Barzakh is a term used in Islam for an intermediate state of human existence between death and resurrection. 1. Barzakh in the Qurʾān and tafsīr In two verses in the Qurʾān (25:53, 55:20), barzakh (perhaps from Persian farsakh, a measure of distance; Jeffery, 77) means a barrier between two seas. It is from a third verse that the meaning of barzakh as an intermediate state between life in this world (al-dunyā) and the next world (al-ākhira) is derived: dead sinners plead with God to return them to life so that they can perform good deeds and thus regain His favour, but…