Week 7

BELIEF IN THE LAST DAY
Belief in life after death, bodily resurrection, final judgment and the eternal life in Paradise and (or) Hell is one of the articles of faith. This world as we know it will come to an end one day and the dead will rise from their resting place for their final and fair trial. Muslims believe that the time of Qiyama is preordained by Allah but is unknown to man. The trials and problems preceding and during the Day of Resurrection are described in detail in the Quran and Hadith. The Quran says:
“Anyone who denies God, His angels, His books, His messenger and the Day of Judgment has gone far, far astray.”(4:136)
Islam teaches us that there are four definite stages of every human life.
The first is in the womb of our mother. There, the flesh is united with the spirit. According to a tradition of the Holy Prophet, this joining takes place some time after the fortieth day of conception.
The second stage of our life begins in this world. We are born, grow from children to adults and then reach old age and die. Some people die in their youth while others live longer than most.
The third stage starts after our death. A person’s life on this earth ends with his/her death, after which another life begins in the state of Barzakh, which is an intermediate state in which the soul is placed after death till resurrection. The state of grave is therefore, the same state as that of Barzakh. Immediately after death the lesser Judgement or Qiyamat-e-Sughra takes place, after which the righteous are spoken of as tasting the fruit of their good deeds while the evil doers have to taste the evil consequences of their wrong deeds.
The fourth and final stage of our existence is eternal. It will begin with the end of the world. The entire universe with all forms of life will be brought to its ends by its Creator. At many places in the Quran the details of the onset and outcome of the Day of Judgment have been given. That Day will start by the first blow of Trumpet by Hazrat Israfil. The Quran says:
“When the Trumpet is sounded a single time. When the earth and its mountains are raised high and then crushed to powder with a single blow. On that Day the Great Event will come to pass.” (69:13-15)
The second Trumpet will be blown and there will be resurrection of everything that existed in this world. A new world will emerge with a new sky. All human beings who had lived on this earth since its inception (start) will come back to life, this is called Hashr.
Now all humans will stand before Allah for accountability of all their deeds in the worldly life. Allah will set the Scale of Ultimate Justice. The account of our deeds will be examined in many ways. Some people will be interrogated in secrecy and if the person concerned confesses his/her sins honestly, fearing Allah, they will be pardoned. Some will be subjected to a very severe interrogation during which they will have to explain their each and every deed and utterance. The people undergoing such an interrogation will be sent to Hell. No injustice will be done on the Day of Judgement. People’s hands, feet and tongue will bear witness against them. There will be no bargaining, no friendship or intercession. Our good and evil deeds will be sorted out. If we persecuted or harmed anyone in any way, we may lose some of our good deeds to them by way of compensation and if we have no good deeds left then the other person’s bad deeds will be transferred to our account. Then our deeds will be weighed on the scale mentioned before and the true weight of our conduct will be shown to us.
People will be given their book of deeds which they will be asked to read. The good will be given their record in their right hand, while the sinners in their left hand or from behind their backs. The Qur’an says: ‘’then he who is given his record in his right hand will have an easy reckoning (calculation) and return to his people well pleased. But whoever is given his record from behind his back will cry out for destruction and he will enter a blazing fire.’’ (84:7-12)
Finally according to the deeds people will be awarded forever and ever. The Quran promises eternal dwelling place as a reward in Paradise for the pious and the righteous. The evildoers and the sinners, on the other hand will be given horrible punishment.
When the judgement is finished, a bridge will be stretched over the top of the pit of Hell. This bridge, called the Sirat, will lead to Paradise which will be on the other side. Everyone will have to cross this bridge. The Prophets and the righteous people will zoom right over and enter Paradise. The treading of the bridge by the people will be based on the nature and enormity of their good or bad deeds. The two states of Heaven and Hell are not spiritual. They will be experienced in physical forms by the new bodies with which Allah will raise men up.