GEORGE TOWN, June 5 — The Islamic religious authorities have been urged to take prompt action to curb the spread of the reincarnation concept, namely transmigration of soul of a dead person to another body, among the Muslim community in the country.

Penang Mufti, Datuk Seri Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor said this was following a viral video of a religious talk delivered by an independent preacher who mentioned about the transfer of soul (from a dead person) to the body of a another person who is still alive.

"The reincarnation concept is utterly absurd (in Islam). Among the religions that hold a belief in reincarnation are Hinduism, Buddhism, several Shia branches in Lebanon and Syria as well as certain extreme tadauf tarikat (school of sufism).

"In this regard, I urge the Islamic religious authorities including the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and state religious departments to view this issue seriously and take prompt action to curb it,” he said in a statement today.

Wan Salim was commenting on a 10-minute video of an independent preacher quoting his teacher as saying that Allah created souls which could be transferred (from one to another living bodies).

Elaborating, Wan Salim said that, based on the perspective of Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah, reincarnation is a false belief and deviates from the true teachings of Islam as it is against the Quran and Sunnah Nabawiyah (prophetic tradition).

In fact, he said that, according to the Islamic teaching, a human being has only one life and it is not shared by anyone after his death.

He said Islam teaches that after death, the soul will enter Barzakh (a place separating the living from the hereafter) until the Day of Judgement before subsequently ends in heaven or hell.

According to Wan Salim, anyone who tried to spread the deviant belief to the Muslim society must be given a stern warning and if he is obstinate, legal actions must be taken against him.

"In addition, the individual must be barred from delivering talks and lectures in mosques or surau to preserve the faith of the Muslims,” he added. — Bernama