Will Jinn, Angels, and Animals Be Resurrected, and Will Jinn Cross the Sirat?

Answered by Faraz Rabbani

Question

We know that humans will be resurrected in the same body and form as they were on Earth. Is this the
same in the case of other creatures, like jinn, Angels, and animals? Furthermore, will jinns also cross the Sirat like us? Or is it better to refrain from commenting on such matters?

Answer

All three are raised, but not to the same end. The angels die at the first blast of the Trumpet and are then raised to live on. The jinn are raised and judged as we are, though their crossing of the Bridge over Hell (Sirat) is not decisively established. Animals are raised, the wrongs between them are redressed, and then they end, returning to dust.

Four Principles from the Books of Creed

One. What revelation reports, and reason allows, we affirm. The Hereafter is known by transmission (sam’), not by speculation. Imam Ghazali (Allah have mercy on him), the great Ashʿari theologian, states the rule while speaking of the questioning in the grave: “Reports have come of it, so affirming it is obligatory, because it is possible.” [Ghazali, Qawaʿid al-Aqaʾid]

Two. Raising the dead is within Allah’s power for every creature. Imam Jamal al-Din al-Ghaznawi, of the Hanafi-Maturidi theologians, writes: “The wild beasts, the birds, and the livestock are gathered on the Day of Resurrection, because that is possible to reason, as a manifestation of the power of Allah Most High.” [Ghaznawi, Usul al-Din] On these points, the two schools agree.

Three. Judgment follows responsibility. Humans and jinn were given the charge of faith and obedience (taklif), so they are judged. Allah Most High addresses the two together: “We shall devote Our undivided judgment to you two alone, O most weighty of all kinds of beings.” [Quran 55:31; Keller, The Quran Beheld] The angels are honored servants who do not disobey, and animals bear no charge, so neither stands trial.

Four. Where the texts are silent on details, we are silent. The texts are explicit that people return in their own bodies. For other creatures, they affirm the raising and leave their manner unstated, and so do we.

The Angels Die, Then Live On

Allah Most High says: “And the Trumpet is blasted, and all in the heavens and earth are thunderstruck dead, save whom Allah wills.” [Quran 39:68; Keller, The Quran Beheld] He also says: “Everything is perishing but the Face of His everlasting Being.” [Quran 28:88; Keller, The Quran Beheld] The angels are among the dwellers of the heavens, and the texts indicate that they too taste death, until none remains but Allah.

Then they are raised, and they live on without end. In Paradise, they come to its people with greetings of peace: “Angels entering upon them from every door.” [Quran 13:23; Keller, The Quran Beheld]

The Jinn Are Judged; the Sirat Is Left to Allah

The jinn are responsible as we are, so they are raised and judged as we are. Their believers are saved, and their disbelievers are punished.

Whether they cross the Sirat is another matter. The books of creed describe the Bridge stretched over Hell, on which the feet of the disbelievers slip, and the feet of the believers stand firm, as Imam Ghazali sets out in Qawaʿid al-Aqaʾid. No text states decisively that the jinn cross it, or how. One might infer it from their being judged, but an inference is not an established text. So we neither affirm it as creed nor deny it; we leave it with Allah.

Animals Are Gathered, Requited, and Then End

Allah Most High says: “And when wild beasts are massed for their retribution.” [Quran 81:5; Keller, The Quran Beheld] Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “Rights will surely be rendered to those who hold them on the Day of Resurrection, until even the hornless sheep will be granted retaliation against the horned sheep.” [Muslim]

This is justice made visible, not a trial of faith. No animal is rewarded or punished for belief, but the wrongs between them are set right. Then they end. Imam Baghawi relates in his commentary on the Quran that once the requital is complete, they are told, in meaning, to become dust. It is then that the unbeliever wishes he too had been dust [Quran 78:40].

Should You Refrain from Asking?

No. The Companions (Allah be pleased with them) asked about the Hereafter, and revelation answered. The right manner here (adab) is simple: ask, affirm what the texts affirm, and stop where they stop. What we refrain from is building on their silence.

And Allah knows best.

Faraz Rabbani

Related Answers

• What Will Happen to Plants and Animals on the Day of Judgment? — Animals are raised, disputes among them are settled, and then they return to dust.
• Would Pests and Animals Be Held Accountable in the Hereafter? — Animals answer only for their actions toward each other, while eternal reward and punishment belong to humans and jinn alone.
• Will the Angels Die? — The Quran and scholarly consensus indicate that even the angels taste death before the Hereafter begins.
• How Will Our Bodies Be Resurrected: The Same or Different? — Souls return to their worldly bodies, or to what closely resembles them, so people will recognize one another.