Brother in Islam, may Allah the Exalted be pleased with you and guide you always,
Among the pillars of faith that must be faithfully believed by a Muslim is to believe or to have faith in the Last Day. It is termed the Last Day, because there will be no more day after it.
Every mankind will undergo five levels of life, starting from [1] something non exists, then [2]. resides in mother’s womb, then [3]. born to the world and be in it, then [4]. entering the barzakh (the grave realm), and the last [5]. entering the life in the Hereafter. And this Last Day, is the last part, last phase of a human’s life. (Refer to: “Syarh Al Aqidah Al Wasithiyah”, by Ibnu Utsaimin 352)
Sheikh al Islam Ibn Taimiya in his book “Al Aqidah Wasithiyah” said that having faith in the Last Day is to believe in matters after the death, as revealed by the Prophet -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him.
This faith encompasses having faith in the trials of the grave, torments and delights of the grave, Resurrection Day, and the gathering of mankind on the field of mahsyar, the weighing and counting of their deeds, the opening of records of the deeds, counting (hisab), Al Haudh (the pond/the Lake) of the Prophet -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him, shiroth (the Bridge), intercession, the Paradise, and the Hell. (Refer to: Sharh Aqidah Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah, by Yazid Ibn Abdil Qodir Jawas, 176)
In this occasion we will discuss several parts of that faith, may it be a useful knowledge for us all.
Faith in the Resurrection Day
Brother, after the trumpet was blown with the first blow, all living creation on the skies and earth will be dead but those whom Allah preserved. And it will be followed by the second blow, where all mankind will immediately be resurrected to wait for the decision for each of them. And that is the Resurrection Day.
Resurrection is a definite truth, the truth that has been indicated by the Book, Sunnah, and the agreement of muslims. Allah the Exalted decreed, which can be translated as, ” Thereafter you are destined to die, and then on the Day of Resurrection you shall certainly be raised up.” (QS. Al Mu’minun/The Believers [23]: 15-16)
The pious men who believed in Oneness of Allah and perform it’s consequences, obeyed Allah and His messenger, will be gathered as honored guests, while the faithless due to their infidelity and wickedness will be dragged while they are in absolute thirst, just as the cattle. Allah the Exalted decreed, which can be translated as, “The Day shall soon come when We shall bring together the God-fearing to the Most Compassionate Lord, as honoured guests; and We shall drive the guilty ones to Hell as a thirsty herd.” (QS. Maryam/Mary [19]: 85-86)
Note the condition of human when they are gathered. The messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said, which can be translated as, “O human, indeed you will be gathered to Allah the Exalted without wearing footwear, naked (without wearing any clothes), and uncircumcised.” (Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim).
Matters on that day will be very great and busying for each person thus it is impossible for them to look at each other’s awrah. Aisha -may Allah be pleased with her- said when she heard this saying of the Prophet, “O messenger of Allah, will we look at each other’s awrah then?” The messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- uttered the decree of Allah, which can be translated as, “on that Day each will be occupied with his own business, making him oblivious of all save himself.” (QS. ‘Abasa/He Frowned [80]: 37)
Faith in The Counting (Hisab)
Hisab is the showing of men’s deeds to each of them by Allah the Exalted. This is something definite and one should not deny it by any means. Allah the Exalted decreed, which can be translated as, “Surely to Us is their return; and then it is for Us to call them to account.” (QS. Al Ghasyiyah/The Overwhelming [88]: 25-26).
How will a man being counted? Allah will secludes with a believer without anyone seeing them. Allah will make him admits all of his sins by saying to him, “You have done this and that….” thus he admit and recognize his past sins. Then Allah will say, “A cover all of you sins on the world and today I forgive you.” Then what about the infidels? They wont be counted, as with people whose good and bad deeds because the goodness of unbelievers are not considered as good deeds. (Syarh Al Aqidah Al Wasithiyah, page 383)
Remember, O brother! Each of our deeds, until the smallest one, will be inscribed in our record of deeds. Allah the Exalted decreed, which can be translated as, “And then the Record of their deeds shall be placed before them and you will see the guilty full of fear for what it contains, and will say: “Woe to us! What a Record this is! It leaves nothing, big or small, but encompasses it.” They will find their deeds confronting them. Your Lord wrongs no one.” (QS. Al Kahfi/The Cave[18]: 49)
The record will contain our good and wicked deeds that we performed in this world. The record will be given from the right or left side. Thus a believer who get the record with his right hand is surely the lucky one, and he will rejoice upon that. And an infidel who get his record with his left hand is indeed the loser, and he will be doomed.
Each person, together with their deeds and record of their deeds will be weighed on a mizan (scale) that has two leaf scales. “Then he whose scales weigh heavier shall have a blissful life; but he whose scales weigh lighter, his shall be the deep pit for a dwelling.” (QS. Al Qari’ah/The Calamity [101]: 6-9)
Faith in The Paradise and The Hell
Before entering either the Paradise or the Hell, men will pass the Shiroth, that is a bridge stretched over the Inferno Hell that will be passed by human being. The believer will walk over it according to their deeds, while the infidel, the unbelievers will immediately enter the Hell without passing the Shiroth. Among the believers, there are people who walk through it just like pace of the blowing wind, people who walk as fast as horse, people who walk such as a camel rider, running, walking, crawling, and finally there are people who will fall into the Hell, na’udzu billah (we seek refuge from Allah).
Walking upon the shiroth will not be on the their own struggle, suppose that it will be due to their struggle, they will be able to walk past it briefly. But they will only be able to pass it according to their deeds in the world. Whoever haste in doing the deeds which suit the guidance of the Messenger of Allah, he’ll be faster in walking through the shiroth. And vice versa, whoever being slow in performing righteous deeds, will be slower in walking through it. Remember, the principle of “al jaza’ min jinsil ‘amal’ (Reward depends on the deeds.)! (Refer to: ‘Sharh Al Aqidah Al Wasithiyah’, page 386-387)
Whoever safely pass the shiroth will be entering the Paradise. And the first person who will ask so that the door of the Paradise being opened is our Prophet, Muhammad, peace and prayer of Allah be upon him, and none may enter the Paradise before him. (Narrated by Muslim). And the first followers that will enter the Paradise is the follower of Prophet Muhammad -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him.
Then, is the Paradise and the Hell already being set up right now? According to authentic creed (aqidah), the Paradise and the Hell are already exist, as revealed in Allah the Exalted’s decree, which can be translated as, “And hasten to the forgiveness of your Lord and to a Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the God-fearing.” (QS. Ali Imran/The Family of ‘Imran [3]: 133), and Allah the Exalted’s decree, which can be translated as, “and do have fear of the Fire which awaits those who deny the Truth,” (QS. Ali Imran/The Family of ‘Imran [3]: 131)
Look how beautiful the unimaginable Paradise. The messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said, Allah the Exalted decreed, which can be translated as, ” Paradise is prepared for the pious people, the delights inside it are never seen by eyes, never heard by ears, and never popped in hearts. So read if you wish the decree of Allah the Exalted, which can be translated as, “No one knows what delights of the eyes are kept hidden for them as a reward for their deeds.” (QS. As Sajdah/ The Prostration[32]: 17) (Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim)
And look how terrible the torments of the Hell, as the Prophet -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said, “The heat of your worldly flame is just 1/70 part of the heat of the Inferno Hell.” (Narrated by Bukhari). Exalted be He!! It means that the torments inside it are indeed terrible.
Brother, remember the day when all of us will be backed to the One Who had created us, the day where all of our deeds will be calculated. Think about the saying of a companion, ‘Ali Ibn Abi Tholib -may Allah be pleased with him- , “Verily, today are the days to perform deeds not for calculation, while tomorrow (in the Hereafter -author) is the day to calculate and not to perform deeds anymore.” (Narrated by Bukhari without including all of it’ narrational chain (mu’allaq), see Ma’arijul Qobul II/106)
O Allah, we seek from You the Paradise and all words and deeds that get us closer to it. And we seek refuge from You from the Hell and all words and deeds that will bring us to it. O Allah we ask You, to make all fate You destined to us, to be the good ones. Amin O The Granter of Prayers.
All praises be to Allah, Who makes all goodness become perfect by His bounty. Prayers and peace may be upon our prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
Author: Muhammad Abduh Tuasikal
Article of Whatisquran.com