Lecture 15: Life Hereafter 2

Justification of this worldly life 2

The four questions 2
A. Why Hereafter? 2
1. The existing worldly life is meaningless without another life 2
a. The concept of pairs 3
i. Life must have a partner to make it a meaningful pair 3
ii. This life is incomplete 3
b. The flaws in the worldly life 3
i. Absence of justice 3
ii. This life is temporary 4
iii. Life has sorrows and regrets 4
iv. Voice of conscience is ignored 4
v. Life would be inconsistent with the rest of the existence 4
c. How would the next life make up for the flaws of this life? 4
i. The next life will ensure complete justice 4
ii. The next life shall eliminate the possibility of reappearance of death 5
iii. The flaw of this life of fears and regrets shall be completely removed in the
paradise 5
2. Attributes of God leading to Hereafter 5
a. Justice 6
b. Wisdom 6
c. Mercy 6
d. Providence 7
B. How is Life Hereafter Possible? 8
1. How is He going to recreate humans? 8
a. The way we have been created 8
b. The creation of the heavens and the earth 9
c. The manner plants grow every season 9
2. How is He going to make humans accountable? 9
a. God is All-Knowing 9
b. Angels write down everything we speak 10
c. Limbs of human body would testify on Judgment Day 10
d. Messengers and other witnesses would testify 10
C. When is it going to happen? 11
D. Where is it going to happen? 11
 Lecture 15: Life Hereafter
Dr. Khalid Zaheer
The Qur’an invites the believer to accept the fact that there will be another life after
death wherein all humans will account for their worldly performance before their God who in
turn will decide about their eternal fate: Those who will be declared successful shall be
rewarded with the life of paradise and those declared unsuccessful shall be punished with the
life of hell.

Justification of this worldly life

While belief in God is the basis of the entire religious message and belief in prophets
introduces the believer to God’s expectations, belief in the life hereafter explains rationale
and justification of this worldly life and the motivation for the believer to continue to be good
despite adversities.

The four questions

The Qur’an has dealt with four questions about the life hereafter:
A. Why should there be a life hereafter?
B. How is life hereafter possible?
C. When is the judgment day going to start?
D. Where are these events going to take place?
The first two questions have been dealt with in more detail in the Qur’an and the other
two have been touched upon only briefly.

A. Why Hereafter?

By far the most important question that has been raised and answered by the Qur’an is
about the justification of the next life: Why should there be a life after death? The Qur’an
seems to be offering two answers to this question:
 The present worldly life becomes meaningful only when the concept of another life is
confirmed
 Belief in God’s attributes demand that there should be another life

1. The existing worldly life is meaningless without another life

If the Qur’anic response to the question why should there be a life hereafter is presented
in brief, the following justification seems to emerge: The existing worldly life is meaningless
without another life. There should therefore be another life. The manner this simple reality
has been presented in the Qur’an is through the mention of a universal principle:
 ِ ْ ‫وِمن ُك ِّل َشي ٍء َخلَ ْقنَا َزْو َج‬
‫ْي لَ َعلَّ ُك ْم تَ َذ َّك ُرو َن‬ ْ َ
“Whatever we have created is in pairs, so that you may ponder.” (51:49)

a. The concept of pairs

The concept of pairs is explained in the Qur’an by mentioning the cases of day and night,
sky and earth, man and woman, animals, plants etc. In each of these cases we have two
partners playing their roles in a way that one supports the other by making up for the
weaknesses of the other.
 The day is bright and allows us to work for our means of living but causes us to be fatigued
and tired; the night is dark and offers us the atmosphere that suits our need for resting.
 The sky carries the sun and clouds while the earth has the soil that has fertility to raise
crops; when the rain falls and the sun shines, the fertility of the soil brings out crops. One
without the other couldn’t have completed the process of cultivation.
Likewise is the case of all other pairs.

i. Life must have a partner to make it a meaningful pair

The Qur’an says that God has created everything in pairs so that you may reflect. In other
words it is an invitation to everyone to ponder over the fact that like everything has a partner,
this life too must have a partner to make it a meaningful pair, in harmony with everything else
that has been created in this world.

ii. This life is incomplete

The only reason why this worldly life may not logically have a partner could be if, unlike
everything else in this world, this life is self-sufficient, making it unnecessary to have another
life. However, a closer look at the worldly life gives a clear indication that this life is indeed
incomplete, clearly demanding another life like all other partners of pairs demonstrate the
need for another partner.

b. The flaws in the worldly life

The following flaws in the worldly life are pointed out in particular to show that this life
despite its tremendous merits has some definite flaws and as such it needs another partner
to make up for its flaws.

i. Absence of justice

There is very little justice in this life despite the fact that justice is one thing all humans
unanimously demand. It happens because humans are independent to do what they choose
to. It is the misuse of freedom which causes humans to be unfair. Also, there is dearth of
information in this life which causes justice to not be there. Even if these shortcomings are
somehow miraculously removed, the fact that some people are rich some poor, some healthy
others unhealthy, some have long lives others have short lives etc. and so many other
inequities in life are so prominent that the existing life cannot ever be fair.

ii. This life is temporary

Despite the brilliance of this life, what causes it to be obviously incomplete is death. We
all come to this world with a strong yearning to live on. However, the ambitions of the lovers
of this life are dashed when death snatches away all possibilities of living on. Indeed the
biggest tragedy of this life is that while we come to this world with deep love for this life but
we all leave at one stage or another, in a vast majority of cases unwillingly.

iii. Life has sorrows and regrets

The existing life of ours is a mixture of sorrows and regrets of the past life or
apprehensions and fears of the future life. We do our best to make this life as comfortable,
happy, and exciting as is possible. But more often than not, we fail in our efforts. The fact is
that regrets and fears are the dominant part of the lives of most people.

iv. Voice of conscience is ignored

We come to this life with a conscience which seems to be the voice of morality that has
been placed in our souls to keep admonishing us when we go wrong and keep encouraging
us when we are on the right track. However, what we experience in life are clear violations of
the voice of conscience.

v. Life would be inconsistent with the rest of the existence

Given these limitations, our present life is incomplete and therefore, given the pair rule,
only a partner of a pair. It would simply make no sense if this life continues with its failings
without a partner coming to its rescue. In that case this life would be inconsistent with the
rest of the existence. The other partner this life is looking for to make it meaningful is the Life
Hereafter.

c. How would the next life make up for the flaws of this life?

i. The next life will ensure complete justice

God will create the next life precisely for the reason that He wants to ensure that justice
is done. The Qur’an poses this question:

ِ ِِ
‫ف ََْت ُك ُمو َن‬ َ ‫ْي َكالْ ُم ْج ِرم‬
َ ‫ْي ۔ َما لَ ُك ْم َكْي‬ َ ‫أَفَنَ ْج َع ُل الْ ُم ْسلم‬
“(What do the disbelievers in the next life think?) Shall we treat those who are obedient as we
treat the guilty? What is the matter with you? What kind of judgment do you make?” (68:35-36)
 ii. The next life shall eliminate the possibility of reappearance of death

The Qur’an says:

‫ْي َوأَنتُ ْم فِ َيها َخالِ ُدو َن‬

ُُ ‫س َوتَلَ ُّذ ْاْل َْع‬
ُ ‫ف‬
ُ ‫َن‬
‫اْل‬
ْ ِ ‫۔۔۔ وفِيها ما تَ ْشتَ ِه‬
‫يه‬ َ َ َ
“… and they shall have everything that their souls can desire and all that their eyes can delight in
and it will be said to them: ‘Now you shall abide therein forever.’” (43:71)

iii. The flaw of this life of fears and regrets shall be completely removed in the
paradise

The Qur’an says:

ِ ‫الصابِئِْي من آمن بِاللَّ ِه والْي وِم‬

ِ ‫اآلخ ِر وع ِمل ص‬ ِ َّ ِ َّ ِ
‫اِا فَلَ ُه ْم‬ َ َ ََ َْ َ َ َ ْ َ َ َّ ‫َّص َارى َو‬ َ ‫ادواْ َوالن‬
ُ ‫ين َه‬ َ ‫إ َّن الذ‬
َ ‫ين َآمنُواْ َوالذ‬
ٌ ‫ند َرِِّّبِ ْم َوالَ َخ ْو‬
‫ف َعلَْي ِه ْم َوالَ ُه ْم ََْيَزنُو َن‬ َ ‫َج ُرُه ْم ِع‬
ْ‫أ‬
“…Whoever believes in God, the last day, and performs good deeds will be rewarded by their
Lord; they shall have no fear (of the future) nor any regret (of the past).” (2:62)

The judgment day shall replace this life with another one that will ensure that all dictates
of human conscience shall be fully addressed. The Qur’an tells us that human conscience is a
testimony to the fact that there has to be another life. In other words the next life will come
to ensure that the deep yearning of human conscience is fully addressed. The Qur’an says:

ِِ ِ َّ ِ ُ ‫ََيس‬ ِ َّ ِ ‫َال أُقْ ِسم بِي وِم الْ ِقيام ِة ۔ وَال أُقْ ِسم بِالنَّ ْف‬
َ ‫نسا ُن أَلن ََْن َم َع عظَ َامهُ ۔ بَلَى قَادر‬
‫ين‬ َ ‫ب ْاْل‬ َ َْ ‫س الل َّو َامة ۔ أ‬ ُ َ َ َ َْ ُ
‫نسا ُن لِيَ ْف ُجَر أ ََم َامهُ ۔ يَ ْسأ َُل أَيَّا َن يَ ْوُم الْ ِقيَ َام ِة‬ ِ ُ ‫ي بَنَانَهُ ۔ بَ ْل يُِر‬
َ ‫يد ْاْل‬ َ ‫ُّس ِّو‬
َ ‫َعلَى أَن ن‬
“I testify by the Day of Resurrection, and I testify by the self-reproaching soul (that there shall be a
day of judgment).” (75:1-6)

In other words the worldly life is a partner of a pair and it can make sense only if it is
considered along with its other partner, otherwise it is as meaningless as a day without a
night, sky without earth, male without female etc.

2. Attributes of God leading to Hereafter

The Qur’an presents a very simple logic for the fact that the Life Hereafter is a reality: If
there is a God there has to be another life. We have already seen in a previous lecture that
we can appreciate God in this life only through His attributes. Many attributes of God make
it imperative that there should be a life after death.
a. Justice

If God is just, there has to be another life. We have already seen above that the present
worldly life is inherently unjust. The Qur’an says that God is not unfair to His servants at all.
God poses this questions to those who don’t believe in a life after death:

ِ ِِ
‫ف ََْت ُك ُمو َن‬ َ ‫ْي َكالْ ُم ْج ِرم‬
َ ‫ْي ۔ َما لَ ُك ْم َكْي‬ َ ‫أَفَنَ ْج َع ُل الْ ُم ْسلم‬
“(What do the disbelievers in the next life think?) Shall we treat those who are obedient as we
treat the guilty? What is the matter with you? What kind of judgment do you make?” (68:35-36)

b. Wisdom

God is wise (Hakeem). One will have to assume that God is unwise if the present life is
the only life. We can’t even imagine a wise human to do something unwise. How can God
create a life where people are getting tortured and killed for no fault of theirs and where
those committing crimes are going unpunished? He asks this question:

ِ
ُّ ‫اَِ ُّق َال إِلَهَ إَِّال ُه َو َر‬
‫ب‬ ْ ‫ك‬ُ ‫أَفَ َح ِسْبتُ ْم أَََّّنَا َخلَ ْقنَا ُك ْم َعبَثا َوأَنَّ ُك ْم إِلَْي نَا َال تُ ْر َجعُو َن ۔ فَتَ َع َاَل اللَّهُ الْ َمل‬
‫الْ َع ْر ِش الْ َك ِرِي‬

“‘Do you think we created you without any purpose and that you would never return to us for
accountability?’ Exalted be God, the Real King; there is no god but Him, the Lord of the Honorable
Throne.” (23:115-116)

‫َّخ َذ ََلْوا َّال َّّتَ ْذنَاُِ ِمن لَّ ُدنَّا إِن ُكنَّا‬
ِ ‫السماء و ْاْلَرض وما ب ي نَ هما َال ِعبِْي ۔ لَو أَرْدنَا أَن نَّت‬
َ ْ َ َ ُ َْ َ َ َ ْ َ َ َّ ‫َوَما َخلَ ْقنَا‬
‫ْي‬ ِِ
َ ‫فَاعل‬
“We did not create the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them to play around. Had
we meant to make it a playground, we would have done close to us, had that been our purpose.”
(21:16-17)

c. Mercy

God’s mercy demands that there should be another life. The Qur’an begins by saying this:

‫ك يَ ْوِم الدِّي ِن‬

ِ ِ‫الرِحي ِم مال‬ ِ َّ ‫ب الْعالَ ِمْي‬
َ َّ ‫الر ْْحَان‬
ِِ ْ
َ َ ِّ ‫اَِ ْم ُد للَّه َر‬
“All praise is for God, the Lord of the Worlds; the Compassionate, the Merciful; Master of the Day
of Judgment.” (1:1-3)
 In other words, the Qur’an is saying that because God is compassionate and merciful,
therefore He is the Master of the Day of Judgment. In another verse He clarifies the point still
further:

‫ب‬ ِ ِ ِ ِ َّ ‫ب َعلَى نَ ْف ِس ِه‬ ِ ِ ِ ‫ات واْلَر‬ِ َّ ‫قُل لِّمن َّما ِِف‬

َ ْ‫الر ْْحَةَ لَيَ ْج َم َعنَّ ُك ْم إ ََل يَ ْوم الْقيَ َامة الَ َري‬ َ َ‫ض قُل للّه َكت‬ ْ َ ‫الس َم َاو‬ َ
‫ين َخ ِس ُرواْ أَن ُف َس ُه ْم فَ ُه ْم الَ يُ ْؤِمنُو َن‬ ِ َّ ِ ِ
َ ‫فيه الذ‬
“He has made mercy binding on Himself. He will certainly gather you all together on the Day of
Resurrection; there is no doubt about it. Yet those who have lost their souls will not believe.”
(6:12)

Why does God’s mercy make it imperative to bring the Judgment Day?

The reason why God’s mercy makes it imperative to bring the Judgment Day is that if He
doesn’t arrange for it, it will have to be assumed that He has no compassion for those who
suffered in the world. His love and concern for the suffering human beings demands that He
should arrange for adequate compensation for those who suffered and befitting punishment
for those who caused that suffering.

d. Providence

The fact that God provides us with what we need in this life leads to the natural
conclusion that He will make us accountable because of what He is providing us with. When
we humans provide others with facilities, we expect them to perform. The more we provide,
the more we expect. The Qur’an says:

‫اْلِبَ َال أ َْوتَادا ۔ َو َخلَ ْقنَا ُك ْم أ َْزَواجا ۔ َو َج َع ْلنَا نَ ْوَم ُك ْم ُُبَاتا ۔ َو َج َع ْلنَا اللَّْي َل‬
ْ ‫ض ِم َهادا ۔ َو‬
َ ‫أَ ََلْ ََْن َع ِل ْاْل َْر‬
‫َنزلْنَا ِم َن‬ ِ ِ ِ
َ ‫َّه َار َم َعاشا ۔ َوبَنَ ْي نَا فَ ْوقَ ُك ْم َُْب عا ش َدادا ۔ َو َج َع ْلنَا َُراجا َوَّهاجا ۔ َوأ‬ َ ‫لبَاُا ۔ َو َج َع ْلنَا الن‬
‫ص ِل َكا َن ِمي َقاتا‬ ٍ ِ ‫ات ماء ثَ َّجاجا ۔ لِنُخر‬ ِ ِ
ْ ‫ِج بِه َحبًّا َونَبَاتا ۔ َو َجنَّات أَلْ َفافا ۔ إِ َّن يَ ْوَم الْ َف‬ َ ْ َ ‫الْ ُم ْعصَر‬
“Is it not true that we have spread the earth like a bed, and the mountains as pegs, created you in
pairs, provided you rest in sleep, made the night a dress, made the day to work for earning your
livelihood, built above you seven firm heavens, placed therein a shining lamp, sent down
abundant water from the clouds, bringing forth grain, vegetation and gardens of luxurious
growth? The day of decision is preordained”. (78:6-17)

Likewise, the Qur’an says:

‫ُُثَّ لَتُ ْسأَلُ َّن يَ ْوَمئِ ٍذ َع ِن النَّعِي ِم‬

“On that Day, you shall be questioned about the blessings (you were provided with).” (102:8)
B. How is Life Hereafter Possible?

The other important question about life hereafter which the Qur’an addresses is this:
How is the life hereafter going to be possible? This question can be broken into two questions:
 How is it possible for human beings to be physically recreated?
 How is it possible for all the information about human performance in worldly life to
be made available for accountability?
The Qur’an answers both questions.

1. How is He going to recreate humans?

The Qur’an mentions the blaspheming remarks of the disbelievers who used to ridicule
the concept of the life hereafter:

ٍ ‫وقَ َال الَّ ِذين َك َفروا هل نَ ُدلُّ ُكم علَى رج ٍل ي نبِّئ ُكم إِ َذا مِّزقْ تم ُك َّل ُمََُّزٍق إِنَّ ُكم لَِفي خلْ ٍق ج ِد‬
‫يد‬ َ َ ْ ْ ُ ُ ْ ُ َُ ُ َ َ ْ َْ ُ َ َ
“The unbelievers say to the people: ‘Shall we point out to you a man who claims that when your
body will disintegrate and mangle into dust you shall be raised to life again?’” (34:7)

‫وع ُدو َن ۔ إِ ْن ِه َي إَِّال‬ ِ ‫أَيعِ ُد ُكم أَنَّ ُكم إِ َذا ِمتُّم وُكنتم تُرابا و ِعظَاما أَنَّ ُكم ُُّّمْرجو َن ۔ هي هات هي ه‬
َ ُ‫ات ل َما ت‬
َ َ َْ َ َ َْ َُ َ َ ُْ َ ْ ْ ْ َ
‫ْي‬ِ ِ
َ ‫وت َوََْنيَا َوَما ََْن ُن ِبَْب عُوث‬
ُ ُ‫َحيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا ََّن‬
“What! Does he claim that when you are dead and turned into dust and bones, you will be
brought to life out of your graves? Impossible! Just impossible is that with which you are being
threatened! There is no other life but our life of this world: we live here and die here, and shall
never be raised to life again.” (23:35-37)

The three evidences

The Qur’an gives essentially three evidences to show that human recreation after death
is very much a possibility:

a. The way we have been created

God asks us to look at the way we have been created:

‫ات‬ ِ َّ ْ‫يدِ لِيج ِزي الَّ ِذين آمنواْ وع ِملُوا‬

ِ ِ‫ا‬ ِ َِ ‫إِلَي ِه مرِجع ُكم‬
ْ ُ‫َجيعا َو ْع َد اللّ ِه َحقًّا إِنَّهُ يَْب َدأ‬
َ ‫الص‬ َ َ ُ َ َ َ ْ َ ُ ُ ‫اْلَْل َق ُُثَّ يُع‬ ْ ُ َْ ْ
‫يم ِِبَا َكانُواْ يَ ْك ُف ُرو َن‬ِ ‫ْحي ٍم وع َذ‬
ِ ِ َّ ِ ِ ِ
ٌ ‫اب أَل‬
ٌ َ َ َ ‫اب ِّم ْن‬
ٌ ‫ين َك َف ُرواْ ََلُ ْم َشَر‬ َ ‫بالْق ْسط َوالذ‬
“To Him you shall all return. God's promise is true. He is the one who originates the process of
creation and He will repeat it.” (10:4)
 ِ ِ ِ ِ
ْ ‫مْن َها َخلَ ْقنَا ُك ْم َوف َيها نُعي ُد ُك ْم َومْن َها ُُنْ ِر ُج ُك ْم تَ َارة أ‬
‫ُخَرى‬

“We have created you from the earth, into it we shall return you and from it we shall bring you
back to life once again.” (20:55)

b. The creation of the heavens and the earth

He asks us to look at the creation of the heavens and the earth:

‫ض‬
َ ‫اها ۔ َو ْاْل َْر‬ َ ‫ض َح‬ ُ ‫َخَر َج‬ َ َ‫اها ۔ َرفَ َع َسَْ َك َها فَ َس َّو َاها ۔ َوأَ ْغط‬
ْ ‫ش لَْي لَ َها َوأ‬ َّ ‫َش ُّد َخ ْلقا أَِم‬
َ َ‫الس َماء بَن‬ َ ‫أَأَنتُ ْم أ‬
‫اها ۔ َمتَاعا لَّ ُك ْم َوِْلَنْ َع ِام ُك ْم‬ ِْ ‫ك دحاها ۔ أَخرج ِمْن ها ماءها ومرعاها ۔ و‬ ِ
َ َُ ‫اْلبَ َال أ َْر‬ َ َ َ ْ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ ْ َ َ َ َ ‫بَ ْع َد َذل‬
“O mankind, is your (new) creation harder than the heaven that He built? He raised its canopy and
fashioned it to perfection; He gave darkness to the night and brightness to the day. After that He
spread out the earth, then from it He brought forth its water and its pasture, set its mountains,
and made them beneficial for you and your cattle.” (79:27-33)

c. The manner plants grow every season

He also asks us to look at the manner plants grow every season:

‫ات لَ َعلَّ ُك ْم تَ ْع ِقلُو َن‬

ِ ‫َن اللَّه َُييِي ْاْلَرض ب ع َد موِِتَا قَ ْد ب يَّنَّا لَ ُكم ْاآلي‬
َ ُ َ َْ َْ َ ْ ْ َ َّ ‫ْاعلَ ُموا أ‬
“Beware that God restores life to the earth after its death. We have spelled out our signs for you,
so that you may understand.” (57:17)

2. How is He going to make humans accountable?

The Qur’an mentions a number of reasons to enable the believer to be convinced that in
the next life complete information shall be available for the process of accountability to be
possible.

a. God is All-Knowing

َ‫ط ِمن َوَرقٍَة إِالَّ يَ ْعلَ ُم َها َوال‬ ِ ‫ندُِ َم َفاتِح الْغَْي‬
ُ ‫ب الَ يَ ْعلَ ُم َها إِالَّ ُه َو َويَ ْعلَ ُم َما ِِف الْبَ ِّر َوالْبَ ْح ِر َوَما تَ ْس ُق‬ ُ َ ‫َو ِع‬
ٍ َ‫س إِالَّ ِِف كِت‬
ٍ ِ‫اب ُّمب‬ ٍ ِ‫ب َوالَ يَاب‬ ٍ ْ‫ض والَ رط‬ ِ ٍ
‫ْي‬ َ َ ِ ‫َحبَّة ِِف ظُلُ َمات اْل َْر‬
“He Alone has the keys of the unseen treasures, of which no one knows except Him. He knows
whatever is in the land and in the sea; there is not a single leaf that falls without His knowledge,
there is neither a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry which has not been
recorded in a Clear Book.” (6:59)
 ‫الص ُدوِر‬ ِ ‫ض وي علَم ما تُ ِسُّرو َن وما تُعلِنُو َن واللَّه علِيم بِ َذ‬ ِ َّ ‫ي علَم ما ِِف‬
ُّ ‫ات‬ ٌ َ ُ َ ْ ََ َ ُ ْ َ َ ِ ‫الس َم َاوات َو ْاْل َْر‬ َ ُ َْ
“He knows all that is in the heavens and the earth. He knows what you conceal and what you
reveal, and God knows what is in your hearts.” (64:4)

b. Angels write down everything we speak

‫يب َعتِي ٌد‬ِ ِ ِ ٍ ِ ُ ‫ْي وع ِن الشِّم ِال قَعِي ٌد ۔ ما ي ْل ِف‬ ِ ِ

ٌ ‫ظ من قَ ْول إَّال لَ َديْه َرق‬ َ َ َ َ َ ِ ‫إِ ْذ يَتَ لَقَّى الْ ُمتَ لَقِّيَان َع ِن الْيَم‬
“We have assigned to everyone two scribes (angels), the one seated on his right and the other on
his left; not a single word does he utter but there is a vigilant guardian ready to note it down.”
(50:17-18)

c. Limbs of human body would testify on Judgment Day

ِ ِِ ِ ِ
َ‫ود ُه ْم ِبَا َكانُوا يَ ْع َملُو َن ۔ َوقَالُوا ْلُلُوده ْم َل‬ ُ ُ‫ص ُارُه ْم َو ُجل‬ َ ‫َح ََّّت إِذَا َما َج ُاؤ‬
َ ْ‫وها َش ِه َد َعلَْي ِه ْم َسَْعُ ُه ْم َوأَب‬
‫دُّت َعلَْي نَا قَالُوا أَنطََقنَا اللَّهُ الَّ ِذي أَنطَ َق ُك َّل َش ْي ٍء َوُه َو َخلَ َق ُك ْم أ ََّوَل َمَّرةٍ َوإِلَْي ِه تُ ْر َجعُو َن‬
ُّْ ‫َش ِه‬
“Finally when they will reach there, their ears, their eyes, and their skins will testify to their
misdeeds. And they will ask their skins: ‘Why did you testify against us?’ Their skins will reply: ‘God
who gives faculty of speech to everything, has made us speak.’” (41:20-21)

d. Messengers and other witnesses would testify

‫الر ُُ ِل َوَكا َن اللّهُ َع ِزيزا َح ِكيما‬ ِ ‫ين لِئَالَّ يَ ُكو َن لِلن‬

ُّ ‫َّاس َعلَى اللّ ِه ُح َّجةٌ بَ ْع َد‬ ِِ
َ ‫ُّر ُُال ُّمبَ ِّش ِر‬
َ ‫ين َوُمنذر‬
“All these messengers conveyed good news to mankind and admonished them so that, after
conveying the message through the messengers, people should have no excuse to plead against
God. God is mighty, wise.” (4:165)

ِ ِ ‫فَلَنَسأَلَ َّن الَّ ِذ‬

َ ‫ين أ ُْرُ َل إِلَْي ِه ْم َولَنَ ْسأَلَ َّن الْ ُم ْر َُل‬
‫ْي‬ َ ْ
“On the Day of Judgment We shall question those to whom messengers were sent and we shall
also question the messengers (about the response they received).” (7:6)

ِ ٍ ِ
َ ِ‫ف إِ َذا جْئ نَا ِمن ُك ِّل َّأم ٍة بِ َش ِهيد َوجْئ نَا ب‬
‫ك َعلَى َه ُؤالء َش ِهيدا‬ َ ‫فَ َكْي‬
“Imagine how it would feel when we shall bring a witness from every nation and call upon you,
prophet, to testify against them?” (4:41)
 َ َ‫ون اللّ ِه قَ َال ُُْب َحان‬
ِ ‫ْي ِمن د‬ ِ ِ ‫وإِ ْذ قَ َال اللّه يا ِعيسى ابن مرَي أَأَنت قُلت لِلن‬
‫ك َما‬ ُ ِ ْ ‫َّاس َّاّت ُذ ِوِن َوأ ُِّم َي إِلَ َه‬ َ َ َ َْ َ ْ َ َ ُ َ
‫نت قُ ْلتُهُ فَ َق ْد َعلِ ْمتَهُ تَ ْعلَ ُم َما ِِف نَ ْف ِسي َوالَ أَ ْعلَ ُم َما ِِف‬ ِ
ُ ‫س ِِل ِبَ ٍّق إِن ُك‬ َ ُ‫يَ ُكو ُن ِِل أَ ْن أَق‬
َ ‫ول َما لَْي‬
‫وب‬ِ ‫َنت َعالَّم الْغُي‬
ُ ُ َ ‫َّك أ‬ َ ‫ك إِن‬َ ‫نَ ْف ِس‬
“After reminding him of the favors, God will say: ‘Jesus, son of Mary, did you ever say to the
people, ‘worship me and my mother as gods beside God?’ He will answer: ‘Free from all error you
are! How could I say what I had no right to say? If I had ever said so, you would have certainly
known it. You know what is in my heart, but I know not what is in yours; for you have full
knowledge of all the unseen.’” (5:116)

C. When is it going to happen?

The question disbelievers used to ask most frequently was about the timing of the
Judgment Day. The Qur’an clarifies it’s the most irrelevant question:

ِ ‫الساع ِة أَيَّا َن مرُاها ۔ فِيم أَنت ِمن ِذ ْكراها ۔ إِ ََل ربِّك منت هاها ۔ إََِّّنَا أَنت م‬
‫نذ ُر َمن‬ ُ َ َ ََ ُ َ َ ََ َ َ َ َ ُْ َ َّ ‫ك َع ِن‬
َ َ‫يَ ْسأَلُون‬
ِ
‫اها‬ ُ ‫َّه ْم يَ ْوَم يََرْونَ َها ََلْ يَ ْلبَثُوا إَِّال َعشيَّة أ َْو‬
َ ‫ض َح‬ ُ ‫اها ۔ َكأَن‬
َ ‫ََيْ َش‬
“They ask you about the hour: ‘When will it come?’ But it is not for you to know or tell its timing.
Only your Lord knows when it will come. You are but a warner to him who fears it. On that day
when they shall see it, they shall feel as if they had stayed in this world only one evening or one
morning.” (79:42-46)

Why has the time of arrival of Judgment Day not certain? It is because, like death there
is an element of surprise left in this matter which causes us to remain always prepared for it.
If humans would know when the day will come, they would continue to delay the possibility
of reforming which will nullify the idea of trial.

D. Where is it going to happen?

The Qur’an tells us that this world, with all its vastness and numerous heavenly bodies, is
going to be converted on the judgment day into a form where all events of the accountability
process and later rewards and punishments would take place.

‫اح ِد الْ َق َّها ِر‬

ِ ‫السماوات وب رزواْ للّ ِه الْو‬
َ ِ ‫ض َغْي َر اْل َْر‬
ُ ََ َ ُ َ َ َّ ‫ض َو‬ ُ ‫َّل اْل َْر‬
ُ ‫يَ ْوَم تُبَد‬
“Warn them of the day when the earth will be changed to a different earth and the heavens as
well, and all of them will stand before God, the One, the Irresistible.” (14:48)