The Nature of Man in Barzakh from the Viewpoint of the Transcendent Wisdom: Ḥasanzādih Āmulī’s Account

Barzakh (the intermediate world between this world and afterlife) and psychological changes therein is a controversial issue in Islamic philosophy and theology. Knowledge of the nature of man in barzakh will have a tremendous impact on solutions to issues of happiness and misery as well as human perfection. As to existential degrees, barzakh is lower in existential strength and intensity than intellect and higher than matter, and as to its characteristics and consequences, it enjoys those of both sides. According to Ḥasanzādih Āmulī, the human soul is embodied in an afterlife body in proportion to its psychological characters. The intensity of one’s existence is due to knowledge and actions. Adopting an analytic method and by considering the imaginal world (‘ālam al-mithāl) in Ḥasanzādih Āmulī’s view, this paper seeks to provide a clear picture of the relation between the human nature and his eschatology in the world of barzakh, on the one hand, and his this-worldly knowledge and actions, on the other hand. We conclude that the imaginal body always accompanies man, with abstract shapes, forms, and sizes; that is, those that are detached from matter. Moreover, after reaching a degree of perfection, the soul can leave the natural body, and in barzakh it can undergo perfections through knowledge and action.