TERM 2 - TAWHEED ii - CLASS 5
FAITH IN THE DAY OF RESURRECTION
Faith In The Day Of Resurrection
Faith in the Day of Resurrection is the firm belief in all that Allah mentions in the Qur'an, and in all that the Prophet ﷺ has told us, about the afterlife: the fitna of the grave, punishment and reward therein, resurrection, the gathering, the records, the reckoning, the scale, the fount, the bridge 'as-Sirat', intercession, Paradise and the Hell-Fire and everything which Allah has prepared for those who will dwell in them.
The Qur'an's Focus on this Issue and the Wisdom behind it
The Holy Qur'an mentions the Last Day on numerous occasions and in many different literary styles. It reaffirms its events, reminds of its afflictions and asserts its occurrence.
Some of the ways in which this is emphasised are As follows:
(but Al-Birr (Piety, Righteousness, and each and every act of obedience to Allah, and so on) is (the quality of) the one who believes in Allah and the Last Day) Al-Baqarah - Aayah 177
(Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve) Al-Baqarah - Aayah 62.
And there are many other examples in the Qur'an of this connection between belief in Allah and belief in the Last Day.
The Qur'an mentions the Last Day on virtually every page
It recounts its events and conditions in varied literary styles. It also provides us with a wealth of details on this subject, something which is rarely found in connection with other issues falling in the domain of Ghaib (unseen).
Allah calls the Last Day by many other names
Each of those names describes the afflictions that will occur on that day. Some of the names mentioned in the Qur'an are: the Resurrection, the Hour, the Last Day, Yawm ad-Din, Yawm al-Hisab (the Day of Accounting), Yawm an-Nushur (the Day of the Rising), Yawm al-Hashr, and so on.
The Reasons for this Interest in the Last Day
Faith in the Last Day has a great influence on man's life
Belief in the events of the Last Day, such as Heaven, Hell, judgement, punishment, reward, success and loss, has a greatly beneficial influence in directing the believer, ensuring his conformity and adherence to righteous conduct and piety towards Allah. There is indeed a great difference between a person who does not believe that he will be resurrected and judged for every word and deed, and one who does. The first is driven solely by his own personal interests and preoccupied only by his worldly ambitions. There is no constraint on him save for his desires and appetites. His selfish objectives justify any means, attitudes or deeds, however harmful to himself and others they prove to be.
On the other hand, the person who believes that he will be judged by the most impartial Judge, and rewarded for any good and punished for every sin, conducts himself within the boundaries of Truth, goodness and rectitude. Those are the characteristics that please Allah on that Day. Allah () says in the Qur'an:
(And the weighing on that day (Day of Resurrection) will be the true (weighing). So as for those whose scale (of good deeds) will be heavy, they will be the successful (by entering Paradise). And as for those whose scale will be light, those are they who will lose their own selves (by entering Hell) because they denied and rejected Our Aayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations and so on) Al-A'raaf - Al-Aayataan 8-9.
This reason for the Qur'an's emphasis on the Last Day can also be seen in the connection it makes on many occasions between belief in the Last Day and performing righteous deeds.
By his very nature, man seeks to acquire personal benefits and to ward off harm. Belief in the Day of Judgement reinforces this instinctive drive that draws us toward good and away from evil. The Qur'an constantly reminds us of the Last Day and excels in describing it because of the beneficial influence this has in reinforcing our instinct for self-advancement.
Man often forgets and disregards the Last Day
Man clings to earth and is too preoccupied with worldly pleasures and possessions. Belief in the Day of Judgement, in the joy and suffering therein, mitigates the excesses of his love for this life. It makes him realise that all the pleasures to be had on this earth do not deserve to be coveted, laboured for and competed over. Only what awaits them on that great Day merits such effort.
The evidence for belief in the Last Day and the reply to those who deny it
Both the Qur'an and the Sunnah give plenty of evidence for belief in the Last Day. This belief is also obvious to any sound intellect and healthy instinct.
Allah often mentions the Last Day in His Book, giving proofs of it and repudiating the denials of those who have no faith in resurrection. We can also find ample details about the events and circumstances of that Day in the Qur'an. Although every prophet before Muhammad ﷺ had given his people glad tidings of, and forewarned them against, the Day of Judgement, and branded all who denied or doubted it as disbelievers, the details given in the Qur'an sets it apart from all previous revelations.
Allah, Exalted is He, instructed the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ on several occasions to swear by His Name that the Day of Judgement will come. Allah says:
(The disbelievers pretend that they will never be resurrected (for the Account). Say (0 Muhammad): "Yes! By my Lord, you will certainly be resurrected") At-Taghaabun - Al-Aayah 7.
Details of faith in the Last day
While belief in the Last Day is one of the most important foundations upon which faith is built, it can not be achieved or considered complete and integral without the fulfilment of the two following conditions.
The first is that a Muslim should believe in the Last Day in general terms. This is the minimum requirement for the acceptance of his faith.
The second is to believe in everything the Prophet ﷺ told us about the events that occur after death, which belong to the domain of Ghaib.
Fitna (trial) of the grave and questioning by the two angels (Munkar and Nakir)
We should believe in what the Prophet ﷺ told us about the Fitna of the grave and the questioning of the dead person by the two angels about his God, his Faith and his Prophet. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ recounted how people will be examined in their graves and asked: 1) Who is your Lord? 2) What is your faith? 3) Who is your Prophet? The believer will say: "My Lord is Allah, Islam is my religion, and my Prophet is Muhammad." The doubter will say, "I do not know. I had heard people say things and I repeated them." He will then be beaten and tortured.
There are many Ahaadeeth Sahiha related to this subject.
Torment and bliss in the grave
In addition to the Fitna of the grave, we should also believe in what the Prophet ﷺ said about the bliss and torment to be experienced in the grave. This matter is detailed in both the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
Signs of The Hour
We should believe that the Hour will certainly come, and that its timing is known only to Allah who kept it from all human beings, including the Messengers and Prophets. It is impossible for anyone to find out when life in this world will come to an end.
But We must believe in what the Prophet ﷺ said about its signs and conditions. There are plenty of authentic Ahaadeeth in which the Prophet ﷺ mentions the Hour, its small signs and the great signs.
The Beginning of The Last Day
We must believe in what Allah tells us in the Qur'an, especially in the two Surats of At-Takwir and Al-Infitar (81 & 82), about what happens on the last day on this earth and the beginning of the Day of Judgement. The verses inform us that the Last Day will start with an overwhelming change in the universe, when the sky will be rent asunder and the stars scattered away, the planets will collide and the earth will be shattered. The mountains will collapse and everything will be laid to waste and all that man knew in this existence will be utterly destroyed.
Resurrection
We also believe that Allah will then command that the trumpet be sounded for the second time, whereupon life returns to the dead. This is the Day of Resurrection. That is the return of people in body and soul to the form they were on this earth. Allah will then cause people to rise from their graves, and the hypocrites and disbelievers will say:
(Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep? Yaa-Sin - Al-Aayah 52.
To which the believers will reply by saying:
(This is what the Most Beneficent (Allah) had promised, and the Messengers spoke truth) Yaa-Sin - Al-Aayah 52.
The Gathering
We believe that the gathering will take place after people are resurrected and have risen from their graves.
After people are resurrected, Allah will command the angels to drive all humanity to a predetermined place where they will be gathered to await their judgements. They will be in the state in which they first came into this life, barefoot, naked and uncircumcised.
The Recompense of Deeds
We are required to believe that on the Last Day people will be recompensed for all what they gained in this world, good and evil. Allah says in the Qur'an:
(On that Day Allah will pay them the recompense of their deeds in full, and they will know that Allah, - He-is the Manifest Truth) An-Nur - Al Aayah 25.
Presentation And Reckoning
Recompense takes place following a fair trial in which people will be presented to their Lord. Evidence and arguments for and against them will be put forward, they will be presented with the records of their deeds and will read their records. We are informed of those events (the presentation and bringing to account, and the reading of the record) in the Qur'an and Sunnah and they are further confirmed by the consensus of the scholars of this Ummah.
The Fount
We must believe in what the Prophet ﷺ said about the fount which Allah has bestowed upon him and his people. The Ahaadeeth relating to it are well-known and have been recounted by more than thirty of the Sahabah.
The first to drink from it will be the Prophet ﷺ, followed by his Ummah, while the disbelievers and a group of disobedient people and those who commit of major sins will be barred from it. This will take place after the gathering, the presentation, reckoning, and reading of the records.
The Scale
We must believe in what Allah and His Messenger ﷺ have told us about people's good and evil deeds being weighed on the Day of Judgement with a scale, to demonstrate the Justice of Allah.
The Ahaadeeth tell us that it is a real scale, with two plates, and that Allah transforms people's deeds into objects with weights whereupon the good deeds will be placed on one side and the evil ones on the other.
The weighing of deeds takes place after the reckoning is over. Reckoning is meant to decide the deeds carried out by the servant in this life, and weighing shows their value and decides the commensurate recompense". However, weighing is not carried out for prophets and angels and those whom Allah has exempted from reckoning.
The Bridge
We Believe that after the reckoning and weighing, people will pass over the bridge known as 'as-Sirat' set across the Hell-Fire.
Everybody will pass over this bridge: prophets and honourable worshipers, believers and disbelievers, those who face the reckoning and those who don't. Those who adhered to the straight path of Allah, His true religion, in this life will walk straight across the bridge on the Last Day. Some of the Ahaadeeth tell us that the ease with which people cross that bridge depends on the amount of good deeds they performed in this life. Some pass like meteorites, others like the wind, or as fast as the eye can blink, or as though they were wading through sand, while those with the fewest good deeds take one step and stumble the next and the Fire will touch their sides. When they have all passed along, they will say to the Fire: "Praise be to Allah who saved us from you, after showing you to us. He has given us what He gave no other people"
Paradise and Hell
In addition to all of the above, we believe in the existence of Paradise and Hell, that they are two of Allah's creations which He has as reward and punishment, and that they existed before mankind were created, exist today and will exist for eternity. Allah says about Hell:
0 you who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is Men and Stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allah, but do that which they are commanded) At-Tahreem - Al-Aayah 6. ass Qaaf - Al Aayah 30.
Allah (S.W.T.) mentions a great deal about the bliss of Paradise in the Qur'an:
(Verily! The "Muttaqun" [that is, pious and righteous persons who fear Allah much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden), and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)], will be in place of Security (Paradise). Among Gardens and Springs; Dressed in fine silk and (also) in thick silk, facing each other, so (it will be), and We shall marry them to Houris (female fair ones) with wide lovely eyes. They will call therein for every kind of fruit in peace and security; they will never taste death therein except the first death (of this world), and He will save them from the Torment of the Blazing Fire, as a Bounty from your Lord! That will be the supreme success. Certainly, We have made this (Qur'an) easy on your tongue, in order that they may remember. Wait then (0 Muhammad); Verily, they (too) are waiting)
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