8. Day of Judgment

  1. Names of the Day of Judgment
  2. Descriptions of the Day of Judgment
  3. Importance of that Day & Outline
  4. The Disbelievers on that Day
  5. The Muslim Sinners on that Day
  6. The Righteous on that Day
  7. Intercession on the Day Of Judgement
  8. Rules of the Day of Judgment
  9. The Questioning
  10. Events of the Day of Judgment

1. Names of the Day of Judgment

The Day of Judgment was given many names because it is important. In the Arabic language, even in other languages, something is given many names if it is important. For example, in the Arabic language, there are many names given to the horse – by species, colours and even just horse. Similarly, in English there are so many different names for alcohol. Why? Because it’s important to them. In Pre-Islamic Arabic, khamr (alcohol) had 80 names; it was important to them as well.

Because the Day of Judgment is so important to us as Muslims, it has many names. These names are descriptions of what will happen on the Day of Judgment. We’ll go over some of the names of the Day of Judgment.

  1. Al-Qiyaamah – This is the most common name. It comes from qiyaam. Qiyaam means standing up. So the Day of Judgment is the standing day. “The Day when mankind will stand before the Lord of the worlds.” (83:6) You’re not sitting up or lying down; you’re standing for 50,000 years. Allah also says: “Allah – there is no deity except Him. He will surely assemble you for [account on] the Day of Resurrection [Yawm al-Qiyaamah], about which there is no doubt. And who is more truthful than Allah in statement.” (4:87)
  2. Al-Aakhirah – This is the second most commonly used name. Al-yawm al-aakhir means the last day. There is no day after that; it would be the last day in this world. Allah says: “Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day [al-yawm al-aakhir], the angels, the Book, and the prophets […]” (2:177)
  3. As-Saa’a -As-saa’a means “the moment.” – It is THE moment; the most important moment. AlQurtubi says, “In Arabic, if as-saa’a is unqualified, means an unspecified amount of time. It could specifically mean the hour, one part of the twenty four parts of the day.” So it could also be translated as “the hour.” AlQurtubi then says, “As-saa’a with alif and laam (‘al’) would mean ‘this moment.’” So he’s saying that the Hour was given this name because it is so close that it is almost this moment. The second interpretation is that it is called the moment because it is the most important moment, when the most important events would occur. Or, it could be called “the moment” because it suddenly comes in a moment.These are the three interpretations given by AlQurtubi.Allah says: “O mankind, fear your Lord. Indeed, the convulsion of the [final] Hour [as-saa’a] is a terrible thing.” (22:1)
  4. Yawm Al-Ba’ath means the day of resurrection. It is given that name because that is when we will be given a new life, and our bodies are going to be created again. It is going to be a second creation. Allah says: “O People, if you should be in doubt about the Resurrection [al-ba’ath], then [consider that] indeed, We created you from dust […]” (22:5)
  5. Al-khurooj means emergence. It is called the day of emergence, because that is when we will emerge from our graves. Allah says: “The Day they will hear the blast [of the Horn] in truth. That is the Day of Emergence [from the graves] [yawm al-khurooj].” (50:42)
  6. Al-Qaari’ah This can be translated as “the calamity.” It is something that hits the hearts. Allah says: “The Striking Calamity [al-qaari’ah]- What is the Striking Calamity? And what can make you know what is the Striking Calamity?” (101:1-3)
  7. Yawm al-fasl means the Day of Judgment. Al-Fasl is when all disputes will be solved. That is when Allah will judge between humanity – in everything they did or said. Allah says: “This is the Day of Judgement; We will have assembled you and the former peoples.” (77:38)
  8. Yawm al-hasra means the day of regret. There is a lot of regret that happens on the Day of Judgment. Al-kuffaar regret that they were not Muslim and the Muslims regret that they didn’t do better. Allah says: “And the Day the wrongdoer will bite on his hands [in regret] he will say, ‘Oh, I wish I had taken with the Messenger a way.’” (25:27) The regret of the non believers and how they will bite – not their nails – but their hands that day. Allah also says: “And warn them, [O Muhammad], of the Day of Regret [yawm al-hasrati], when the matter will be concluded; and [yet], they are in [a state of] heedlessness and they do not believe.” (19:39)
  9. Yawm al-hisaab means the day of account. Allah says: “But Moses said, ‘Indeed, I have sought refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant one who does not believe in the Day of Account [yawm al-hisaab]’.” (40:27) Everything will be bought forth that day – even a single grain. Nothing will be hidden that day.
  10. Al-Waaqiyah Al-waaqiyah means the event, or the occurrence. It is the most important event.
  11. Al-Haaqqah Al-haaqqah means the inevitable truth or reality. If you think that this is real, it is al-haaqqah. Allah says: “The Inevitable Reality – What is the Reality? And what will make you know what the Reality is?” (69:1-3)
  12. Yawm al-Talaaq Yawm al-talaaq means the day of meeting or the Meeting Day. Allah says: “[He is] the Exalted above [all] degrees, Owner of the Throne; He places the inspiration of His command upon whom He wills of His servants to warn of the Day of Meeting [yawm al-talaaq].” (40:15) Ibn Kathir says: Ibn ‘Abbaas said it is called the day of meeting because that is the day when Adam will meet with his last child. All of the children of Adam will meet that day. Ibn Kathir says: Ibn ‘Abbaas said it is called the day of meeting because that is the day when Adam will meet with his last child. All of the children of Adam will meet that day. And Maymoon ibn Mahraan says: that is when the oppressor will meet with the oppressed. One of the most important things that happens on the day of judgment is the hisaab. There are stages on that day. In the beginning, there is the changing of the universe. Then there is the assembly – hashr. And then you have the shafaa’a – intercession. After that is al-hisaab, which is the most important and prominent part of the Day of Judgment. That is what the Day of Judgment is for; to examine the accounts of people and to send them to jannah or naar.
  13. Yawm al-tanaad Yawm al-tanaad means the day of calling. Allah says: “And O my people, indeed I fear for you the Day of Calling [yawm al-tanaad].” (40:32) It’s given that name because there is so much calling going on – first of all, every one of you will be called forth; the oppressed will be calling the oppressors and the worshippers will be calling the ones they worshipped. Allah says: “And they will be presented before your Lord in rows […]” (18:48)

2. Descriptions of the Day of Judgment

The Day of Judgment is very terrifying and filled with terror. We’ll mention some signs of the terror of that day; signs for us to comprehend the difficulty of that day.

2.1 A Great day and A Heavy day

Allah subhaana wa ta’aala has described the day of judgment as a great day and a heavy day and a difficult day. These are descriptions that Allah has given to the Day of Judgment. Allah says: “Think they not that they will be resurrected (for reckoning), On a Great Day (li yowmin ‘adheem), The Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the ‘Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists)?” (83:4-6) It is a great day.

Allah has described it as thaqeel – heavy. Allah says, “Verily! These (disbelievers) love the present life of this world, and put behind them a heavy Day (thaqeela) (that will be hard).” (76:27)

Allah described it as difficult – ‘aseera. Allah says: “Truly, that Day will be a Hard Day.” (74:9) It will be far from easy for the disbelievers.

2.2 The Fear that Day

Allah says: “O mankind! Fear your Lord and be dutiful to Him! Verily, the earthquake of the Hour (of Judgement) is a terrible thing. The Day you shall see it, every nursing mother will forget her nursling, and every pregnant one will drop her load, and you shall see mankind as in a drunken state, yet they will not be drunken, but severe will be the Torment of Allah.” (22:1-2)

Imagine a mother breastfeeding her child – she would throw him. [SubhaanAllah, you never really appreciate what state of mind she would be in unless you are a mother. A mother doesn’t worry or stress or obsess about anything more than her child.]

There’s so much fear on the Day of Judgment that the oppressors would be staring up, not moving their eyes down, and not even blinking. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala says: “Consider not that Allah is unaware of that which the Zalimun (polytheists, wrong-doers, etc.) do, but He gives them respite up to a Day when the eyes will stare in horror. (They will be) hastening forward with necks outstretched, their heads raised up (towards the sky), their gaze returning not towards them and their hearts empty (from thinking because of extreme fear).” (14:42-43)

We ask Allah to give us peace and security on that day. Ameen.

2.3 Every Man for Himself

All the strong bonds that we have with our family and friends will disappear on the Day of Judgment because of the situation. Allah says: “Then, when the Trumpet is blown, there will be no kinship among them that Day, nor will they ask of one another.” (23:101)

Allah says: “Then, when there comes As-Saakhah (the Day of Resurrection’s second blowing of Trumpet), That Day shall a man flee from his brother, And from his mother and his father, And from his wife and his children. Every man, that Day, will have enough to make him careless of others.” (80:33-37)

2.4 The Willingness to Sacrifice Anything

A kaafir will sacrifice anything for the sake of freeing himself. That kaafir who wasn’t willing to give Allah in this world will be willing to give the world and everything in it.

Allah says: “And if every person who had wronged (by disbelieving in Allah and by worshipping others besides Allah), possessed all that is on earth, and sought to ransom himself therewith (it will not be accepted), and they would feel in their hearts regret when they see the torment, and they will be judged with justice, and no wrong will be done unto them.” (10:54)

Not only are they willing to give the entire earth, but they will be willing to give twice that much. Allah says: “[…] But those who answered not His Call (disbelieved in the Oneness of Allah and followed not His Messenger Muhammad SAW), if they had all that is in the earth together with its like, they would offer it in order to save themselves (from the torment, it will be in vain)…” (13:18)

“Verily, those who disbelieved, and died while they were disbelievers, the (whole) earth full of gold will not be accepted from anyone of them even if they offered it as a ransom….” (3:91) If you had that much gold, you could be willing to give it for ransom. Imagine that we had that much gold in this world – would we give it for sadaqa?

What will happen when we see the reality on the Day of Judgment? That is the problem: we do not see the reality. We are living in a dream. As one of the salaf said, “People are sleeping, and they wake up when they die.” We are in a state of sleep, even though our eyes are wide awake, because we are unaware.

Allah is not asking us for all of the gold in the world. Prophet ﷺ says, “A disbeliever will be brought on the Day of Resurrection and will be asked, ‘Suppose you had as much gold as to fill the earth, would you offer it to ransom yourself?’ He will reply, ‘Yes.’ Then it will be said to him, ‘You were asked for something easier than that (to join none in worship with Allah (i.e. to accept Islam, but you refused).’” [Bukhaari, 8/76/546]

That is the problem – we procrastinate. If you read the Qur’an, you will see that most of the crying and screaming of the people of hellfire is due to procrastination.

The non believer will not only be willing to sacrifice material things. Allah says, “[…] the Mujrim, (criminal, sinner, disbeliever, etc.) would desire to ransom himself from the punishment of that Day by his children. And his wife and his brother, And his kindred who sheltered him, And all that are in the earth, so that it might save him.” (70:11-14) We read these ayaat and are not affected by them. Imagine your children. Imagine there is a burning building with blazing flames, and you throw your children and watch them burn in front of your eyes. I don’t think anyone can even imagine doing that, nevermind anything else. The horror of the Day of Judgment will be such that we will be willing to do even that – and more. We would be willing to give up our parents and everything that we have. By just seeing hellfire for one moment – it will change our state of mind.

That is why the Prophet ﷺ said, “O followers of Muhammad! By Allah, if you knew what I know, you would weep much and laugh little.” [Bukhaari, 8/78/627]

AlHasan AlBasri once passed by a man who was opening his mouth and laughing; enjoying himself. AlHasan AlBasri said, “O my brother/nephew [the man was younger than him], Did Allah subhaana wa ta’aala promise you that He will free you from Hellfire?” He said, “No.”  AlHasan said, “Did Allah promise you that He will give you Jannah?” He said, “No.” Then AlHasan said, “Then why are you laughing and enjoying yourself?”

We need to take this issue seriously. If we will be willing to sacrifice our families that day, we need to give that day some effort while we are in this dunya. No matter what we give, it won’t be a lot. It’s going to be a little. That’s why Prophet ﷺ says in an authentic hadith, “If one of you is being dragged on his face from the day that he is born until the day that he dies, and he is doing that for the sake of Allah, he would view that as insignificant and nothing on the day of judgment.” Not just sujood or dhikr – but being dragged on your face.

The world al-haqq – what was it used with? Death is true; hellfire is true; paradise is true; Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is true.

2.5 The Length of that Day

Allah says, “…a Day the measure whereof is fifty thousand years.” (70:4)

It is a single day, but its equivalent is 50,000 years. That’s why we ask Allah in the du’aa`: “Make the best day of our days, the day that we meet you.”

That day is the most important of all days. Allah says, “When they see it.” We don’t see it now, so we underestimate it and don’t appreciate it.

Allah tells us in the Qur’an of what happened in the past, and He also tells us of things that are set in the future. When we see the Day of Judgment, what will happen? Allah conveys to us some of the conversation in jannah and in hell.

Allah says, “The Day they see it, (it will be) as if they had not tarried (in this world) except an afternoon or a morning.” (79:46) When we see the day of judgment, we will realize how short the dunya is. Just the morning that day will be like a millennium. We are talking about 50,000 years – 50 millennia! When we see the Day of Judgment, we will think of this dunya as an afternoon or a coffee break. We are giving this dunya more than it deserves. Whether we like it or not – that’s the reality. We claim that we are giving akhirah what it deserves and giving dunya what it deserves. It is true that we ask Allah to give us good in this life and in the hereafter, but make a ratio and give each what it deserves!

Look at the advice that Luqman al-Hakim gives his son: “Serve the world according to the time you are going to spend in it and work for akhirah according to the time you’re going to spend in it.” We are not saying not to work in this world, just give it what it deserves and give the akhirah what it deserves.

“And on the Day that the Hour will be established, the Mujrimun (criminals, disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, etc.) will swear that they stayed not but an hour…” (30:55)

3. Importance of that Day & Outline

If you want to know the importance of akhirah compared to dunya, use a simple mathematical equation. We’re going to live in dunya for 60, 70, 100 years? The akhirah is infinity. If you divide a hundred by infinity, what do you get? 0. So it is 0 importance to akhirah. The sahabah knew this without having to do any equations. Their khutub (lessons) were about akhirah; their reminders were about akhirah. RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam would give them speeches about akhirah. Qur’aan mentions akhirah with elaborate details.

We talked about death, life of albarzakh (the grave), and now we are talking about qiyamah. It will take a very long time to talk about because it is a very important day and a very long day.

There was a Bedouin, A’araabi, who made a du’aa` in front of Prophet ﷺ. And he was very impressed with this du’aa`; he liked it a lot. The du’aa` is long, but we will mention the last part of it, “….I ask you to make the best of my deeds the last ones and the best of my life, the end of it. Oh Allah, make the best of my days, the day I meet you.” What day did he choose to be his best? The day of his graduation or his marriage ceremony? No! The day that he meets Allah subhaana wa ta’aala; the day of judgment. There’s a lot of wisdom in this; if that day goes fine, then you’re fine. If things go well for you that day, you’re good. If things go wrong that day, then it won’t matter how pleasant or happy your life in the dunya was, then you have lost everything.

The outline of these and the order that we are going through – the blueprint for it is – is adopted from an excellent series of books by ‘Umar alAshqar in ‘aqeedah. It’s divided into different sections, and he gave a whole section to alakhirah. It is divided into AlQiyaamah as-sughrah, alQiyaamah alQubra, al-jannah wa an-naar. And shaykh ‘Umar alAshqar has dug into the mothers of books (the traditional old books we can buy from scholars on Islam). He bought for us the treasures from those books. This book is unfortunately not in English, but we will be using his format as an outline.

He divides the situation of people into three: the disbelievers, the Muslims who are sinners and the muttaqeen.

4. The Disbelievers that Day

4.1 Disgrace & Degradation

Disgrace and the degradation that the ones who rejected truth go through on the day of judgment.

Allah says in the Qur’an: “The Day when they will come out of the graves quickly as racing to a goal.” (70:43) In reality, they are not running to a particular place. They are running because of the events happening on that day and the fear in the heart.

Allah describes it in another ayah as wa maa hum bi sukaarah – they are running around as if drunk. “You shall see mankind as in a drunken state, yet they will not be drunken, but severe will be the Torment of Allah.” (22:2)

Allah says, “Consider not that Allah is unaware of that which the dhalimun (polytheists, wrong-doers, etc.) do…” (14:42). Many of us, when we see oppression and dhulm, we wonder, “How could this happen and how could Allah allow it to happen?” Allah continues: “but He gives them respite up to a Day when the eyes will stare in horror. (They will be) hastening forward with necks outstretched, their heads raised up (towards the sky), their gaze returning not towards them and their hearts empty (from thinking because of extreme fear).”  (14:42-43) Imagine the scene – the people are staring and their eyes cannot blink because you cannot afford a moment of unawareness that day. In the dunya, all of its life, the eye was asleep. That is the day when everything will be revealed. Allah also says that the hearts will be like air that day – anything that happens that day will throw a fear shock in their bodies.

In another ayah, Allah subhaana wa ta’aala describes their hearts as kadhimeen. “Warn them (O Muhammad) of the Day of the approaching (doom), when the hearts will be choking the throats….” (40:18)

When we talk about the Day of Judgment, we talk about it as if it’s in the future – something unattainable. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala talks about it and calls it al-azifa [see 40:18]. Al-Azifa is something that is right here. The Day of Judgment is very close. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala says, “The Command of Allah has come up; so do not seek to hasten it…” (16:1) Pretty soon, we’re going to be there. All of this stuff we are describing on papers, we’re going to see with our own eyes.

Look back at your life – all your memories. If you combine them and narrate them, it will take half an hour, an hour. Pretty soon, we will be lying on our beds, ready to pass away.

Yawm alQiyaamah is one of the names of the day of judgment. Qiyaamah means standing. People will be standing that day.

Miqdad b. Aswad reported: I heard Prophet ﷺ as saying: “On the Day of Resurrection, the sun would draw so close to the people that there would be left only a distance of one mile.” Sulaim b. Amir said: By Allah, I do not know whether he meant by “mile” the mile of the (material) earth or an instrument used for applying collyrium [alkohl] to the eye. (The Prophet is, however, reported to have said): “The people would be submerged in perspiration [sweat] according to their deeds, some up to their knees; some up to the waist and some would have the bridle of perspiration” And, while saying this, Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) pointed his hand towards his mouth. [Muslim, 40/6852] The righteous ones will be under the shade of the ‘arsh of Allah. According to the deeds of people, they will sweat on that day.

A lot of ayaat in the Qur’an demand imagination in the Qur’an. Allah gives images in the Qur’an. Especially with alakhirah, Allah uses images to convey the information. Allah says, “And the Day the wrongdoer will bite on his hands [in regret] he will say, ‘Oh, I wish I had taken with the Messenger a way!’” (25:27) In a state of extreme regret, you could bite on your finger. Allah did not say they are biting on their fingers or hands. Allah says they will bite their hands; imagine them biting and crushing their bones, but not feeling that pain because the pain of regret is more. Even though regret is psychological pain, the physical pain of biting the hands would be less… and why the regret? “I wish that I had followed the Messenger.”

Allah says, “And on the Day when the Hour will be established, the Mujrimun (disbelievers, sinners, criminals, polytheists, etc.) will be plunged into destruction with deep regrets, sorrows, and despair.” (30:12) Yublis means to give up. Who will you argue with and what will you argue about? They just give up and lose hope.

Allah says, “Upon that Day, (the ones) who have disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger do like that the earth were levelled with them….” (4:42) This is a person who was attached to dunya. They loved and valued life so much. On the Day of Judgment, they will ask Allah to level them with the earth. Allah says in another ayah, “When the disbeliever would say, ‘I wish that I were dirt!’”

4.2 Voiding the Deeds

“As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert…” (24:39) Mirages are an optical illusion because of the fumes, the air and the humidity. You keep going towards it, and it goes further away. Allah uses this as an illustration for the deeds of the disbeliever; they are like a mirage in a desert. The continuation of the ayah is: “…The thirsty one thinks it to be water, until he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing, but he finds Allah with him, Who will pay him his due (Hell). And Allah is Swift in taking account.” (24:39)

Allah also says, “Or [the state of a disbeliever] is like the darkness in a vast deep sea, overwhelmed with a great wave topped by a great wave, topped by dark clouds, darkness, one above another, if a man stretches out his hand, he can hardly see it! And he for whom Allah has not appointed light, for him there is no light.” (24:40) The deeds are like darknesses; the more they do them, the more darkness accumulates to the extent that one of them extends their hands in front of them and they can’t see it. This will literally happen to them on the Day of Judgment; they will lose the light on the siraat. We know that the siraat is very dark. The believers will be given light. The ones who rejected faith in Allah, it would be pitch black dark and they couldn’t see their own hands in front of them.

Allah gives another analogy, in which He talks about the money that they spend. Allah says, “The likeness of what they spend in this world is the likeness of a wind which is extremely cold; it struck the harvest of a people who did wrong against themselves and destroyed it, (i.e. the good deed of a person is only accepted if he is a monotheist and believes in all the Prophets of Allah, including Christ and Muhammad SAW). Allah wronged them not, but they wronged themselves.” (3:117) In other words, it’s like frostbite that destroys the plant. They nourished this plant, and when the time has come to harvest the fruit and they are in great need of it, they find nothing. This money is spent now in the sake of their objectives, but on the Day of Judgment, it will all be waste.

When we talk about the ayaat that talks about their deeds being useless, we might wonder, “Isn’t Allah Just? Won’t He reward the people according to their deeds?” To clarify that, Allah says, “…It was not Allah Who wronged them, but they wronged themselves.” (29:40) Allah will hold you accountable to your deeds.

A third analogy given to their deeds: “The parable of those who disbelieve in their Lord is that their works are as ashes, on which the wind blows furiously on a stormy day, they shall not be able to get aught of what they have earned. That is the straying, far away (from the Right Path).” (14:18) Imagine a mountain of ashes is your deeds. It appears to be huge; you have done a lot of deeds. You go there to collect your reward, but a storm comes and blows it all away. You’re trying to hold it – but what can you hold? They are ashes. There is no substance to any deeds that are not done for the sake of Allah. Look at the eloquence of the illustration of the Qur’an. The ashes are a lot, but are nothing because of one of two reasons: 1) these deeds are missing ikhlaas (sincerity) or 2) they’re missing the quality of ‘ittibaa` (following Prophet ﷺ).

For any deed to be acceptable, it must fulfill two requirements:

  1.  Ikhlaas: sincerity of doing it for Allah alone. Justice says that you shouldn’t expect Allah to reward you for it. If you didn’t do it for Allah, then how can you expect Allah to reward you for it? That is exactly what will happen on the Day of Judgment. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala will tell the people, whoever used to worship the idols, go the idols and let them reward you! Whoever used to worship human beings, go the human beings and let them reward you. Whoever used to worship the angels, go angels and let them reward you. Whoever used to worship Me, I shall reward you.
  2. Al-‘Ittibaa`: the Act has to be done the right way. You cannot invent the way you want to worship Allah subhaana wa ta’aala. You have to do it the way that pleases Allah, because Allah knows better than you. Therefore, leave it up to Allah.

Allah gives another analogy. He says, “And We shall turn to whatever deeds they (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, etc.) did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust.” (25:23) Allah says that He will make their acts habaa`. What is habaa`? ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib describes to us habaa`. If you are in a dark or a semi dark room and there is some light coming in through a window, you can see small particles in the light. Habaa` are those small particles. They exist in the air, but you can especially see it if you’re in a dark room and there’s some light coming in.

Islam has a concept for happiness, loss, etc. We should align our concepts and understandings to the Islamic definition, because sometimes we think that happiness is something different. For example, if you think of loss, you may think of business, but that isn’t the Islamic definition of loss. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala says, “Say: Shall We inform you who will be the greatest losers by their works? Those whose effort go astray in the life of the world, and yet they reckon that they do good work. Those are they who disbelieve in the revelations of their Lord and in the meeting with Him. Therefore their works are vain, and on the Day of Resurrection We assign no weight to them. That is their reward: hell, because they disbelieved, and made a jest of Our revelations and Our messengers.” (18:103-106)

4.3 Arguments & Disputes

The author has divided them into Two:

1. Worshipped and the Worshippers : We could talk about arguments that happen between the worshippers of idols and the idols; the worshippers of angels and the angels; and the worshippers of ‘Eesa and ‘Eesa ‘alayhis salaam.

Allah subhaana wa ta’aala says in reference to the worshipping of idols: “And the Day whereon We shall gather them all together, then We shall say to those who did set partners in worship with Us: ‘Stop at your place! You and your partners (whom you had worshipped in the worldly life).’ Then We shall separate them, and their (Allah’s so-called) partners shall say: ‘It was not us that you used to worship.’” (10:28) There are two interpretations to the “partners” or the ones that were worshipped in this ayah. One says that these are the idols; the other interpretation is that these are the shayateen. They will straight out deny it. The ayah continues: “So sufficient is Allah for a witness between us and you, that We indeed knew nothing of your worship of us.” (10:29) These are pieces of rock; they didn’t know what was going on. This is something that will really upset someone who spent their whole life worshipping these idols. 

Some of the creations of Allah were worshipped and they didn’t even want it. For example, the angels never wanted to be worshipped. Some of the mushrikeen of Arabia used to worship them and in other places as well. “And (remember) the Day when He will gather them all together, and then will say to the angels: ‘Was it you that these people used to worship?’” (34:40)

Allah will bring the angels and He will ask the angels, Is it you these people used to worship? Does Allah know the answer? Yes. What is the purpose of asking? Allah is asking the angels in front of the people who used to worship the angels so that the people will hear the answer from the mouths of the angels; it is shahaada – witness. They (angels) will say: ‘Glorified be You! You are our Wali (Lord) instead of them. Nay, but they used to worship the jinns; most of them were believers in them.’ The angels will say subhaanak – which means tanzi alhaqq. The word subhaan means you are negating any deficiency or bad attributes from Allah and you are affirming every complete attribute to Allah. A lot of the stories where people claim to have seen an angel or spoke to one or seen one in a dream – they are all interactions with jinn.

There are many human beings who are worshipped besides Allah, but the human being that was worshipped most was ‘Eesa. ‘Eesa ‘alayhis salaam [Jesus, peace be upon him] was used for one of the biggest forms of shirk that ever existed on earth. Therefore, Allah subhaana wa ta’aala singled out the worshipping of ‘Eesa in these ayah. Even though many others were worshipped, Allah did not specify their names, but Allah specifically mentioned ‘Eesa ibn Maryum [Jesus, son of Mary].

A lot of associating other gods is done in the name of ‘Eesa, even though ‘Eesa has nothing to do with it. Allah says, “And (remember) when Allah will say (on the Day of Resurrection): ‘O ‘Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)! Did you say unto men: ‘Worship me and my mother as two gods besides Allah?’ He will say: ‘Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, You would surely have known it. You know what is in my inner self though I do not know what is in Yours, truly, You, only You, are the All ­Knower of all that is hidden and unseen.’” (5:116)

Allah is speaking to when Muhammad and everyone who reads Qur’an when He says, ‘And remember.’ How can Allah say to remember when Allah will ask ‘Eesa on the Day of Judgment? One of the mufassireen says that according to the human being, time is divided into three: past, present and future. As human beings, we have no control whatsoever of the future. Therefore, we don’t know the future. If you make the intention to stand up and walk out of the room, you don’t have control of the outcome. We can plan for it, but we don’t control it.

For Allah, the past, the present and the future is the same. He knows everything; He created us and our actions. The future is known to Allah and He can talk about it as if it is past. Since Allah decreed it, He can affirm it as if it has already happened. Maryam is also mentioned here, even though she was not directly worshipped. However, she was called “the mother of god”, and that is a divine attribute that was given to her. Allah says as if they were worshipping her. What are the first words that ‘Eesa says when Allah asks him if he asked people to worship him? Glory be to You…. Subhaanaka! Again, why is Allah asking ‘Eesa if Allah already knows the answer? He’s asking ‘Eesa so that he can say it in front of everyone.

“Never did I say to them aught except what You (Allah) did command me to say: ‘Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’ And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them, but when You took me up, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things. If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily You, only You are the All ­Mighty, the All ­Wise.” (5:117-118) ‘Eesa is announcing this in front of everyone. And he is saying that the judgment this day belongs to Allah; it does not belong to me. “Allah will say: ‘This is a Day on which the truthful will profit from their truth: theirs are Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise) – they shall abide therein forever. Allah is pleased with them and them with Him. That is the great success (Paradise).’” (5:119)

2. Followers and the Followed : Allah says: “And they all shall appear before Allah (on the Day of Resurrection) then the weak will say to those who were arrogant (chiefs): ‘Verily, we were following you; can you avail us anything from Allah’s Torment?’ They will say: ‘Had Allah guided us, we would have guided you. It makes no difference to us (now) whether we rage, or bear (these torments) with patience, there is no place of refuge for us.’” (14:21) A famous scholar has some insightful words on this ayah; these are tafsir that he has given these ayaat. He says that the weak people are the ones who gave up one of the unique characteristics of the human being, and that is the personal freedom of thought and belief. What is the unique quality of the human being/insaan? Allah has given the human being the quality to choose. Everything in the universe is worshipping Allah in a form of tasleem – submission. Everything is subdued – the movements of the sun, stars, planets, moon, the trees – all are worshipping Allah and their movements are worship.

The human being is the only creation, and also jinn, who have the right to choose whether they want to believe or not. The only kaafir are the jinns or humans. One of the most unique qualities Allah subhaana wa ta’aala has given us is the freedom of thinking.

The scholar is saying that those people have become weak because they are giving up the freedom of choice, which Allah has given them. He [the scholar] says: this weakness is not an excuse for them; it is a crime, because Allah does not want anyone to be weak. They cannot use their weakness as an excuse before Allah. Allah has equipped us with the tools which will guide us to the truth, if we use them.

Allah says in the ayah: “And Allah has brought you out from the wombs of your mothers while you know nothing…” (16:78) You knew nothing! And how did you get to the state that you are in now? [The ayah continues:] “And He gave you hearing, sight, and hearts that you might give thanks (to Allah).” Our eyes and ears gather the information, and the mind processes it. How do you learn? By hearing, reading and seeing – that is how a child learns. We learn through other senses as well, but studies show (and it’s common sense) that most of the knowledge that we gain is through the eyes and the ears. Then the mind processes that information. Then Allah tells us why He gave us those things – so that we may be grateful. Allah gives us the tools of knowledge to be grateful to Him and to worship him. Unfortunately, mankind uses these tools for everything related to dunya and learn nothing related to akhirah. Compare humanity today to 100 or 1,000 years ago. Technology has advanced so much; the human mind achieves endlessly. When it comes to akhirah, however, we have disabled this mind.

This weakness is not an excuse on the Day of Judgment – it is a crime! He [the scholar] says: “Allah subhaana wa ta’aala does not want anyone to give up their freedom and material force and power, however strong it is, cannot enslave a person who wants freedom. The most this worldly power can do is to inflict pain on the body, by hurting the body or imprisoning the body, or tormenting or punishing that body. But the soul is free. The mind is free, and nobody can enslave it.”

The world around you can imprison you and torture you, but if you have a free mind, nobody can make that mind in a slave form – unless you make it a slave yourself. “Who can make those weak people follow the strong, the arrogant, in belief and in behaviour when Allah is the One who created them and Allah is the One who is sustaining them and providing them. No one can do that; only their weak spirits.” No one can make a person a follower of falsehood, except if you have a weak spirit. Then he says: “They are not weak because they have less power than the strong; they are weak because they wanted to be weak. They are weak because the weakness is in their hearts and in their spirits. How many are the weak? Many! And how many are the tyrants? A few! Who gave those few tyrants over authority over the many masses? The tyrants cannot make the masses slaves, except for when the masses accept it. It is the weak will that is missing from these herds [The speaker adds: because they are like sheep].”

“And those who disbelieve say to those who believe: ‘Follow our way and we will verily bear your sins,’ never will they bear anything of their sins. Surely, they are liars.” (29:12) The disbelievers would say this to the followers of Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. The same thing happens today – the leaders will say, ‘Follow us; we’ll take care of you.’ There are many religious and political leaders who are always promising truth and salvation. What will happen on the Day of Judgment? They will not bear anyone’s sins. Allah says: “And verily, they shall bear their own loads, and other loads besides their own, and verily, they shall be questioned on the Day of Resurrection about that which they used to fabricate.” (29:13)

In a hadith in Bukhaari, the Prophet ﷺ says, whoever calls people to a righteous act would be rewarded the same reward as anyone who adopts that act until the day of judgment. And whoever calls people to falsehood would carry the sins of that falsehood and the sins of anyone who commits that falsehood until the Day of Judgment.

If you guide one person to the truth, you will receive the reward for everything that person does, without reducing the reward of the person. And if that person conveys the truth to another five people, then you would receive all of the rewards of those people, and so on. You are receiving all of the profits, without reducing their profits and that is the generosity of Allah subhaana wa ta’aala. Also, on the other side, if you call the falsehood, you would carry the punishment of that evil act and anyone who follows it until the Day of Judgment.

Allah says: “[…] but if you could see when the Zalimun (polytheists and wrongdoers, etc.) will be made to stand before their Lord, how they will cast the (blaming) word one to another! Those who were deemed weak will say to those who were arrogant: ‘Had it not been for you, we should certainly have been believers!’” (34:31) Allah will bring the followers and the followed on the Day of Judgment, and this is their conversation. Who are the leaders? They could be religious leaders, or the media, or whoever. The ayah continues: “And those who were arrogant will say to those who were deemed weak: ‘Did we keep you back from guidance after it had come to you? Nay, but you were Mujrimun (polytheists, sinners, criminals, disobedient to Allah, etc.).’” (34:32) Many times, the ones who do go and attempt to verify the truth, they will come to the truth.

 5. The Muslim Sinners on that Day

Allah subhaana wa ta’aala mentions in the Qur’an that a few sins have specific punishments on the day of judgment. We’re not talking about jannah and naar yet. We are talking about the situation of people on the Day of Judgment itself. We have nine points.

5.1 Those who do not pay Zakah

Their punishment varies. In one hadith, Prophet ﷺ says, “Whoever is made wealthy by Allah and does not pay the Zakat of his wealth, then on the Day of Resurrection his wealth will be made like a bald-headed poisonous male snake with two black spots over the eyes. The snake will encircle his neck and bite his cheeks and say, ‘I am your wealth, I am your treasure.’”

Then the Prophet recited the holy verses: “And let not those who covetously withhold of that which Allah has bestowed on them of His Bounty (Wealth) think that it is good for them (and so they do not pay the obligatory Zakat). Nay, it will be worse for them; the things which they covetously withheld shall be tied to their necks like a collar on the Day of Resurrection. And to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is Well­ Acquainted with all that you do.” (3:180) [Bukhaari, 2/24/486] This is one form of punishment.

And then, Prophet ﷺ mentions in another hadith, “If any owner of gold or silver does not pay what is due on him, when the Day of Resurrection would come, plates of fire would be beaten out for him; these would then be heated in the fire of Hell and his sides, his forehead and his back would be cauterized with them. Whenever these cool down, (the process is) repeated during a day the extent of which would be fifty thousand years, until judgment is pronounced among servants, and he sees whether his path is to take him to Paradise or to Hell.” It was said: “Messenger of Allah, what about the camel?” He (the Prophet) said: “If any owner of the camel does not pay what is due on him, and of his due in that (camel) is (also) to milk it on the day when it comes down to water.

When the Day of Resurrection comes a soft sandy plain would be set for him, as extensive as possible, (he will find) that not a single young one is missing, and they will trample him with their hoofs and bite him with their mouths. As often as the first of them passes him, the last of them would be made to return during a day the extent of which would be fifty thousand years, until judgment is pronounced among servants and he sees whether his path is to take him to Paradise or to Hell.” It was (again) said: “Messenger of Allah, what about cows (cattle) and sheep?” He said: “If any owner of the cattle and sheep does not pay what is due on them, when the Day of Resurrection comes a soft sandy plain would be spread for them, he will find none of them missing, with twisted horns, without horns or with a broken horn, and they will gore him with their horns and trample him with their hoofs. As often as the first of them passes him, the last of them would be made to return to him during a day the extent of which would be fifty thousand years, until judgment would be pronounced among the servants. And he would be shown his path-path leading him to Paradise or to Hell.” […] [And the hadith is much longer than this.] [Muslim, B.5, #2161]

To be miserly over a small amount of money and then suffer for 50,000 years is not worth it at all. You won’t have barakah [blessing] in that money in the first place, and then on top of that, you pay the price for it in akhirah. The money that was withheld in dunya and spent over a short period of time, you will pay for it so much longer in the akhirah – because you won’t live 50,000 years. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala will give. You weren’t created with anything, and Allah provided you with what you have today. He gave it and He can take it away. So you have your rizq [sustenance] already written for you.

5.2 Arrogance

This sin is very dangerous and it is the cause of Allah’s Wrath on His worse creation – iblees. This sin is what caused iblees to go from the high level and rank to being the lowest. Iblees had the “I am better than him” attitude.

This sin is so dangerous that Prophet ﷺ says “whoever has the equivalent of even a small grain of arrogance in his heart will not even smell paradise.” If even the amount of a dharra (an atom) of arrogance could get in the heart, that person will not even smell paradise. He won’t even get close, never mind get in.

Prophet ﷺ said that on the day of judgment, the arrogant will be assembled on the day of judgment in the forms of men, but in the sizes of ants; humiliation will come to them from every direction. Dharr are the ants that are very small. They will be stepped on by everyone. People will be running on the Day of Judgment and stepping on it.

Whoever has arrogance is actually lying. Why? Because as a creation, we are humble. Allah is the One who gives us value. Otherwise, we would be worthless. Allah says: “Has there not been over man a period of time, when he was nothing to be mentioned?” (76:1) Whenever we are arrogant, we are claiming something that doesn’t belong to us. That is why it’s a lie. This lie will be exposed on the Day of Judgment, and Allah will bring them in the form that they deserve.

Prophet ﷺ said that the most belittled and humiliated name on the day of judgment is the name of a man, who called himself in al-dunya, “the king of kings.” Allahu ‘Alam who this refers to, but there was a time in Persia when the king would call himself Shan an-Shah, which means the king of kings. On the Day of Judgment, this king will come in the form of an ant.

5.3 Those Allah will Not Look at

There are some sins, if committed, will result in Allah not looking at you on the day of resurrection.

Allah subhaana wa ta’aala says: “Verily, those who conceal what Allah has sent down of the Book, and purchase a small gain therewith (of worldly things), they eat into their bellies nothing but fire. Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor purify them, and theirs will be a painful torment. Those are they who have purchased error at the price of Guidance, and torment at the price of Forgiveness. So how bold they are (for evil deeds which will push them) to the Fire.” (2:174-175) Those are the ones who had the knowledge and the truth, but concealed it.

In another hadith, Prophet ﷺ says that the one who is given knowledge and then conceals it, Allah subhaana wa ta’aala will conceal their mouths with fire on the day of judgment. Knowledge has been revealed by Allah subhaana wa ta’aala for the purpose of conveying it. So what use is the knowledge if one conceals it and doesn’t convey it?

There is a principle in fiqh which says: “It is not allowed to delay conveying the message past its time.” For example, if you see a particular sin in front of your eyes, you need to bring awareness to the people that this is a mistake. If you do not, then you must have justification of delaying it. An acceptable excuse would be that you are afraid if you tell them the truth, their revolt against it will cause a greater munkar – evil. Otherwise, the general rule is that you cannot delay the message past its time.

There’s another ayah: “Verily, those who purchase a small gain at the cost of Allah’s Covenant and their oaths, they shall have no portion in the Hereafter (Paradise). Neither will Allah speak to them, nor look at them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them, and they shall have a painful torment.”  (3:77) This is the talking about those who sell their religion for a worldly benefit, return. That is, they compromise their religion to get something in return. An example of this would be the scholars of the sultan (a king or president). These would be scholars who would give a fatwa to please the king or president. They are using their religion to justify the falsehood and evil. The punishment for this is that Allah will not look at them on the Day of Judgment and He will not purify them. Also included in this are those who make an oath in the name of Allah and they lie.

For example, “In the name of Allah, I did such and such” and it is a lie. There are many hadith that Ibn Kathir mentions in the tafsir of this ayah. In a hadith recorded by Muslim, Abu Dharr said that he heard the Prophet ﷺ say, “There are three persons whom Allah will not speak to, look at on the Day of Resurrection or purify, and they shall taste a painful torment.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah! Who are they, may they gain failure and loss.” He said, repeating this statement thrice, “The Musbil (man whose clothes reach below the ankles), he who swears while lying so as to sell his merchandize and the one who gives charity and reminds people of it).”

There is another hadith which specifies that the punishment is for those who drag their clothes for pride and arrogance.

The second person is the one who lies to sell, for example, he says, “wAllahi [By Allah], this cost me $10!” when it actually cost you $5. Allah will not speak to this person.

The third person is al-mannaan who always reminds people of his favours. For example, “Remember, a year ago I did such and such for you.” This shows that this person is not doing it for Allah; rather they are doing it for a return.

[In part of a hadith narrated by Bukhaari and Muslim]: […] Upon this the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam remarked: “He who perjured for appropriating the wealth of a Muslim, whereas he is a liar, would meet Allah while He would be angry with him.” This verse was then revealed: ‘Verily those who barter Allah’s covenant and their oaths at a small price…’ [Muslim, B.1, #254]

In another hadith narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi: Abu Hurayrah says that RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, “There are three whom Allah will not speak to on the day of judgment, and will not look at, and will not purify and will punish them:

1. A man who prevents the traveller from surplus water that they have;
2. Someone who makes an oath on their merchandise after ‘asr;
3. Someone who gives bay’ah to the imam [khalifa/leader] [and does not fulfill it].”

As for the person who prevents the traveller from surplus water that he has, Prophet ﷺ says in another hadith that on the day of judgment, Allah will tell that person, How come you prevented something that did not belong to you? Water is something that belongs to everyone. If you have surplus water with you and someone else is in need of it, then that surplus water does not belong to you.

What does it mean to make an oath on your merchandise after ‘asr? Usually, the business day used to be until ‘asr. If you didn’t sell by ‘asr, then most likely it meant you would take those things with you back home. At the end of the day, you are just trying to get rid of what you have. This person is trying to get rid of the additional merchandise they have, so they make oaths on it until they get it sold, and they are lying in their oaths.

On a side note, in the old days, they used to work all day. Now, our days are shorter, yet we still use work as an excuse for not fulfilling our Islamic duties. People before did not have shorter office hours – they used to work from fajr until maghrib. Nevertheless, they did all of the ibadaat. Allah put barakah in their time because they had taqwa of Allah.

As for the person who gives bay’ah – it is talking about the one who gives his allegiance as long as the imam pays them and takes care of them, but if he does not pay and take care of them, they give up their allegiance. That is the case of some of al ‘araab, who became Muslim. They would just go to whoever paid them more; they change allegiance according to who pays more.

A similar hadith in Bukhaari:

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle said, “There are three persons whom Allah will not look at on the Day of Resurrection, nor will he purify them and theirs shall be a severe punishment. They are:  A man possessed superfluous water, on a way and he withheld it from travelers; A man who gave a pledge of allegiance to a ruler and he gave it only for worldly benefits. If the ruler gives him something he gets satisfied, and if the ruler withholds something from him, he gets dissatisfied; And man displayed his goods for sale after the aAsr prayer and he said, ‘By Allah, except Whom None has the right to be worshipped, I have been given so much for my goods,’ and somebody believes him (and buys them).” The Prophet then recited: “Verily! Those who purchase a little gain at the cost of Allah’s Covenant and their oaths.” (3:77) [Bukhaari 3/40/547]

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed: “Three (are the persons) with whom Allah would neither speak, nor would He absolve them on the Day of Resurrection. [Abu Mu’awiya added: He would not look at them and there is grievous torment for them]:

1.The Aged adulterer,
2. The liar king
3. The proud destitute.” [Muslim, B. 1, #195]

What is the common thing among these three people? There is no need for them to commit these sins. The old man has past the age of strong urges, nonetheless he is committing zina. It is not a matter of shahwa – desire, but it’s a matter of insisting on doing the falsehood. A king has the power, so he does not need to lie. The liar usually lies because he in a position of weakness and wants to get out of it. And the other person mentioned is the poor person who is arrogant. All of these people show they have very little waraa` – righteousness.

Prophet ﷺ says that the three Allah will not look at on the day of judgment are:

1. Ones who are cruel and disobedient to their parents,
2. The masculine woman and
3. Ad-dayooth. Ad dayooth is any man who has no jealousy. For example, if a man has a mother or a sister, etc who is committing indecencies and he doesn’t mind, he would be called ad-dayyooth.

5.4 The Rich and the Extravagant

In a hadith by at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah and Al-Haakim, there was a man sitting with Prophet ﷺ. This man was burping, burping, burping. Prophet ﷺ said, “Keep your burping away from us! The ones who fill their stomachs most in dunya will suffer hunger the most on the day of judgment.”

In another hadith narrated by Bukhaari and Muslim: […] He (Abu Dharr) said: So I walked along with him [RasulAllah] for some time and Prophet ﷺ said: “The wealthy persons would have little (reward) on the Day of Resurrection, except upon whom Allah conferred goodness (wealth). He [the one with the wealth] dispensed it to his right, left, in front of him and at his back (just as the wind diffuses fragrance) and did good with it (riches).” [Muslim B.5, #2175]

Another hadith, which compliments this one, “The ones with the most are the ones who are the lowest on the day of judgment, except the ones who spend it here and there and they receive it by halaal means.” So the way these people [the exceptions] earn the money is hallal, and the way they spend it is in righteousness.

Money in itself does not carry a tag that says it is evil. In fact, Allah subhaana wa ta’aala called money in Qur’an khayra/khayr, which means good. Allah actually gave it good titles – khayr and zeena (the adornment of this life). It only becomes bad when it is used in a wrong way. It is a tool that can be used for good or evil, just like any other rizq Allah gives you (for example, knowledge and health). We need to keep it mind that money continuously needs to be purified, and that is by spending it.

We know that many of the prominent sahabah were very wealthy. ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan was one of the wealthiest of the Muslims. ‘AbdurRahman ibn ‘Awf might have been the wealthiest of the Muslims; he was one of the ten given the glad tidings of jannah while still in this dunya. ‘Umar and Abu Bakr were also pretty well off. All of them knew how to use that money. Also, amongst the prophets, Dawud [David] and Sulaymaan [Solomon] were very wealthy.

5.5 The One who Betrays

Prophet ﷺ says, “For every betrayer (perfidious person), a flag will be raised on the Day of Resurrection, and it will be announced (publicly) ‘This is the betrayal (perfidy) of so-and-so, the son of so-and-so.’” [Bukhaari, 8/73/196]

In another hadith, it says that this flag will be coming out of the back of this person and that person will be going around with it. The size and height of the banner depends on how bad the betrayal was.

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Sa’id that the Prophet ﷺ said: “On the Day of Judgment there will be a flag for every person guilty of the breach of faith. It will be raised in proportion to the extent of his guilt; and there is no guilt of treachery more serious than the one committed by the ruler of men.” [Muslim B19, #4310] This betrayal is worse because the leader of the masses is betraying of everyone.

5.6 Theft

The direct meaning of al-ghalool is anything stolen from the booties of war. A general meaning of the word would also include anything taken without right. The punishment for this, Allah says in the Qur’an: “It is not for any Prophet to take illegally a part of booty (Ghulul), and whosoever deceives his companions as regards the booty, he shall bring forth on the Day of Resurrection that which he took (illegally). Then every person shall be paid in full what he has earned – and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.” (3:161)

Prophet ﷺ says that if you have stolen a camel, you will be carrying that camel on your shoulders on the day of judgment – the same goes for stealing a cow or a goat. It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Humaid as-Sa’idi who said: The Prophet ﷺ appointed a man from the Asad tribe who was called Ibn Lutbiyya in charge of Sadaqa (i. e. authorised him to receive Sadaqa from the people on behalf of the State.) When he returned (with the collections), he said: “This is for you and (this is mine as) it was presented to me as a gift.”

The narrator said: The Prophet ﷺ stood on the pulpit and praised God and extolled Him. Then he said: “What about a State official whom I give an assignment and who (comes and) says: ‘This is for you and this has been presented to me as a gift’? Why didn’t he remain in the house of his father or the house of his mother so that he could observe whether gifts were presented to him or not? By the Being in Whose Hand is the life of Muhammad, any one of you will not take anything from it but will bring it on the Day of Judgment, carrying on his neck a camel that will be growling, or a cow that will be bellowing or an ewe that will be bleating.”

Then he raised his hands so that we could see the whiteness of his armpits. Then he said twice: “O God, I have conveyed (Your Commandments).” [Muslim, B. 20, #4509] Why would people give him gifts? So that he would be lenient and overlook. This was given as the title of a gift, but in reality it is a bribe. I want to clarify that if you are in a position of leadership, it does not mean you cannot accept gifts period. You can accept gifts, whoever you are, whatever position you are in. You cannot accept gifts when it is given with the intention of getting favor that doesn’t belong to the person.

5.7 The One who Takes the Land Illegally

The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever takes a piece of the land of others unjustly, he will sink down the seven earths on the Day of Resurrection.” [Bukhaari, 3/43/634]

5.8 Dhul-wajhayn / Double Faith

Double faith means you are with two faces. Prophet ﷺ says, “You will find that the worse people on the Day of Judgment are the people who have double face. They meet people with one face and others with a different face.

In another hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever used to have two faces in dunya will have a tongue of fire on the day of judgment.” Because the two faces are really the tongue – it is the tongue that changes. The reason is because Islam is descent. Islam does not like crookedness. Islaam likes being direct and honest, but also at the same time, not to be rude.

5.9 A Leader who Hides from the People

Prophet ﷺ says, “Whoever assumes a leadership position amongst the Muslims and then hides away from the needy and poor, Allah subhaana wa ta’aala will veil Himself from that person and the needs of that person on the day of judgement.” If you assume a position of leadership and then refuse to meet the needs of the people that you are responsible, then on the Day of Judgment, when you need Allah, Allah will take revenge for those people and not help you.

With the khulafaa`, their doors were open for every need. A man came from Egypt to complain about the son of the governor of Egypt – the governor was ‘Amr ibn Al ‘Aas [a famous companion]. And the man came into Madinah and walked right in to speak with ‘Umar ibn AlKhattaab. ‘Umar was not living in a palace or a castle; he was living in a very modest house. Amazingly enough, that house did not even have a door – there was only a curtain at the entrance. All you had to do was uncover the curtain. You just call from outside for ‘Umar, and if he calls you in, you walk in and speak with him.

One of the kings of Persia came to Madinah to convey a message to the khalifa. He asked, “Where is the khalifa?” They said you might find him in the house or the masjid. The King went both places and didn’t find him. He came to the people and asked again. One of the men pointed and said, “You see that man sleeping under and tree? That’s the khalifa.” This Persian leader went and stood over ‘Umar, who was sleeping under the tree in the desert, amazed, and said, “You ruled with justice, so you were peaceful and you were able to sleep!” He is comparing this situation to Persia – where it’s impossible for the king to sleep like this without royal guards surrounding him!

Hiding from the needs of the people is a crime. We need to redefine leadership. Whenever the leadership does something good in our society, we praise a lot whatever was done. We forget that it’s their obligation. They aren’t doing anyone a favour. That’s what they were appointed to do! When they do something wrong, we are quiet, as if they have a right to abuse the nations.

In Islam, the position of leadership is a responsibility, and you will be questioned about your responsibility. We lost this concept, but the sahabah were very aware of it and it was alive in their hearts. One day, ‘Umar ibn AlKhattaab stood on the mimbar one day to give a khutbah. He said, “Listen and obey!” Salmaan al-Farsi stood up and said, “We’re not going to listen and we’re not going to obey!” Salmaan al-Farsi was amongst the righteous companions. ‘Umar said, “Why?” Salmaan said, “Because you have given every one of us one thawb (cloth) and you have taken two for yourself.” This is wealth that came to Madinah, pieces of cloth, and ‘Umar distributed them to everyone. He gave everyone one piece. Salmaan noticed that when ‘Umar stood up to give the khutbah, he had two pieces. ‘Umar didn’t speak, so he told his son, “Tell them, ‘Abdullah.” So ‘Abdullah stood up and said, “My father is tall, wide and well-built. One piece of cloth is not enough for him, so I gave him mine. That’s why he has two pieces.”

5.10 Beggars

Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith narrated by Abu Dawud and An-Nasaa`i, “Whoever begs and has enough, that begging will come as scars on their faces on the day of judgment.”

Because Islam wants people to have dignity, Islam allows people who have gone through catastrophes and are in great need to ask for help. Islam gives them the right to ask, and gives us the obligation to help. But if you already have enough and you ask, that is just greed.

5.11 The One who Lies About their Dream

Prophet ﷺ says, “Whoever claims to have seen a dream which he did not see, will be ordered to make a knot between two barley grains which he will not be able to do. And if somebody listens to the talk of some people who do not like him (to listen) or they run away from him, then molten lead will be poured into his ears on the Day of Resurrection; and whoever makes a picture, will be punished on the Day of Resurrection and will be ordered to put a soul in that picture, which he will not be able to do.” [Bukhaari, 9/87/165]

Sometimes people are very affected by dreams, so you can cause people agony by lying about a dream. Also, people may lie about seeing the Prophet ﷺ because they may want to claim a high position of wilaya. People may try to justify their position or cause by making up a dream. People have a lot of trust in dreams.

5.12 Eavesdropping and Spying

If you listen to spy on people or eavesdrop on them when they don’t want you to listen, then molten metal or copper will be poured in the ear of a person who does so. Allah will pour hot fluid in the ears of a person who does that because you are transgressing on the rights of others.

People have a right to privacy. This is one of the Islamic rights. We are not allowed to spy on other people or backbite on them or involve in their personal affairs, even if what they are doing is a sin.

If people are drinking alcohol in their house, we do not have a right to spy on them. If they are doing it in the privacy of their house, this is a sin that is between them and Allah. Allah will handle it on the Day of Judgment. If somebody takes out their can of beer in the street, then punishment is done on that person because this is exposing the sin.

There were people during the time of ‘Umar and ‘Uthmaan – and maybe even Abu Bakr – who used to commit these sins in their houses and they were never punished for it because they didn’t do it in public. There were people who were Muslim by name and committing these sins in the privacy of their own homes, and they were left alone. Islam does not want them to be exposed. Maybe Allah will guide them to tawbah (repentance). And if they don’t, then maybe Allah will forgive them. Allah forgives whomever He wants and punishes whomever He wants.

6. The righteous on that Day

Who are the ones who are safe on the Day of Judgment? We’ll start with the ones mentioned in the Qur’an.

“Indeed, those for whom the best [reward] has preceded from Us – they are from it far removed. They will not hear its sound, while they are, in that which their souls desire, abiding eternally. They will not be grieved by the greatest terror, and the angels will meet them, [saying], ‘This is your Day which you have been promised.’” [21:101-103]

What is the reason for them feeling so secure on the Day of Judgment when everyone else is being terrorized and afraid? We have the answer for that in Qur’aan and Sunnah. These righteous men and women used to say this when they were in dunya: “Verily, We fear from our Lord a Day, hard and distressful, that will make the faces look horrible (from extreme dislikeness to it).” (76:10) Ibn Abbaas says that qantareera means a long day and Qatadah says it means a day of hardship. You would see the sorrow and despair on the faces of people. These righteous people used to say that they feared that day in the dunya, therefore Allah will make them safe on the Day of Judgment.

Prophet ﷺ says in Hadith Qudsi: Allah said: “In My Name, I will not combine for My servant two moments of peace or two moments of fear. If my servant does not fear the Day of Judgment in dunya, then they will fear it on the Day of Judgment. If they fear the Day of Judgment in dunya, then I will give them peace and tranquillity on the Day of Judgment.”

It’s much better to be afraid of the Day of Judgment in the dunya, because we know that the earlier the hardship, the easier it becomes in the end. If you commit a sin, it is much easier to wash away that sin while in the dunya than it is later.

How are the sins purified? There are many ways, but briefly:

  1. If you have committed sins, Allah will forgive and compensate for them by the hardships in dunya (disease, problems, disasters, financial difficulty, etc).
  2. If that is not enough, then in the moments of death, the pain that you will feel when the soul comes out, that will take care of the sins.
  3. If that is not enough, there will be punishment in the grave. If that is not enough, then the horror of the Day of Judgment.
  4. If that is not enough, then the person will spend some time in the hellfire. Because the sins have to be cleared

Allah will not admit anyone into Jannah, except if they are 100% pure. There is not impurity allowed in Jannah. You must pay for what you have done in this process. In dunya it is easy to purify these sins – all you have to do is make tawbah. The pain in the dunya is much easier than the pain of Akhirah. Allah says, “They will not have patience in Hellfire.” No one can handle the pain and suffering of Hell. It is easier to get out of the sins the earlier you try.

We have a lack of awareness of akhirah. We are unaware. SubhaanAllah, the issue of akhirah does not have 1% of the affect it had on the sahabah. Whenever Prophet ﷺ would talk about akhirah, they would cry and weep. They always had the meeting with Allah on their minds.

It is mentioned that ‘Umar ibn ‘AbdulAziz had all of what dunya could offer under his hands. He could own whatever he wants. He was ruling the greatest super power of the time – the Islamic khilaafa. It was the biggest super power of its time. ‘Umar once went to bed, his wife, Faatimah ibn ‘AbdulMaalik, said, “My husband went to sleep and suddenly he was shaking. He was crying until morning because he wouldn’t sleep. I asked him why, and he said, ‘I remember the day when I will be told to either go to Jannah or Hellfire. On that day, the final decision will be made.’ When he remembered that day, he was crying all night.”

The fear that the sahabah, the salifeen and the righteous had in itself is a form of ‘ibaadah. Having hope of Allah and fearing Allah’s punishment is a form of ‘ibaadah in itself.

Ibn AlQayyim says we have to have two wings: a wing of rajaa` [hope] and a wing of khowf [fear]. We have one wing to have good expectations of Allah, that He will be merciful, and that wing will be balanced by the fear of the severe punishment of Allah. If one outweighs the other, the bird cannot fly.

If you only have good expectations, that will make you lazy and procrastinate. You will have a “Allah will forgive my sins” attitude.

If you have too much fear, you will give up and think you cannot make it to Jannah. Do not go to either extreme, but have a balance. Always remind yourself of akhirah and that will develop the fear of Allah in the heart.

6.1 The Ones whom Allah will provide with Shade

There is no shade on the Day of Judgment – there are no mountains or buildings or trees; the land will be flat. There will be no shade, except under the throne of Allah. This is an exclusive group of people, not everyone can join. Allah will admit those people according to their qualities.

Prophet ﷺ: “Seven are (the persons) whom Allah would give protection with His Shade on the Day when there would be no shade but that of Him (i.e. on the Day of Judgment, and they are): a just ruler, a youth who grew up with the worship of Allah; a person whose heart is attached to the mosques; two persons who love and meet each other and depart from each other for the sake of Allah; a man whom a beautiful woman of high rank seduces (for illicit relation), but he (rejects this offer by saying): ‘I fear Allah’ ; a person who gives charity and conceals it (to such an extent) that the right hand does not know what the left has given; and a person who remembered Allah in privacy and his eyes shed tears.” [Muslim, 5/2248]

What are their qualities?

1. The Just ruler : because his benefit would help everyone. Everyone would enjoy the justice of the ruler. The thing that would provide people with peace in al-dunya is justice. It would make them peaceful and secure. We underestimate justice. Ibn Taymiyyah says that the heavens and the earth are established with justice. With justice, the people will be well off, healthy, peaceful and safe. When the ruler is just, this justice permeates through the whole society. Because that ruler made people’s lives safe and peaceful, Allah will make his life peaceful in the hereafter.

2. Youth grows up worshipping Allah : When people are in their youth years, sometimes they are not serious about the religion of Allah, but they are more willing to involve in the religion when they are older. You usually find that the younger the person is, the less serious they are about the religion. This is not true for everyone, of course. There are many youth that are serious about the religion, and the religion is built on the shoulders of the youth, but the youth are more playful. If a youth grows up worshipping Allah and never goes into a phase of growing astray, Allah will reward this youth with shade. That youth kept istiqaama (staying on the path of Allah continuously) and that youth has never been manipulated by evil.

3. A man whose heart is attached to the masjid. Wherever that man would go, you would find him asking where the masaajid are. When they are travelling, they want to know where the nearest masaajid are; when they are at their homes, they want to go to the masjid when prayer time comes; they love the masjid. They don’t feel that someone is forcing them to go or that they have to get it off of their shoulders. AnNawawi says the meaning of this is that they love to pray jama’ah in the masjid, not that they want to stay in the masjid. We should not misinterpret it as somebody should just go to the masjid and do nothing there.
‘Umar ibn AlKhattaab came into the masjid one time and saw some people in the masjid. He asked them, “What are you doing?” It was the time for work. They said, “We are the ones who have tawakkul.” ‘Umar ibn AlKhattaab took his stick and hit them. He said, “You know that the sky does not rain gold and silver!” If you stay in the masjid, don’t expect gold and silver to fall from the sky onto your heads; you have to go earn your living. Once, Prophet ﷺ came into the masjid and saw one of the sahabah there, so he asked, “What are you doing in the masjid?” If it was ok for a person to stay in the masjid continuously, Prophet ﷺ would not have asked him, but he asked him because it was not the time for salah. The man said, “I have a lot of distress.” So Prophet ﷺ taught him the du’aa`: “O Allaah, I take refuge in You from anxiety and sorrow, weakness and laziness, miserliness and cowardice, the burden of debts and from being over powered by men.”

Prophet ﷺ told us a hadith about the munafiqeen [hypocrites] – if one of them is told that a harvest of dates will be handed out in the masjid for free, they would have came. Think about it yourself – if you find a lack of motivation to go to the masjid – ask yourself, “Would I go to the masjid if they offered $20 for every salah?” Imagine that! The masaajid would be packed! Allah subhaana wa ta’aala is offering you more. He is promising that He will give you shade on a day that is 50,000 years long. Some people come to the masjid as if there is a burden on their shoulders. There are other people who love coming to the masjid. Despite living far away, they would travel long distances to come pray in jama’ah. Then there are some who live in the vicinity of the masjid, but they never come. Why? Because there is a lack of love of the masjid.

4. Two men who love each other for the sake of Allah will also be in that shade. They do not love each other for worldly benefits. They love each other for their righteousness and good akhlaaq. They came together and parted for Allah’s cause. They didn’t come to talk or conspire, etc. They came together for Allah. This is like the brotherhood of Musa and Harun. Musa ‘alayhis salaam said: “That we may glorify You much, And remember You much.” (20:33-34) That’s why Musa asked for his brother to be with him. Another example is Salmaan alFarsi and Abu Dardaa` or ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ood, when he said to one of the sahabah: “Let’s come together to have imaan for a moment.”

5. A man who was seduced by a beautiful woman and who also had a position of authority but he refused because he feared Allah. The best example of this is Yusuf ‘alayhis salaam. He was called by a very beautiful woman who was the wife of the owner of Yusuf. She had the ultimate authority over him. Nevertheless, he said no, and he suffered a lot because of this. Why is the person granted shade for 50,000 years for saying no? Because it is a very difficult thing to do. It is not just a word of saying, “I fear Allah.” It is extremely difficult. Allah will reward you according to the hardship and more. Apply this rule to any situation – the more difficult something is for you, the more the reward will be.

6. Someone who has given sadaqah [charity] and has made it secret so that even his left hand does not know what the right hand is given. This is talking about secret charity. There are two types of sadaqah: the public charity and the private/secret charity. There are rewards for both. AnNawawi says that, as for zakat, it is better to make it public. There is more reward in giving zakah in public because zakah is a pillar of Islam and people need to be reminded of it. With the voluntary sadaqah, he says it is better to give it in secret. This is not general, however. If giving sadaqah in public will encourage others, then it is better to give it in public. That is why there were some occasions where RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam asked people to give it in public.

Jarir b. Abdullah reported that some desert Arabs clad in woollen clothes came to Allah’s Messenger sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. He saw them in sad plight as they had been hard pressed by need. He (the Prophet) exhorted people to give charity, but they showed some reluctance until (signs) of anger could be seen on his face. Then a person from the Ansaar came with a purse containing silver. Then came another person and then other persons followed them in succession until signs of happiness could be seen on his face. Thereupon Allah’s Messenger sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “He who introduced some good practice in Islam which was followed after him (by people) he would be assured of reward like one who followed it, without their rewards being diminished in any respect. And he who introduced some evil practice in Islam which had been followed subsequently (by others), he would be required to bear the burden like that of one who followed this (evil practice) without theirs being diminished in any respect.” [Muslim, 34/6466]
During the ghazwa of tabook, Prophet ﷺ stood on the mimbar and said, “Who will give? Who will give?” Every time, ‘Uthmaan ibn Affaan would come and give, until eventually Prophet ﷺ said, “Whatever ‘Uthmaan will do after today will not harm him.” He gave so much that Allah has granted him forgiveness at that moment for anything he does after. When there is no need for encouragement, you should give sadaqah in secret. The left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing is an Arabic expression which means that it is done so privately that no one knows about it. An example of that would be that scholars would leave food at the doors of the needy, and they would only know when the scholar died!

7. A Man who is in seclusion and remembers Allah and his eyes are filled with tears will also be in the shade that day. This is done in a state of ikhlaas [sincerity] because that person is alone and they are not showing off to anyone. Because of their sincerity, Allah subhaana wa ta’aala will have that person in His shade. These are not the only ones who will have shade on the Day of Judgment. There were some more mentioned by Prophet ﷺ and we will discuss them.

6.2 The one who Assists others and Fulfills Their Needs

Prophet ﷺ says in a hadith in Muslim 2699, “Whoever eases the distress of a believer in this world, Allah will ease their distress on the day of judgment.” This is something else that we have underestimated. Sometimes we have the understanding that religion is a few rak’ah and do whatever you want with others – abuse and cheat them – and think you are a perfect Muslim. Treatment of others has a major affect on your deeds. People enter jannah exclusively because of their [good] treatment of others. There are many ahaadith that talk about this.

6.3 Concealing the Sins of Your Brother

Prophet ﷺ also says, “Whoever conceals the privacies of a Muslim, Allah will conceal their privacies on the day of judgment.”

Awrah is something that you do not want others to see. That is why the private parts are also called awrah. Awrah also includes what you don’t want others to see, for example, your sins. Someone may commit a sin away from people because they don’t want others to know about it. For example, there are some people who pray, but suffer from an alcohol addiction. Nevertheless, this person still has a lot of love for Allah, and they know their weakness, and they ask Allah for forgiveness.

They don’t want anyone to know. Somehow, you come to know. If you conceal that and don’t let anyone know, then Allah will conceal for you one of your privacies on the Day of Judgment. Every one of us has some privacies that we don’t want others to know. You might wonder – how can you do this if drinking is illegal in Islam? This is a major sin and there is a punishment for it. The intent of the hudood (criminal laws) in Islam is to keep the society clean from any sin that would become public and affect the people. The danger is when the sin becomes public. When a person does a sin privately, it doesn’t affect the society. It becomes a harm when it is public, because it attracts others to that sin.

Prophet ﷺ says, “When people make fahishah (adultery and fornication) public, then Allah will afflict them with diseases that did not exist in their forefathers.”

Allah says, “Indeed, those who like that immorality should be spread [or publicized] among those who have believed will have a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah knows and you do not know.” (24:19) Some of the scholars say that this applies to the ones who go and spy about others and expose the evil to others in the society. This news that would go around would corrupt the people. Talking about evil of others causes corruption in the society – especially when it comes to things like zina, etc. When it is not in the minds of people, don’t bring it up.

The general rule is that everyone will be called before Allah and all of the creation (humanity and jinn) are surrounding and witnessing what is happening. They hear the conversation between the person and Allah. Allah would ask them about their sins – “did you do this sin?” Allah says, “That Day, you will be exhibited [for judgement]; not hidden among you is anything concealed.” (69:18) Everything will be made public that day.

There are some believers who Allah will call and Prophet ﷺ says that Allah will call them and come down, until he is right over the shoulder of the person and then Allah subhaana wa ta’aala will speak with that person about the sins that person has done in private. And Allah will not let anyone know about it. Then Allah will tell that believer, “I have concealed these sins for you in dunya, and I will conceal them for you today.”

One of the ways to be granted with this blessing is to conceal the privacies of others. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala told us not to spy on others. Every one of us has enough to be concerned with ourselves. When you see something in public, it is your duty to enforce enjoining good and forbidding evil. This is the advice of the early Muslims – it is part of the perfection of one’s faith to leave what is not your business. Then Prophet ﷺ said in the end of the hadith, “Allah is in your assistance, as long as you are assisting your brother.”

6.4 Those who Do Justice

There is another sahih hadith, in which Prophet ﷺ says, “If you give victory to your brother in his absence, Allah will give you victory on the day of judgment.” What does this mean? You are in a meeting, and a very righteous brother of yours is absent. People start saying bad things about him that are not true, and you stand up for him, Allah will give you victory on the day of judgment, when you are in need. We shouldn’t allow our brothers, or the righteous scholars, to be backbitten when we are around. We should defend them. This should not be interpreted as ta’assad (?) – defending someone just for the sake of defending them. People make mistakes. For example, approving or defending someone just because he is part of your party, etc.

The jahiliyyah Arabs had this wrong rule of “I will assist my tribal brothers even if I know he is wrong.”

Prophet ﷺ said, “Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one.” People [the sahabah] asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?” The Prophet said, “By preventing him from oppressing others.” [Bukhaari, 3/43/624]

Justice is a virtue that should be practiced by everyone. All of us have responsibility, and as long as you have responsibility, then you have to be just. We mentioned that justice is the law of the universe. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala has established the heavens and earth on justice. Wherever justice is missing, everything will go wrong.

Prophet ﷺ says in a hadith in Muslim, “AlMuqsiteen (the just) are sitting or standing on pulpits of light on the Right Hand of Allah subhaana wa ta’aala, and both Hands of Allah are right. They are just in their judgment and among their families and among their responsibilities.” An example of these could be: a judge or an arbitrator, the ones who are just among their families.

An area where there is a lot of injustice is in the family – with children, with wives, with younger siblings, etc. We need to realize that having justice brings a lot of reward, and being unjust brings with it a lot of punishment. We know that one of the most severe punishments is against oppression – dhulm. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala says that nothing is between him and the supplication of the oppressed, even if the person is a non believer. Prophet ﷺ specifically mentions in the hadith that the prayers and supplication of the oppressed will reach Allah immediately, even if they are coming from a disbeliever.

If you have power, it is very tempting to abuse it, especially when there is no opposition. Children and the weak are prone to oppression from the stronger. This will not go unnoticed, however, and Allah subhaana wa ta’aala will make the oppressor pay the price on the day of judgment. Allah will not let anything go, otherwise, that is injustice. One of Allah’s names is The Just. Allah will make everyone pay for their injustices, even to the extent that the animals will have to sort things out. We mentioned the hadith earlier about the horned goat that hurt the goat without horns and how Allah will get revenge for the hornless goats.

6.5 Those Who Suppress their Anger

Anger is a very strong in your heart that can cause so much pain if you don’t release it. Your physiological and psychological state changes. It causes you to do irrational things or even become violent. If you are able to suppress it – even though it’s there – Prophet ﷺ says that there is a very big reward for it.

Messenger of Allah ﷺ says, “If anyone suppresses anger when he is in a position to give vent to it, Allah, the Exalted, will call him on the Day of Resurrection over the heads of all creatures, and ask him to choose any of the bright and large eyed maidens he wishes.” [Abu Dawood, 41/4759] Also, in the hadith, notice it says that you hold the anger back when you can actually release it or act upon it. In some situations, you can’t do anything.

Allah mentions in the Qur’an the mutaqeen (the God-conscious): “Who spend [in the cause of Allah] during ease and hardship and who restrain anger and who pardon the people – and Allah loves the doers of good.” (3:133) The sahabah, with the training of RasulAllah, reached to the level where they forgave. They would stand up for the truth, but when they had the ability to take revenge, they would forgive; this is a very virtuous thing. In Islam, you have the right to take what belongs to you – an eye for an eye. Forgiving is above that and you receive a special reward for doing so.

6.6 Those who Call the Adhaan

Messenger of Allah ﷺ says that the mu`adhins will have the longest necks on the day of resurrection. Mu’awiya said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying The Mu’adhdhins will have the longest necks on the Day of Resurrection. [Muslim, 4/750] That is so that they can be seen. Adhaan is the call to prayer, and that is why it carries such a big reward to it.

Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to a Bedouin, by the name of AbdurRahmaan ibn Sa’Sa’, “I see that you love sheep and goats and the Bedouin life.” This man wasn’t very attached to city life; he wanted to live as a Bedouin with his sheep and goats in the desert. Prophet ﷺ continued, “If you are in the wilderness and it is time for salah, then raise your voice in adhaan because whatever hears you – whether jinns or humans or anything – will witness for you on the day of judgment.” The mountains, rocks, animals, human beings and jinns will witness for you on the Day of Judgment. You are in harmony with creation; everything is Muslim except for the corrupt jinn and the corrupt Muslim.

6.7 The Ones who grow White Hair in Islam

Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever grows white hair in Islam, it will be light for them on the day of resurrection.”

This hadith was narrated by at-Tirmidhi. Sometimes we don’t like white hair because it is a sign of old age, but RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is telling us it will be noor for us on the Day of Judgment.

Messenger of Allah ﷺ says in a hadith by Ibn Habbaan, “Don’t pull out your gray hair, it will be light for you on the day of judgment, and Allah will give you a reward for every white hair and Allah will raise you one level for every white hair that you have.”

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Gray hair is light in your face, so pull it out if you want to.” Who would want to pull out light from their face?

6.8 The Ones who make Wudhoo`

Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “My Ummah will come on the day of judgment, ghur and muhajjileen.” These are two marks that come on horses – ghur is the bright spot on the forehead of the horse, and muhajjileen is a bright spot on the feet of the horse. The Arabs used to consider them to be signs of beauty. It carries a meaning of beauty. What caused these signs of beauty? The wudhoo`.

Messenger of Allah ﷺ says, “And on the day of judgment, you will have jewellery according to where the water used to reach.”

There’s another hadith in Muslim, in which the Prophet ﷺ went to the cemetery and said, “Peace be upon you, the dwellings of the believers. That’s where there dwelling is now.” Then he said, “InshaAllah we are soon going to follow you. I wish that we can see our brothers.” The sahabah were amazed by this, and they said, “Aren’t we your brothers?” Prophet ﷺ said, “You are my companions. My brothers are the one who did not come yet.” The rest of the Ummah of Prophet ﷺ are the brothers of Muhammad – we are his brothers inshaAllah. Then, Prophet ﷺ was asked by the sahabah, “How will you know your brothers when you never saw them?” Prophet ﷺ said, “If there is a man who has horses with the marks of tahjeel, wouldn’t you recognize him among other horses?” The sahabah said, “Yes.” Prophet ﷺ said, “My Ummah will come with these signs and I will recognize them out of all of the people [from the signs of wudhu`]. I will be waiting for my brothers on the pool (howD).”

We ask Allah to combine us with RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam on the day of judgment.

7. Intercession on the Day Of Judgement

There is major shifa’aa and minor shafa’aa. The major shifa’aa is given to nobody but Prophet ﷺ will have. Then there are many minor shafa’aa that Prophet ﷺ will have. There will also be other minor shafa’aa that righteous people will have, such as the intercession of the shaheed.

For now we will limit it to the major shafa’aa – which is the intercession of Prophet ﷺ – for the accountability to start. On the Day of Judgment, the day that is 50,000 years long and the sun will be just above the people, the people will be exhausted from standing. They will ask the ambiya of Allah to appeal to Allah and ask for Allah to start the accountability. There are many narrations of this hadith of intercession, but here is the one we will mention:

Some (cooked) meat was brought to Allah’s Apostle and the meat of a forearm was presented to him as he used to like it. He ate a morsel of it and said, “I will be the chief of all the people [of the earlier generations and the last generations] on the Day of Resurrection. Do you know the reason for it? Allah will gather all the human being of early generations as well as late generation on one plain so that the announcer will be able to make them all hear his voice and the watcher will be able to see all of them. The sun will come so close to the people that they will suffer such distress and trouble as they will not be able to bear or stand. Then the people will say, ‘Don’t you see to what state you have reached? Won’t you look for someone who can intercede for you with your Lord?’

Some people will say to some others, ‘Go to Adam.’ So they will go to Adam and say to him. ‘You are the father of mankind; Allah created you with His Own Hand, and breathed into you of His Spirit (meaning the spirit which he created for you); and ordered the angels to prostrate before you; so (please) intercede for us with your Lord. Don’t you see in what state we are? Don’t you see what condition we have reached?’ Adam will say, ‘Today my Lord has become angry as He has never become before, nor will ever become thereafter. He forbade me (to eat of the fruit of) the tree, but I disobeyed Him. Myself! Myself! Myself! (Has more need for intercession). Go to someone else; go to Noah.’

So they will go to Noah and say (to him), ‘O Noah! You are the first (of Allah’s Messengers) to the people of the earth, and Allah has named you a thankful slave; please intercede for us with your Lord. Don’t you see in what state we are?’ He will say, ‘Today my Lord has become angry as He has never become nor will ever become thereafter. I had (in the world) the right to make one definitely accepted invocation, and I made it against my nation. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Abraham.’

[Note: Look at how the people will go to the ambiya on the day of resurrection; even though it was the presidents and kings they made sujood for in this life.]

They will go to Abraham and say, ‘O Abraham! You are Allah’s Apostle and His Khalil from among the people of the earth; so please intercede for us with your Lord. Don’t you see in what state we are?’ He will say to them, ‘My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before, nor will ever become thereafter. I had told three lies (Abu Haiyan (the sub-narrator) mentioned them in the Hadith) Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Moses.’

[Note: These were not really lies. We will mention them in our Prophet series. Because of the sensitivity of the ambiya, they have doubts in their actions. They are always asking Allah to forgive them and assuming the worse. Even if you think you have done the best prayer – assume the worse and make istighfaar after the salah.]

The people will then go to Moses and say, ‘O Moses! You art Allah’s Apostle and Allah gave you superiority above the others with this message and with His direct Talk to you; (please) intercede for us with your Lord Don’t you see in what state we are?’ Moses will say, ‘My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before, nor will become thereafter, I killed a person[He killed him by accident.] whom I had not been ordered to kill. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Jesus.’

So they will go to Jesus and say, ‘O Jesus! You are Allah’s Apostle and His Word which He sent to Mary, and a superior soul created by Him, and you talked to the people while still young in the cradle. Please intercede for us with your Lord. Don’t you see in what state we are?’ Jesus will say. ‘My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before nor will ever become thereafter.’ Jesus will not mention any sin, but will say, ‘Myself! Myself! Myself!’ Go to someone else; go to Muhammad.’

So they will come to me and say, ‘O Muhammad! You are Allah’s Apostle and the last of the prophets, and Allah forgave your early and late sins. (Please) intercede for us with your Lord. Don’t you see in what state we are?’

[ Prophet ﷺ is the only one who will say, “My Ummah! My Ummah!”]

The Prophet added, “Then I will go beneath Allah’s Throne and fall in prostration before my Lord. And then Allah will guide me to such praises and glorification to Him as He has never guided anybody else before me.

“Then it will be said, ‘O Muhammad Raise your head. Ask, and it will be granted. Intercede; It (your intercession) will be accepted.’ So I will raise my head and Say, ‘My followers, O my Lord! My followers, O my Lord.’ It will be said, ‘O Muhammad! Let those of your followers who have no accounts, enter through such a gate of the gates of Paradise as lies on the right; and they will share the other gates with the people.’

The Prophet further said, “By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, the distance between every two gate-posts of Paradise is like the distance between Mecca and Busra (in Sham).” [Bukhaari, 6/60/236]

The Prophet ﷺ said that every ambiya was given one da’wah that was guaranteed to be accepted, and every nabi exhausted their da’wah, except for the Prophet ﷺ, who reserved it for the day of judgment.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu’z-Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that the Prophet ﷺ, said, “Every prophet is given a supplication (du’aa`), and I wish to preserve my du’aa` as intercession for my community in the next world.” [Malik’s Muwatta, B.15, No. 15.8.26]

This major shafa’aa is only that RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam will be able to do – the intercession for all of mankind. That is when the books will be given down and everybody will be held accountable for their actions.

8. Rules of the Day of Judgment

8.1 Justice

The Day of Judgment is the day of justice. And one of the names of Allah is al ‘Adl. Allah will not wrong anyone; He will give everyone what they deserve.

Allah says: “And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be treated unjustly.” (2:281)

This scale of justice is very delicate. Allah will give you what belongs to you, even if it is one grain. Allah says: “Indeed, Allah does not do injustice, [even] as much as an atom’s weight; while if there is a good deed, He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward.” (4:40)

Luqmaan ‘alayhis salaam said, when advising his son: “[And Luqman said], ‘O my son, indeed if wrong should be the weight of a mustard seed and should be within a rock or [anywhere] in the heavens or in the earth, Allah will bring it forth. Indeed, Allah is Subtle and Acquainted.” (31:16)

Allah says: “So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it. And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it.” (99:7-8) The first advice that Luqmaan gave his son was la tushrik billah (don’t associate anyone with Allah), then the second advice was the kindness towards the parents. Immediately before that, even before salah, Luqmaan ‘alayhis salaam said what we just mentioned. He wanted to develop in his son the muraaqabah of Allah subhaana wa ta’aala – the fact that Allah is over watching you.

It’s very important that we instil this concept in our hearts and in the hearts of our children – that Allah is watching you. As parents, we try to watch our parents and see where they’re going and what they’re doing, etc. No matter how hard you try, there are some things you won’t know; we are limited. The strongest protection for them is that they have fear of Allah. If they have that quality in them, they are going to fear Allah even if you are not around.

Trying to protect our children by having them fear us is not the way – because when we are not around, why would they fear us? If we can have them fear Allah, that is more powerful. They will know Allah is watching them wherever they are.

It was narrated as a saying of Luqmaan alHakeem, that Luqmaan ‘alayhis salaam had told his son, “O my son, if you want to sin, go ahead and do it, but do it where Allah cannot see you.” Therefore, to develop the awareness that Allah is watching everything that we do, it is a very powerful tool.

Ihsaan is that you worship Allah as if you see Him. If you don’t see Him, Allah sees you.

8.2 Individual Accountability

You are responsible for what you did. You are not responsible for what somebody else did. You will only be questioned for what you did. You are not liable for what somebody else did.

In Christianity, there is an original sin which was committed by somebody else; they attribute it to Adam. According to Christianity, we are held responsible for what Adam did tens of thousands of years ago. The sin was not committed for us, but by Adam, and Christianity says that we are responsible for it. Who paid the price for it? Not us [according to Christianity], but Jesus [‘Eesa]. This is contrary to simple, common sense. Why should the innocent (Jesus) have to pay for what human beings have done? That is contrary to Justice.

Allah will hold us accountable for our actions. Allah says: “Whoever is guided is only guided for [the benefit of] his soul. And whoever errs only errs against it. And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. And never would We punish until We sent a messenger.” (17:15) You are not doing anyone a favour by being Muslim; whoever is guided is guided for his own good. When you go pray in the masjid, you are not doing anyone a favour. You don’t do a favour to Allah when you obey him; it’s for your own good. At the same time, if you go astray, it is your own loss.

The message of accountability of one’s self is not something new that Prophet ﷺ bought; it was the message of every prophet before, including Jesus (‘Eesa) and Abraham, Nuh and Adam. Allah says: “Or has he not been informed of what was in the scriptures of Moses. And [of] Abraham, who fulfilled [his obligations] – That no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives. And that his effort is going to be seen – Then he will be recompensed for it with the fullest recompense.” (53:36-41)

Contradiction? When you read some ayaat in Qur’aan, you might feel a sense of contradiction. For example, Allah says: “But they will surely carry their [own] burdens and [other] burdens along with their burdens […]” This ayah sounds contradictory to what we were saying about each person being accountable only for themselves. We get the answer to this confusion in the same ayah: “[…] and they will surely be questioned on the Day of Resurrection about what they used to invent.” (29:13) They made up falsehoods and other people followed those falsehoods. Therefore, they would carry the sins of everyone who followed their words. It’s true that you carry your own sins, but you are also responsible for the sins you have caused. That doesn’t mean that those people are free of burden; they carry their sins as well. If you cause five sins, the people will be held accountable for those five sins, and so will you.

As mentioned before, Prophet ﷺ said that the one who starts a good tradition (sunnah) will get the reward for everyone who follows it until the day of judgment, and whoever starts a bad tradition will get the sin for it for everyone who follows it until the day of judgment. Therefore, the scholars have said that it is much for a person to commit a sin in public, so that the people may follow it, as opposed to doing it in private. We discussed this earlier. 

Prophet ﷺ said: “No human being is killed unjustly, but a part of responsibility for the crime is laid on the first son of Adam who invented the tradition of killing (murdering) on the earth. (It is said that he was Qabil).” (Bukhaari, 9/83/6)

8.3 Presentation of Deeds

On the Day of Judgment, your deeds will be presented to you in entirety. You will see everything you did. Allah says: “[…] The return of you all is to Allah, then He will inform you about (all) that which you used to do.” (5:105)

It will be presented in the form of a book. Allah says: “[…] On the Day of Judgment We shall bring out for him a scroll, which he will see spread open.” (17:13) Every single detail will be there; nothing will be left out. Maybe that’s why one of the reasons the Day of Judgment is so long – you will be questioned for every single detail of your life.

Allah says: “And the record [of deeds] will be placed [open], and you will see the criminals fearful of that within it, and they will say, ‘Oh, woe to us! What is this book that leaves nothing small or great except that it has enumerated it?’ And they will find what they did present [before them]. And your Lord does injustice to no one.” (18:49) People who committed a lot of sins will be in a very desperate situation to see this huge book packed with sin.

Allah, to show us His Mercy and Forgiveness, will not multiply evil deeds. The good deeds, Allah will multiply – one equals ten. Allah says: “Whoever comes [on the Day of Judgement] with a good deed will have ten times the like thereof [to his credit], and whoever comes with an evil deed will not be recompensed except the like thereof; and they will not be wronged.” (6:160) The ayah mentions that the deeds are multiplied by ten; that is the minimum. SubhaanAllah.

8.4 Deeds that are Multiplied by Ten

There are some acts that are multiplied even more. For example, for every letter of Qur’an that we read, we get 10 rewards. There is a hadith (in At-Tirmidhi) which is narrated by Ibn Mas’ood in which Prophet ﷺ says that Alif Laam Meem is not a letter; Alif is a letter, Laam is a letter and Meem is a letter.

There is another hadith in at-Tirmidhi and An-Nasaa`i, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn Al ‘Aas says that Prophet ﷺ says, “Two habits, if you persist in them, you will be rewarded with Jannah. They are easy, but the ones who do them are a few. You say after every salah SubhaanAllah ten times, Alhamdulillah ten times and Allahu Akbar ten times [there is another hadith that says thirty three].” ‘Abdullah said, “I saw Prophet ﷺ count them with his own hands. That comes to 150 on the tongue.” How did ‘Abdullah get the 150? 30 for each prayer. Then ‘Abdullah said, “But on the scale on the Day of Judgment, that will count as 1,500.” That is, ten rewards for each one. The second thing is: “When you go to bed, you make tasbeeh, tahmeed and takbeer one hundred times.” So you say subhaanAllah 33 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times and Allahu Akbar 34 times, for a total of 100. These count as 1,000 on the scale. Then RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Who of you will commit 2,500 sins per day?”

Prophet ﷺ is saying that this is an advantage for us because we are receiving so many rewards and we probably won’t commit that many sins. The Sahabah then said, “How come we would not do them? [It seems to be very easy.]” Prophet ﷺ said, “Shaytaan will come to you in your salah and make you remember something so that as you make your salah, you will leave and not make that dhikr. And shaytaan will come to you when you go to bed and make you go to sleep before you remember to say that dhikr.”

We see this happen in the masaajid. There are very few who sit after the imam finishes and recite adhkaar. There are also other adhkaar after prayer, such as: ayat al kursi, the quls, some adkhaar for certain prayers, etc. The dhikr after prayer is very simple, and we tend to neglect things that are simple because they seem insignificant to us. It is not insignificant. Just these simple adhkaar can count as 2,500 rewards!

Then there is another example multiplication of deeds: Salah. Originally, 50 salawaat were prescribed on us. Musa was telling Prophet ﷺ to reduce it; so it was reduced to five. Allah told Prophet ﷺ that we would have 5 prayers to do, but they would count as 50. This hadith is in Bukhaari.

8.5 Deeds that are Multiplied More

Giving for the Sake of Allah: Allah subhaana wa ta’aala says: “The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the Way of Allah, is as the likeness of a grain (of corn); it grows seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold increase to whom He pleases. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures’ needs, All-Knower.” (2:261) The total reward for one is seven hundred. Allah says that He gives manifold increase to who He wills – so there is even more reward! Ibn ‘Abbaas says that one dirham (one dollar) in hajj or jihad will be multiplied 700 times. That is about 70,000% increase on your wealth. What investment in the world will give you that return? None. And this reward is not abiding by the stock market; it won’t go up or down. It is guaranteed. Whatever you spend in depression or an economic boom, it doesn’t make a difference; it is guaranteed for Allah. In Hajj, say you spend $3,000. Multiply that by 700, and you have 2,100,000. That is the return! Over 2 million dollars! That is the generosity of Allah.

Sabr (Patience) and Siyaam (Fasting) : Allah says: “[…] those who patiently persevere will truly receive a reward without measure!” (39:10) The reward here is limitless. This is also the reward for patience. Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported Prophet ﷺ as saying: “Every (good) deed of the son of Adam would be multiplied, a good deed receiving a tenfold to seven hundredfold reward. Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, has said: With the exception of fasting, for it is done for Me and I will give a reward for it, for one abandons his passion and food for My sake. There are two occasions of joy for one who fasts, joy when he breaks it, and joy when he meets his Lord, and the breath (of an observer of fast) is sweeter to Allah than the fragrance of musk.” [Muslim, 6/2567]

This hadith truly shows the Generosity of Allah: Prophet ﷺ, narrating about his Lord, said, “Allah ordered (the appointed angels over you) that the good and the bad deeds be written, and He then showed (the way) how (to write). If somebody intends to do a good deed and he does not do it, then Allah will write for him a full good deed (in his account with Him); and if he intends to do a good deed and actually did it, then Allah will write for him (in his account) with Him (its reward equal) from ten to seven hundred times to many more times: and if somebody intended to do a bad deed and he does not do it, then Allah will write a full good deed (in his account) with Him, and if he intended to do it (a bad deed) and actually did it, then Allah will write one bad deed (in his account).” [Bukhaari, 8/76/498]

Repentance : Another example of the generosity and mercy of Allah is what Allah will give to the ones who repent. “And those who invoke not any other ilah (god) along with Allah, nor kill such life as Allah has forbidden, except for just cause, nor commit illegal sexual intercourse and whoever does this shall receive the punishment. The torment will be doubled to him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein in disgrace.” (25:68-69)
Allah talks about three major sins here and says they will be punished severely in the hell fire, except the ones who repent. “Except those who repent and believe (in Islamic Monotheism), and do righteous deeds, for those, Allah will change their sins into good deeds, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (25:70) If a person who has a long record of sins, but he repents, not only will Allah erase those sins, but Allah will transfer those sins into rewards. SubhaanAllah.
Abu Dharr reported that Prophet ﷺ said: “I know the last of the inhabitants of Paradise to enter it and the last of the inhabitants of Hell to come out of it. He is a man who would be brought on the Day of Resurrection and it will be said: ‘Present his minor sins to him, and withhold from him his serious Sins.’ Then the minor sins would be placed before him, and it would be said: ‘On such and such a day you did so and so and on such and such a day you did so and so.’ He would say: ‘Yes.’ It will not be possible for him to deny, while he would be afraid lest serious sins should be presented before him. It would be said to him: ‘In place of every evil deed you will have good deed.’ He will say: ‘My Lord! I have done things I do not see here.’ I indeed saw the Messenger of Allah laugh till his front teeth were exposed. [Muslim, 1/365] Prophet ﷺ was laughing because the man was mentioning his bad deeds because he saw the generosity of Allah.

8.6 Presenting the Witnesses

Allah will assemble witnesses on nations and on individuals. Allah will make this ummah witness on others. We already talked in the past about how Allah will send witnesses against us – our hands, feet, tongue will speak about the sins we committed.

Nuh will be the witness against his nation. He will say that he presented the truth to them, but they rejected it. Abu Sa’eed narrated that Allah’s Apostle said, “Noah and his nation will come (on the Day of Resurrection and Allah will ask (Noah), ‘Did you convey (the Message)?’ He will reply, ‘Yes, O my Lord!’ Then Allah will ask Noah’s nation, ‘Did Noah convey My Message to you?’ They will reply, ‘No, no prophet came to us.’ Then Allah will ask Noah, ‘Who will stand a witness for you?’ He will reply, ‘Muhammad and his followers (will stand witness for me).’ So, I and my followers will stand as witnesses for him (that he conveyed Allah’s Message).” That is, (the interpretation) of the Statement of Allah: ‘Thus we have made you a just and the best nation that you might be witnesses Over mankind …’ (2:143).” [Bukhaari, 4/55/555] The people of Nuh will say to the Muslims, “How do you know? You weren’t there.” The Muslims will say, “We received it in the book of Allah (the Qur’an).”

Then, Allah will make Prophet ﷺ a witness against us. “And thus we have made you a just community that you will be witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over you. […]” (2:143)

9. The Questioning

People are going to be questioning on the Day of Judgment – some people will be questioned in detail, and some people will not be questioned at all. The ones who will not be questioned at all will be the ones who reached the pinnacles in faith. They will enter into Paradise without going into questioning. All that will happen to them is that they will be presented with their book of deeds, but they will not be interrogated. These are seventy thousand from this ummah who will enter jannah without questioning.

After that, the more a person is questioned, the more difficult and dangerous it is. Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever will be interrogated will be punished.” If you’re being interrogated, that means there is something wrong. The questions that will be asked are everything, but there are some that specify the questioning.

The most important questioning is about kufr. Allah says: “And it will be said to them, ‘Where are those you used to worship other than Allah? Can they help you or help themselves?’ So they will be overturned into Hellfire, they and the deviators and the soldiers of Iblees, all together.” (26:92-95)

9.1 The Four Questions

There are four questions that everyone will be asked about. In a hadith narrated by at-Tirmidhi, Prophet ﷺ said, Your feet will not move from their spot on the day of judgment until you are asked four questions.

  1. Your life, how did you spend it? This is the value of time – you will be asked how you spent your time. Time is even more worthy than money; with every second that passes by, it is taking some of you.
  2. How did you use your knowledge? Did you practice it, or did you learn for the sake of learning and showing off? Knowledge is an evidence against us if we don’t use it. It is a great sin not to practice the knowledge you don’t know. Allah says: “O you who have believed, why do you say what you do not do? Great is hatred in the sight of Allah that you say what you do not do.” (61:2-3) So we have to practice what we say.
  3. How did you gain it and how did you spend it? You will be questioned about every dollar that you spent and every dollar that you earned. Therefore, suffering poverty your whole life is better than suffering for one dollar on the Day of Judgment. To be questioned means you will be punished. Prophet ﷺ said, “Anybody whose account (record) is questioned will surely be punished.” [Bukhaari, 8/76/543]
    This is also one of the reasons why the poor enter into Jannah before the rich. Even though there could be a rich man who could be better in level and rank than a poor person; we are talking about the timing of entering into Jannah. Prophet ﷺ said, the poor of the muhajireen will enter into jannah 500 years before the rich. The hadith mentions that they will go the gates of jannah and the angels will ask, How did you get here? Weren’t you held accountable? These fuqaraa` (poor men) will say, What will we be held accountable for? We don’t have any money and we were carrying our swords in the sake of Allah. At the same time, there could be many rich people who could have a higher rank than many of the poor – for example, ‘AbdurRahmaan ibn ‘Auf. Money is a very dangerous tool. It can be used to open the doors of jannah for you, and it can go to the extreme other opposite, and that is in the lower ranks of hell fire. We have to give money the attention it deserves: how we earn it and how we spend it.
  4. How did you use your body? Allah gave you the strength. You are not the inventor of your power; Allah gave you your body as a trust. Did you put your strong body to use or did you consume that body in the sake of Allah and optimize it to the extreme? This is a ni’mah, blessing, from Allah, and we will be asked of how we used it.

9.2 The Luxury of this Life

Allah says: “Then you will surely be asked that Day about pleasure.” (102:8) There are many interpretations for this ayah. Mujaahid says, you will be questioned about every pleasure you had in this world. Ibn ‘Abbaas says that part of the pleasure of this world is your health and body. We also know that in the hadith,

Prophet ﷺ says, “There are two blessings which many people lose: (They are) Health and free time for doing good.” [Bukhaari, 8/76/421] We need to use these two blessings for the sake of Allah or they will be used against us. 

9.3 Promises and Covenants

The most important covenant is the covenant of Imaan – the covenant between us and Allah subhaana wa ta’aala.

If you didn’t realize you signed a covenant with Allah: you did. When you say that you are a Muslim, you are signing a contract between you and Allah. When you claim that you are a Muslim or a mu`min, that means you are consenting to abide by a certain set of rules and laws. We are going to be questioned about that. Allah says: “And fulfill (every) covenant. Verily! The covenant will be questioned about.” (17:34)

9.4 Sight, Hearing and Mind

These three are very important – sight, hearing and mind. The sight and hearing is where we input all of the data into our mind. If you imagine your mind as the central processing of the unit of the body, where does it get its information? By the sight and hearing. That is why Allah will specifically question us about these.

Did you use your eyes to read Qur’an, or use it to see what is forbidden? Did you use your ears to listen to the dhikr of Allah or did you use or it for what is forbidden? How did you use your mind? Did you invest it for Allah subhaana wa ta’aala, or did you use it for the sake of serving yourself in the dunya and neglecting akhirah? The mind is what controls us. The way we use our minds is how our body will function and what we will be held accountable for. We should use all three of these for shukr of Allah.

Allah says: “[…] and He made for you hearing and vision and intellect that perhaps you would be grateful.” (16:78) We ask Allah to make us of the shakireen.

Allah says: “[…] Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart – about all those [one] will be questioned.” (17:36)

9.5 Salah

Finally, for the believer who believed in Allah subhaana wa ta’aala, will be about Salah. Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith narrated by An-Nasaa`i, The first thing you will be questioned about on the day of judgment is your Salah. If it was complete, it will be written down as complete. If there is deficiency in your salah, then Allah will tell the angels to look in your book of records to look if you have any voluntary prayers to complete the deficiency.

This is what the nawaafil (Supplementary Prayers) do; this is the role of Sunnah and nafil. The five mandatory prayers have to be completed. Of course we will have deficiencies here and there. How will those deficiencies be completed? By the sunnah and nawaafil. Then Prophet ﷺ said that the same will be done with the rest of the deeds; Allah will say to look at the obligatory fasts. If the fardh are not completed, then the voluntary will be looked at.

10. Events of the Day of Judgment

10.1 The first of men (whose case) will be decided on the Day of Judgment :

Riyaa` is showing off; doing deeds to impress someone and not for the sake of Allah. It is an extremely dangerous deed. Prophet ﷺ has called it minor shirk. What is shirk? It is associating others with Allah. Riyaa` is doing something which should be for Allah, but it’s for somebody else, so it is also a form of shirk.

An example of this would be that the munafiqeen pray, but they are not sincere in their prayer. Allah says: “Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is He Who deceives them. And when they stand up for As-Salat (the prayer), they stand with laziness and to be seen of men, and they do not remember Allah but little.” (4:142) They’re praying in the masjid, but the heart is somewhere else.

Riyaa` would be a scholar to show off, someone who memorizes Qur’an to show that he is a qari, etc. Allah is Ghaniy – He is free from all need. He does not want something from you that is not purely for Him. That is why Allah does not accept having anyone worshipped besides Him – that is shirk. Similarly, with the deeds, Allah does not want you to do something that is not solely for Him. There is a hadith in Muslim, which many of us have heard:

People dispersed from around Abu Huraira. And Natil, who was from the Syrians, said to him, “O Shaikh, relate (to us) a tradition you have heard from the Prophet ﷺ.” He said: Yes. I heard the Prophet ﷺ say:

“The first of men (whose case) will be decided on the Day of Judgment will be a man who died as a martyr. He shall be brought (before the Judgment Seat). Allah will make him recount His blessings (i. e. the blessings which He had bestowed upon him) and he will recount them (and admit having enjoyed them in his life). (Then) will Allah say: ‘What did you do (to requite these blessings)?’ He will say: ‘I fought for You until I died as a martyr.’ Allah will say: ‘You have told a lie. You fought that you might be called a brave warrior. And you were called so.’ (Then) orders will be passed against him and he will be dragged with his face downward and cast into Hell.

Then will be brought forward a man who acquired knowledge and imparted it (to others) and recited the Qur’an. He will be brought and Allah will make him recount His blessings and he will recount them (and admit having enjoyed them in his lifetime). Then will Allah ask: ‘What did you do (to requite these blessings)?’ He will say: ‘I acquired knowledge and disseminated it and recited the Qur’an seeking Your pleasure.’ Allah will say: ‘You have told a lie. You acquired knowledge so that you might be called a scholar, and you recited the Qur’an so that it might be said: He is a Qari, and such has been said.’ Then orders will be passed against him and he shall be dragged with his face downward and cast into the Fire.

Then will be brought a man whom Allah had made abundantly rich and had granted every kind of wealth. He will be brought and Allah will make him recount His blessings and he will recount them and (admit having enjoyed them in his lifetime). Allah will (then) ask: ‘What have you done (to requite these blessings)?’ He will say: ‘I spent money in every cause in which You wished that it should be spent.’ Allah will say: ‘You are lying. You did (so) that it might be said about (You): He is a generous fellow, and so it was said.’ Then will Allah pass orders and he will be dragged with his face downward and thrown into Hell.” [Muslim, 20/4688]

There’s another big problem with riyaa`: it is hidden. It can be very difficult to detect. Unless you are always testing yourself and thinking about your intentions, it is very easy to go along the path of riyaa`. Ask yourself: Why am I doing this? When you examine your intentions, shaytaan comes and tries to mislead you. Shaytaan comes to them and tells them, “You’re doing this for riyaa`, so don’t do it.” And thus he prevents people from doing good deeds!

Abu Hurayrah was once asked a similar question. A man came to Abu Hurayrah and said that he did not want to memorize Qur’an because there is a hadith that says if you memorize Qur’an and forget it, you come with your face mutilated on the day of judgment. Abu Hurayrah said: that is the beginning of losing Qur’an. By making this intention of not memorizing, you are in a worse situation.

Similarly, the scholars say if shaytaan is making you think your intentions are for riyaa`, do that act and try to make the intention for Allah.

For example, if there is a public fundraising, shaytaan may tell you not give a public donation, give it privately. Then, as you are leaving, shaytaan may make you forget, and in that way, you did not donate at all. So the scholars say to do the act and try to correct your intention.

10.2 The Lord Presenting the Sins to His Servant

Narrated Safwan ibn Muhriz: While Ibn Umar was performing the Tawaf (around the Ka’bah), a man came up to him and said, “O Abu AbdurRahman!” or said, “O Ibn Umar! Did you hear anything from the Prophet about An-Najwa?”

Ibn ‘Umar said, “I heard the Prophet saying, ‘The Believer will be brought near his Lord.” (Hisham, a sub-narrator said, reporting the Prophet’s words), “The believer will come near (his Lord) till his Lord covers him with His screen and makes him confess his sins. (Allah will ask him), ‘Do you know (that you did) ‘such-and-such sin?’ He will say twice, ‘Yes, I do.’ [ Allah will keep asking him until he thinks that he is ruined.] Then Allah will say, ‘I concealed it in the world and I forgive it for you today.’ Then the record of his good deeds will be folded up. As for the others, or the disbelievers, it will be announced publicly before the witnesses: ‘These are ones who lied against their Lord [Behold, the curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers].’” [Bukhaari, 6/60/207]

10.3 Allah’s Reprimand of His Servants Shortcomings

Abu Huraira reported Prophet ﷺ as saying: “Verily, Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, would say on the Day of Resurrection: ‘O son of Adam, I was sick but you did not visit Me.’ He would say: ‘O my Lord; how could I visit Thee whereas Thou art the Lord of the worlds?’ Thereupon He would say: ‘Didn’t you know that such and such servant of Mine was sick but you did not visit him and were you not aware of this that if you had visited him, you would have found Me by him?’

‘O son of Adam, I asked food from you but you did not feed Me.’ He would say: ‘My Lord, how could I feed Thee whereas Thou art the Lord of the worlds?’ He said: ‘Didn’t you know that such and such servant of Mine asked food from you but you did not feed him, and were you not aware that if you had fed him you would have found him by My side?’

(The Lord would again say): ‘O son of Adam, I asked drink from you but you did not provide Me.’ He would say: ‘My Lord, how could I provide Thee whereas Thou art the Lord of the worlds?’ Thereupon He would say: ‘Such and such of servant of Mine asked you for a drink but you did not provide him, and had you provided him drink you would have found him near Me.’” [Muslim, 32/6232]

10.4 Distribution of the Book of Deeds

Allah says: “Then as for him who will be given his Record in his right hand will say: ‘Take, read my Record! Surely, I did believe that I shall meet my Account!’ So he shall be in a life, well-pleasing. In a lofty Paradise, the fruits in bunches whereof will be low and near at hand. Eat and drink at ease for that which you have sent on before you in days past!” (69:19-24) Notice here that Allah is talking about fruits that are low and then He says, ‘eat and drink.’ This is a very appropriate place to say so because that is the day when hunger and thirst will be at their limits.

The books of deeds will be thrown in the air from a high elevation, and man is below. The moment when the books are thrown is one of the moments where Prophet ﷺ says that the hair turns gray – because you don’t know which hand you will get the book in. If the book comes in your right hand, you’re fine. If the book lands in the left, then you’re doomed.

What about the one who receives the book in his left hand? “But as for him who will be given his Record in his left hand, will say: ‘I wish that I had not been given my Record! And that I had never known how my Account is. I wish, would that it had been my end (death)! My wealth has not availed me, My power and arguments (to defend myself) have gone from me!’” (69:25-29)

The two things that we struggle for in this life – power and wealth – will do nothing for us that day. Whatever you want in dunya, you can buy it with money; it fulfils your desires. On the Day of Judgment, money is worthless. What was wealth one day is now nothing. Power is the same way – it gives you dominance and opens for you doors of opportunity. On the Day of Judgment, you will be so powerless that you will not even have power over your own limbs; your limbs will testify against you. Therefore, power and wealth are of no value on the Day of Judgment. If we strive for either of those things, it should be for the sake of Allah.

10.5 Settlement of Accounts between Creation

On the Day of Judgment, there will be many accounts that will be opened. People always ask – “Why is there so much disease, famine and injustice in the world? Where is God?” What they don’t realize is that everything will be settled on the Day of Judgment. This settlement is comprehensive, even among the animals. Allah will not let anything go unnoticed.

Abu Huraira reported Prophet ﷺ as saying: “The claimants would get their claims on the Day of Resurrection so much so that the hornless sheep would get its claim from the horned sheep.” [Muslim, 32/6252]

Oppression : How are the accounts settled between two humans? Allah’s Apostle said, “Whoever has oppressed another person concerning his reputation or anything else, he should beg him to forgive him before the Day of Resurrection when there will be no money (to compensate for wrong deeds), but if he has good deeds, those good deeds will be taken from him according to his oppression which he has done, and if he has no good deeds, the sins of the oppressed person will be loaded on him.” [Bukhaari, 3/43/629]

On the Day of Judgment, the only currency that is accepted is hasanaat- Good deeds. On that day, you will be willing to give the world and everything in it for one hasanah.

Why would you backbite against someone or do something else against them? Because you hate them; they are your enemy. If you think about it – the last thing you want to do for your enemy is give them your good deeds. So if you don’t like someone: first ask Allah to take that hatred from your heart and then don’t put yourself in a position that will end up harming you more. It’s common sense!

It was either Shafi’ee or Hasan al-Basri, but someone came to them and said, “So and so is speaking against you.” The Imaam bought some fruits and went to the door of that person and said, “I heard that you have given me some of your good deeds and I have no way of paying you back but giving you this gift.”

The Prophet said, “Oppression will be a darkness on the Day of Resurrection.” [Bukhaari, 3/43/627]

Murder : A very important thing to be settled is blood – when you harm or kill someone. That is one of the first things to be settled on the Day of Judgment. In a hadith in At-Tirmidhi, Prophet ﷺ said, on the day of judgment, the murdered will be holding the head of the murderer, and blood will be flowing from him. Allah will bring that person in front of Him and that person will say, ‘O Allah, ask him, why did he kill me?’ And it will be settled on the Day of Judgment.

And Prophet ﷺ says, “The first cases to be decided among the people on the day of resurrection will be those of bloodshed.”

Abu Muslim AlKhursaani was the one whom the Abbaseen used to establish the khilaafa for themselves, and in the process he killed thousands. Allahu ‘Alam how the story is, but he was heard standing on the mountain of Arafah saying, “O Allah, I ask you to forgive me for something that I think you will not forgive for me.” A man said to him, “What are you talking about? Allah forgives everything.” Abu Muslim said, “Do you see all of these people in ‘arafah? (It was the day of Hajj.) Every one of these wants something from me – I’ve killed one of their family members. How do you think Allah can forgive me if these people will all come to Allah on the day of resurrection, asking for revenge?” So the oppressors of all time, throughout history, have a very hefty price to pay on the Day of Judgment.

Abu Huraira reported Prophet ﷺ as saying: ‘Do you know who is poor [bankrupt]?’ They (the Companions of the Prophet) said: ‘A poor man amongst us is one who has neither dirham with him nor wealth.’

Prophet ﷺ said: ‘The poor of my Ummah would be he who would come on the Day of Resurrection with prayers and fasts and Zakat but he would find himself bankrupt on that day as he would have exhausted his funds of virtues since he hurled abuses upon others, brought calumny against others and unlawfully consumed the wealth of others and shed the blood of others and beat others, and his virtues would be credited to the account of one (who suffered at his hand). And if his good deeds fall short to clear the account, then his sins would be entered in (his account) and he would be thrown in the Hell-Fire.’ [Muslim, 32/6251]

In economical situations, a bankrupt person is someone who had money, but then lost it. There’s a difference between a bankrupt person and a poor person – the poor was poor for a long time. SubhaanAllah, the analogy is so appropriate. This person lost so much – and may even gain sins – because of their treatment of others.

There could be a corrupt Muslim (who drinks, etc) and then another Muslim who fasts and prays. The praying and fasting Muslim may abuse the Muslim who was corrupt, but on the Day of Judgment, the fasting Muslim would have to carry the sins of the corrupt person because of the abuse he did to him. Never underestimate the good treatment of others and dealings with others; you could lose everything because of that.

The religion of Islam needs to be taken comprehensively – you have to balance ‘ibaadah AND dealing with others. As we said, everything will be settled, even between animals. In a hadith by At-Tabari, Allah will settle the claims amongst the animals. After all of their claims are settled, Allah will tell the animals to turn into dirt; they will cease to exist. The fate of all animals is that they are turned to dirt. “[…] The disbeliever will say: ‘Woe to me! Would that I were dust!’ (78:40)

Abu Dharr said that he was with Prophet ﷺ and there were two sheep which were knocking each other on the head. Prophet ﷺ said to Abu Dharr, Do you see those two sheep? Do you know why they are fighting each other? Abu Dharr said no. Prophet ﷺ said that Allah knows and He will judge between them on the Day of Judgment. Also, something to notice here is that two sheep fighting would seem like something so trivial to us. Prophet ﷺ would convert any information into a certain way and view it from a certain perception. Even something so trivial reminded Prophet ﷺ of akhirah. Everything around us should remind us of akhirah.

10.6 The Scale

Al-Qurtubi says, after the reckoning, the deeds will be weighed because weighing of deeds is for reward, so it needs to be after reckoning. Reckoning is to calculate the deeds. To give an illustration – say you have a big sack filled with a lot of things. Al-hisaab sorts out those things. Allah will question your deeds so that the good will be separated from the bad; the accepted will be separated from what is not accepted. The hisaab (reckoning) is to separate what you will be rewarded for and what you will be punished for. Therefore, al-mizaan comes after hisaab.

Allah says: “And We shall set up balances of justice on the Day of Resurrection, then none will be dealt with unjustly in anything. And if there be the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it. And Sufficient are We as Reckoners.” (21:47)

There’s a difference of opinion of the scholars on what will actually be weighed. It is our belief that the deeds will come in a physical form and be weighed, but are the deeds going to be weighed or is the individual going to be weighed? Some scholars say both. Some say it is just the deeds. This is a difference of opinion that is inshaAllah trivial.

In a hadith narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dardaa` says that the Prophet ﷺ said, “There is nothing heavier than good character put in the scale of a believer on the Day of Resurrection.” [ Abu Dawood, 41/4781] Never underestimate good behaviour! It is truth, kindness, fulfilling the rights of others.

The Prophet ﷺ said, “(There are) two words which are dear to the Beneficent (Allah) and very light (easy) for the tongue (to say), but very heavy in weight in the balance. They are: Subhan Allah wa-bi hamdihi and Subhan Allah Al-‘Adheem.” [Bukhaari, 9/93/652]

In a hadith in Bukhaari, the Prophet ﷺ said, “[…] As for the one for whom it [a horse] is a source of reward, he is the one who keeps his horse for the sake of Jihad in Allah’s Cause; he ties it with a long rope on a pasture or in a garden. So whatever its rope allows it to eat, will be regarded as good rewardable deeds (for its owner). And if it breaks off its rope and jumps over one or two hillocks, even its dung will be considered amongst his good deeds. And if it passes by a river and drinks water from it, that will be considered as good deeds for his benefit) even if he has had no intention of watering it […]” [Bukhaari, 4/56/839]

Prophet ﷺ said, in a hadith by At-Tirmidhi, that on the day of judgment Allah will bring a man in front of all of creation. Allah will present to him 99 scrolls. Every scroll is as far as you can see, filled with bad deeds.

Then Allah will tell him, “Are you denying anything in these scrolls?”
The man will say, “No.”
Allah will say, “Did the angels recording your deeds make any mistakes or oppress you?”
He will say, “No.”
Then Allah subhaana wa ta’aala will say, “Do you have any excuse? (For all of these sins you have done)?”
The man will say, “No.”
Then Allah subhaana wa ta’aala will say, “Yes, you do have something that could be credited to you. You have a hasanah with us and there will be no oppression on you today.”
Then a card will be presented to him that says “Ash hadu Allah ilaaha illallah, wa ash hadu Muhammad ar-RasoolAllah”.
And Allah will tell him, “Go and witness the weighing of your deeds.”

The 99 scrolls will be placed on one side and the card will placed on the other. When the card will be placed, the 99 scrolls will go flying up in the air, because nothing is heavier than the name of Allah. This is the value of the kalima.

Prophet ﷺ said that whoever says the kalima with sincerity, Allah will reward them with Jannah. We ask Allah to make us of those who live according to la ilaaha il Allah.

10.7 The Pool

Allah has given Prophet ﷺ al-howd – the pool. This howd will be the only source of water/drink on the Day of Judgment. The water of al-howd is coming from Jannah, from the river of al-kawthar.

Prophet ﷺ says, My pool is the walking distance of a month. It is water is whiter than milk, its smell is better than milk, and the cups are more than the stars from the sky. Whoever drinks from it will never feel thirst after that. We ask Allah to make us those who drink from the pool.

In a hadith narrated by Muslim, Prophet ﷺ said that he will be pushing away people with a stick on the Day of Judgment so that the people of Yemen could drink from Al-Hawd. This shows his love for the people of Yemen. He was asked, “What is the width of it?” He said, It is from here to Oman. He was asked about its taste, it is whiter than milk. Then Prophet ﷺ said there are two canals that come down come down into it – one is gold and one is silver – and the water from it is from the river of al-kawthar.

10.8 Every Nation would Follow their God

Some people said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?” He said, “Do you crowd and squeeze each other on looking at the sun when it is not hidden by clouds?” They replied, “No, Allah’s Apostle.” He said, “Do you crowd and squeeze each other on looking at the moon when it is full and not hidden by clouds?” They replied, “No, O Allah’s Apostle!” He said, “So you will see Him (your Lord) on the Day of Resurrection similarly Allah will gather all the people and say, ‘Whoever used to worship anything should follow that thing.’ So, he who used to worship the sun will follow it, and he who used to worship the moon will follow it, and he who used to worship false deities will follow them; and then only this nation (i.e., Muslims) will remain, including their hypocrites. Allah will come to them in a shape other than they know and will say, ‘I am your Lord.’ They will say, ‘We seek refuge with Allah from you. This is our place; (we will not follow you) till our Lord comes to us, and when our Lord comes to us, we will recognize Him.’

“Then Allah will come to then in a shape they know and will say, ‘I am your Lord.’ They will say, ‘(No doubt) You are our Lord,’ and they will follow Him. Then a bridge will be laid over the (Hell) Fire.” Allah’s Apostle added, “I will be the first to cross it. […]” [Bukhaari, 9/93/532] [Also see Bukhaari, 6/60/105]

The munafiqeen are still mixing with the Muslim, trying to sneak into jannah. They will not be able to, because Allah will give this Ummah light. The siraat is thinner than a hair, sharper than a blade. It crosses over hellfire, and it is the only way to get to Jannah. As-siraat is very dark. Allah will give the believers light and would give them speed according to their deeds. When they come on as-siraat, some of the people will be like lightning, some would take one step, some would be like a fast horse, some of them are walking, some running, some taking a step forward and then back. Some would be falling into hell. When the munafiqeen would try to cross, they would lose their light. They would tell the believers “Give us some of your light!” Then Allah says that a barrier would be erected between the believers and the munafiqeen. From the side of the believers, it is blessing and rahma, for the munafiqeen, it is a punishment.

Allah says: On the Day you shall see the believing men and the believing women their light running forward before them and by their right hands. Glad tidings for you this Day! Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell therein forever! Truly, this is the great success!

On the Day when the hypocrites, men and women, will say to the believers: “Wait for us! Let us get something from your light!” It will be said: “Go back to your rear! Then seek a light!” So a wall will be put up between them, with a gate therein. Inside it will be mercy, and outside it will be torment. (The hypocrites) will call the believers: “Were we not with you?” The believers will reply: “Yes! But you led yourselves into temptations, you looked forward for our destruction; you doubted (in Faith); and you were deceived by false desires, till the Command of Allah came to pass. And the chief deceiver (Satan) deceived you in respect of Allah. So this Day no ransom shall be taken from you (hypocrites), nor of those who disbelieved, (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism). Your abode is the Fire, that is the proper place for you, and worst indeed is that destination.” (57:12-15)