(5) QIAMAT: THE LAST DAY OF THE FINAL
JUDGMENT
Islam demands that a Muslim believe in the return of everything
to the Lord for the final Judgment of every soul in matters of
faith and action. There are repeated declarations in the Holy
Qur'an warning mankind to guard his life on earth against the
retribution which is sure to come. This should keep man on the
right track protected against future accountability.
A Muslim must believe in Ma 'ad or Qiamat, the Final Day of
Judgment and live such a clean life that he will easily earn
eternal life and heavenly bliss.
The fifth principle of the faith of Islam-Original, or Shims,
is the belief in Ma'am or Qiamat. Every human being is
Individually accountable for his own faith and deeds.
And for all (are ranks assigned) according to what they
did; that (God) may (fully) recompense their deeds, and
they shall not be done any injustice. (46:19)
After death, each human being will rise from the dead to be
rewarded and punished according to the sum of his virtue and
vice in this life. The present life is only a season for
cultivation
and effort, while the afterlife will be a period of harvest. This life
creates the causes for the effects in the hereafter. As one sows,
so shall he reap.
It is not necessary to repeat that human life on earth started
with a single pair, Adam and Eve, and over countless ages that
life multiplied. Something that has a beginning will have an
end.
Death is not the extinction of life; if it were, there would be
no difference between the end of the good and the evil. The good
and the evil can never be equal.
Say (O Our Apostle Muhammad!) equal are not the bad
and the good though the abundance of the bad may
enchant thee; so then fear ye God, O ye of under-
standing, that ye may be successful (5:100)
When we are enjoined to do good only and to abstain from every
evil, the question arises, "Why?" The only natural or reasonable
answer can be that if good is done, good will return, and if evil
is done, evil will return. It is with this assurance that one will
incline to goodness and resist evil. Note the Qur'anic
declarations:
On that day shall come out people (from their graves) in
(scattered) groups, to be shown their own deeds. Then he
who hath done an atom-weight of good shall see It. And
he who has done an atom-weight of evil shall see it.
(99:6-8)
It would not be divine justice to allow both good and evil lives to
end in extinction. It would not be just and reasonable for those
who have suffered misery, torture and painful death for the sake
of goodness to please the Lord to be put on the same level as
those who have lived in vice, sinful luxury and criminal
enjoyments prohibited by the Lord.
Moses and Pharaoh, Jesus and his persecutors, Muhammad
the Holy Prophet and Abu Jehl, Ali and ibne Mulim, Husain and
Yazid, can never be equated. The merits and the sins must be
recognised. The Ma 'ad or Qiamat is for this alone.
Death is only a turning point in life, a transition from this life
of causes to the state of effects.
The period between death and the Day of Judgment is called
Barzakh (Purgatory).
The Last Day will be the Day of Final Judgment when every
soul shall account for individual good or evil during life on earth.
On this day the people will be divided into three groups: those
who did only good, did not pollute themselves with any evil and
did good to others; those who lived their whole life in evil and
did evil to others; and those who have a mixed record of good
and evil.
It is also well known that a good deed may seem to be a minor
goodness, yet may have an abiding major effect; and an evil may
seem to be minor, yet it may have a far-reaching consequence.
Hence every good deed, major or minor, and every evil deed,
major or minor, will be judged according to the actual merit or
demerit of its consequent effects.
Those who did good will enjoy eternal bliss; those who did
evil shall suffer punishment; and those who did both good and
evil will have their deeds balanced against each other, and will
be
rewarded or punished in accordance with the result.
There is room for intercession, but it is conditional and will
not be for those who have intentionally rebelled against the
authorities set up by God and have tortured and killed God's
viceregents on earth, namely the Apostle and the Holy Imams.
The Holy Qur'an says that killing one man is equal to killing
the whole human race, and saving one man's life is like saving
the whole human race. If this is true of an ordinary man,
consider the gravity of the killing of an apostle or Imam of
God,
and what will be the fate of those who killed Husain and his
whole godly band of faithful supporters of the truth?
For this reason did We prescribe unto the Children of
Israel that he who slayeth any one (man) without (that
being for) murder, or for mischief in the land, ('t shall
be) as though he hath slain mankind as a whole; and he
who saveth it (a human life) shall be as though he hath
saved mankind as a whole; and certainly our Apostles
came unto them with clear evidences and yet, verily,
many of them even after that certainly commit excesses
in the land. (5:32)
The return of everything to its Creator Lord in the life hereafter
has repeatedly been declared:
And He is God, there is no god but He! His is all praise,
in first and (in) the last, and His is the authority, and
unto Him (only) ye shall be returned (28:70)
The day of a total gathering is announced:
On the day (of resurrection) when We will gather them
all together, then will We say unto those who associated
others (with Us), "Keep ye where ye are, ye and your
associated gods." Then We shall separate them, the one
from the other, and shall say (unto them) their associate
gods, "It was not Us that ye worshipped" (10:28)
Regarding the return of all men to their True Lord, and the speed
with which it will be effected, it is declared:
Then they are returned unto God, their Maula Master),
the (only) Real One; Beware! (now surely), His (alone)
(as the Master) is the Judgment, and He is the swiftest of
reckoners. (6:62) (See also Chapter 36, "Yasin",
particularly verses 51-54 and 65)
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The following verse tells of the deeds which will he judged
according to their merits and demerits, and will be rewarded
accordingly:
And for all (are ranks assigned) according to what they
did; that (God) may (fully) recompense their deeds, and
they shall not be done any injustice. (46;19)
God is the best of judges:
what! Is not God the Judge of judges?
The following verses of Sura-Tatwif, (Sura 83, the Defaulters)
clearly declare the facts about the Judgment:
Verse
4 what! Think they not that they shall be raised?
5 For a mighty day.
6 On the day when mankind shall stand before the
Lord of the worlds.
10 Woe on that day unto the disbelievers.
11 Those who disbelieve the Day of Judgment.
12 And disbelieve if not (any one) save a
transgressor.
16 Verily, they shall be committed to the flaming
fire.
17 Then shall it be said (unto them): "This is that
which ye disbelieved"
22 Verily, the righteous ones shall be in bounteous
bliss.
24 Thou (O Our Apostle Muhammad!) wilt recognise
in their face the (delightful) radiance of bliss
29 And verily they who ore the guilty ones used to
laugh at those who believe.
30 And when they pass by them, wink they at one
another.
31 And when return they unto their people, return
they jesting.
32 And when they see them, they say: "These are the
ones who have gone astray. if
33 while they are not to be watchers over them.
34 So today, those who believe shall laugh at the
disbelievers.
35 On couches (exalted they shall be) seeing (the
delightful sights.
36 Shall not the disbelievers be (also) recompensed
for what they used to do?
These verses declare that:
(i) There is a Day of Final Judgment
(ii) At that time every soul shall return to the Lord.
(iii) The evil shall he punished and the good
rewarded.
(iv) There is a place of suffering for the evil which is
called Hell and there is a place of eternal bliss
for the good which is called Heaven or Paradise.
(v) The reward or punishment shall he according to
the merit or demerit of the individual.
The Holy Qur'an is full of warnings to mankind about the life
after death and the Last Day of Judgment. The following is a
glossary of words used:
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(i) Jannat: Paradise or Heaven
(ii) Nar: Hell-fire
(iii) Akhirat: Hereafter
(iv) Mahshar: The place of the gathering of the souls
(v) Qiamat: The Resurrection
(vi) Meazan: The Balance - The means of
discrimination or balancing against each other
such things as merits of intention and action.
(vii) Siraat: The correct Path. Every soul shall pass
through it The righteous shall have no
difficulty, but the wicked will have great
difficulty and perhaps find it impossible to
traverse successfully. Every soul will find it easy
or difficult according to the merit or demerit
earned in this life.
(viii)
Sawale-Munkir wa Nakir: Every human soul
upon leaving the body shall be questioned about
its faith and deeds in this present life and will be
admitted to the transitory state, Barzakh
(Purgatory) in accordance with the answers given.
(ix) Nama-e-Aamaal: Record of deeds. Every one's
deeds are recorded and the records are preserved.
From Sura 83:
Verse
7 Nay! the record of the wicked has been preserved
in the "Sijjin"
8 And what will make thee know what the "Sijjin"
is?
9 It is a Written Book.
18 Nay! The record of the righteous shall be in the
"Illiyin".
19 And what will make thee know what the "Illiyin?
is?
20 (It is) a Written book
The Book referred to here does not mean a book of paper but a
means of natural evidence.
The Day of Judgment shall be a horrible day of the revelation
of the truth both hidden and manifest. Every part of man itself
shall bear witness to his deeds:
On that day will We set a seal upon their mouths, and
shall speak unto Us their hands and shall bear witness
their feet of what they were deserving. (36:65)
On that day will bear witness against them their tongues
and their hands and their feet, as to what they did
(24:24)
On the day whereon shall stand the spirit and the angels
arrayed, they shall speak not save he whom the
Beneficent God giveth leave, who spoke not (only) the
truth. (87:38)
That is the day certain, whoso then desireth may take
refuge unto his Lord (78:39)
There are many more verses in the Qur'an dealing with various
details of the Last Judgment. Every true Muslim must believe in
the Judgment Day as an article of faith.
Jannat: Paradise:
Jannat is a place generally refereed to in English as Heaven. It is
a place of eternal bliss, the abode of those who did good on
earth.
On the day of Judgment all actions will be weighed, and one
whose goodness outweighs his evil will be granted a place here in
a degree of bliss which is in accordance with his level of
goodness:
Verily (for) those who believe and do good, the Lord
guideth them by their faith, beneath them will flow rivers
in gardens of bliss. (10:9)
Their cry therein (will be), "Glory be to Thee O God!"
and their greetings in it (will be), "Peace" and the last of
their cry (will be) that to God is the praise, the Lord of
the worlds.
On the Day of Judgment the Lord will declare to His good
servants:
O My servants! No fear shall be on you this day, nor
shall ye grieve. Those who believed in Our signs and
were Muslims (those submitting themselves to God).
Enter ye the Garden, ye and your companions; ye shall
be made to be delighted There shall be passed round
unto them dishes of gold and cups (of drinks); and
therein shall be whatever desire of their souls and
(which) could delight the eyes; and ye shall abide
therein. This is the Garden (paradise) ye are made to
receive as a heritage (in recompense) for what he have
been doing. (43:68-72)
The Faith in the Angels:
Angels are pure spiritual beings created to glorify the Lord and to
execute His will. They can appear in any form, but not of any
base animal. Their number is unknown. Only a few whose
services are directly connected with this life are mentioned.
Faith in the existence of these celestial beings is incumbent upon
every Muslim. The following are a few of the verses of the Holy
Qur'an concerning angels:
It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces towards the
East and the West, righteousness is rather one who
believeth in God and the Last Day and the angels and the
Book, the Apostles, and giveth his wealth out of love for
Him to the kindred and the orphans and the poor and the
wayfarer and the needy and for those in bondage; And
establisheth prayer and payeth the poor-rate; And those
who fulfil their promise and the patient ones in distress
and affliction and in the time of war these are they who
are Truthful and these are they who are the pious.
(2:177)
He sendeth down the angels with the spirit (revelation)
by His own decree on whomsoever He willeth of His
servants saying: "Warn ye (mankind) that there is no god
but I, therefore fear Me. (16:2)
And there shall be a blast on the trumpet. It is the Day
Promised (warned against). "And shall come every soul,
along with it a driver and a witness. (50:20,21)
By those who drag forth violently And by those who untie
(the knot) briskly And by those (angels) who glide on
(swiftly) Then those (angels) who go ahead with a
foremost speed Then those (angels) who (subalissively)
manage the affairs. (79:1-5)
On the day whereon shall stand the spirit and the angels
arrayed they shall speak not save he whom the
Beneficent God giveth leave, who spoke not (only) the
truth. (78:38)
There are three angels whose special duties are mentioned:
Gabriel: This angel is called Ameen, the Trusted. He is the
foremost angel, the one who communicated God's
commandments to the Prophets, and it was he who
conveyed the Holy Qur'an to the Holy Prophet.
Izrael: The messenger of Death who separates the soul
from the body.
Israfeel: The one who will blow the trumpet announcing the
Day of the Final Judgment.
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