How to Prepare for the Day of Judgment

Everyone in this world is well aware of the fact that this life is mortal. All of us are sent in to this world for some specific time after that we have to dwell in eternal life which starts after the end of this life. Humans pass through different phases after the death i.e. separation of soul from body, life, in grave and the most important event that will happen on the Day of Judgment is when we will be held accountable for our deeds and when we will be questioned by our Lord Allah (S.W.T.) as He says in Qur’an:

“Then surely, We shall question those (people) to whom it (the book) was sent and verily, We shall question the Messengers.” ( Al-A’raf, 6 and 7)

Two Methods of Accountability

On the Day of Judgment, every human being who is sent into this world in any era will be stood together at a place where they will be held accountable in front of God as He says in Qur’an:

“The Day is approaching when every soul shall find itself confronted with whatever good it has done and whatever evil it has wrought. It will then wish there is a wide space between it and the Day! Allah warns you to beware of Him; He is most tender towards His servants.” (Surat Al-Imran, 30)

There will be two methods of accountability,

Those who have successfully spent their lives according to the teachings of Allah and His Prophet (PBUH) will be directly sent to the paradise to live an eternal life with all the blessing they have been promised for and will be considered as the most successful people.

They will say: “Praise be to Allah Who has fulfilled His promise to us and made us the inheritors of this land, letting us settle in Paradise wherever we want. How excellent is the wage of those who work.” (Surat az-Zumar, 74)

Those who used to commit evil things in the worldly life will be questioned about their bad acts and surely they will have no answer for it except shame on their own deeds and begging pardon for their wrongdoings but the time of forgiveness will be over. Those people will be sent to hell fire where they will be tortured for their sins until they complete their punishments.

On the Day when those who were unbelievers are exposed to the Fire, [it will be said to them]: “You dissipated the good things you had in your worldly life, and enjoyed yourself in it. So today you are being repaid with the punishment of humiliation for being arrogant in the earth without any right, and for being deviators.” (Surat al-Ahqaf, 20)

First Question for the Mankind

Prayer is the very first question that will be asked from the people on the Day of Judgment. If a person performs prayers with the extreme quality, then the person will be saved. If the prayers were done incompletely or half-heartedly, then his voluntary prayers will suffice for the shortcomings.

Prophet (PBUH) said:

The Messenger (S.A.W.) told us in an authentic hadith , “The first thing the people will be accountable for on the Day of Judgment is prayer, Allah will say to His angels (even though he already knows) : “Look at my servants prayers. Were they complete or not?” If they were complete it will be written as complete. If they were not fully complete Allah will say: “See if my servant has voluntary prayers, if he has them Allah will say: Complete his obligatory prayers shortage with his voluntary prayers.” Then the rest of his deeds will be dealt with in the same manner.” (Reported by Imams Ahmad, Abu Dawood, An-Nisa’i, and Al-Hakim)

Five Things that will be Asked

The prophet Muhammad (PBUH) told us about five major questions that will be asked, and no one can bypass these prosecutions.

How he lived his life?

How he utilized his youth?

What means did he earn his wealth?

How did he spend his wealth?

What did he do with his knowledge?

There are lots of other question that will be asked from us e.g. all of our covenants and promises that have made in our lives, hearing, our vision, and our hearts.

“And fulfill (every) covenant. Verily! The covenant will be questioned about.” ( Surat Al-Israa, Verse 34)

“Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those, you will be questioned (by Allah)” ( Surat Al-Israa, Verse 36)

Conclusion

Muslims should consider themselves very lucky by having told about the day of judgment in such clear words and have Qur’an, Hadith and Sunnah to learn and live the life according to them so that at the Day of Judgment we stand amongst the believers and successful people. The good believer is the one who prepares himself for those difficult events by getting closer to Allah (S.W.T), by doing good deeds, and by staying away from what Allah has forbidden, so that he will be among those who receive their book of deeds on the Day of Judgment in their right hand and Allah will enter them into paradise.

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THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

Belief in the Day of Judgment:

We believe in the Final Day, which is the Day of Judgment, when people will be resurrected and then told to remain in the abode of enjoyment or in the abode of severe punishment.

The Resurrection:

We believe in the resurrection, which is Allah's bringing to life all those who have died, and when Israfil shall blow the horn for the second time: "And the trumpet shall be blown, and all who are in the heavens and who are in the Earth shall fall down fainting, except those that Allah shall spare. Then, it shall be blown again and they shall rise gazing around them" (39:68). People will arise from their graves, answering the call of the Lord of the universe. They will be barefooted, naked, and uncircumcised: "As We started the first creation, so We shall bring it back again. This is a promise from Us, so We shall assuredly fulfill it" (21: 104).

The Records and Scales:

We believe in the records of deeds that will be given to people in their right hands or behind their backs, in the left hands: "As for him who is given his book in his right hand, he shall surely receive an easy reckoning and he will return to his family rejoicing. But as for him who is given his book behind his back, he shall call for destruction on himself and will burn in a blazing fire" (84:7-12); "Every man's work We have fastened on his own neck, and on the Day of Judgment We shall bring out for him a book which he will see spread open, saying: 'Read your own book! Enough for you this day that your own soul should call you to account"' (17:13-14).

We believe that scales of deeds will be set up on the Day of Judgment, and that no soul shall be wronged: "Whoever has done an atom's weight of good shall see it" (99:7-8); "Those whose scales are heavy, they are the successful; but those whose scales are light, they are the ones who have lost their souls in Hell dwelling forever. The fire will burn their faces, and there they will be gloomy with lips displaced" (23: 102-4); and "He that does a good deed shall be rewarded ten times the like of it, and he that does evil shall only be rewarded the like of it, and they shall not be wronged" (6:160).

The Prophet's Intercession:

We believe in the special great intercession of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. He will plead with Allah, after His permission and on behalf of mankind, to judge among His servants when they suffer from worries and troubles that they cannot bear. They will go to Adam, then to Noah, then to Abraham, then to Moses, then to Jesus, and finally to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

We believe in the intercession that concerns some believers who were to be taken out from the fire. This mediation is granted to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and to others among the prophets, the believers, and the angels.

We believe also that Allah will save from hell some of the believers without the intercession of any one, but by His grace and mercy.

The Prophet's Pool:

We believe in the pool of the Prophet, peace be upon him, the water of which is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey and better in fragrance than musk. Each of its length and width is the distance of a month's travel. Its glasses are as stars in beauty and number. The believers among the Prophet's followers come to take from this great cistern a drink after which they will never be thirsty.

The Straight Path:

We believe in the straight path (sirat) set up over hell. People pass over it according to their deeds: the first of them as fast as lighting, then as fast as wind, then as fast as birds, and then as fast as a running man. The Prophet will be standing on the path, saying: "Lord, Save! Save!," as some people's deeds will fall short. Some of them will come crawling. At both sides of the path there are hooks designed to take whom Allah wills: some are saved but bruised; others are thrown into hell. (Bukhari and Muslim).

We believe in all that is mentioned in the Qur'an or the prophetic sayings concerning that day and its horrors, may Allah save us from them.

We believe in the intercession (Shafa'ah) of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, for the people of paradise to enter therein. This intercession is exclusively limited to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

Paradise and Hell:

We believe in paradise and hell. Paradise is the abode of enjoyment which Allah, the Exalted, prepared for the righteous. No eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard of, and no human being has ever thought of the blessings that they will enjoy there: "No soul knows what comfort is kept hidden for them, as a reward for their deeds" (32:17). Hell is the abode of punishment that Allah has prepared for the unbelievers and the evildoers. The torture and horror in it cannot be imagined: "Surely, We have prepared for the evildoers a fire, whose pavilion encompasses them. If they call for help, they will be helped with water like molten copper which will scald their faces. How dreadful a drink and how evil a resting place!" (18:29).

Both paradise and hell exist now and will never perish: "Whoever believes in Allah and does righteousness, He will admit him to gardens beneath which rivers flow, to dwell therein for ever. Allah had indeed made for him an excellent provision" (65-11); "Certainly, Allah has cursed the unbelievers and prepared for them a blazing fire to dwell therein forever, they shall find neither protector nor helper. On the day when their faces are turned about in the fire they shall say: 'Would that we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger!"' (33: 64-6).

We confirm paradise to whom it is confirmed in the Qur'an or the prophetic traditions either by name or description. Among those who are granted paradise and mentioned by name are Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, 'All and others who were specified by the Prophet, peace be upon him (Bukhari and Muslim). Among those whom we confirm to enter paradise because they fit the description are the faithful and the pious.

We likewise confirm hell to whom it is confirmed in the Qur'an and the sayings of the Prophet, whether in name or description. Among those who are mentioned by name to be in hell are Abu Lahab, 'Amr Ibn Luhai al-Khuza'i, and others (Bukhari and Muslim). Confirmation of hell that is based on description includes every unbeliever, polytheist, or hypocrite.

What Happens in the Grave:

We believe in the Trial of the Grave, which involves questioning the deceased person in his grave about his Lord, his religion, and his prophet. There "Allah confirms those who believe with a firm saying, in the present life and the hereafter" (14:27). The believer will say: "Allah is my Lord, Islam is my religion, and Muhammad is my prophet." The unbeliever or the hypocrite will say: "I do not know. I heard the people saying something and I said it."

We believe in the comfort of the grave for the believers: "Those whose lives the angels take in state of purity, saying 'peace be on you; enter paradise for what you were doing' (16:32).

We believe in the punishment of the grave for the transgressing unbelievers: "If you could only see when the evildoers are in the agonies of death and the angels are stretching out their hands, saying, 'Give up your souls! Today you shall be rewarded with the punishment of humiliation for what you used to say untrue about Allah, and for scornfully rejecting His signs"' (6:93). The sayings of the Prophet are numerous and well-known in this area. A Muslim must believe in all that is reported in the Qur'an and the prophetic traditions concerning the unseen matters. He should not contradict it by his worldly experience, because the affairs of the hereafter cannot be measured by the affairs of this life. The difference between them is very great. Allah is the source of help.