SAEDNEWS: Death has always been one of life’s greatest mysteries—but how can we understand the moment when the soul separates from the body?
According to Saednews, In modern medicine, death is defined as the complete and irreversible cessation of an organism’s vital functions. Physicians generally distinguish between clinical death and brain death. During clinical death, the heart stops beating and breathing ceases, but resuscitation may still restore the person. Brain death, by contrast, refers to the complete and permanent loss of all brain activity, with no possibility of recovery.
When the heart stops, oxygen no longer reaches the brain, and brain cells begin to die within minutes. Contrary to the popular belief that the brain is the last organ to shut down, recent research suggests that unusual electrical activity and powerful waves may occur during the final moments of life. These phenomena have sometimes been described as a “death wave” or signs associated with the dying process. Some researchers have suggested that such activity could contribute to near-death experiences.
Physical signs associated with the final moments of life may include:
Gradual cessation of breathing, sometimes known as agonal breathing
Cooling of the extremities and changes in skin color
Relaxation of the muscles and loss of voluntary control
Changes in heart rhythm followed by complete cardiac arrest
However, none of these physical signs can scientifically establish what happens to the soul or explain whether or how the soul separates from the body.
In Islam, the soul is regarded as a divine reality originating from the realm of God’s command. The Quran states:
“And they ask you about the soul. Say: The soul is of the command of my Lord.”
In Islamic tradition, the separation of the soul from the body at death is known as the taking of the soul (qabḍ al-rūḥ). The Angel of Death, traditionally identified as Azrael, along with other angels, is believed to carry out this divine command.
According to Islamic narrations, the experience of death differs between believers and those who reject or disobey God. Some traditions describe the soul of a believer as leaving the body gently and peacefully, like a drop of water flowing from a container. The soul of a sinful person, by contrast, is described as being taken with great difficulty, compared metaphorically to pulling a thorn through wet wool.
These descriptions suggest, within the religious tradition, that the experience of dying is connected to a person's beliefs, actions, and spiritual condition.
Some narrations also describe the soul as rising through the body before being received by the angels. At this stage, the dying person is said to perceive realities hidden from those around them. Such perceptions are traditionally associated with either profound peace or intense fear.
In Christianity, death is often understood as a transition toward eternal life. In the Gospel tradition, Jesus sometimes compares death to sleep, while the separation of the soul from the body is understood as a passage from earthly existence toward the Kingdom of God.
Judaism likewise teaches that the soul is given to humanity by God and ultimately returns to Him.
Thus, in all three Abrahamic traditions, death is generally understood not as absolute annihilation, but as a transition into another form of existence.
One of the most frequently reported features of near-death experiences (NDEs) is the sensation of leaving the body. Some people report feeling as though they have risen above themselves and can observe their own apparently lifeless body from a distance.
This phenomenon bears similarities to the traditional religious idea of the soul separating from the body. Interestingly, reports of out-of-body experiences have appeared across different cultures and geographical regions.
Many people who experienced cardiac arrest and were later resuscitated have reported seeing a dark tunnel followed by an extremely bright light.
Another commonly reported phenomenon is a life review, in which significant memories and events from a person's life seem to unfold rapidly, almost like watching a film.
From a scientific perspective, these experiences may be associated with changes in brain chemistry and neurological activity during extreme physiological stress. Nevertheless, for the person experiencing them, they can feel completely real and deeply meaningful.
Neuroscientists have proposed several explanations for NDEs, including oxygen deprivation, the release of endorphins, and unusual activity in areas such as the temporal lobes.
However, some researchers argue that these explanations may not account for every aspect of reported experiences, particularly accounts involving apparently accurate perceptions of events occurring around the patient.
The debate remains unresolved. NDEs continue to provide researchers with an intriguing opportunity to study consciousness, brain function, and the human experience of dying.
Avicenna (Ibn Sina), the influential Persian philosopher and physician, used philosophical reasoning to argue that the soul is an immaterial reality that cannot be reduced entirely to the physical body. Consequently, he maintained that death does not necessarily mean the destruction of the soul.
According to his philosophical framework, the soul separates from the body at death and enters the intermediate realm known in Islamic thought as Barzakh. Avicenna also explored the nature of the human soul and its relationship with the body in his philosophical writings.
The Persian philosopher Mulla Sadra developed the principle known as substantial motion, arguing that the soul and body participate in a process of continuous development.
According to his philosophy, the human soul begins with a bodily existence and gradually develops toward a spiritual state. Death therefore represents not simply the destruction of the relationship between body and soul, but a transition to another level of existence.
From this perspective, separation from the body can be understood as a natural stage in the soul’s progression toward greater spiritual perfection.
Religious and mystical traditions sometimes associate the dying process with visible signs that family members or caregivers may observe. These can include:
Looking around or appearing to smile, which religious traditions may interpret as an awareness of angels or divine realities
A noticeable relaxation of the body and peaceful facial expression
Changes in facial appearance or signs of physical struggle when death is difficult
Islamic sources also contain accounts of religious figures displaying remarkable calmness at the time of death. One traditional example is Ali ibn Abi Talib, who is described as having faced death with extraordinary serenity, viewing it as a passage toward his beloved Creator.
A central question is what happens to the soul after it separates from the body.
According to Islamic teachings, after the soul is taken at death, it enters Barzakh, an intermediate state that continues until the Day of Resurrection. Some mystical traditions further describe the perfected soul as moving toward divine proximity after death, beyond ordinary limitations of time and space.
From this perspective, the separation of the soul from the body is not understood as annihilation. Instead, it is regarded as a transition from limited physical existence to a broader spiritual reality.
Islamic mysticism also draws a close connection between death and spiritual ascension. The Persian poet Attar of Nishapur famously used the imagery of a bride to describe death, while Rumi regarded death for the spiritually awakened as a form of union rather than separation. Such perspectives can transform the natural human fear of dying into an understanding of death as a transition.
Existential psychologists such as Irvin Yalom have argued that awareness of mortality can give human life greater meaning. From this perspective, confronting death forces a person to face the deepest aspects of existence.
What matters in the final stage of life may therefore extend beyond the physical body to include meaning, love, relationships, memories, and unfinished matters.
Observations of people who die naturally, particularly at an advanced age, suggest that some individuals experience increasing acceptance, calmness, or even profound insight as they approach the end of life.
Science can describe many of the physical processes that occur as the body approaches death, including changes in breathing, circulation, brain activity, and consciousness. Religion and philosophy, meanwhile, address questions that science cannot currently settle, such as whether consciousness survives bodily death and whether a soul exists independently of the brain.
Ultimately, the question of what happens when the soul leaves the body lies at the intersection of neuroscience, medicine, religion, philosophy, and personal experience. While science continues to investigate the biological mechanisms of dying and near-death experiences, spiritual traditions interpret death as a passage rather than an ending.
