Yawm al-Qiyamah (The Day of Judgment)
Suggest editDefinition and Significance
Yawm al-Qiyamah (يوم القيامة) — the Day of Resurrection and Judgment — is one of the most extensively described topics in the entire Quran. Belief in it is the fifth pillar of iman (faith). The Quran returns to this day repeatedly, in varying tones — warning, consoling, describing, and urging preparation — because awareness of the Last Day is the greatest regulator of human behavior and the most powerful incentive for righteousness. It is the day on which all of creation will be dissolved, all souls will be resurrected, and every person will stand alone before the Creator to answer for their life.
The Sequence of Major Events
Islamic texts describe the Day of Judgment as encompassing a vast sequence of events:
- The First Blowing of the Trumpet (Sur): Israfil will blow the Sur and every living being in the heavens and earth will perish in terror, except those Allah wills (Quran 39:68).
- The Second Blowing: All souls will be resurrected and emerge from their graves, looking around in confusion: 'They will come out of the graves as if they were locusts spreading' (Quran 54:7).
- The Gathering (Hashr): All of humanity — from the first human to the last — will be gathered on a vast white plain, barefoot, naked, and uncircumcised (Sahih al-Bukhari 6527). Aisha asked whether men and women would see each other; the Prophet replied that the terror of the day would be too great for anyone to think of that.
- The Long Standing (Mawqif): People will stand under a sun brought near, sweating according to their deeds — some drowning in sweat up to their ankles, some to their knees, some to their mouths (Sahih Muslim 2864). This standing will feel like 50,000 years (Quran 70:4).
- The Grand Intercession (Shafa'ah al-Uzma): People will go from prophet to prophet seeking intercession to begin the reckoning, until they reach Muhammad (peace be upon him), who will be granted the greatest intercession — al-maqam al-mahmud (the praised station) — and will prostrate before Allah until permission is given to begin the judgment.
- The Scales (Mizan): Every deed will be weighed on a real balance: 'And We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be treated unjustly at all' (Quran 21:47). The Prophet said that the phrase Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi is light on the tongue but heavy on the scale (Sahih al-Bukhari 6682).
- The Book of Deeds (Suhuf): Every person will receive their record in their right hand (the righteous, Quran 84:7) or their left hand/behind their back (the wicked, Quran 84:10-12).
- The Sirat (Bridge): All must cross a bridge over Hellfire. It is described as sharper than a sword and finer than a hair. Believers will cross at speeds proportional to their deeds, while others will slip and fall.
- The Hawd (Pond) of the Prophet: The Prophet's blessed pond in Paradise, from which the believers will drink and never thirst again.
The Final Destination
After the reckoning, all people will proceed to their eternal abode. Those whose good deeds outweigh their bad, and those who died upon sincere tawhid, will enter Jannah. Those who committed major sins among the Muslims may be punished in the Hellfire temporarily but will be brought out by Allah's mercy and the intercession of the Prophet and the believers. Disbelievers and polytheists who died without repenting will abide in Jahannam eternally.