Tag: hereafter

5f – Heaven and Hell

Heaven and Hell

Heaven and Hell have both been created and are currently in existence, as evidenced by verses of the Qur’an.

“It (Heaven) has been prepared for the pious.” [Qur’an, 3:133]

“Guard yourselves against the fire which has been prepared for the disbelievers.” [Qur’an, 3:131]

Heaven

There are different levels in Heaven.

“And for each, there are ranks based on what they did.” [Qur’an, 6:132]

“Those who believe, and whose offspring follow them in faith, We shall unite their offspring with them, and We shall not cause decrease the reward of their deeds at all.” [Qur’an, 52:21] Ibn `Abbas said, “Allah will elevate the offspring of the believer, even if they were beneath him in deeds, in order that his eye might delight in them.” [Narrated by Tabari and Bazzar] Continue reading “5f – Heaven and Hell” →

5e – Judgment

JUDGEMENT

The process of judgement on the Last Day can be conveniently discussed under four subheadings, corresponding to different aspects of the judgment:

1. Presentation of the Deeds (`Ard): each person’s deeds are presented before Allah, and thus they are exposed to their records, and to their Lord. This stage may therefore also be called the Exposing.

2. Questioning (Su’al): people are questioned about their deeds

3. Accounting or Reckoning (Hisab): people are held accountable, or brought to account, for their wrongs.

4. Judgement (Qada’) : judgement is given; the person comes to know whether he is destined to Heaven or to Hell. Continue reading “5e – Judgment” →

5d – The Resurrection Plain

Creatures of the Resurrection Plain

Mankind and jinn will be gathered there in their entirety, including even the rebellious devils.

“Then, by your Lord! We shall surely gather them, and the devils, and then We shall bring them around Hell on their knees.” [Qur’an, 19:68. See also 6:128] Also, “the days will be gathered in their forms.” [Tabarani] The earth shall be gathered there. “On that day, [the earth] shall relate its news, because your Lord shall have inspired it.” [Qur’an, 99:4-5] On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be well pleased with him) : The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) recited these verses, then asked, “Do you know what its news is?” The Companions replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “Its news is that it testifies over every male and female concerning that which he/she did on its surface; that it says, ‘He did such-and-such on such-and-such day. That is its news.” [Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i] Animals will also be resurrected. “There is no animal upon the earth, nor any bird which flies with its two wings, except that they are nations like you. We have not neglected anything in the Record. Then, to their Lord shall they be gathered.” [Qur’an, 6:38] `Abdur-Razzaq has reported that Abu Hurayrah said that Allah will judge between the animals, and then after they have been given their justice, they will be turned to dust. At this point, the disbeliever will wish that he, too, would have been turned to dust. [See: Qur’an, 78:40.] Continue reading “5d – The Resurrection Plain” →

5c – Resurrection

After the intermediate realm of forty years, Allah will again command the angel Israfil to blow the Horn.

” . . . then [the Horn] will be blown another time, and behold! they shall be standing, looking.” [Qur;an, 39:68]

Allah will cause a special rain, called “The Water of Life”, to fall, and will thereby cause the bodies to grow from `ajb al-dhanab (a small bone at the end of the spine), in the same way as plants grow.

It is essential to believe in the bodily resurrection. Just as both the body and soul participated in either obeying or disobeying Allah in this world, so it is only fitting that they should both receive the appropriate recompense of punishment and/or reward. A bodily resurrection is not rationally inconceivable, and furthermore, the texts of the Qur’an and authentic ahadith are quite explicit in their mention of physical pleasures and punishments in the Hereafter, such that there is no room left for doubt. It was only some deviant individuals and groups, who, under the influence of the corrupt ideas of people of other religions and of the pagan philosophers, started to deny this fact, claiming that the Hereafter is purely spiritual, or that Heaven and Hell are mere states of mind which are consequential upon a person’s worldly conduct. To persist upon such beliefs after receiving the message of the Qur’an is unacceptable, for it displays an obstinacy in accepting that which Allah has conveyed to us. Such beliefs might then be the fruits of baseless imaginings and Satanic whisperings that afflict those who are not content with clearly-stated, obvious truths. Imam Ghazzali pronounced a verdict of disbelief on the philosphers on three counts : their claim that the universe is eternal, their denial of the bodily resurrection, and their denial that Allah knows the minute details of things. Continue reading “5c – Resurrection” →

5b – The End of This World

THE LAST DAY

The Last Day is so named because there is no day (of this world) after it. On that day, Allah will cause this world to perish, and will replace it with another wherein people will be given the dues of their worldly actions.

The Time of Occurrence of the Last Day

Its exact time is known only to Allah. “They ask you about the Hour, when will its coming be? Say : its knowledge is only with my Lord. None will reveal it at its time save Him. [Its knowledge] is weighty upon the [inhabitants of the] heavens and the earth. It will not come to you except suddenly. They ask you as if you are well-informed about it. Say : Its knowledge is only with Allah, but most of mankind do not know.” [Qur’an, 7:187] At the end of the Jibreel hadith, the angel Gabriel asked the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), “When is the Hour?” He replied, “The questioned is not more knowledgeable about it than the questioner,” and then recited a verse of the Qur’an. “Indeed, with Allah is the knowledge of the Hour.” [Qur’an, 31:34]

Thus, it is totally forbidden to engage in speculation or calculation in order to try to predict the end of the world. Anyone who believes that a psychic or fortune-teller shares in Allah’s knowledge of the Hidden, has left Islam. On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be well pleased with him) : “Whoever came to a diviner, or a fortune-teller, and affirmed him in that which he said, has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).” [Nasa’i, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Al-Hakim] Nor is it permissible to visit psychics and the like for fun, and the person who does risks losing his prayers for forty days. “Whoever came to a fortune-teller, and asked him about something and then affirmed him , the salah of forty days will not be accepted from him.” [Narrated by Muslim] Continue reading “5b – The End of This World” →

5a – The Hereafter – Prelude

“O mankind! Indeed, Allah’s promise is true, so do not let the life of the world delude you, nor let the Deluder (Satan) delude you from Allah.” [Qur’an, 35:5]

“And they inquire from you, ‘Is it (the Day of Judgement) true?’ Say, ‘Yea. By my Lord! Indeed, it is true. And you shall not escape.” [Qur’an, 10:53]

This world, with the precise and well-defined roles of its constituents, indicates the existence of a wise, knowing and powerful Creator. (See: [Qur’an, 50:4,16,18, 34:3 and 46:33, 50:15, 36:82]) Yet, we sometimes see people around us getting other than what they deserve. Very good people might suffer greatly, while evil, dishonest individuals might escape the hand of the law, and live in luxury and wealth that they have amassed by illicit and immoral means. It would be wishful thinking to imagine that human free-will, with its accompanying conscience, carries no accountability or consequences. There must be another life, in which all will receive their just reward or punishment. [See: Qur’an, 3:190, 23:115-116, 68:35-36, 45:21, 75:36-40, 44:34-40] Continue reading “5a – The Hereafter – Prelude” →