Belief in the Last Day
Belief in the
Last Day means believing in the Coming of the Hour of Reckoning and Recompense.
Belief in the Last Day includes belief in
the torment of the grave and its pleasures, such that when a person has died
and is buried, he will be asked in his grave about his Lord, his religion, and
his prophet. If he was a disbeliever, an idol worshipper, an atheist, or a
non-Muslim, he will be punished in his grave until the Day of Resurrection—the
Day when people will stand before the Lord of the Worlds (Noble & Sublime)
for reckoning. Then they will enter the Fire where they will remain forever and
ever.
If he was a believer, who obeyed Allah
(Mighty & Majestic), he will experience pleasure in his grave until the Day
of Resurrection, when he will be brought back to life to be presented before
his Lord (Blessed & Exalted). Then he will enter Paradise where he will
live forever and ever.
If he was a disobedient believer, he will
be subject to the Will of Allah (Mighty & Majestic): if He wills, He will
punish him, before allowing him to enter Paradise and live forever and ever, or
if He wills, He (Blessed & Exalted) will forgive him, and let him enter
Paradise where he will live forever and ever.
We would like
to draw attention to certain aspects of the proof of the coming of the Hour, or
the Last Day:
1.
Man's unspoiled, good nature
and straightforward, honest reason:
Allah (Mighty
& Majestic) created the life of this world as a realm of trials and
tribulations for men. A person spends his brief time in the life of this world
meeting tests and challenges Allah (Mighty & Majestic) has set for him. His
Lord (Noble & Sublime) has charged him with obligations and forbidden him
from violating the prohibitions and transgressing the limits set for him. This
is in accordance with the requirements of the Wisdom of Allah (Mighty &
Majestic). Then, after that, this person meets his due after death when his
Lord (Noble & Sublime) presents him with his account.
Man's good nature and honest reason reject
the idea that the destiny of a good, obedient servant of Allah (Mighty &
Majestic) could be the same as that of a bad person who did evil deeds and
disobeyed Allah (Noble & Sublime). They refuse to believe that good people
are equal to bad people—that they both die without the superiority of one over
the other ever being established.
As everyone knows, the life of this world
is not the realm of reward and punishment. One might see a good person's rights
being violated or an innocent being harmed by thugs or tyrants just because
they are stronger or more forceful than him, and he may die before getting
revenge or getting back his rights.
Therefore, there must be another world
where there is punishment and reward: where such matters can be settled, where
the oppressed can take his right back from the oppressor, where the righteous
will be rewarded by Allah Almighty for the good deeds performed in this world,
and where the wicked will face the consequences of the evil deeds he did in
this world, as a punishment for him.
This is what agrees with normal human
nature and rational minds. In fact, they actively seek it out. This is what
Allah Almighty has acknowledged in the form of a rhetorical question in His
Saying (Noble & Sublime), {Shall We treat those who believe and do
righteous good deeds as those who spread corruption on the earth? Shall We
treat the righteous as the wicked?}[Saad 38: 28]
{Shall We then treat the Muslims like the
criminals? * What is the matter with you? How you judge!}[Al-Qalam 68: 35-36]
Uncorrupted human nature and sound reason
refuse to accept that good people be equated with bad people.
From another
angle, the Hereafter is a moral necessity.
If there were no afterlife for reward and
punishment, people would not uphold moral values and good qualities, and no
society can survive without these. Without the Hereafter, honest people would
ask themselves (hypothetically): Why should I care about being honest when I
could get what I want by doing this and that…without being honest?
If there were no afterlife where people
get rewarded for the worldly things and interests they sacrificed by being
honest and bearing other good traits and noble values, it would make more sense
for them to abandon their morals in order to get what they want in this world.
Therefore, the Hereafter is a moral
necessity, in order for societies to maintain order and avoid corruption, and
this is from the Wisdom of Allah (Mighty & Majestic).
2.
News from the prophets and
messengers of the resurrection and reckoning:
Allah (Mighty
& Majestic) sent His prophets and messengers with a clear doctrine and
honest invitation which agrees with uncorrupted human nature and sound logic.
He supported them with miracles and wonders, the likes of which no one but a
prophet or messenger could produce without support from his Lord (Blessed &
Exalted).
As such, it is a necessity that people
believe what they were preaching, that they have faith in the news they brought
and that they follow them.
Among the news brought by the prophets and
messengers was the Last Day, when people will be raised from the dead to face
their judgment and receive recompense from their God and Creator for their deeds.
Therefore, it is essential for people to
believe in the Last Day, the Day of Reckoning and Recompense, in accordance
with what the prophets and messengers have told us.
3.
The Wisdom of Allah (Glorious
& Exalted) and His Justice require resurrection and recompense:
It is from the
Wisdom and Justice of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) that He made another Day
after the end of the life of this world when everyone will receive the fruits
of his actions: whatever he deserves, either reward or punishment, according to
the good or evil he did.
Indeed, we see people leaving this world
having harmed others without the victims having the satisfaction of reprisal,
and we see others leaving this world oppressed without having their rights
restored.[1]
We see some people immersed in evil and
good people suffering. If everyone just did what they wanted, right or wrong,
without settling the score between aggressor and victim, and without
distinguishing between good and evil, this would be a stain on the Justice and
Wisdom of Allah (Mighty & Majestic).[2]
Therefore, it is from the Wisdom and
Justice of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) that there will be a Day when everyone
will stand between the Hands of God, the King (Glorious & Exalted) and
victims will face their oppressors, and every good and bad person will receive
their recompense,[3] in
accordance with the Saying of Allah Most High,
{"Did you think that We had created you in play (without purpose),
and that you would not be brought back to Us?}
[Al-Mu'minoon 23: 115]
{Shall We treat those who believe and do righteous good deeds as those
who spread corruption on the earth? Shall We treat the righteous as the
wicked?}
[Saad 38: 28]
{Does man think that he will be left without reward or punishment?}
[Al-Qiyaamah 75: 36]
Brief Visible,
Logical Proof that Allah (Mighty & Majestic) Will Resurrect the Dead for
the Reckoning & of His Ability to Do So:
First we would
like to point out that the claim of those who deny the resurrection is nothing
but false assumption and lies, and certainty is not removed with doubt, for
Allah Almighty says, {While they have no knowledge thereof. They follow but
conjecture, and verily, conjecture is no substitute for the truth.}[Al-Najm 53:
28]
1.
The Original Creation of Man
{Oh mankind! If you are in doubt about the Resurrection, then, verily!
We have created you from dust, then from a nutfah (mixed drops of male
and female sexual discharge), then from a clot, then from a little lump of
flesh, some formed and some unformed, that We may make clear to you (Our Power
and Ability). And We cause whom We will to remain in the wombs for an appointed
term, then We bring you out as infants, then (make you grow) that you may reach
your age of full strength. And among you there is he who dies (young), and
among you there is he who is brought back to a miserable old age, so that he
knows nothing after having known. And you see the earth barren, but when We
send down water on it, it is stirred (back to life), it swells and brings forth
every lovely kind (of vegetation).}
[Al-Hajj 22: 5]
As Allah
(Mighty & Majestic) created man from dust after he had been nothing and
made him move from one stage into another during the period of his formation,
He (Mighty & Majestic) is Able to bring him back to life after death and
decomposition, just as He created him the first time. Thus no one should deny
the final re-creation of man.
This has been confirmed scientifically;
modern science has discovered that:
After dead bodies break down in the grave
into their basic components—from water to dust—one important thing remains: a
bone resembling a mustard seed, known as `ajab al-dhanab, the tailbone
or coccyx, which does not turn to dust.
It has also been discovered that:
This bone is the Primary Organizer, such
that all tissues, organs and systems in the embryo are formed from it, and that
it never disintegrates.
We would like to stress that the first
person to voice this scientific fact was the chief of all prophets and
messengers, Muhammad (pbuh), 1400 years ago, when he related the following
hadith:
"Every son of Adam will be devoured by dust, except the tailbone
(the coccyx), from it he was created and from it he will be recreated."
[Related by Muslim]
This noble
hadith from the Prophet (pbuh) is a dazzling light and testimony of the truth
that Muhammad (pbuh) was a messenger from the Lord of the Worlds, supported by
his Lord (Blessed & Exalted) by great and numerous miracles, proclaiming
the final Divine Message from Allah (Blessed & Exalted) as His final
prophet and messenger, Muhammad (pbuh).
2.
Sleep and Waking
Man's sleep is
considered a minor death, and his waking from sleep is as a new life after
death. Every human being dies this minor death and then is raised to life
again, in this way, every day and night.
In man's sleep and waking there is an
indication that there is another life after his major death and the end of his
term in the life of this world, and the next life is for reckoning and
recompense.
3.
Reviving Barren Earth
Allah Almighty
said,
{And you see the earth barren, but when We send down water on it, it is
stirred (back to life), it swells and brings forth every lovely kind (of
vegetation).}
[Al-Hajj
22: 5]
As Allah
(Mighty & Majestic) revives dead, barren, dry earth, which is void of
vegetation, by sending water down upon it, restoring to for fresh cultivation,
He (Noble & Sublime) is Able to return life to human beings after death.
4.
Bringing Forth Fire from a Dry
Tree (Producing a Thing from Its Opposite)
Allah Almighty
said,
{He, Who produces for you fire out of the green tree, when behold! You
kindle therewith.}
[Ya-Sin
36: 80]
The nature of
a tree is moist and cold, and the nature of fire is dry and hot. So, just as
Allah (Mighty & Majestic) brings forth hot, dry fire from its opposite: a
cold, wet, green tree, He (Noble & Sublime) is Able to bring forth life
from death. He is Able to bring a person back from the dead, once again, for
judgment and reward or punishment.
In ancient times, if a person wanted to start
a fire and he had no flint, he would take two green sticks from the markh
and `affaar trees that grow in the Hijaz [the eastern Arabian
Peninsula]. He would rub one against the other and a fire would spark between
them.
5.
The Greatness of Other Things
that Allah (Mighty & Majestic) Created
Allah Almighty
said,
{The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the
creation of mankind, yet most of mankind know not.}
[Ghaafir
40: 57]
As Allah
(Mighty & Majestic) created the heavens and the earth, with their greatness
and vastness, He (Noble & Sublime) is Able to bring man to life after his
death, since the creation of the heavens and the earth is greater and more
glorious than the creation of a meager human being.
Note:
We mentioned that,
from belief in the Last Day is that we believe in the torment of the grave and
its delights. In other words, man lives another type of life in his grave, but
we have no knowledge of what it is like. It is the life of the Barzakh,
the Partition between Life and Death. During this life of the Barzakh,
inside the grave, a person will either experience joy and delight because he
was a good, believing Muslim, or he will be tormented because he was a
disbeliever, idol worshipper, atheist, or disobedient evil-doer.
A disingenuous denier might argue that
there is no torment in the grave because he can see neither torment nor delight
if the grave is left open so one can see the person buried there, and because
two or three or more people might be buried in a common grave (when necessary)
though some of them might be obedient Muslims and others sinners and
disbelievers, so how would the sinner be tormented right beside the righteous
person who would be harmed by the sinner's punishment? How could the righteous
person be rewarded right beside the sinner when some of that reward could
affect him?
To refute this
misconception, we say:
First of all,
Allah (Mighty & Majestic) is Able to do anything, as we have established,
and as we have shown in the Supreme Attributes of Allah (Mighty & Majestic)
and His Absolute Power.
As such, Allah (Mighty & Majestic) has
the Power to conceal from human eyes that which takes place inside the grave
beyond the Barzakh, in terms of the questioning of the two angels and
the torment or delight, even if the grave was left open for all to see, in
fact, even if the person was not even buried at all.
Allah (Mighty & Majestic) has the
Power to punish the disobedient or to reward the righteous without the sinner
sharing in the reward of the righteous or the righteous being harmed by the
punishment of the sinner, even if they were both buried in the same grave.
To prove this
logically:
If two men are sleeping, and one's bed is next
to the other's, one of them could have a dream that frightens and harms him to
the extent that, at times, he wishes he could rise from his sleep from how bad
the dream is, but he cannot wake up.
While the other man might see a good
vision which brings him good news that cheers him up and makes him so happy
that he wishes the dream would last forever and he would never have to wake up.
So, we say: Even though both men are
sleeping before our eyes, very close to us, we are not able to see what is
happening to either of them. So should we deny anything they tell us about what
happened while they were sleeping?
Of course not.
Even though the two men's beds were near
each other, side-by-side, neither of their dreams got mixed up with the other.
So, if this is how it is in the life of this world, then how will it be in the
life beyond the Barzakh and in the Afterlife, after the resurrection and
judgment, which will both be of another sort, with other measurements and
standards, different than what we find now in the life of this world?
That is why we are obliged to believe in
everything we have been told by the prophets and messengers, and why we must
submit and be certain of everything they came with.
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