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Fatwa CenterThe devil can assume the image of a dead person
Question
I read a book written by Kenneth Ring where he talked about people who claimed to have died and seen Paradise or Hell through a near-death experience. What is the opinion of Islam on this? Have you read this book?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.
Actually, we have not read this book. With regard to the resurrection of the dead, it is an easy matter for Allaah The Almighty. However, what happens to the dissolute or to non-Muslims in this regard is nothing but tricks that are practiced by the devil.
Ibn Taymiyyah 
mentioned that non-Muslims around the world may experience a situation where the devil assumes the image of one of their dead relatives and makes them believe that this dead person has truly come back to life. In fact, he may deceive them more by paying off the dead person’s debts, returning trusts, doing things that this person used to do, like having sexual intercourse with his wife, and then disappearing. This can happen despite the fact that the corpse may have been burnt, like Hindus do; the thing which encourages them even more to believe that the person has come back to life.
Therefore, it becomes clear that it is impermissible for Muslims to base any beliefs or rulings on the information provided by such people.
Allaah Knows best.
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