THE QURAN AND NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES

THE QURAN AND NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES By Hafiz Syed Iqbal Ahmed Umri F or decades, modern science has attempted to understand what happens at the threshold of death. Among those who devoted their life to this inquiry was Dr. Jeffrey Long, an American oncologist and medical researcher from Iowa. Over more than thirty years, he studied near-death experiences (NDEs) reported by individuals who had been clinically dead or close to death, yet returned to life with vivid recollections. In 1998, Dr. Long founded the Near Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF). Through this platform, over 5,000 documented cases were collected from across cultures, religions, and continents. After carefully analyzing this vast body of data, Dr. Long reached a striking conclusion: human consciousness does not end with physical death. Across diverse backgrounds, people described remarkably similar experiences—a radiant light, overwhelming peace, separation from the physical body, and an all-encompassing sense of love. These accounts, he argued, could not be dismissed as hallucinations. Their consistency pointed instead to a deeper reality: life continues beyond death. Nearly ninety-five percent of participants described their experience as “absolutely real.” Several medical journals described his work as a rare space “where science and spirituality meet.” Centuries before such research, the Quran had already drawn attention to this moment of unveiled perception. It declares: “We have removed from you your veil, and your sight today is sharp.” (50: 22) This verse speaks of a time when ordinary perception is transformed, when the barriers between the seen and unseen are lifted. I encountered the depth of this truth in 2004 during an eye examination at Nawaz Clinic in Ambur. There I met Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim, one of the town’s most senior and respected ophthalmologists—a man of medical precision and quiet spiritual curiosity. After completing my examination, he