{"id":7030,"date":"2020-06-07T00:33:09","date_gmt":"2020-06-07T05:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/?p=7030"},"modified":"2020-07-04T21:49:25","modified_gmt":"2020-07-05T02:49:25","slug":"the-journey-into-the-hereafter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/the-journey-into-the-hereafter\/","title":{"rendered":"The Journey into the Hereafter"},"content":{"rendered":"

(part 1 of 8): An Introduction<\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam who passed away in 632, related:
\n\u201cGabriel came to me and said, \u2018O Muhammad, live as you wish, for you shall eventually die. Love whom you desire, for you shall eventually depart. Do what you please, for you shall pay. Know that the night-prayer[1] is the honor of a believer, and his pride is being independant on others.\u2019\u201d(Silsilah al-Saheehah)<\/p>\n

If there is only one thing certain about life, it is that it ends. This truism instinctively raises a question which preoccupies most people at least once in their life: What lies beyond death?<\/p>\n

At the physiological level, the journey that the deceased takes is plain for all to witness. If left alone to natural causes,[2] the heart will stop beating, the lungs will stop breathing, and the body\u2019s cells will be starved of blood and oxygen. The termination of blood flow to the outer extremities will soon turn them pale. With the oxygen cut off, cells will respire anaerobically for a time, producing the lactic acid which causes rigor mortis \u2013 the stiffening of the corpse\u2019s muscles. Then, as the cells begin to decompose, the stiffness wanes, the tongue protrudes, the temperature drops, the skin discolors, the flesh rots, and the parasites have their feast – until all that is left is dried-out tooth and bone.<\/p>\n

As for the journey of the soul after death, then this is not something that can be witnessed, nor can it be gauged through scientific enquiry. Even in a living body, the conscious, or soul, of a person cannot be subjected to empirical experimentation. It is simply beyond human control. In this regard, the concept of a Hereafter – a life beyond death, resurrection, and a Day of Reckoning; not to mention the existence of a Divine, Omnipotent Creator, His angels, destiny, and so on – comes under the subject of belief in the unseen. The only way in which man can come to know anything of the unseen world is through divine revelation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd with God are the keys of the unseen, none knows them but He. And He knows whatever there is in (or on) the earth and in the sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record.\u201d (Quran 6:59)<\/p>\n

While what has come down to us of the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel – the scriptures revealed to early prophets – all speak of a Hereafter, it is only through God\u2019s Final Revelation to humanity, the Holy Quran, as revealed to His Final Prophet, Muhammad, that we learn most about the afterlife. And as the Quran is, and will forever remain, preserved and uncorrupted by human hands, the insight it gives us into the world of the unseen is, for the believer, as factual, real and true as anything that can be learnt through any scientific endeavor (and with a zero margin of error!).<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026We have neglected nothing in the Book; then unto their Lord they shall all be gathered.\u201d (Quran 6:38)<\/p>\n

Coupled with the question of what happens after we die, is the question: Why are we here? For if there is indeed no greater purpose to life (that is, greater than simply living life itself), the question of what happens after death becomes academic, if not pointless. It is only if one first accepts that our intelligent design, our creation, necessitates an intelligence and designer behind it, a Creator who will judge us for what we do, that life on earth carries any significant meaning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen did you think that We created you in vain and that to Us you would not be returned? Therefore exalted be God, the Sovereign, the Truth; no deity is there save Him, Lord of the Supreme Throne.\u201d (Quran 23:115-116)<\/p>\n

If aught else, a discerning person would be forced to conclude that life on earth is full of injustice, cruelty and oppression; that the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, is what is paramount; that if one cannot find happiness in this life, whether due to an absence of material comforts, physical love, or other joyous experiences, then life is simply not worth living. In fact, it is precisely because a person despairs of this worldly life while having little, no, or imperfect faith in an afterlife, that they may commit suicide. After all, what else do the unhappy, unloved and unwanted; the dejected, (desperately) depressed and despairing have to lose?![3]<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd who despairs of the Mercy of his Lord except those who are astray?\u201d (Quran 15:56)<\/p>\n

So can we accept that our death is limited to mere physiological termination, or that life is merely a product of blind, selfish evolution? Surely, there is more to death, and so to life, than this.<\/p>\n

Footnotes:
\n[1] Formal prayers (salat) prayed voluntarily at night after the last (isha) and before the first (fajr) of the five daily prayers. The best time to pray them is in the final third of the night.
\n[2] Although a heart can be kept artificially beating, and blood artificially pumping, if the brain is dead, so too is the being as a whole.
\n[3] According to a United Nations report marking \u2018World Suicide Prevention Day\u2019, \u201cMore people kill themselves each year than die from wars and murders combined … Some 20 million to 60 million try to kill themselves each year, but only about a million of them succeed.\u201d (Reuters, September 8, 2006)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(part 2 of 8): The Believer in the Grave<\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Grave World<\/strong><\/h4>\n

We will now take a brief look at the journey of the soul after death. This is truly an amazing story, all the more so because it is true and one which we all must take. The sheer depth of knowledge we have concerning this journey, its precision and detail, is a manifest sign that Muhammad was truly God\u2019s Last Messenger to humanity. The revelation he received and then communicated to us from His Lord is as unambiguous in its description of the afterlife as it comprehensive. Our glimpse into this knowledge will begin with a brief exploration of the journey of the believing soul from the moment of death to its final resting place in Paradise.<\/p>\n

When a believer is about to depart this world, angels with white faces come down from the heavens and say:
\n\u201cO peaceful soul, come out to forgiveness from God and His pleasure.\u201d (Hakim and others)<\/p>\n

The believer will look forward to meeting his Creator, as the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, explained:
\n\u201c\u2026when the time of the death of a believer approaches, he receives the good news of God\u2019s pleasure with him and His blessings upon him, and so at that time nothing is dearer to him than what lies ahead of him. He therefore loves meeting God, and God loves meeting him.\u201d (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)<\/p>\n

The soul peacefully passes out of the body like a drop of water which emerges from a water-skin, and the angels take hold of it:
\nThe angels gently extract it, saying:
\n\u201c\u2026Do not fear and do not grieve, but receive good tidings of the Paradise which you were promised. We were your allies in this worldly life and [are so] in the Hereafter, and you will have therein whatever your souls desire, and you will have therein whatever you request [or wish], as a hospitality from the Forgiving and Merciful.\u201d (Quran 41:30-32)<\/p>\n

Once extracted from the body, the angels wrap the soul in a shroud smelling of musk and ascend up to the heavens. As the Gates of Heaven open for the soul, the angels greet it:
\n\u201cA good soul has come from the earth, may God bless you and the body you used to dwell in.\u201d
\n\u2026introducing it with the best names it was called with in this life. God commands his \u201cbook\u201d to be recorded, and the soul is returned back to earth.<\/p>\n

The soul then remains in a place of limbo in its grave, called the Barzakh, awaiting the Day of Judgment. Two fearsome, dread-inspiring angels called Munkar and Nakeer visit the soul to ask it about its religion, God, and prophet. The believing soul sits upright in its grave as God grants it the strength to answer the angels with full faith and certainty.[1]<\/p>\n

Munkar and Nakeer: \u201cWhat is your religion?\u201d
\nBelieving soul: \u201cIslam.\u201d
\nMunkar and Nakeer: \u201cWho is your Lord?\u201d
\nBelieving soul: \u201cAllah.\u201d
\nMunkar and Nakeer: \u201cWho is your Prophet?\u201d (or \u201cWhat do you say about this man?\u201d)
\nBelieving soul: \u201cMuhammad.\u201d
\nMunkar and Nakeer: \u201cHow did you come to know these things?\u201d
\nBelieving soul: \u201cI read the Book of Allah (i.e. the Quran) and I believed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, when the soul passes the test, a voice from the heavens will call out:
\n\u201cMy slave has spoken the truth, supply him with furnishings from Paradise, clothe him from Paradise, and open a gate for him to Paradise.\u201d
\nThe believer\u2019s grave is made roomy and spacious and filled with light. He is shown what would have been his abode in Hell – had he been a wicked sinner – before a portal is opened for him every morning and evening showing him his actual home in Paradise. Excited and full of joyful anticipation, the believer will keep asking: \u2018When will the Hour (of Resurrection) come?! When will the Hour come?!\u2019 until he is told to calm down.[2]<\/p>\n

Footnotes:
\n[1] Musnah Ahmad
\n[2] Al-Tirmidhi<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(part 3 of 8): The Believer on Judgment Day<\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Day of Judgment<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u201cThat Day, a man shall flee from his brother; from his mother and his father; from his wife and his children. For on that Day, every man will have enough to make him indifferent to others.\u201d (Quran 80:34-37)<\/p>\n

The Hour of Resurrection will be a terrifying, overwhelming event. Yet, despite its trauma, the believer will be ecstatic, just as Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, related from his Lord:
\nGod says, \u201cBy My Glory and Majesty, I will not give My slave two securities and two terrors. If he feels secure from Me in the world[1], I will instill fear in him on the Day when I gather My slaves together; and if he fears Me in the world, I will make him feel safe on the Day when I gather My slaves together.\u201d[2]<\/p>\n

\u201cUnquestionably, for the allies of God there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve: those who believed and used to fear God (in this life); for them are good tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. No change is there in the words of God. Indeed in that is the great success.\u201d (Quran 10:62-64)<\/p>\n

When all humans ever created are gathered to stand naked and uncircumcised on a great plain under the ferocious scorching heat of the Sun, an elite group of pious men and women will be shaded under the Throne of God. The Prophet Muhammad foretold just who these fortunate souls will be, on that Day when no other shade will avail:[3]<\/p>\n

a just ruler who did not abuse his power, but established divinely revealed justice among people
\na young man who grew up worshipping his Lord and controlled his desires in order to remain chaste
\nthose who hearts were attached to the Mosques, longing to return every time they left them
\nthose who loved one another for God\u2019s sake
\nthose who were tempted by seductively beautiful women, but their fear of God stopped them from sinning
\nthe one who spent in charity sincerely for God\u2019s sake, keeping their charity secret
\nthe one who wept out of God\u2019s fear in solitude
\nSpecific acts of worship will also keep people safe on that day, namely:
\nefforts in this world to relieve the woes of the distressed, to help the needy, and to overlook the mistakes of others will relieve people\u2019s own distress on Judgment Day[4]<\/p>\n

leniency shown to the indebted[5]<\/p>\n

the just who are fair to their families and matters entrusted to them[6]<\/p>\n

controlling anger[7]<\/p>\n

whoever calls to prayer[8]<\/p>\n

growing old while in a state of Islam[9]<\/p>\n

performing ritual ablution (wudu\u2019) regularly and properly[10]<\/p>\n

those who fight alongside Jesus son of Mary against the Anti-Christ and his army[11]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

martyrdom<\/strong><\/h4>\n

God will bring the believer close to Him, shelter him, cover him, and ask him about his sins. After acknowledging his sins he will believe he is doomed, but God will say:
\n\u201cI concealed it for you in the world, and I forgive it for you this Day.\u201d
\nHe will be rebuked for his shortcomings,[12] but will then be handed his record of good deeds in his right hand.[13]<\/p>\n

\u201cThen as for he who is given his record in his right hand, he will be judged with an easy account and return to his people in happiness.\u201d (Quran 84:7-8)<\/p>\n

Happy to look at his record, he will announce his joy:
\n\u201cSo as for he who is given his record in his right hand, he will say, \u2018Here, read my record! Indeed, I was certain that I would be meeting my account.\u2019 So he will be in a pleasant life \u2013 in an elevated Garden, its [fruit] to be picked hanging near. [He will be told], \u2018Eat and drink in satisfaction for what you put forth in the days past.\u2019\u201d (Quran 69:19-24)<\/p>\n

The record of good deeds will then be weighed, literally, to determine whether it outweighs the person\u2019s record of bad deeds, and so that reward or punishment be meted out accordingly.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be treated unjustly at all. And if there is [any deed even] the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We to take account.\u201d (Quran 21:47)<\/p>\n

\u201cSo whoever worked even an atom\u2019s weight of good will see (the good fruits of his labor).\u201d (Quran 99:7)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe heaviest thing that will be placed in a person\u2019s Balance on the Day of Resurrection [after the testimony of Faith] is good manners, and God hates the obscene, immoral person.\u201d (Al-Tirmidhi)<\/p>\n

The believers will quench their thirst from a special reservoir dedicated to the Prophet Muhammad. Whoever drinks from it shall never experience thirst again. Its beauty, immenseness, and sweet, fine taste have been described in detail by the Prophet.<\/p>\n

The believers in Islam \u2013 both the sinful amongst them and the pious \u2013 as well as the hypocrites will be left in the great plain after the unbelievers are driven to Hell. A long bridge traversing the Hellfire and engulfed in darkness will separate them from Paradise.[14] The faithful will take strength and comfort in their swift crossing over the roaring fires of Hell and in the \u2018light\u2019 that God will place in front of them, guiding them to their eternal home:
\n\u201cOn the Day you see the believing men and believing women, their light proceeding before them and on their right, [it will be said], \u2018Your good tidings today are of gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein you will abide eternally.\u2019 Indeed in that is the great success.\u201d (Quran 57:12)<\/p>\n

Finally, after crossing the bridge, the faithful will be purified before they are entered into Paradise. All scores between believers will be settled so that no one man nurses a grudge against another.[15]<\/p>\n

Footnotes:
\n[1] In the sense that he does not fear God\u2019s punishment and thus commits sins.
\n[2] Silsila Al-Saheehah.
\n[3] Saheeh Al-Bukhari.
\n[4] Saheeh Al-Bukhari.
\n[5] Mishkat.
\n[6] Saheeh Muslim.
\n[7] Musnad.
\n[8] Saheeh Muslim.
\n[9] Jami al-Sagheer.
\n[10] Saheeh Al-Bukhari.
\n[11] Ibn Majah.
\n[12] Mishkat.
\n[13] Saheeh Al-Bukhari. A sign that they are from the inhabitants of Paradise, as opposed to those who will be given their record of deeds in their left hands or behind their backs.
\n[14] Saheeh Muslim.
\n[15] Saheeh Al-Bukhari<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

(part 4 of 8): The Believer and Paradise<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Paradise<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The believers will be ushered on towards the grand eight gates of Paradise. There, they will receive a joyous angelic reception and be congratulated on account of their safe arrival and salvation from Hell.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut those who feared their Lord will be driven to Paradise in groups until, when they reach it while its gates have been opened and its keepers say, \u2018Peace be upon you; you have become pure; so enter it to abide eternally therein.\u201d (Quran 39:73)<\/p>\n

(It will be said to the pious): \u201cO (you) the one in (complete) rest and satisfaction! Come back to your Lord, Well-pleased and well-pleasing unto Him! Enter you then among My honored slaves. Enter you My Paradise!\u201d (Quran 89:27-30)<\/p>\n

The best of the Muslims will enter Paradise first. The most righteous of them will ascend to the highest levels.[1]
\n\u201cBut whoever comes to God as a believer (in His Oneness, etc.) and has done righteous good deeds; for such are the high ranks (in the Hereafter).\u201d (Quran 20:75)<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the foremost (in faith) will be foremost (in the Hereafter); those are the ones brought near to God in the Gardens of Pleasure; they will enter in one rank with bright faces.\u201d (Quran 56:10-2)<\/p>\n

The Quranic description of Paradise gives us a vision of just what a fantastic place it is. An eternal home that will fulfill all our wholesome desires, seduce all our senses, grant us everything we could possibly want and much more besides. God describes His Paradise as having earth made of is fine musk powder,[2] soil of saffron,[3] bricks of gold and silver, and pebbles of pearls and rubies. Beneath the gardens of Paradise are flowing rivers of sparkling water, sweet milk, clear honey, and non-intoxicating wine. The tents on their banks are domes of hollow pearls.[4] The whole space is filled with sparkling light, sweet-smelling plants and fragrances that can be savored from afar.[5] There are lofty palaces, huge mansions, grapevines, date palms, pomegranate trees,[6] lotus and acacia trees whose trunks of made of gold.[7] Ripe, abundant fruit of all kinds: berries, citrus, drupes, grapes, melons, pomes; all kinds of fruit, tropical and exotic; anything the faithful could possibly desire!<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026And therein is whatever each soul desires and delights the eyes…\u201d (Quran 43:71)<\/p>\n

Each believer will have a most beautiful, pious and pure spouse, wearing exquisite clothing; And there will be so much more in a new world of eternal, radiant joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd no soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for eyes [i.e. satisfaction] as reward for what they used to do.\u201d (Quran 32:17)
\nAs well as physical delights, Paradise will also give its residents a state of emotional and psychological bliss, as the Prophet said:
\n\u201cWhoever enters Paradise is blessed with a life of joy; he will never feel miserable, his clothes will never wear out, and his youth shall never fade away. The people will hear a divine call: \u2018I grant you that you will be healthy and never fall sick, you will live and never die, you will be young and never age, you will be joyful and never feel miserable.\u2019\u201d (Saheeh Muslim)<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the thing that will most delight the eyes will be the Countenance of God Himself. For the true believer, to see this blessed vision of God is to have won the ultimate prize.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Some] faces, that Day, will be radiant, looking at their Lord.\u201d (Quran 75:22-23)<\/p>\n

This is the Paradise, the eternal home and final destination of the righteous believer. May God, Most High, make us worthy of it.<\/p>\n

Footnotes:
\n[1] Sahih al-Jami.
\n[2] Saheeh Muslim
\n[3] Mishkat
\n[4] Saheeh Al-Bukhari
\n[5] Sahih al-Jami
\n[6] Quran 56:27-32
\n[7] Sahih al-Jami<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(part 5 of 8): The Unbeliever in the Grave<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As death approaches the wicked disbeliever, he is made to feel something of the heat of the Hellfire. This taste of what is to come causes him to plead for a second chance on earth to do the good he knew he should have done. Alas! His pleading will be in vain.
\n\u201cUntil, when death comes to one of them, he says: \u2018O my Lord. Send me back to life (on earth) in order that I may do good deeds in the things that I neglected.\u2019 By no means! It is only an utterance that he says. And before them is a barrier (preventing them from returning: the life of the grave) until the Day (of Resurrection) they are ressurected.\u201d (Quran 23:99-100)<\/p>\n

Divine wrath and punishment is conveyed to the wicked soul by hideously ugly, dark angels who sit far away from it:
\n\u201cReceive glad tidings of boiling water, wound discharge, and multiple, similar torments.\u201d (Ibn Majah, Ibn Katheer)
\nThe disbelieving soul will not look forward to meeting its Lord God, as the Prophet explained:
\n\u201cWhen the time of the death of a disbeliever approaches, he receives the evil news of God\u2019s torment and His Requital, whereupon nothing is more hateful to him than what is before him. Therefore, he hates the meeting with God, and God too, hates the meeting with him.\u201d (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)<\/p>\n

The Prophet also said:
\n\u201cWhoever loves to meet God, God loves to meet him, and whoever hates to meet God, God hates to meet him.\u201d (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)<\/p>\n

The Angel of Death sits at the head of the disbeliever in his grave and says:\u201cWicked soul, come out to the displeasure of Allah\u201d as he snatches the soul out of the body.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the overwhelming pangs of death while the angels extend their hands, saying, \u2018Save yourselves! Today you will be awarded the punishment of extreme humiliation for what you used to say against God other than the truth, and that you were, toward His verses, being arrogant.\u201d (Quran 6:93)<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if you could not see when the angels take the souls of those who disbelieved\u2026 striking their faces and their backs and saying, \u2018Taste the punishment of the Blazing Fire.\u2019\u201d (Quran 8:50)<\/p>\n

The evil soul leaves the body with great difficulty, drawn out by the angels as a thronged skewer is dragged through wet wool.[1] The Angel of Death then seizes the soul and puts it in a sack woven from hair which gives off a putrid stench, as foul and offensive as the most foul-smelling rotting corpse found on earth. The angels then take the soul up past another company of angels who inquire: \u201cWho is this wicked soul?\u201d to which they reply: \u201cSo and so, the son of so and so?\u201d – using the very worst of names that he was ever called during his time on earth.<\/p>\n

Then, when he is brought to the lowest heaven, a request is made that its gate be opened for him, but the request is denied. Whilst the Prophet was describing these events, when he reached this point, he recited:
\n\u201cThe gates of heaven will not be opened for them and they will not enter paradise until a camel can pass through the eye of a needle.\u201d (Quran 7:40)<\/p>\n

God will say: \u201cRecord his book in Sijjeen in the lowest earth.\u201d
\n\u2026and his soul is cast down. At this juncture, the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, recited:
\n\u201cHe who assigns partners to Allah is as if he had fallen down from heaven and been snatched up by the birds, or made to fall by the wind in a place far distant.\u201d (Quran 22:31)<\/p>\n

The wicked soul is then restored to its body and the two fearsome, dread-inspiring angels, Munkar and Nakeer, come to it for its interrogation. After making him sit up, they ask:
\nMunkar and Nakeer: \u201cWho is your Lord?\u201d
\nDisbelieving soul: \u201cAlas, alas, I do not know.\u201d
\nMunkar and Nakeer: \u201cWhat is your religion?\u201d
\nDisbelieving soul: \u201cAlas, alas, I do not know.\u201d
\nMunkar and Nakeer: \u201cWhat do you say about this man (Muhammad) sent to you?\u201d
\nDisbelieving soul: \u201cAlas, alas I do not know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having failed his test, the disbeliever\u2019s head will be struck with an iron hammer with a force so violent that it would crumble a mountain. The cry will be heard from heaven: \u201cHe has lied, so spread out carpets of Hell for him, and open for him a portal into Hell.\u201d[2] The floor of his grave is thus set alight with some of Hell\u2019s fierce fire, and his grave is made narrow and constricted to the extent that his ribs become intertwined as his body is crushed.[3] Then, an incredibly ugly being, wearing ugly garments and giving off a foul and offensive odor comes to the disbelieving soul and says: \u201cBe grieved with what displeases you, for this is your day which you have been promised.\u201d The disbeliever will ask: \u201cWho are you, with your face so ugly and bringing evil?\u201d The ugly one will reply: \u201cl am your wicked deeds!\u201d The disbeliever is then made to taste bitter remorse as he is shown what would have been his abode in Paradise – had he lived a righteous life – before a portal is opened for him every morning and evening showing him his actual home in Hell.[4] Allah mentions in His Book how the wicked people of Pharaoh are, at this very moment, suffering from such an exposure to Hell from within their graves:
\n\u201cThe Fire: they are exposed to it, morning and afternoon, and on the Day when the Hour will be established (it will be said to the angels): \u2018(Now) cause Pharaoh\u2019s people to enter the severest torment!\u2019\u201d (Quran 40:46)<\/p>\n

Overcome with fear and loathing, anxiety and despair, the disbeliever in his grave will keep asking: \u201cMy Lord, do not bring the last hour. Do not bring the last hour.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Companion, Zaid b. Thabit, narrated how, when the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions were once passing some graves of polytheists, the Prophet\u2019s horse bolted and almost unseated him. The Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, then said:
\n\u201cThese people are being tortured in their graves, and were it not that you would stop burying your dead, I would ask God to let you hear the punishment in the grave which I (and this horse) can hear.\u201d (Saheeh Muslim)<\/p>\n

Footnotes:
\n[1] Al-Hakim, Abu Dawood, and others.
\n[2] Musnad Ahmad.
\n[3] Musnad Ahmad.
\n[4] Ibn Hibban.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(part 6 of 8): The Unbeliever on Judgment Day<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A great terror will befall the resurrected on the mighty Day of Resurrection:
\n\u201c\u2026He only delays them until a Day when eyes will stare (in horror).\u201d (Quran 14:42)<\/p>\n

The unbeliever is resurrected from his \u2018grave\u2019 as described by God:
\n\u201cThe Day they will emerge from the graves rapidly as if they were, toward an erected idol, hastening. Their eyes humbled, humiliation will cover them. That is the Day which they had been promised.\u201d (Quran 70:43)<\/p>\n

The heart will be trembling, confused about what evil retribution lies in store for it:
\n\u201cAnd (other) faces, that Day, will have upon them dust. Blackness will cover them. Those are the unbelievers, the wicked ones.\u201d (Quran 80:40-42)<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd never think that God is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. He only delays them (i.e., their account) until a Day when eyes will stare (in horror). Racing ahead, their heads raised up, their glance does not come back to them, and their hearts are void.\u201d (Quran 14:42)<\/p>\n

The disbelievers will be gathered as they were born – naked and uncircumcised \u2013 upon a great plain, driven on his faces, blind, deaf, and mute:
\n\u201cWe will gather them on the Day of Resurrection (fallen) on their faces \u2013 blind, dumb, and deaf. Their refuge is Hell; every time it subsides We increase them in blazing fire.\u201d (Quran 17:97)<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd whoever turns away from My remembrance \u2013 indeed, he will have a depressing life, and We will gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind.\u201d (Quran 20:124)<\/p>\n

Three times they will \u201cmeet\u201d God. The first time they will attempt to defend themselves in futile argument against God Almighty, saying things such as: \u201cThe prophets did not come to us!\u201d Even though Allah revealed in His Book:
\n\u201c\u2026And never would We punish until We sent a messenger.\u201d (Quran 17:15)<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026Lest you say: \u2018There came unto us no bringer of glad tidings and no warner\u2026.\u2019\u201d (Quran 5:19)<\/p>\n

The second time, they will present their excuses while acknowledging their guilt. Even the devils will try to excuse themselves from their crimes of leading men astray:
\n\u201cHis (man\u2019s) personal demon will say: \u2018Our Lord! I did not push him to transgress. Rather, he was himself in error, far astray.\u2019\u201d (Quran 50:27)<\/p>\n

But God, Most High and Just, will not be fooled. He will say:
\n\u201cDispute not in front of me. I have already advanced before you the threat. The sentence that comes from Me cannot be changed. And I am not unjust (in the least) to the slaves.\u201d (Quran 50:28-29)<\/p>\n

The third time the wicked soul will meet its Maker to receive its Book of Deeds[1], a record omitting nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the record [of deeds] will be placed [open], and you will see the criminals fearful of that within it, and they will say: \u2018Oh, woe to us! What is this book that leaves nothing small or great except that it has enumerated it?\u2019 And they will find what they did present [before them]. And your Lord does not do injustice to anyone.\u201d (Quran 18:49)<\/p>\n

Upon receiving their records, the wicked ones will be rebuked in front of the whole of mankind.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they will be presented before your Lord in rows, (and He will say), \u2018You have certainly come to Us, just as We created you the first time.\u2019 But you claimed that We would never have an appointment!\u201d (Quran 18:48)<\/p>\n

The Prophet Muhammad said: \u201cThese are the ones who did not believe in God!\u201d[2] And it is these whom God will question regarding the blessings they took for granted. Each one will be asked: \u2018Did you think We would meet?\u2019 And as each one will answer: \u2018No!\u2019 God will tell him: \u2018I will forget about you as you forgot Me!\u2019[3] Then, as the disbeliever will attempt to lie his way out, God will seal his mouth, and his body parts instead will testify against him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat Day, We will seal over their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will testify about what they used to earn.\u201d (Quran 36:65)<\/p>\n

Besides his own sins, the disbeliever will also bear the sins of those he misled.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when it is said to them: \u2018What has your Lord sent down?\u2019 They say: \u2018Legends of the former peoples,\u2019 that they may bear their own burdens (i.e., sins) in full on the Day of Resurrection and some of the burdens of those whom they misguide without knowledge. Unquestionably, evil is that which they bear.\u201d (Quran 16:24-25)<\/p>\n

The psychological pain of deprivation, loneliness and abandonment will all to the physical torture.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026and God will not speak to them or look at them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them; and they will have a painful punishment.\u201d (Quran 3:77)<\/p>\n

While the Prophet Muhammad will intercede on behalf of all believers, no intercessor will the disbeliever find; he who worshipped false deities besides the One, True God.[4]<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026And the wrongdoers will not have any protector or helper.\u201d (Quran 42:8)<\/p>\n

Their saints and spiritual advisors will dissociate themselves, and the disbeliever would wish he could come back to this life and do the same to those who now disown them:
\n\u201c(And they should consider that) when those who have been followed disassociate themselves from those who followed (them), and they [all] see the punishment, and cut off from them are the ties [of relationship]. Those who followed will say, \u2018If only we had another turn [at worldly life] so we could disassociate ourselves from them as they have disassociated themselves from us.\u2019 Thus will God show them their deeds as regrets upon them. And they are never to emerge from the Fire.\u201d (Quran 2:167)<\/p>\n

The sorrow of the sin-ridden soul will be so intense that he will actually pray:\u2018O God, have mercy on me and put me in the Fire.\u2019[5] He will be asked: \u2018Do you wish you had a whole earth-full of gold so you could pay it to set yourself free?\u2019 To which he will answer: \u2018Yes.\u2019 Whereupon he will be told: \u2018You were asked for something much easier than that – worship God alone.\u2019[6]<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they were not commanded except that they should worship Allah (alone), being sincere to the upright religion (of Islam)\u2026.\u201d (Quran 98:5)<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the disbelievers \u2013 their deeds are like a mirage in a lowland which a thirsty one thinks is water until, when he comes to it, he finds it is nothing, but he finds God before Him, Who will pay him in full his due; and God is swift in account.\u201d (Quran 24:39)<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd We shall turn to what deeds they have done, and We shall make them as dust dispersed.\u201d (Quran 25:23)<\/p>\n

The disbelieving soul will then be handed in his left hand and from behind his back, his written record which was kept by angels who noted his every deed in his earthly life.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut as for he who is given his record in his left hand, he will say: \u2018Oh, I wish I had not been given my record, and had not known what is my account.\u2019\u201d (Quran 69:25-26)<\/p>\n

\u201cBut as for he who is given his record behind his back, he will cry out for his destruction.\u201d (Quran 84:10-11)
\nFinally, he will be made to enter Hell:
\n\u201cAnd those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups until, when they reach it, its gates are opened and its keepers will say: \u2018Did there not come to you messengers from yourselves, reciting to you the verses of your Lord and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?\u2019 They will say: \u2018Yes, but the word (i.e., decree) of punishment has come into effect upon the disbelievers.\u2019\u201d (Quran 39:71)<\/p>\n

The first to enter Hell will be the pagans, followed by those Jews and Christians who corrupted the true religion of their prophets.[7] Some will be driven to Hell, others will fall in it, snatched by hooks.[8] At that point, the disbeliever will wish that he had could have been turned into dust, rather than reap the bitter fruits of his evil works.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, We have warned you of a near punishment on the Day when a man will observe what his hands have put forth and the disbeliever will say: \u2018Oh, I wish that I were dust!\u2019\u201d (Quran 78:40)<\/p>\n

Footnotes:
\n[1] Ibn Majah, Musnad, and Al-Tirmidhi.
\n[2] Saheeh Muslim.
\n[3] Saheeh Muslim.
\n[4] Saheeh Al-Bukhari.
\n[5] Tabarani.
\n[6] Saheeh Al-Bukhari.
\n[7] Saheeh Al-Bukhari.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Source: https:\/\/www.islamland.com\/eng\/articles\/the-journey-into-the-hereafter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(part 1 of 8): An Introduction   Introduction Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam who passed away in 632, related: \u201cGabriel came to me and said, \u2018O Muhammad, live as you wish, for you shall eventually die. Love whom you desire, for you shall eventually depart. Do what you please, for you shall pay. Know that … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[122],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hereafter"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"gform-image-choice-sm":false,"gform-image-choice-md":false,"gform-image-choice-lg":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Site Admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/author\/admin2\/"},"uagb_comment_info":55,"uagb_excerpt":"(part 1 of 8): An Introduction   Introduction Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam who passed away in 632, related: \u201cGabriel came to me and said, \u2018O Muhammad, live as you wish, for you shall eventually die. Love whom you desire, for you shall eventually depart. Do what you please, for you shall pay. Know that…","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcT0IL-1Po","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7150,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/the-true-richness\/","url_meta":{"origin":7030,"position":0},"title":"The True Richness","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/11\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"(part 1 of 2) Many people mistakenly assume that true wealth and real treasure is that of money. It is indeed true that wealth is a great blessing from God which He bestows upon His servants. And the one who earns it purely, and spends it properly, and gives it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doctrine and Sects"","block_context":{"text":"Doctrine and Sects","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/category\/doctrine-and-sects\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1605,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/a-brief-introduction-to-islam-part-2-of-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":7030,"position":1},"title":"A Brief Introduction to Islam (part 2 of 2)","author":"Site Admin","date":"03\/20\/2016","format":false,"excerpt":"By Daniel Masters, AbdurRahman Squires, and I. Kaka The Quran The Arabic word \u201cAl-Quran\u201d literally means \u201cthe recitation\u201d.\u00a0 When used in regards to Islam, the word Quran means God\u2019s final message to mankind, which was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.\u00a0 The Quran, sometimes spelled Koran, is the literal the word\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Introducing Islam"","block_context":{"text":"Introducing Islam","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/category\/introducing-islam\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/brief-introduction-to-Islam-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/brief-introduction-to-Islam-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/brief-introduction-to-Islam-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/brief-introduction-to-Islam-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/brief-introduction-to-Islam-2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8450,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/der-wahre-reichtum\/","url_meta":{"origin":7030,"position":2},"title":"Der wahre Reichtum","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/20\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"(part 1 of 2) \u00a0 Many people mistakenly assume that real wealth and real wealth is that of money. It is indeed true that prosperity is a great blessing from God that He gives to His servants. And whoever deserves it in a pure way, donates it properly and gives\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Glaubenslehre und Sekten"","block_context":{"text":"Glaubenslehre und Sekten","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/category\/glaubenslehre-und-sekten\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7032,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/the-justice-of-judgement\/","url_meta":{"origin":7030,"position":3},"title":"The Justice of Judgement","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/07\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cYou never get a second chance to make a good first impression\u201d --old proverb True belief has a reward in the hereafter. Disbelief does too, buuuut \u2026 you don\u2019t want it. Such has been the message of all the prophets\u2014each and every one of them. How can we justify an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Hereafter"","block_context":{"text":"The Hereafter","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/category\/hereafter\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8456,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/die-freuden-des-paradieses\/","url_meta":{"origin":7030,"position":4},"title":"Die Freuden des Paradieses","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/20\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"(part 1 of 2) The reality of paradise is something that people cannot understand before actually entering it, but God has given us glimpses of it in the Quran. He describes it as a place that differs fundamentally from life in this world, both in the nature and meaning of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Jenseits"","block_context":{"text":"Jenseits","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/category\/jenseits\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5918,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/the-pleasures-of-paradise-part-1-of-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":7030,"position":5},"title":"The Pleasures of Paradise (part 1 of 2)","author":"Site Admin","date":"02\/11\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The reality of Paradise is something which people will never be able to understand until they actually enter it, but God has shown us glimpses of it in the Quran.\u00a0 He has described it as a place essentially different to the life of this world, both in the very nature\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Islam"","block_context":{"text":"Islam","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/category\/main-services\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Pleasure-of-Paradise-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Pleasure-of-Paradise-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Pleasure-of-Paradise-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Pleasure-of-Paradise-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7030"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11366,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7030\/revisions\/11366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}