LIFE AFTER DEATH

Meaning of the Judgment Day:

The Judgment Day (Yaum-e-Din)- is the appointed Time, when the whole mankind and Jinn will be raised after death, and judged by Allah according to His law, which has been contained in His books, Scriptures of Adam and Abraham, etc. and other four Books, the Zabur, the Taurat, the Injil and the Quran. The groups of mankind will be judged according to their contemporary Books- which have been almost the same throughout, and the group of mankind from the advent of the Last Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), to the last day of this world, will be judged according to the Quran and the Hadith.

The Quran describes the outline of the events of the Last Day in a very clear and awe-inspiring language. It says that at a time which is known only to Allah, the hour of judgment will come all of a sudden; and it will be like the twinkling of an eye. When the first trumpet of Resurrection is sounded, the earth will be split apart, it will be shaken to its depth, it will be in violent commotion and become as a level stretch. The mountains will crumble to dust and will fly here and there like wool. The sun will be folded up, the moon will be in darkness, the stars will become dim and fall. The oceans will boil over and burst forth. Human souls will be dazed and lose all consciousness of time and place. The world will be cease to be in the form which we see now and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. The Quran says:

"When the sky is rent asunder, and hearkens to (The command of) its Lord and it must needs (Do so)- and when the earth is flattened out, and casts forth what is within it and becomes empty."   (84:1-4) 

On that day every living soul will give an account of their deeds in this world. The fortunate persons among mankind and jinn (the true believers )who succeed on that Day will enter Paradise-abode of peace and harmony and they will dwell therein forever, while the unfortunate ones will enter Hell- a state of intense, fearful burning and agony without escape, among the most horrifying surroundings and companions, which its inhabitants brought upon themselves by rejecting Allah and ignoring the guidance which He had conveyed to them through his messengers.

Life After Death

Belief in life after death, the Day of Judgment, bodily resurrection and Heaven and Hell is one of the articles of faith in Islam. The word commonly used in the Quran to signify that life is al-akhirah and the word Akhir indicates that which "comes after or in the future, or the last."Death is an absolute certainty. According to the Holy Quran every soul shall have a taste of death, and must pass away. In the light of the clear teachings of the Quran, death is not the end of life of the mankind, but it opens the door to another form of Eternal Life. The Qiyamat-e-Sughra or lesser judgment takes place immediately after death. The word Barzakh occurs in Surah Muminun:

"Before them is a partition (Barzakh ) till the day they are raised up." (23:100)

Barzakh is the place or state in which people will be after death and before judgment . It is therefore and intermediate state in which the soul is placed after death till the resurrection.

The Holy Quran informs man of the reality of another life of infinite duration which will be very different from the life of this world. For Allah is easily able to transform His creatures from one state of being to another.

The Quran says:

"And among his signs is this: thou seest the earth barren and desolate; but when We send down rain to it, it is stirred to life and yields increase. Truly, he who gives life to the (dead) earth can surely give life to (men) who are dead. For He has power over all things. "    (41:39)

Being the true religion, Islam lays stress on right and basic things. It brings out that the life of this world is quite temporary, whereas the life in the Hereafter is Eternal. Islam impresses upon the mind of mankind that this world is Dar-al-'amal (i.e., the world for performing good deeds in accordance with the spirit of Islam), and the Next Life is that of Dar-al-jaza (where the doers of good or bad deeds will be rewarded or punished accordingly).

The Quran refers to this fact more elaborately in 40:39 thus:

"This worldly life is nothing but merely a temporary pastime, whereas it is the Hereafter that is the Home, better and lasting"

"Whoever does an atom of good shall see it and whoever does an atom of evil shall see it." (99:7-8)

Again, the Quran says:

"You will see (on the Day of Judgment) the wrong doers fearful on account of that which they have earned and it (the penalty thereof) is sure to befall them. But, those who believe and perform righteous deeds (in accordance with the Quran). There will be for them everything that they will wish for, from their Lord. That is, indeed, the Supreme Blessing. "     (42:22)

The faith in the life after death is the basis which makes the life more serious and more useful. It is the pivot on which this worldly life hinges. This faith is only second to that of acknowledgement of Oneness of Allah. So Allah takes up this matter frequently in the Quran. The upholder of this faith finds that he is not only answerable to Allah on the Day of Judgment, but is face to face with Him all the time in this very world, which helps him to follow to the straight path and to abstain from all deeds which might invoke Allah's wrath or are displeasing to Him.                                                                                                                                     Main Page