Muslims and non-Muslims fail to realize they are tricked into terrorism until it is too late. The Arabic word “jihad” actually means struggling or striving to be good Muslims. It is not a violent concept. But the worst deception is about the hereafter. It is important to understand that the Prophet Muhammad claimed to be a descendant of Abraham, the patriarch of Judaism. Islam therefore adopted the Jewish belief in Resurrection of the Dead and Final Judgment.

Yet, anyone familiar with death of the human body knows that it decays after being buried or is converted into ashes by cremation. Without a live body, there is no Hell as it is usually pictured. So both Judaism and Islam were developed through interpretations each religion made about God’s and Allah’s will, respectively, for the lives of their followers.

Remember too that Planet Earth was considered the center of the universe when both Abraham and Muhammad lived. Now, almost two centuries later, we know that our planet is but one among billions throughout the cosmos. So we realize that The One God created a virtually unlimited celestial expanse with the possibility of life elsewhere too.

Moreover, both Judaism and Islam have continued to nurture a belief that was common in those early times. It is called “reincarnation,” that involves a significant part of each of us—our Divinely given souls. If you doubt this, read the Islamic reference following this article.

Souls are humanly imperceptible and inexplicable, just as The One God and Heaven are. Yet, recent discoveries in clinical psychology have shown that fetuses and newborn may have memories of emotionally traumatic experiences in the womb or surrounding birth. Such memories are impossible from their immature brains. But these memories apparently result from a very advanced “consciousness” also present in the womb. A few of these researchers even have speculated that it is an incarnated soul.

Many other researchers have found that waking consciousness can survive a sudden cardiac arrest and that such survivors provide lucid accounts of remarkable, unearthly experiences. A consensus has developed that our souls survive our mortal deaths and return to Heaven, from which they will continue to incarnate in different human hosts over vast expanses of time.

When souls return to Heaven, however, each one meets with its Council of Elders. Any effort that the soul allowed its host to take to end its healthy life early—whether to escape from earthly problems or to become a martyr of any kind—will likely require the soul to reincarnate again in similar circumstances. The One God seems to love all souls equally. But each soul is expected to learn how to better overcome human frailties from each incarnation.

Al-Ghazzali, Abu Hamid. “The Mysteries of the Human Soul” (Al-Madnun Bihi ‘Ala Ghair Ahlihi). http://www.ghazali.org/works/soul.htm

Chamberlain, David. Windows to the Womb: Revealing the Conscious Baby from Conception to Birth. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2013.

CIFIA Global. “Ahle Sunnah Cams Message: Cooperation Among Muslim Sects. http://www.cifiaglobal.com/ahlesunnahcamsmessage.htm

Jihad: “A Misunderstood Concept from Islam: What Jihad is and is not.” The Islamic Supreme Council of America. http://islamicsupremecouncil.org/understanding-islam/legal-rulings/5-jihad-a-misunderstood-concept-from-islam.html?start=9