Similarities and differences of Islamic and Christian Catholic

afterlife beliefs!
-Social studies (P. Maguire), Grade 8, 7th February
-By Arina Shamsutdinova

There are five major world religions in the whole world and two of those are none other
than Islam and Christianity. All religions are different in a general overview but sometimes
can also have multiple similarities and this essay will be focusing on the similarities and
differences of Islam and the Catholic Church when it comes to afterlife. After life or what
happens after death is a giant topic in all religions, in the Catholic church it is believed that
“when a person dies their physical body stops living but the soul lives on and either goes to
heaven, purgatory, or hell” (“Eschatology - Catholic Beliefs - Edexcel - GCSE Religious
Studies Revision - Edexcel”) while in Islam it is believed that “when Muslims die, they will
stay in their graves until Yawm al-din , the Day of Judgement to be judged by Allah” (“What
Does Islam Teach about Life after Death? - Life after Death - GCSE Religious Studies
Revision”). Before looking into it deeper it seems like both religions are similar when it
comes to afterlife because in both religions only your physical body dies and your soul
ascends to be judged and sent to some place where you continue your life, but the more this
essay will look into it the more differences and similarities you will see as these religions are
unique just like the people who believe in them. This essay will be mainly focusing on the
aspects of Heaven and hell and how people get there as my research question is “the
differences and similarities in the beliefs of the catholic church and Islam about afterlife”
(Arina). In the next three paragraphs I will try to briefly summarize what Muslims believe in
then what the catholic church believes in and lastly, I will compare both which will lead this
essay onto the conclusion.

Muslims believe in Allah and when they die it is said that they stay still in their graves until
the day of judgement comes or in other words yawm al-din, on the day of judgement you will
be judged just like the name says it. This judgment will be based on how well you have
followed Allah’s teachings in your previous life which will lead you either into Jannah or
Jahannam. Jannah is believed to be a paradise as it is described as “the garden of everlasting
bliss and home of peace” (“What Does Islam Teach about Life after Death? - Life after Death
- GCSE Religious Studies Revision”). Jannah is a place where you cannot get sick, suffer, or
cry and is believed to be made for those who have done good deeds in their life, as it is also
believed that there are 7 levels in Jannah with the highest being reserved for prophets and
such and going down based on how well you carried out Allah’s teaching’s which this essay
will soon describe about the different levels of Jahannam. Those who have carried out their
deeds unwell or didn’t believe in Allah and break his teachings go to Jahannam where there
are 7 levels of punishment with one being the lightest for those with small mistakes while
seven being for those who have committed crimes and gone against Allah heavily. This level
system is there in Islamic beliefs because it is believed that it is only fair that they are sent
“based on the weight of the sins/saints committed by the sinner/saint” (“Seven Levels of
Jahannam, Also Known as the Gates of Hell in Islam”).

Catholic Christians believe that when human dies only their physical body is left but their
soul is instantly raised up or down to either heaven, purgatory, or hell. Afterlife in the
catholic church is based of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and Christians main goal is said to
be “to achieve reunion with God in Heaven” (Kessler). According to the teachings of the

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catholic church, heaven is described as a state not a location where one soul feels eternal joy
and love and meets with their loved ones and ancestors, although it is said that most people
do not enter heaven straight away “they believe most souls don’t undergo sufficient cleansing
during life to enter Heaven, so they must go through an interim location called Purgatory,
first” (Kessler). Purgatory is believed to be a place where those with middle sins and saints
go to be purified as they are not clear enough to reunite with God and their loved ones. Lastly
those in purgatory who spend too much time or those with unforgivable sins will go to hell
which is a state described as “never-ending torment and suffering” (Kessler). However, there
is no levels in heaven and hell in the catholic church as it is believed that you are either pure
enough for heaven, purred in purgatory, or sinful enough to go to hell.

Both the catholic church and Islam have two main levels after death Jannah/Heaven and
Jahannam/Hell and they both believe that they are judged based of how well they followed
their gods’ teachings. Both have a state where it is joyful and free of suffering while both
religions also have a state of torture and tormenting. Although there are many similarities
there are also many differences as in the catholic church you are without question sent up to
either heaven, hell, or purgatory while in Islam you must wait for your day if judgment. In
both religions patience is very important, but it seems those who believe in Islam must wait
for their day while Catholic Christians do not. There is also a huge difference based of levels
and a purifying place. Islam does not believe that a soul can have the chance to be purified
after death as it should have followed Allah’s teachings in its earthly life’s while the catholic
church believes in purgatory which is a place to purify those with unperfect sins and saints.
Furthermore, the catholic church does not believe in levels Islam does infact Islam has a
whole seven levels in both Jannah and Jahannam.

As this essay is reaching its end it will now give a summary of its research questions and
answers. This essays first topic as written in the introduction is “the differences and
similarities in the beliefs of the catholic church and Islam about afterlife” (Arina). In the first
paragraph this essay have explained the beliefs of after life in Islam while in the second I
have explained the beliefs of after life in the Catholic Christian church, furthermore in the
third paragraph this essay has spotted and tried to explain the differences and similarities so
to answer my research question, the similarities in the beliefs of afterlife in both major
religions are that they both believe in two main states after death which is based on how well
people followed their teachings furthermore another similarity is that in the heaven/Jannah
state you do not feel pain or suffering as it like a paradise and same with hell/Jahannam
where you are tortured and you feel endless suffering although the differences are that the
catholic church believes in purifying and Islam does not furthermore you have to wait to be
judged in Islam while you do not in the catholic church. Lastly there are levels of
heaven/Jannah and hell/Jahannam in Islam but not in the catholic church. In the end the
religions are more different than similar as most similarities are general, but differences are
huge.

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 Works Cited

“Eschatology - Catholic Beliefs - Edexcel - GCSE Religious Studies Revision - Edexcel.”

BBC Bitesize, 2019,

www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zkk3rwx/revision/4#:~:text=What%20do

%20Catholics%20belief%20about.. Accessed 7 Feb. 2022.

Jason, Boyyet. 12 Major World Religions. zephyros press, 2016., 2016.

Kessler. “What Does the Catholic Church Teach about the Afterlife? | Cake Blog.”

Www.joincake.com, 17 Apr. 2020, www.joincake.com/blog/catholic-afterlife/.

“Seven Levels of Jahannam, Also Known as the Gates of Hell in Islam.” Zamzam Blogs, 29

Sept. 2021, zamzam.com/blog/levels-of-jahannam/#:~:text=Jahannam%20or%20Hell

%20is%20a. Accessed 7 Feb. 2022.

“What Does Islam Teach about Life after Death? - Life after Death - GCSE Religious Studies

Revision.” BBC Bitesize,

www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z6mhgk7/revision/3#:~:text=Islam%20teaches

%20that%20there%20is.

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