What is the ruling for the belief of the rebirth of the soul.

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

The rebirth of the soul or transmigration of souls or reincarnation means the belief that on the death of the body the soul transmigrates to or is born again in another body. For sure, this is one of the beliefs of non-Muslims such as Buddhists, Hindus and non-Muslim philosophers.

There is agreement among Muslim scholars that whoever holds in these views is a disbeliever.

Ibn Hazm said: “Whoever claims that souls transmigrate to another body is a disbeliever according to all Muslim scholars since this is the belief of non-Muslims in reincarnation.” [Excepted from his book Al-Muhallah]

He added in his book Ad-Durrah: “Whoever believes that souls are perishable things, or they transmigrate to other bodies, he becomes a non-Muslim according to the consensus of Muslim scholars. Therefore, such belief contradicts the Quran and the Sunnah and the general agreement among Muslims.”

Qadi 'Iyadh said: “We firmly state that whoever believes in perpetual transmigration of souls between different people and being subject to torture or comfort according to their being good or bad, is a disbeliever.”

Al-Dardeer from the Maaliki School of jurisprudence, said: “Whoever believes in the transmigration of the souls is a disbeliever; i.e., whoever says that a good person's soul transmigrates to another good person, or that a bad person's soul transmigrates to another bad person, is a disbeliever since such a belief constitutes a denial of resurrection.”

It is proved in the Quran and the Sunnah that human beings die, and Allah will bring them to life again on the Day of Judgment to be rewarded or punished in accordance to their good or bad deeds. There is agreement among scholars of Islam and Muslims in general on this point. Then, it is known among the followers of the Divine Missions; i.e., Christians and Jews, that every human being will die and be held responsible for his deeds, good or bad.

Whoever dies will live in Al-Barzakh (the interval period between worldly life and the Hereafter). One who is in Al-Barzakh life, for sure, lives a happy life, or a miserable one, whether he was in a tomb or burnt, or… Allah is Able to make him/her live the Al-Barzakh life and all its circumstances, whether good or bad.

Then, Allah will raise his body and soul on the Day of Judgment, hold him/her responsible for his deeds and send him finally to Paradise or Hellfire.

Here, we state that believing in reincarnation negates the above statement concerning death, resurrection, Paradise and Hellfire. Belief of transmigration, in fact, constitutes disbelief in Allah, His Messenger and the Divine Messages.

For more benefit on the false belief of incarnation and pantheism, please refer to Fataawa 11542, 87768, 94462, and 153621.

For more benefit on life in Al-Barzakh (the interval period between death and resurrection), please refer to Fataawa 10565, 83719, 16778, 17286, 48844, and 84517.

Allah knows best.