Why the Last Day matters

Belief in the Last Day is one of the six pillars of iman (faith). When Jibril asked Nabi ﷺ what iman is, he named it beside belief in Allah, His angels, His books and His messengers¹.

This world is not the end. Every kindness counts, and every wrong is answered. Allah says: you will be paid in full on the Day of Resurrection².

The journey goes in this order:

• Death and the grave. The time between death and the Day is called barzakh. It is covered in Death and the grave.
• The Trumpet, and the end of this world.
• The rising from the graves, and the gathering before Allah.
• The reckoning: the books of deeds, and the scale.
• The Pool of Nabi ﷺ, and the Bridge over Jahannam.
• Then the final home: Jannah or Jahannam.

We only say about that Day what the Quran and sahih (authentic) hadith tell us. No stories, no guesses.

The Trumpet

The Hour starts with the blowing of the Trumpet (the Sur). Allah says:

The Trumpet will be blown, and everyone in the heavens and the earth will fall down dead, except whom Allah wills. Then it will be blown again, and at once they will be standing, looking on³.

• So there are two blowings. The first ends this world. The second raises the dead.
• Nabi ﷺ said: between the two blowings is forty. People asked Abu Hurayrah: forty days? Forty years? He would not say, because he had not heard more⁴. So we do not guess.

When this will happen, only Allah knows. Its signs are in The signs of the Hour.

The rising

After the second blowing, every human who ever lived comes out of the earth, body and soul together. This is called the resurrection, or ba'th.

Some people find this hard to believe. The Quran answers them:

A man forgets his own creation and asks: who will give life to bones that have rotted away? Say: the One who made them the first time will give them life. He knows every kind of creation⁵.

• You were nothing, and Allah made you. Bringing you back is easy for Him.
• Nabi ﷺ said: every part of a person's body decays except the tailbone, and from it Allah will put the whole body together again⁶.
• Allah says: the Hour is coming, there is no doubt about it, and Allah will raise those in the graves⁷.

The gathering

Then all of mankind, from Adam to the last person, is gathered in one place. It is the Day when people stand before the Lord of the worlds⁸.

• Nabi ﷺ said: people will be gathered barefoot, unclothed and uncircumcised. Aisha asked: will men and women look at each other? He said: the matter will be too serious for them to care about that⁹.
• Each person comes alone¹⁰. On that Day a person runs from his brother, his mother and father, his wife and his children. Each one is busy with himself¹¹.
• The sun comes close, about a mile away. People are in sweat according to their deeds: some up to the ankles, some to the knees, some to the waist, and some up to the mouth¹².

The seven in Allah's shade

Nabi ﷺ said Allah will give shade to seven on the Day when there is no shade but His¹³:

The hadith says "a man" in some places, but scholars explain that women earn this shade too with the same deeds. These are deeds anyone can start today.

The great intercession

After the long waiting, people look for someone to ask Allah to start the judgement. Only Muhammad ﷺ will do it¹⁴. This is called the great intercession, and it is for all of mankind.

The book of deeds

All your life, angels have been writing. Allah says there are noble writers over you, who know what you do¹⁶. Not a word is said without a watcher ready to write it¹⁷.

On the Day, each person is given their book (record of deeds). It is spread open, and they are told: read your book. Today you are enough to judge yourself¹⁸. People will say: what is this book? It leaves nothing small or big, but it has counted it¹⁹.

The right hand or the left

• The one given his book in his right hand is so happy he shows it to others: here, read my book! I knew I would meet my account. He will be in a happy life, in a high garden²⁰.
• The one given it in his left hand says: I wish I had never been given my book, and never known my account²¹.

Allah is generous in the writing

• Plan a good deed and do not do it: one full good deed is written. Do it: ten to seven hundred times, or more. Plan a bad deed and leave it: a good deed is written. Do it: only one bad deed is written²².

Allah speaks to each person

Nabi ﷺ said: every one of you will be spoken to by his Lord, with no translator between them²³.

• For the believer, it can be private. Allah brings him close, covers him, and reminds him of his sins until he thinks he is ruined. Then Allah says: I covered them for you in the world, and I forgive them for you today²⁴.
• The first thing asked about is salah. If it is sound, the rest goes well. If it is short, Allah says: look, does My servant have extra prayers? And the gap is filled from them²⁵.

Some of the ummah, seventy thousand, will enter Jannah with no reckoning at all, because they trusted their Lord deeply²⁶.

The scale

Deeds are then weighed on the scale (al-mizan). It is real, and it is perfectly fair. Allah says:

We will set up the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be wronged at all. Even if it is the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it²⁷.

• Whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it²⁸. No small kindness is ever lost.
• The one whose scale is heavy will be in a happy life. The one whose scale is light is in loss²⁹.
• Allah does not wrong anyone by even an atom. A good deed, He doubles it³⁰.

What makes the scale heavy

• Two light words. Nabi ﷺ said two phrases are light on the tongue, heavy on the scale, and loved by the Most Merciful: Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi, Subhanallahil-Azim³¹.
• Alhamdulillah fills the scale³².
• Good character. Nabi ﷺ said: nothing is heavier on the believer's scale than good character³³.

The rights of people

Allah may forgive sins against Him. But the rights of people are paid back on that Day.

• Nabi ﷺ asked: do you know who is bankrupt? It is the one who comes with salah, fasting and zakat, but he insulted this one, lied about that one, took this one's money and hit that one. His good deeds are given to them. If they run out, their sins are put on him³⁵.
• Justice reaches even the animals: the sheep with no horns will get its right from the sheep with horns³⁶.
• So fix things now. Return what you took, say sorry, and ask people to forgive you while you can.

The Pool of Nabi ﷺ

Nabi ﷺ has a great Pool (al-Hawd) on the Day of Resurrection, where his ummah will drink. He said:

• It is a month's journey across.
• Its water is whiter than milk, and it smells better than musk.
• Its cups are as many as the stars in the sky.
• Whoever drinks from it will never be thirsty again³⁷.

He also said: I will be there before you, at the Pool³⁸. After the long, hot waiting, he will be there for us. The way there is to hold on to his Sunnah in this life.

The Bridge

Then the Bridge (as-Sirat) is laid across Jahannam, and people must cross it to reach Jannah³⁹.

• Nabi ﷺ described it as slippery, with hooks along it, like the thorns of a desert plant⁴⁰.
• People cross according to their deeds. Some cross in the blink of an eye, some like lightning, some like the wind, some like fast horses and camels. Some are safe with no harm, some get scratches but are saved, and some fall. The last one crosses by being dragged⁴¹.
• Nabi ﷺ and his ummah will be the first to cross. On that Day, the messengers will be saying: O Allah, save us, save us⁴².

Allah says: there is not one of you who will not pass over it. Then We will save those who feared Allah⁴³⁴⁴.

Intercession

Intercession (shafa'ah) means asking Allah to forgive or help someone else. On the Day, it is real. But it only happens with Allah's permission, for those He is pleased with. Who can intercede with Him, except with His permission?⁴⁵⁴⁶.

The intercession of Nabi ﷺ

• The great intercession for all people, to begin the judgement⁴⁷.
• For sinners of his ummah. He said: my intercession is for the people of my ummah who did major sins⁴⁸⁴⁹. He will go back to Allah again and again, and each time Allah says: take out of the Fire anyone with faith the weight of a grain, then a mustard seed, then even less⁵⁰.
• His saved dua. He said: every prophet has one special dua that is answered. I have saved mine to intercede for my ummah on the Day of Resurrection⁵¹. It will reach, if Allah wills, everyone of his ummah who died without associating anything with Allah⁵².

Who is most likely to get it?

Abu Hurayrah asked this very question. Nabi ﷺ said: the one who said la ilaha illallah, sincerely, from his heart⁵³.

Others will intercede too

The prophets, the angels and the believers will also intercede. Believers who are safe will beg Allah for their brothers: they used to pray with us, fast with us, and do good with us. Allah lets them take out those they recognize⁵⁴.

Allah's mercy is greater

All of this can feel heavy. So remember:

• Allah made mercy in a hundred parts. He kept ninety-nine with Him, and sent one part down to the earth. From that one part, all creatures are kind to each other, so that a mother horse lifts her hoof away from her baby⁵⁵.
• When Allah made creation, He wrote in a book with Him: My mercy is greater than My anger⁵⁶.
• Allah says: My servants who have wronged themselves, do not lose hope in Allah's mercy. Allah forgives all sins⁵⁷.

Hope and fear together

Nabi ﷺ said: if the believer knew all of Allah's punishment, he would not feel safe from the Fire. And if the disbeliever knew all of Allah's mercy, he would not lose hope of Jannah⁵⁹.

• A believer has both: enough fear to stop sinning, and enough hope to keep going.
• Hope should be stronger, especially near the end. Three days before he died, Nabi ﷺ said: let none of you die except while thinking well of Allah⁶⁰.
• Fear that makes you give up is from shaytan. Real hope makes you act.

What all Sunni Muslims agree on

All of Ahl al-Sunnah (the main body of Muslims), whether Athari, Ash'ari or Maturidi in creed, agree that everything in this chapter is real: the Trumpet, the rising of the body, the books, the scale, the Pool, the Bridge, and intercession for sinners of the ummah. We believe in them as Allah and His Messenger ﷺ described them.

• What exactly is weighed? Scholars discuss whether it is the deeds, the books of deeds, or the person. Sahih texts mention each, and many scholars say all three may be weighed. The details are with Allah. We believe in a real scale.

Common questions

I have done many sins. Is there hope for me?

Yes. Allah says: do not lose hope in Allah's mercy, Allah forgives all sins⁶¹. For those who repent, He turns bad deeds into good ones⁶². Think of the man with ninety-nine scrolls and one card⁶³. Repent today, and start again.

When will the Day come?

Only Allah knows. Nobody can give a date. What matters is being ready, because your own meeting with Allah could come at any time.

Will women be judged the same as men?

Yes, with the same justice and the same reward. Allah names Muslim men and Muslim women, believing men and believing women, and promises them all forgiveness and a great reward⁶⁴. Whoever does good, male or female, and believes, will enter Jannah⁶⁵.

Someone wronged me badly and got away with it.

No one gets away with anything. On that Day, rights are given back, even between animals⁶⁶, and the wrongdoer pays with his good deeds⁶⁷. You may forgive them for Allah's reward, or you may leave it for that Day. Both are your right.

I feel scared when I read about that Day.

A little fear is healthy. It wakes you up. But do not let it crush you. Allah's mercy is far greater⁶⁸. Start with small, steady deeds: your five prayers, Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi⁶⁹, and good manners⁷⁰.