Eternal life begins once a person dies. There are several stages a person passes through before reaching their final destination — either Paradise (Jannah) or Hell (Jahannam). The stages are as follows:

Stages: Death → Barzakh → The First Blowing of the Trumpet → The Second Blowing of the Trumpet → The Gathering → The River of the Prophet → Reckoning → Receiving the Book of Deeds → The Balance / Scale → Crossing the Bridge → Intercession → The Final Destination → The Eternal Life

Death (Mawt): The Angel of Death takes the soul of every individual. The individual begins his/her journey to the next life. The righteous soul is taken gently, while the wicked soul is taken harshly.

Barzakh: This is an intermediate stage — a barrier between worldly life and the Resurrection, where everyone waits until the Day of Judgement. In this stage, most of the deceased are buried in their graves and begin their life in Barzakh. Though even those whose bodies are burnt to ashes, drowned in water, eaten by an animal, destroyed or scattered will experience their life in Barzakh in this stage. During this stage, the righteous individual enjoys peace and comfort, while the wicked individual suffers torment and anguish.

The First Blowing of the Trumpet: The Angel Israfeel will blow the first Trumpet, causing all living beings to die and everything in the heavens and the earth to perish.

The Second Blowing of the Trumpet: The Angel Israfeel will blow the Trumpet a second time, and all human beings — from the first generation to the last — will be resurrected in their physical bodies and brought back to life.

The Gathering (Hashr): All people are gathered and brought together on a vast plain for judgment. This is called the gathering (Hashr). Everyone—from the first human to the last—will stand before Allah, waiting for their Book of Deeds and Reckoning.

The River / Cistern of the Prophet (Al-Kawthar): It is a river in Paradise which Allah has granted to His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). It will be set up at the place of gathering on the Day of Resurrection. The true followers of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) — those who sincerely believed in him and followed his teachings — will be allowed to drink from it. Whoever drinks from it will never feel thirsty again.

Reckoning (Hisab):  Reckoning is the stage where every individual will stand before Allah to give an account of their deeds. Allah will ask every individual separately for his/her activities in their worldly life.  Each person will be judged with absolute justice.

Receiving the Book of Deeds (Kitab al-A’mal): Each person will receive their Book of Deeds, which records every action from their worldly life. The righteous will receive their book in their right hand, while the wicked will receive it in their left hand.

The Balance / Scale (Al-Mizan): All deeds will be weighed on the Scale. Those whose good deeds outweigh their bad will find salvation, while those whose bad deeds are heavier will face punishment.

Crossing the Bridge (As-Sirat): A bridge will be placed over Hell (Jahannam). Everyone must cross it. The righteous will pass quickly and safely, the sinful will stumble, and the disbelievers will fall into Hell.

Intercession (Ash-Shafa‘ah): By Allah’s permission, the Prophets, Angels, and other righteous people will intercede on behalf of others. Through this intercession, some believers will be saved from entering Hell, and some who were in Hell will be released and sent to Paradise

The Final Destination: After the Judgment and the crossing of the Bridge, people will be admitted to their eternal abodes. The believers will enter Paradise (Jannah), while the disbelievers will enter Hell (Jahannam). Some believers may enter Hell temporarily due to their sins but will eventually be brought out and admitted to Paradise by Allah’s mercy. Once everyone reaches their final destination, death will cease to exist.

The Eternal Life: The people of Paradise (Jannah) will live forever in peace, beauty, and joy, while the people of Hell (Jahannam) will remain forever in punishment.