Barzakh: Linguistically, “Barzakh†means a veil, barrier or partition between two things. Ibn Abbas (radhi allahu anhu) defines Barzakh as, a Hijab (a partition of veil). Adh-Dhahhak (a Tab’ieen scholar of Tafseer) says: ‘Barzakh is the stage between this world and the Hereafter.’[al-Qurtubi’s Tafseer, vol.12, p.150.] Al-Qurtubi, in his exposition on these various interpretations states: ‘The Barzakh is a barrier between two things. It is the stage between this world and the other world - from the time of death until the time of Resurrection. Thus, whoever dies enters the Barzakhâ€[ al-Qurtubi’s Tafseer, vol.12, p.150] All these various explanations point to one underlined fact, that the soul after having separated from its worldly body, enters into a realm behind which there is a barrier forbidding any return.
