Hamistagan

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As described in the 9th century Zoroastrian text Dadestan-i Denig ("Religious Decisions"),^[1] hamistagan or hamēstagān is a neutral place or state for the departed souls of those whose good deeds and bad deeds were equal in life. Here these souls await Judgment Day. Meanwhile, those who did mostly good experience bliss and those who did mostly evil suffer torment. Religious Decisions was written in Persia (modern day Iran) when Islam was replacing Zoroastrianism as the majority religion.

Hamistagan can be compared to Roman Catholic purgatory because it occupies a position between heaven and hell, but hamistagan is a place of waiting, not punishment and purification. As a neutral place, hamistagan is more like the Roman Catholic limbo.

Islam does not have a similar neutral place where some await Judgment Day. The angels Nakir and Munkar interrogate a recently deceased soul, which then remains in its grave in a state of bliss or torment until Judgment Day.

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