Akin to the ideas of the end of individual life and of the world is the idea of life after death. This belief is also embedded in the fifth decree of faith. It incorporates the process of questioning by Munkar and Nakir; preliminary reward and punishment at the grave until the Day of Resurrection, the Day of Resurrection for final judgment; the syafa'at or intercession for the believers; passing the sirat and, finally, the everlasting life of the hereafter (the reward of paradise or the punishment of hell). Mang Sutaro (57 years), a Batik factory worker who held a common perception concerning life after death, told me about it coherently. A part of his account is recorded here:
When the last men have left about three steps after burial, two angels, Munkar and Nakir, will visit the dead person in the grave and ask: Who is your God? Your Prophet? Your leader, and so on? If the dead is a good person he will certainly be able to answer quite easily, as the angels come in a fine appearance using polite words. But when the dead is a bad person, the angels come in scary appearance using harsh words causing the dead who is questioned to tremble, be bewildered and be unable to utter a word; in this situation the angels unhesitatingly beat him: bum, bum, bum, then leave him unaccompanied but later there come big snakes, centipedes, and scorpions to bite and bite him endlessly …[37]
In the remainder of his narration Mang Sutaro described the first eschatological world of life after death that one will find while staying in alam barzakh.[38] It starts from the time of death until the Day of Resurrection. When Israfil has blown his trumpet and all the earthly world ends, all the dead will be resurrected, given a new body, and will be led to an assemblage at the mahsyar (vast plain) by their respective prophets, to receive absolutely fair judgment. Along with the two angels, Raqib's and ‘Atid's detailed record of everything one has done in the world, one's body organs will become fair witnesses to everything. The hand for example, will say: “Yes, really, I have done or have been used to doing this and that at that place and time”. The mouth will say: “Yes, I have said or have been used to say this and that or ate this and that at that place and time”. Similarly, the other organs of the body such as eyes, ears, legs and brain will also give their confessions. In short, at that time nothing will be able to be hidden from God. In such a situation, therefore, everyone will anticipate either reward or punishment. At that time, absolute individualism will prevail; no one will have the time to care for others, not even children for parents nor vice-versa. Everyone's motto will be Nafsi-nafsi (literally meaning myself-myself) implying no one will be available for others because each person will be completely occupied in thinking about his/her own affairs. For sinners the only hope will be to beg for intercession by their own prophets, but none except the Prophet Muhammad, who has a special position at God's side, will be entitled to be an intercessor. It follows that only his followers will have the possibility of gaining beneficial weight in the mizan (or balance).[39]
When the judgment is over, everyone will be required to pass wot sirotol mustakim, the Sirath or the path, which leads to either Suarga (paradise) or to Neraka (Hell). The width of the path is believed to be one-seventh of a hair's thickness, but each individual will find it to be different. Eventually, no unbeliever will be able to pass down the path because they will find it to be its real size. For the believers, the size, and the apparent construction of the path, and, therefore, the convenience of passing down the path will be commensurate with the balance between the “good and bad” accounted for in the judgement. The more the balance favours “good” acts, the better, and the more convenient the path will be and, therefore, the greater the likelihood of reaching Suarga. In contrast, the more the balance is towards “bad” acts, the narrower the path will be and the less convenient it will be to pass down it and therefore the smaller the likelihood of reaching paradise. There are seven suarga and seven neraka to reward and punish in the alam akherat, the real hereafter. The suarga are: Jannatul Ma'wa, Jannatun Na'im, Jannatul Firdaus, Jannatu ‘Adnin, Jannatul Khuldi, Darul Qarar, Darul Bawar. The seven neraka are: Jahannam, Sa'ir, Huthamah, Hawiyah, Saqar, Jahim and Wail.[40]
The Cirebonese describe Suarga and Neraka mostly in materialistic terms. The former is a place of absolute happiness and joy wherein faithful believers are rewarded, whereas the latter, on the contrary, is a place of absolute suffering and misery wherein unbelievers and sinners are punished. Suarga is illustrated as a beautifully ornamented building with nice gardens and untainted rivers; everything there constitutes an incomparably joyful place to live in. Delightful foods and drinks of various flavours, as well as all recreational means and objects with an everincreasing delight, are unceasingly served by exceedingly charming men and women. All negative conditions such as exhaustion, boredom, depression and the like are totally absent. The elect shall remain always at their best age, never getting old and men will become as handsome as Joseph while women will become even more beautiful than widadari (heavenly nymphs). The greatest joy in paradise, however, will be felt upon seeing God.
In contrast to Suarga, the conceptions of Neraka are extraordinarily unpleasant. In addition to excessive beatings by Zabaniya, the angel of hell, the fire wherein the punished dwell will be terribly hot; the ash from it would boil seven oceans. The foods one will be forced to eat will be the bitterest kestuba and jakum woods, while drink will be boiling bismuth. Each time the body is shattered from drinking or being beaten, its smithereens will instantly reform into a new one to be beaten or forced to drink again with ever increasing severity. Unbelievers will stay there forever, while sinful believers will stay there for a duration commensurate with their sins. The hereafter, therefore, consists of striking contrasts; that is, between reward and punishment, happiness and misery, joy and suffering. These are nothing but results of what everyone does in this world. Wrong doers (to God, to humans, or to nature) may be able to escape from responsibility and to remain safe in this world but can never escape from punishment after death. Similarly, a generous and good person may obtain nothing in this world but will certainly be rewarded in the next. In short, death is regarded not as an end; rather, it is a rung on the eschatological ladder by which human beings move from their present abode, worldly life (alam dunya) to their last abode, the hereafter (alam akhirat). Above all, life after death is contingent on absolute justice.