company of family and friends. Not avoiding the sense of loss, Baháʼu'lláh emphasizes the sense of mystery in death, pointing out that though he has shared some aspects of death and afterlife: As this is not apparent to anyone, instead we struggle with the fact of death.
Baháʼís do allow for cultural norms of the societies they live in. For example, among the indigenous of Papua New Guinea, Christian missionaries had openly opposed traditional funerary art and performances while the Baháʼís encouraged their production as a form of worship. Thus, while Nalik Baháʼís are regarded by other Naliks as arbiters of traditional knowledge and practices, the Christian missions and their followers are seen as antagonistic to kastom.
Baháʼís view prayers in this world as useful to those who have passed on, as are indeed their prayers for us still living in this world. Additionally remembering the lives of those who died, their achievements of virtues, and services carried out in their name is actually of assistance to those who have died.
Impressions of a Baháʼí point of view on death and the afterlife A Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police and Emergency Services is designed to offer guidance to police and emergency services personnel on how religious affiliation can affect their contact with the public. The second edition, published in 2002 in Australia, mentioned norms that could be expected of Baháʼís in the case of dying or death. It states that Baháʼís believe in life after death, holding that the soul is created at the moment of conception and will retain its individuality in an eternal realm. The body, which is compared to the lamp holding the light of the soul during its time in this world, should be treated with dignity. Embalming is not to take place unless required by law. The body should be transported as little as possible after death, and interment must take place within an hour's travel time from the city or town where death occurs. Cremation is forbidden. Its scriptures say that "the soul is a sign of God, a heavenly gem whose reality the most learned of men hath failed to grasp, and whose mystery no mind, however acute, can ever hope to unravel." These points are noted in other sources as well.* Sociologist researchers have observed that Baháʼís have an inclusivistic belief that although it may take work, most people will eventually be saved or get to heaven.
Television coverage of the prayer vigil on CNNsee Updated at 8:25 p.m. ET and C-Span for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting included Baháʼí scripture to console the living so that their affect of the recently dead was less disruptive.about from time sequence 1:07:52 to 1:10:46 The text used at the service was adapted to apply to parents and children and taken from Selections From the Writings of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá:
Baháʼí literature The related topics of death, dying, the soul, and the afterlife are of interest in the religion, covered at length in the lifetimes of the central figures of the religion through questions asked by enquirers, and then these scriptures are repeatedly compiled in books.
The Divine Art of Living is one such early work that has a chapter, The Realm of Immortality, which has section headings of: The Nature of the Soul, Punishments and Rewards, The Release of the Spirit, Life in the Next World, Consolation for the Bereaved, Prayers for the Departed. The early content originally appeared in successive issues of World Order magazine from April 1940 to September 1941 and was then reprinted and revised in a single volume in 1944, 1946, 1949, 1953, 1956, 1960, 1965, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1986, 2006. Baháʼís have held conferences of the same name. The massive compilation Lights of Guidance: A Baháʼí Reference File published in 1983 had sections covering scriptural compilations on the topics. Approximately 10 books were published directly on the topic of life after death. In America the manual for Baháʼí Local Assemblies, Developing Distinctive Baháʼí Communities, chapter 19, covers specifics burial practices and related topics and volume 1 of the Compilations of Compilations has an entry similarly titled. These topics were continued more recently in the Ruhi Institute project in its first workbook Reflections on the Life of the Spirit under the section "Life and Death", as well as many articles, sections or chapters in books, and whole books both scholarly and institutional.*
Near-death experiences Literature