Where on Earth will everyone be on the Last Day when Allah resurrects us and gets ready to judge everybody?

Where on earth will everyone be on the Last Day when Allah resurrects us and gets ready to judge everybody?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The place where we will be resurrected after the Final Hour is not the earth. It is Mahshar (the place of gathering/resurrection).

MAHSHAR (PLACE OF GATHERING)

This word refers to a name of place meaning the place where people gather, derived from the verb “ha-sha-ra”. It means the place where all people gather in order to be questioned, after the second blowing of the Trumpet (nafha-i thani), having been resurrected and leaving their graves. Mahshar is called “mawqif” (the place where people will gather so as to be questioned) and that time is called “Yawmu'l-Hashr”. To explain it in detail, in the first nafha (the first time the Trumpet will be blown), all beings will die except for the angels whom Allah wills to keep alive, and the order of the earth and the heavens will be lost. Then, after the order of the heavens and of the extended earth is ordained in a different way, during the second nafha (the second blowing of the Trumpet) the spirit of every human and jinn is unified with their resurrected bodies. “The Trumpet will be blown, and so all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth will fall dead, except those whom God wills to exempt. Then it will be blown for the second time, and see, they have all stood upright, looking on (in anticipation).” (The Qur'an, Az-Zumar, 39:68)  After being resurrected, everybody is dispatched to the place named “mahshar” and will be gathered there: “...and the Trumpet will be blown, then We will gather them all together.” (The Qur'an, Al-Kahf, 18:99) “On the Day when the earth is changed into another earth, and the heavens (also), they all appear before God, the One, the All-Overwhelming.” (The Qur'an, Ibrahim, 14:48) Mahshar where the resurrected creatures are gathered will be a new place extraordinarily extensive, even, without pillars and construction. The Prophet, peace and blessings upon him, said: “On the day of resurrection, people will gather on a ground brownish white like perfectly smooth bread made out of genuine flour.” (From Bukhari and Muslim, Mansur Ali Nasif, at-Taj, Istanbul 1962, V, 365).

As we learn from a hadith narrated by Abu Hurayra from The Prophet (PBUH), people will be dispatched to Mahshar in three groups: first, by walking; second, on a mount; third, in fire torment (From Bukhari and Muslim, M.A.Nasif, at-Taj, 364). According to another narration by Tirmidhi, the third group will be brought to Mahshar crawling facedown (at-Taj, V, 365). 
After gathering in Mahshar, Humans and jinns will be held waiting for a long time in various fears and distresses in order to be questioned. It is said that this time is between a thousand and fifty thousand years long. In Mahshar, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) will be given the “Liwau'l-Hamd” (the standard of thanks). Firstly Prophet Adam, all prophets will gather under the flag/standard of Allah's Messenger (PBUH) (Tirmidhi, at-Taj, V, 385).

In Mahshar, the person who will intercede (Shafaat) in order for humans' questioning and reckoning to be made quickly is our great Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). That shafaat of his is called “Shafaat-i Uzma” (The Great Shafaat). That rank and degree which he reaches is called “Makam-i Mahmud”. To illustrate, in  Mahshar the sun of Mawqif (place of gathering) will be neared above people's heads. People will encounter grave distresses and hardships which they can't bear, and will wait for a very long time in intense fear and dismay. They will search for a person to intercede (shafaat) so that they can be saved from that hard situation. Some people will tell some others to go to Prophet Adam, peace be upon him. Prophet Adam will remember his eating from the forbidden tree, and send them to Prophet Noah, peace be upon him. Prophet Noah will send them to Prophet Abraham, and he will send them to Prophet Moses. And Prophet Moses will tell them to go to Prophet Jesus. And Prophet Jesus will send them to Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings upon them all, the last one of the prophets. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) will prostrate and will offer thanks and praises to Allah with the most beautiful thanks and praises inspired to him. Then, Allah will say to him: “O Muhammad! Raise your head; look, what you asked for will be given; ask for shafaat, your shafaat will be accepted.” And he will pray to Allah and Allah will answer his prayer. After that, questioning and reckoning among slaves (humans) will start. A great court of law will be set and everybody will be asked to account for every deed they performed in the world, their records of deeds will be delivered and Mizan (The Order) will be set. Everybody will be called for with their leaders in unbelief and misguidance or with their guides in belief and guidance. About that, it is stated in The Qur'an: “On the Day when We will call every human community with its leader: whoever (has followed a leader towards true faith and righteousness and accountability in the Hereafter) is given his Record (of his life) in his right hand – those will read their book with contentment, and they will not be wronged by even so much as a tiny hair.” (The Qur'an, Al-Isra', 17:71) Everybody will be told: “Read your book!” (The Qur'an, Al-Isra', 17:14) And every human will understand what is written in their book of deeds. “Allah says to the slave: 'Today, as witness, your soul is enough; and as witnesses, the angels of Kiraman Katibin (the angels which write down every deed of humans) are enough' and his mouth is sealed and his organs explain what they did in the world.” (From Muslim, at-Taj, V, 372) “That Day, We will set a seal upon their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will bear witness to what they earned (in the world).” (The Qur'an, Ya-Sin, 36:65)

After human dies, his/her body is decomposed and his/her molecules and atoms are transferred to other animals and humans. When Allah resurrects human in the Hereafter, Allah will create a molecule which He protects from being a DNA for other humans and which He saves from getting lost and which completely contains the plan of human's body. And while creating him from that molecule in the same form, He will add his other parts, too. Actually, the human body is completely renewed every five to six years in the world through creation of new cells in place of the dead and shed cells. Therefore, the body and organ of human in Mahshar are not the same as those in the world. If it is asked: “Then, how can the organs of humans which are created out of new materials even if identical to the former ones, bear witness to the crimes committed by his/her former organs?” the correct answer to that is as follows:

Human is human with his/her spirit. Human spirit does not change and does not die. It stays the same undamaged. The information of all  deeds that humans consciously perform in the world is retained in his/her spirit. Allah will seal human's mouth in the Hereafter and will make his organs such as his hand and foot tell that information in his/her spirit about what s/he did, in an extraordinary way.

In the Hereafter, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) will be blessed with a colossal pool the length of which will be as much as the distance from Medina to San'a, or from Ayla, a town in Damascus, to San'a. Its water is whiter than milk, its odor better than musk, and its taste better than honey. And its cups are as big as the stars in the sky. Whoever drinks from it for once does not ever have thirst. (From Bukhari and Muslim, at-Taj, V, 380) Thus, before entering Paradise, Believers quench their thirst caused by the dismay of Mahshar by drinking from the water of that pool. In a hadith narrated by Tirmidhi with an interesting record, it is also stated: In Mahshar, “Every prophet will have a pool. I hope that among them I will be the one who comes the most often to his pool to drink water.” (From Tirmidhi, at-Taj, V, 378) The Prophet also stated in one of his hadiths: “The time when some of those who come to the pool are turned back, I will say 'They are my community.' It will be said 'You cannot know what they did after you (that they turned away from their religion)'. And I will say 'From now on, let those who change their religion be ruined!'” (From Bukhari and Muslim, at-Taj, V, 379)

After the questioning of humans is finished in Mahshar, the Bridge of Sirat will be built between Mahshar and Cannat (Paradise) over Cahannam (Hell). Humans will be dispatched in crowds to Hell and to Paradise. (Sa'daddin Taftazani, Sharhu'l-Maqasid, II, 222-223, Istanbul 1305; Abdussalam b. Ibrahim al-Lakkani, Sharh-u Jawharati't-Tawhid, Egypt, 1955/1375, p. 231-234; Fahraddin ar-Razi, Mafatihu'l-Gayb, Istanbul, 1308)
Muhiddin BAĞÇECİ

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