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Written by Imam Mohamed Baianonie

Category: The Day of Judgement And Its Signs

The most important events that will happen on the Day of Judgement are when we will be held accountable for our deeds and when we will be questioned by our Lord Allah [az]. There are many Qur'anic verses and ahaadith [narrations] that tell us about these events so that the believers will prepare themselves for the most important, final test. They can prepare for this test with their strong faiths and with their righteous deeds. Allah (swt) says what could be translated as, "Draws near for mankind their reckoning, while they turn away in heedlessness." (Surat Al-'Anbia', Verse 1.)

Also, He says what could be translated as, "Verily, to us will be their return: -Then verily, for us will be their reckoning." (Surat Al-Ghashiah, Verses 25 and 26.)

And He says what could be translated as, "Then surely, we shall question those (people) to whom it (the book) was sent and verily, we shall question the Messengers." (Surat Al-A'raf, Verses 6 and 7.)

These verses and other ahadeeth that will be mentioned, state one of the events that will happen on the Judgement Day. What will happen on this day is called, “ Al-Hisaab ” [The Reckoning] which is when Allah (swt) will ask every person what they have done in their lives.

There will be two different ways that Allah will hold people accountable for their deeds:

The First Method: Allah will quickly and easily skim through the people's deeds, and will allow them to enter paradise safely. Those who believe strongly with sincerity, will enter paradise in this manner.

The Second Method: Allah will discuss the people's deeds in depth and in detail, and will hold them accountable for each evil act they committed. Then Allah will send them away to the Hell Fire. These are the disbelievers, hypocrites, those who are weak in their faith, or those who are not sincere will enter the Hell Fire in this manner.

Allah (swt) describes that Day in what could be translated as, "On the Day when every person will be confronted with all the good he has done, and all the evil he has done, he will wish that there were a great distance between him and his evil." (Surat Al-Imran, Verse 30.)

Anyone who is questioned in depth and in detail will surely be tortured:

Imams Bukhari and Muslim reported that Ai'sha (ra) said that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Destroyed is the one who has his account settled on the Day of Resurrection.” Ai'sha said: "O Messenger of Allah, didn't Allah say "Then he who is given his records in his right hand soon will his account be taken by easy reckoning" (Surat Al-Inshiqaq, Verses 7 and 8.) The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: "This is the skimming through the deeds; and destroyed is the one who has his account settled on the Day of Judgment.”

The good believer will have an easy reckoning and Allah (swt) will cover up his sins after He reminds him about them. Then he will forgive him from his sins, and allow him to enter paradise.

This is concluded from a hadith reported by Imams Bukhari and Muslim in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Allah will bring the believer very close and privately and ask him "Do you know this sin? Do you know that sin? The believers reply will be, “Yes Oh Lord,” until he is reminded about all of his sins, and he thinks he will perish. Then Allah will say "I covered up your sins during your life, and I will forgive your sins today.” Then he will be given his book of good deeds. But the unbelievers and hypocrites will be asked about their deeds loudly in front of the creatures.

"These are the ones who lied against their Lord!" No doubt! The curse of Allah is on the Dhaalimoon (polytheists, wrongdoers, oppressors, etc.)!" (Surat Huud, Verse 18.)

Allah will confront His servant directly, without a mediator.

The Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Allah will talk to everyone directly, without a translator. The person will look to his right, and will not see anything but his deeds. Then the person, will look in front of himself and will see nothing but the hellfire facing him. So protect yourself from Hellfire even by giving a charity of half a date." (Reported by Imam Bukhari.)

Prayer will be the first thing a person will be questioned about on the Day of Judgment.

Prayer is a right of Allah (swt), and people will be questioned about it. They will be asked if their prayers were done completely and with good quality. If a person performs prayers with the utmost of 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.

The Messenger (peace be upon him) 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)

We will be asked in the Day of Judgement about five things.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “The son of Adam will not pass away from Allah until he is asked about five things: how he lived his life, and how he utilized his youth, with what means did he earn his wealth, how did he spend his wealth, and what did he do with his knowledge.” (Hasan hadith reported by Imam At-Tirmithi.)

We will be asked in the Day of Judgement about all of the blessings and bounties that Allah gave us in this life. Some of these blessings may include our good health, our wealth, our food and drink, our ride and our home, etc. Allah (swt) says in the Noble Qur'an, what could be translated as, “Then, on that Day, you shall be asked about the delight (you indulged in in this world).” (Surat Al-Takathir, Verse 8.)

The Prophet (peace be upon him) described the questioning in a speech reported by Imam Muslim: "Allah (swt) will meet a person and ask him: "O person, wasn't I generous with you, and made you with a spouse, and made the horses and camels at your disposal?" The servant will reply "yes!" Allah (swt) will then ask “Did you think that you will meet me?” He will reply: "No!" Allah (swt) will say: "I will forget you like you forgot me!" Then Allah (swt) will meet another person and his reply will be the same as the first person. Then Allah (swt) will meet a third person and will ask similar questions, and the person's reply will be: "O Lord I believed in you, in your books, and in your messengers. I prayed, I fasted, and I gave charity." And he will praise Allah as much as he can. Allah (swt) will say: "Hold on to your words, Now we will bring the witnesses." The person will ask himself “Who will testify against me?” Then that persons mouth will be sealed, and his thighs, flesh and bones will be asked to speak. They will speak about his bad deeds. He will know that he has no excuse. That is the hypocrite Allah (swt) will be furious with!”

Allah (swt) describes that situation in what could be translated as, "On the day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against them as to their actions" (Surat An-Nur, (verse 24)). Also Allah (swt) says what could be translated as, "And they will say to their skin: "Why did you bear witness against us?” They will say "Allah has caused us to speak, as He cause all things to speak." (Surat Al-Fussillat, Verse 21.)

Also Allah (swt) will ask us in the Day of Judgment about all of our convenants and promises that we have made in our lives. Those promises may be made to Allah (swt) or made to people. And so Allah (swt) says in what could be translated as, “And fulfil (every) covenant. Verily! The covenant, will be questioned about.” (Surat Al-Israa, Verse 34.)

Allah (swt) will also ask us in the Day of Judgment about our hearing, our vision, and our hearts. He will ask us about how we utilized each of them. Allah (swt) says in the Noble Qur'an, in what could be translated as, “Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those, you will be questioned (by Allah). ” (Surat Al-Israa, Verse 36.)

It is out of the Mercy of Allah (swt), that he told us about these important questions ahead of time so that we can prepare ourselves. The good believer is the one who prepares himself for those difficult events by getting closer to Allah (swt), 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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Category: The Day of Judgement And Its Signs

It is proven in the Qur’aan and Sunnah that when a person dies, he will be called to account for every major and minor action he did in this world, whether it was good or bad. He will be rewarded for his good deeds and punished for his bad deeds. The first stage of that reckoning is in the grave. In the grave the first thing a person will be asked will be:

• Who was your Lord?
• What is your religion?
• Who is this man who was sent amongst you? (As was narrated in the hadeeth of al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allaah be pleased with him), which was narrated by Abu Dawood in his Sunan (4753) and classed as saheeh [authentic].)

Then on the Day of Resurrection he will be brought to account for every major and minor action, even though he has already been brought to account for that in the grave. The first thing for which he will be brought to account for then will be his prayer.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The first thing among their deeds for which the people will be brought to account on the Day of Resurrection will be prayer. Our Lord will say to His angels, although He knows best, ‘Look at My slave’s prayer, is it complete or lacking?’ If it is complete, it will be recorded as complete, but if it is lacking, He will say, ‘Look and see whether my slave did any voluntary (naafil) prayers.’ If he had done voluntary prayers, He will say, ‘Complete the obligatory prayers of My slave from his voluntary prayers.’ Then the rest of his deeds will be examined in a similar manner.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood, 864; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 770.)

On the Day of Resurrection, people will be asked about other matters, including the following:

It was narrated from Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The son of Adam will not be dismissed from before his Lord on the Day of Resurrection until he has been questioned about five things: his life and how he spent it, his youth and how he used it, his wealth and how he earned it and how he disposed of it, and how he acted upon what he acquired of knowledge.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2422; classed as hasan.)

And the nations will be asked on the Day of Resurrection: “What answer gave you to the Messengers?” (Al-Qasas 28:65 – interpretation of the meaning.)

These are some of the things about which people will be asked on the Day of Resurrection. So the wise person who is keen to save himself should prepare answers to these questions. We ask Allaah to guide us to the straight path.

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Written by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

Category: The Day of Judgement And Its Signs

It was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), in a hadeeth that has many corroborating reports and isnaads [chains], that he said: “Allaah will judge between His creation, jinn, men and animals. On that Day, Allaah will let the hornless animal settle its score with the horned until, when there is nothing left to be settled, Allaah will say to them, ‘Be dust.’ At that point the kaafir will say, ‘Would that I were dust.’” (Classed as saheeh)

Yes, all creatures will settle the scores between them, even the hornless animal with the horned one, and even one ant with another). It was narrated from Abu Dharr that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was sitting, and two sheep locked horns until one of them defeated and subdued the other. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) smiled and someone asked him, “Why are you smiling, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said, “It is amazing. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, their score will be settled on the Day of Resurrection.” (Saheeh Muslim)

Imaam Al-Nawawi said inhis  Sharh [explanation] of Saheeh Muslim, in the explanation of this Hadeeth [narration]:

“This clearly indicates that the animals will be gathered on the Day of Resurrection and that they will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection like humans who are accountable, and as children, the insane, and those whom the call did not reach will also be resurrected. There is also evidence in the Qur’aan and Sunnah to support that. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And when the wild beasts shall be gathered togethe.r” (Al-Takweer 81:5) If there is a phrase in a text of sharee’ah [the sources of Islaamic legislation] whose apparent meaning is not impossible whether according to sharee’ah or reason, then it must be interpreted according to its apparent meaning. The scholars said: reward and punishment are not essential features of the gathering and the resurrection. The settling of scores between the hornless and horned animals is not based on accountability, because they are not held accountable, rather it is retaliation in kind for the sake of justice. And Allaah knows best.”

Shaykh ‘Ali al-Qaari quoted him in al-Murqaah (4/761) as saying:

“If it is said that a sheep is not accountable, how can scores be settled with it? (Our response is) that Allaah does as He wills, and He cannot be questioned as to what He does. The point is to demonstrate to people that rights will not be neglected, rather the rights of the oppressed will be settled at the expense of the oppressor.”

Al-Qaari’ said:

“This is a good point. The point is that this settling of scores points in the most eloquent manner to the perfect justice with which all those who are accountable will be dealt. If this is the situation with regard to animals who are not accountable, then how about those who possess reason, lowly and noble, strong and weak?” (See al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, p. 612)

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Written by Dr. `Umar Al-Ashqar

Category: The Day of Judgement And Its Signs

When the Day of Resurrection comes, a man's wealth and capital will be his hasanaat (good deeds). If he had done wrong to any people, they will take from his hasanaat to the extent that he mistreated them. If he does not have any hasanaat, the sayyi`aat (wrong deeds) will be taken from those he wronged and added to his burden.

Bukhari narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said: "Whoever wronged his brother with regard to his honour or any other matter, should seek his forgiveness today, before there are no longer any dinaars, or dirhams; and if he has any righteous deeds, they will be taken from him, in accordance with the wrong he did; and if he has no hasanaat (good deeds), some of the sayyi`aat (bad deeds) of his counterpart will be taken and added to his burden.” (Bukhari: Kitaab al-Mazaalim, Baab man kaanat lahu mazlamah `inda rajul, Fath al-Baari, 5/101.)

This person whose hasanaat (good deeds) are taken from him by the people, and then has their sayyi`aat (bad deeds) placed on his own back, is the one who is bankrupt, as the Messenger (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) called him. Muslim narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said: "Do you know who is the one who is bankrupt?" They said, "The bankrupt is the one who has no money and no possessions." He said, "Among my ummah [nation], the one who is bankrupt is the one who will come on the Day of Resurrection with prayer and fasting and zakah (obligatory charity to his credit), but he will come having insulted this one, slandered that one, consumed the wealth of this one and shed the blood of that one, and beaten that one. So they will all be given some of his hasanaat (good deeds), and when his hasanaat (good deeds) run out, before judgement is passed, some of their sins will be taken and cast onto him, then he will be cast into the Fire." (Muslim: 4/1998, hadith no. 2581.)

If a debtor died when he still owed money to people, they will take from his hasanaat (good deeds) whatever is in accordance with what he owes them. In Sunan ibn Maajah it is narrated with a saheeh isnaad (authentic chain) that Ibn 'Umar (radhiallahu `anhu) stated: The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said:"Whoever dies owing a dinar or a dirham, it will be paid from his hasanaat (good deeds), for then there will be no dinars or dirhams.” (Saheeh al-Jaami' as-Sagheer, 5/537, hadith no. 6432.)

If people wronged one another, the score will be settled between them. If they mistreated one another equally, then there will be no score to settle. If one of them is still owed something by the other, he will take what he is entitled to.

In Sunan at-Tirmidhi it is narrated that 'Aa'ishah said: "A man came and sat in front of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam), and said, 'O Messenger of Allah, I have two slaves who tell me lies, betray and disobey me, and I insult them and beat them. What is my position with regard to them?” The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said: 'On the Day of Resurrection, their betrayal, disobedience and lying will be measured against your punishment of them. If your punishment is commensurate with their wrongs, then there will be no score to settle. If your punishment of them was less than their sins deserved, then this will count in your favour. If your punishment of them was more than their sins deserved, then the score will be settled against you.' The man turned away and started to weep. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said to him, 'Have you not read the words of Allah?': “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 to take account.” (Qur'an 21: 47).’”(Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 3/66, hadith no. 5561. It is also narrated in Saheeh al-Jaami`, 6/327, hadith no. 7895, where it attributed to Ahmad and Tirmidhi.)

Because Dhulm (oppression) is such a serious matter, it is better for those who fear that Day to give up oppression and avoid it. The Messenger (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) has told us that oppression will be darkness on the Day of Resurrection. Bukhari and Muslim narrated from 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar that the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said: "Oppression (dhulm) will be darkness (dhulumaat) on the Day of Resurrection." (Bukhari: Kitaab al-Mazaalim, Baab az-Zulm Zulumaat Yawm al-Qiyaamah, Fath al-Baari, 51100; Muslim, 4/1969, hadith no. 2579.)

Muslim narrated from Jaabir ibn 'Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said: "Beware of oppression (dhulm), for oppression will be darkness (dhulumaat) on the Day of Resurrection." (Muslim: 4/1969, hadith no. 2578.)