Encyclopedia of Islam

afterlife

  

19  J

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Muslims also believed that the dead remained 

conscious in the tomb and that their spirits could 

move about in the world. This was especially 

true for the saints—holy men and women who 

could help people who sought their assistance. 

People claimed to communicate with them in 

their dreams, and many traveled to their tombs 

as pilgrims to win their blessings. Such beliefs 

are still widely held by Muslims today, although 

proponents of conservative and reformist under-

standings of Islam argue that they have no basis in 

the Quran and the teachings of m

Uhammad

.

See also 

cemetery

; 

FUnerary

 

rites

; 

interces

-

sion

; 

martyrdom

; 

saint

; 

soUl

 

and

 

spirit

.