Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife

I'm currently reading this book by Imam Ghazali r.a under his series of Ihya ulum al-din.... (Revival of Religious Sciences). There are two parts in this book.

1st part covers - Merit in the Remembrance of Death, Lengthy and Brief Hopes, Agonies and Violence of Death, the death of our Prophet saw and the 4 caliphs and their sayings, Sayings of the saints at funerals and cemeteries, the true nature of death and what the dead man undergoes in the grave and lastly the states of the Dead....

2nd part(which was enjoyable yet frightening) covers - Matters concerning the circumstances of the man deceased from the time when the Trump is blown to his Final Residence in Heaven or in Hell, together with a detailed account of the hazards and terrors which shall confront him.
Events:
The Trumpet Blast
The Land and People of the concourse
The Perspiration of the people of the concourse
The Length of the Day of Arising
The Day of Arising, and its Calamities and Names
The Inquisition of Sins
The Scales
The Adversaries, and the Restoration of Wrongs.
The Traverse ('Thread-like Bridge')
The Intercession
The Pool
The Inferno,its Terrors, Torments, Snakes and scorpions.

followed by Heaven and the Varieties of its bliss and many other descriptions...

I would like to share more details on the topic - The Scales

Be not heedless of the Scales. Think upon the flying of the Books to their left and right sides. For after the Inquisition mankind shall be in three parties. One party will be composed of those who have not a single good deed to their credit. In their case there shall emerge from Hell a black creature, which shall snatch them as a bird pecks at grain, and grasp them and pitch them into Hell, which engulfs them. A voice calls out to them,'Sorrow, never to be followed by any joy!"

Another party is composed of those with not a single transgression to their discredit. A voice calls out, saying,'Let those who did praise God abundantly in every state arise!' and they stand up and hasten to Heaven. Then this is done with regard to people who used to stand in the night vigil, and then with those whom no worldly commerce or sale distracted from the remembrance of God. A voice calls out to them, saying,'Joy, never to be followed by any sorrow!'

But a third party, which constitutes the greater part of mankind, still remains. They have mingled good works with ill, and although it may not be plain to them, it is plain to God which of them are those whose good or evil deeds predominate. God, however, demurs from not giving them to know of this, that He many manifest His generousity in pardon, and His equity in chastisement.

So the books and scrolls which contain the good and evil deeds fly up, and the Scales are erected, and all eyes are upturned towards the books: shall they fall into the left scale or the right? Then they look to the Scales themselves: shall they tip in favour of the evil actions or in favour of the good? This state is fearsome indeed, and dazes the minds of all creatures.

Insya allah, next time i'll share some on the topic - The Traverse

P.S: You can get the book at Darul Arqam bookstores or click onto the Wardah Books link on the right side of the blog.