When Day of Judgment will bring ‘death’ to this universe

Allah Almighty says: “And the Moon is eclipsed, and the Sun and the Moon are fused together,
on that Day man will ask: “Where can I run?” No indeed! There will be no safe place. That Day,
the only resting place will be your Lord.” (Qur’an, 75: 8-12)
Consider the people and events that shape your life. You are working hard to get somewhere,
trying to find your place in the struggle for a good life. You are very attentive to some matters
and reflect deeply upon them. At the same time, you carefully avoid thinking about other matters
and, as it happens, many people close to you do the same. Everyone knows what subjects to
avoid in conversation and thought. Death is one of these, perhaps the most important one. For
them, death is an end to which there is no solution.
The Day of Judgment, which will bring “death” to the universe just like the death of people, is a
matter that people do not like to think about; rather, they consider it as a remote and distant
matter. They have a vague idea of what will happen on that Day, but since the thought of it
scares them, people are inclined to forget about it. Rather than facing up to it, they just get on
with their lives instead.
The Day of Judgment is the final day of life on Earth and for the universe. But at the same time,
it is the beginning of the eternal life in the Hereafter. On that Day, people will be resurrected,
created anew. Believers in Allah and the Hereafter will be hosted in Paradise, whereas
unbelievers will be driven to Hell. Therefore, for those who expect such a Day, fully aware of
what this event means, it is meaningless to run away from death, the Day of Judgment, and the
Hereafter. To the contrary, the reality of death and the events of that Day will lead people to do
good in the cause of Allah, direct them to believe in the Hereafter, and bring them closer to
Allah. Only the believers will be spared the great fear on that Day, on which previously unseen
events will take place, for Allah reveals that they will have no cause for fear or sadness, for: “Not
so! All who submit themselves completely to Allah and are good-doers will find their reward with
their Lord. They will feel no fear and know no sorrow.”(Qur’an, 2:112)
Those who believed in this Day and in the Qur’an, as well as that the real life is in the Hereafter,
while alive and lived accordingly will be safe. They did not disregard the existence of death and
were not too vain to worship Allah. Such people will be received in the most pleasant way in the
Hereafter, and Allah’s guiding light will be with them on the Day of Judgment. The faithful are
given the good news in the Qur’an, as follows: “...on the Day when Allah will not disgrace the
prophet and those who believed along with him. Their light will stream out ahead of them and on
their right. They will say: ‘Our Lord, perfect our light for us and forgive us! You have power over
all things’.”(Qur’an, 66:8)
This book reveals the Day and its events, and warns of its difficulties. What matters most is that
the Day of Judgment is a reality for all people and, as such, should not be ignored. This book
will help you think about its existence and reality.

The Day is approaching

“And the Hour is coming without any doubt, and Allah will raise up all those in the
graves.”(Qur’an, 22:7) Death is coming closer by the day. Whether you are young or old, death
is a little closer to you every day, even every minute. You cannot resist time or prevent death’s
approach. Nothing you do can change the fact that you and those close to you are only
“temporary” beings. Like every other living being, you are advancing toward the Day on which
your life will end.
Humanity is not the only part of creation that is subject to death. All other creatures, Earth itself
and the whole universe, have a day of death fixed for them. The Day of Judgment is a day of
terror and unimaginable fear. But at the same time, it is most wondrous. Everything on Earth will
be flattened, the stars will be extinguished and fall in rapid succession, and the Sun will be
wrapped up in darkness. All human beings who have ever lived will be gathered and made to
witness this Day. This Final Day will be dreadful for the unbelievers, and its Lord will be Allah,
Who owns all that exists.
The Day of Judgment, contrary to many people’s belief, is approaching; it is not in the distant
future. When it arrives, Earth and everything belonging to it will be destroyed. Ambitions,
desires, anger, expectations, lusts, enmities, and pleasures will cease. Plans made for the
future will become meaningless, for those who had forgotten that they will be returned to Allah,
preferring this world over the eternal life and its misleading wealth, beauty, and pleasures, will
have met their end. On this Day, everyone will witness clearly Allah’s existence and will come
face to face with the death that they had tried so hard to forget. Their attempt to forget Allah and
the Hereafter is finished, and a new beginning, one which will be eternal and bring no happiness
to the unbelievers, is awaiting them. From the very first moment of this eternal life, the
punishment is so fearsome that those who experience it will beg for “death” and “annihilation.”
The beginning of this life is the Day of Judgment and, “the Hour is coming without any doubt.

Life is temporary, death is real

From your earliest childhood onward, you head for certain goals or are guided by others. You
probably will have a family and a job, try to earn more in order to have a better life, educate your
children, and hope that they will have a better life than you did. Once a week you meet the other
members of your extended family. You take vacations, go to work, and spend the rest of your
time at home. Except for a few hiccups on the way, your life progresses orderly and you usually
encounter nothing outside the ordinary.
Everything in your life seems to be premeditated, and everyone’s life is like everyone else’s.
You need to work to realize these goals, and you need to have a family to continue your
lineage. According to this worldview, what else could you possibly want besides “a good job”
and “a nice family?” Having achieved these goals, you expect to lead a happy life.
However, some important changes are happening in your body and environment. Many cells
with diverse functions fulfill their purpose and die. As you age, it becomes harder to replace
them. Your body is ageing visibly, as seen through your illnesses and weaknesses. Time moves
fast, and the impossibility of reversing it becomes clearer every day. Thinking that you were
going to live happily and comfortably forever, you are nevertheless nearing death.
Thus, this worldly life can never give the sense of contentment and peace you expect. When
this “satisfying” life ends, you will come face to face with the real truth. Given this fact, none of
your life ambitions should become your true purpose in life. This life is a temporary trial to
separate the righteous from the evildoers. Allah reveals this reality in the following verse: “He
Who created death and life to test which of you is best in action. He is the Almighty, the Ever-
Forgiving.”(Qur’an, 67:2)
A journey beyond the earthly life
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) told us to remember it 70 times a day. It is
something inevitable. Everyone will taste it. But nobody likes to think about it: Death and the
Hereafter.
Shaikh Omar Husain, the newest instructor of Qalam Institute, Texas, a graduate of Al-Azhar
University, delivered a powerful and interesting lecture on the subject titled, ‘Afterlife journey of
the soul.’
Shaikh Husain said he was very passionate about the subject of afterlife and it showed in his
lecture and style of presentation. Most people, he said, were so engrossed in this world that
they forgot it is temporary; we needed to be reminded. “Our times are more materialistic and
people have no idea of their final destination and what will happen there.”
At the local Noor Masjid, Shaikh Husain took a spell bound audience on a mesmerizing journey
through death, grave, resurrection, bridge of sirat, scales, heaven and hell. His presentation
started dramatically with a hospital bed, followed by equally powerful images of a Herse, open
grave, funeral prayer, blue skies, flying book of deeds etc.
Shaikh Husain started with a personal anecdote. When he was a student of information
technology, a colleague, kind, strong and tall, helped them all through programming which many
found tough. One day they saw him sitting, stretched to one side in apparent pain. Within
months he was diagnosed with cancer and died.
“What happened to him will ultimately happen to all of us. Every soul will taste death.” The test
for us in this life is to prepare for death. The more we know, the better prepared we will be.”
Shaikh Husain took the first episode of the journey to Hereafter, the moment of death. He gave
the example with the death of a good, practicing believer. Two angels will come and sit at a
distance where the eyes can see. Their faces will be bright. They will say, ‘O righteous soul,
come out to the pleasure of Allah.
They will have a beautiful cloth from Jannah, which will have its fragrance. A third angel, that of
death, will take out the soul from the body, nice and easy. He will hand it to the two angels who
will immediately wrap it in the cloth and ascend to the heavens. The believer will be welcomed
at the gates of heaven by angels who will say welcome o pious soul. When the soul will go up to
Allah, He will say, write his name in Illiyen as the righteous one. But because it is not time yet,
he will be returned to the body.’
In the grave the believer will be questioned by two angels. “Who is your Lord, what is your
religion and who is your prophet?” But in that trying moment, only the righteous will be able to
answer. The grave will then squeeze the believer, but more gently than a wicked, non-practicing
soul.
The grave will later expand and there will be light and fragrance and breeze from a window
opening directly from heaven. This will be the soul’s resting place till the time of resurrection.
A non-believing, non-practicing soul will be greeted by two angels and the angel of death also
but they will have dark, scary faces. The soul will be ripped out of the body in wretched pain and
misery. The soul will be taken up in a coarse, smelly cloth representing hell. The gate to Heaven
will remain closed and the angels will curse that soul. When it is brought to Allah Almighty, He
will say to record it in Sijjin (Hell).
In the grave, the wicked soul will be asked the same questions. He won’t know the answers and
the angels will hit him so hard with a hammer between his forehead that if the living heard his
scream, they would faint. The grave will squeeze hard and the window from hell will open up.
Unfortunately many believing souls will also go through punishment in the grave because of the
sins they committed in the world. They will go through a cleansing punishment which will be as
harsh as their deeds.
A mother’s love is famous for her children. The Shaikh reminded us. “She will stay weeks at a
hospital staying up all night, with her children. But she will not stay one night with them in the
graveyard. Nothing will accompany you there, except your deeds, good or bad”.
When the Day of Judgment will arrive, there will be complete chaos with mountains
disintegrating into dust. The sun will come very close and burn. People will almost drown in their
sweat. Nobody will help anyone. It will be, ‘Nafsi, nafsi’ (I, me and myself).
The bridge of Sirat will be over a flaming hell. It will be almost as thin as a dental floss. And it
will be pitch dark. Every soul will have to cross it. Those with good deeds and imaan will make it
across. But the scales will be the ultimate, the scariest. All our deeds will be measured on the
scales. People will come with tons and tons of good deeds, but will lose it because of things like
backbiting, arrogance, not having good family ties, not being good to their parents and so on. At
that time the family feuds, the materialism, the indulging in usury, the sleeping through Fajr will
all bear heavily. People will wish they had another chance.
We do have another chance still. As Shaikh Husain highlighted at the end. The lecture was not
to scare us, but to prepare us. To remind us that we are all going to go somewhere, heaven or
hell. What we do here, will be the decider. Who does not want heaven? It is not so hard to
reach, if we know how and strive for it. The Qur’an and the Sunnah will lead us there.
“There is still time, while you are still breathing. No matter how many sins you have committed,
you can always hit the delete button. Repent, ask for forgiveness, and make peace with your
relatives, neighbors. Be mindful of death. Life is fleeting and before we know it, we will pass.
Allah says: “Say: ‘O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the
Mercy of Allah: For Allah forgives all sins: For He is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.” (Qur’an, 39:53)
Seek knowledge from learned men
The Qur’an repeatedly exhorts its readers to seek advice from men of knowledge.
It informs about different facts and then gives the advice: “If you want to know more about this
or that, or if you doubt what is said, then you should ask those who have
knowledge.”
This too is a surprising attitude. It is not usual to have a book that comes from someone without
training in geography, botany, biology, etc., who discusses these subjects and then advises the
reader to ask men of knowledge if he doubts anything.
Yet in every age there have been Muslims who have followed the advice of the Qur'an and
made surprising discoveries. If one looks to the works of Muslim scientists of many centuries
ago, one will find them full of quotations from the Qur’an. These works state that they did
research in such a place, looking for something. And they affirm that the reason they looked in
such and such a place was that the Qur’an pointed them in that direction.
For example, the Qur’an mentions man’s origin and then tells the reader: “Research it!” It gives
the reader a hint where to look and then states that one should find out more about it. This is the
kind of thing that Muslims today largely seem to overlook, but not always, as illustrated in the
following example.
Embryology
A few years ago, a group of men in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, collected all of the verses in the
Qur’an, which discuss embryology, the growth of the human being in the womb. They said,
“Here is what the Qur’an says. Is it the truth?” In essence, they took the advice of the Qur’an:
“Ask the men who know.” They chose, as it happened, a non-Muslim who is a professor of
embryology at the University of Toronto. His name is Keith Moore, and he is the author of
textbooks on embryology, a world expert on the subject. They invited him to Riyadh and said,
“This is what the Qur’an says about your subject. Is it true? What can you tell us?”
While he was in Riyadh, they gave him all the help that he needed in translation and all of the
cooperation for which he asked. And he was so surprised at what he found that he changed his
textbooks. In fact, in the second edition of one of his books, called Before We Are Born... in the
section about the history of embryology, he included some material that was not in the first
edition because of what he found in the Qur’an was ahead of its time and that those who believe
in the Qur’an know what other people do not know.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Keith Moore for a television presentation, and we talked a
great deal about this; it was illustrated by slides and so on. He mentioned that some of the
things that the Qur’an states about the growth of the human being were not known until 30
years ago. In fact, he said that one item in particular — the Qur’an’s description of the human
being as a “leech-like clot” (Qur'an, 40:67) — was new to him; but when he checked on it, he
found that it was true, and so he added it to his book. He said, “I never thought of that before,”
and he went to the zoology department and asked for a picture of a leech. When he found that it
looked just like the human embryo, he decided to include both pictures in one of his textbooks.
Although the aforementioned example of man researching information contained in the Qur’an
deals with a non-Muslim, it is still valid because he is one of those who is knowledgeable in the
subject being researched.
Had some layman claimed that what the Qur’an says about embryology is true, then one would
not necessarily have to accept his word. However, because of the high position, respect, and
esteem man gives to scholars, one naturally assumes that if they research a subject and arrive
at a conclusion based on that research, then the conclusion is valid.
Skeptics, reaction
Dr. Moore also wrote a book on clinical embryology, and when he presented this information in
Toronto, it caused quite a stir throughout Canada. It was on the front pages of some of the
newspapers across Canada, and some of the headlines were quite funny. For instance, one
headline read: “Surprising thing found in ancient prayer book!” It seems obvious from this
example that people do not clearly understand what it is all about. As a matter of fact, one
newspaper reporter asked Professor Moore: “Don’t you think that maybe the Arabs might have
known about these things — the description of the embryo, its appearance and how it changes
and grows? Maybe they were not scientists, maybe they did some crude dissections on their
own — carved up people and examined these things.”
The professor immediately pointed out to him that he (the reporter) had missed a very important
point — all of the slides of the embryo that had been shown and that had been projected in the
film had come from pictures taken through a microscope. He said, “It does not matter if
someone had tried to discover embryology 14 centuries ago. They could not have seen it!”
All of the descriptions in the Qur’an of the appearance of the embryo are of the item when it is
still too small to see with the eye; therefore, one needs a microscope to see it. Since such a
device had only been around for little more than 200 years, Dr. Moore taunted, “Maybe 14
centuries ago someone secretly had a microscope and did this research, making no mistakes
anywhere. Then he somehow taught Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon
him, and convinced him to put this information in his book. Then he destroyed his equipment
and kept it a secret forever. Do you believe that? You really should not unless you bring some
proof because it is such a ridiculous theory.” In fact, when he was asked, “How do you explain
this information in the Qur'an?” Dr. Moore’s reply was, “It could only have been divinely
revealed!”
Geology
One of Professor Moore’s colleagues, Marshall Johnson, deals extensively with geology at the
University of Toronto. He became very interested in the fact that the Qur'an’s statements about
embryology are accurate, and so he asked Muslims to collect everything contained in the
Qur’an, which deals with his specialty.
Again people were very surprised at the accuracy of the findings. Since there are a vast number
of subjects discussed in the Qur'an, it would certainly require a large amount of time to exhaust
each subject.
It suffices for the purpose of this discussion to state that the Qur’an makes very clear and
concise and correct statements about various subjects while simultaneously advising the reader
to verify the authenticity of these statements with research by scholars in those subjects. And as
illustrated by the previous examples of embryology and geology, the Qur’an has clearly
emerged authentic.