Most Read in the Category of Belief in the Hereafter

Belief in the hereafter and the things that will happen in the hereafter has an important place in the fundamentals of belief. The fundamentals of belief are generally summarized as “belief in Allah and in the hereafter.” in the Quran. 

Man who was created by the power and will of Allah will die after living in this world for a while and his body will decay and turn to soil. However, the spirit that forms the essence and the real existence of man will continue to live since it is not something material.

Allah, who created man out of nothing, will create his body again on the Day of Judgment, will send his spirit back to him again, will account man for what he did in the world and punish and reward him.  

Therefore, man needs to believe in the life in the hereafter and work for his happiness there just as he believes in this worldly life  and tries to be happy here. In fact, this world is a place of trial, a center of examination and the area of cultivation for the hereafter. Whatever you sow here, you will reap in the hereafter. Therefore, the life in the hereafter is the purpose of the life in this world.  Man should work for the life in the hereafter and for his happiness there just as he works for this world.

Man can do it only by believing in the hereafter, obeying the orders of Allah, refraining from His prohibitions, doing good deeds, thus, attaining the consent of Allah, that is, by leading a complete Islamic life.

Therefore, our Prophet said, “"Work for this world as if you would live forever, and work for the hereafter as if you would die tomorrow."

After stating the importance of belief in the hereafter, we can summarize its effects on man’s life as follows:

Belief in Allah and the hereafter, the land of eternity, is the greatest assistant in renewing people’s hopes, relieving their pains and coping with the difficulties they face.

A person with such a belief will show patience against all troubles, will try to overcome the barriers and misfortunes he faces with enthusiasm and hope. 

Belief in the hereafter makes man have two nice attributes:

1. To thank Allah for the bounties He has given during the time of welfare,

2. To show patience and not to rebel against Allah during the time of shortage and famine... 

Belief in Allah and the hereafter leads man to do good deeds and charities, to avoid evil and bad deeds, to be equipped with high ethics and merits, to fear Allah and to obey the divine criteria imposed by Him in anything he does. 

A person with such a belief will never abandon honesty. He will do everything in time and fully. He behaves honestly toward himself, his family, his environment, his country and nation and humanity. He accepts it a principle to show love and compassion to them, to be useful for them and to serve them.  

He never abandons justice; he never oppresses anyone. If he wants to be rich, he will never do something bad or deceive anyone. He spends his money and property on good and useful things. He knows his rights and respects the rights of others. He takes pleasure in helping the poor. He wants for his believing brothers what he wants for himself because he definitely believes in the hereafter, the day of reward and punishment and knows that what is done in this world will be accounted for in the hereafter; he bases his acts on this principle. That principle is an important factor that arranges the lives of individuals and the society, and ensures peace and tranquility.

Mahshar is the place where the people who were resurrected will come out of their graves and gather. People will be questioned in that place, their books of deeds will be given to them; after their deeds are weighed, they will cross a thin bridge called Sirat; and then, they will go to either Paradise or Hell.

Since the time that will start after the Doomsday strikes is called the hereafter, belief in the hereafter means to believe that the life of the world will end like everything else, that it will assume a different form, that people will be resurrected and come out of their graves, that they will be accounted for what they did in the world, that their deeds will be weighed and their books of deeds will be delivered to them, that people will cross the bridge of Sirat and that the good people will go to Paradise while the bad people go to Hell.

The hereafter is the time that starts with the end of this world and that goes on forever. The beginning of the hereafter is the Doomsday, that is, the end of this world.

It is a bridge set up over Hell. Everybody crosses this bridge based on the plenitude of their deeds, the strength and light of their belief.

Unbelievers and the owners of bad deeds although they are believers cannot cross this bridge and will fall into Hell. Unbelievers will stay there forever but believers with sins will go to Paradise after being punished for their sins in Hell. Our Prophet stated the following regarding the issue:

“Crossing Sirat Bridge depends on the life of each person. Some will pass it as fast as a wink, some like a lightning, some like a cloud, some like a shooting star and some like a racehorse.”

Kawthar is a great pool that Allah grants His Prophet on the Day of Judgment. Its water is sweet, clear and refreshing. Believers with good deeds will drink water from it and quench their thirst caused by the horror of the Day of Judgment.

The Book of Deeds is the book in which the good and bad deeds that a person does in the world are written. There are two angels with each person called Kiraman Katibin (Honorable Recorders) appointed to record them. When people are reckoned on the Gathering Day, those books written by angels will be given to their hands. It will be said to each person, “Read thine (own) record”. If bad deeds are more than good deeds in the Book, it will be given to that person’s left hand; if good deeds are more than bad deeds in the Book, it will be given to that person’s right hand. The person who is given the book by the left hand will scream and yell, feeling a great repentance; the person who is given the book by the right hand will be very joyful and happy.

It is the supplication and praying of the Prophet and some other great personalities to Allah for the forgiveness of some sinful believers and for the elevation of obedient believers to higher ranks on the Day of Judgment. 

Our Prophet owns a great intercession that was not given to any other prophets. He will use that intercession on the Day of Judgment in order to enable people to be saved from the horror of Mahshar by finishing their reckoning.

His intercession on the Day of Judgment is called “Shafa’ah al-Uzma” (Great Intercession). That privilege and high rank of intercession given to our Prophet is called “Maqam al-Mahmud” (the Station of Praise and Glory).

Apart from the great intercession of our Prophet related to humanity, there will be his special intercession for his ummah. 

"From Ibn Abbas: Hazrat Prophet reported the following from Ruhu'l-Amin (Hazrat Jibril): The rewards and sins of a person are brought on the Day of Judgment and calculated). Even if there is only one good deed left, Allah grants that person His bounties in Paradise." (Ibn Kathir)

It means people will account for what they did in the world to Allah after being resurrected; they will be questioned by Allah.

Every person, whether good or bad, will tell about everything he/she did in the world himself/herself. All of the organs like the hands, feet, eyes, and ear will say, “I did this; I did that”; everything that was done will be presented. Then, everybody will try to give his/her account; nobody will be able to think of anybody else.

After the Doomsday strikes, everything will be destroyed, there will be no living being left; only Allah will exist. After that, non-existence will continue for a while, Allah will order Israfel to blow the Trumpet for a second time. After the Trumpet is blown, He will create the bodies of human beings again, and send the spirits to those bodies; thus, He will revive the dead.

All heavenly religions have a common belief regarding that belief.

The following is stated in the Quran:

“And he makes comparisons for us, and forgets his own (Origin and) Creation: He says "Who can give life to (dry) bones and decomposed ones (at that)?" Say "He will give them life Who created them for the first time! For He is well-versed in every kind of creation!―.” (Ya-Seen, 78-79).

That verse states that reviving is possible and even easier than creation.

The following verses confirm the same meaning:

“Were We then weary with the first Creation, that they should be in confused doubt about a new Creation?”

“They say: "What! when we are reduced to bones and dust, should we really be raised up (to be) a new creation?" Say: "(Nay!) be ye stones or iron, Or created matter which, in your minds, is hardest (to be raised up)--(yet shall ye be raised up)!" Then will they say: "Who will cause us to return?" Say: "He Who created you first!...’” (al-Isra, 49-51).

“They swear their strongest oaths by Allah, that Allah will not raise up those who die: Nay but it is a promise (binding) on Him in truth: but most among mankind realize it not..” (an-Nahl, 38)

“It is He who sendeth the winds like heralds of glad tidings going before His Mercy: when they have carried the heavy-laden clouds, We drive them to a land that is dead, make rain to descend thereon, and produce every kind of harvest therewith: thus shall We raise up the dead: perchance ye may remember.” (al-A’raf, 57).

The verses that mention resurrection in the Quran always emphasize this: “God Almighty, who can create things out of nothing, who can create the immense universe and who can greenify the barren dead soil, can doubtlessly revive the human body that dies and turns to soil and send his spirit back to his body.”

* * * 

• We know that when man dies, his body decays and becomes part of the soil. Then, how will his body be revived?

Our Prophet made the following explanation regarding the issue:

“The whole body of the son of Adam will be eaten by dust except ajb adh-dhanab (coccyx) for he was created from it and his body will be reconstructed starting with it”

According to the statement of the hadith, there is a basic particle called ajb adh-dhanab that does not decay or disappear in every man. It is like a nucleus or seed. The human body will be constructed based on it just like a tree being constructed based on a seed. The same thing is valid in the creation and revival of man. The spirit will be returned to the human body that is constructed based on ajb adh-dhanab; thus, that man will be revived and re-created with his spirit and body. Badiuzzaman stated the issue as follows:

“Some particles called ajb adh-dhanab are like the seeds of the plants; they are the seeds of man, and the human body is reconstructed based on it during the resurrection.” (İşârâtü’l-İ’câz).

Hell is a place of torture with 7 layers created wholly for unbelievers but in which believers with sin will also stay for a while.

It is a measurement of justice for weighing the deeds of everybody. The amount of good and bad deeds is weighed by it.

When God Almighty weighs the deeds in Mizan, He will judge based on whether good deeds are more than bad deeds or not. Since the reasons for bad deeds and sins are a lot and they are easy to commit, He will sometimes forgive many bad deeds and sins due to a good deed of His slave that he is pleased with... There are many hadiths reported from the Prophet regarding the issue. One of them is as follows:

“While a man was walking toward Makkah, he felt thirsty. He went down a well that he saw on the way, quenched his thirst and came out. On coming out of it, he saw a dog. It was panting and eating mud because of excessive thirst. The man thought, 'This (dog) is suffering from thirst as I did. If it cannot find water, it will die.’ He felt sorry for the animal.  So, he (went down the well), filled his shoe with water, caught hold of it with his teeth and climbed up and watered the dog. He saved the dog’s life. Allah was pleased with him for his (good) deed; He praised him in the presence of angels, forgave him and put him into Paradise...”

In some narrations, it is recorded that the person who gave water to the dog was a whore. 

Believers should act in accordance with this principle of justice of Allah in Mizan in their relations and treatments among themselves.

It should not be forgotten that if a man’s good deeds are more than his bad deeds quantitatively or qualitatively, he is worthy of love and respect.

The resurrection, gathering, reckoning, scales, crossing the bridge of Sirat, entering Paradise and hell; they all will take place in the hereafter.

Paradise is a place of reward with eight layers that exists now, full of material and spiritual bounties undreamed of. Believers will attain many bounties in Paradise. The greatest of them is to see God Almighty and watch His jamal (face). It is reported that this bounty is better, more valuable and enjoyable than all of the other bounties in Paradise. 

Somebody saw Abu Ali Dakkak in his dream after his death. He was crossing Sirat Bridge, which was very wide. He asked Abu Ali Dakkak

– We know Sirat to be thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword. Can you explain this situation? He received the following answer:

– That sentence is right but it changes depending on the person who crosses Sirat. If a person acts freely in the world and does not heed the orders and prohibitions of Allah, he will cross a narrow bridge here. If he acts carefully and obeys the orders and prohibitions of Allah in the world, he will cross a wide bridge here..."

Hazrat Ibrahim often went to Makkah from Palestine and visited his son Ismail and daughter-in-law Hagar. In one of these usual visits, he had to travel along the coast. He saw a carcass of an animal. The waves hit the carcass and the fish and the sea animals that came with the waves ate that carcass. When the waves ebbed, this time, the land animals and birds started to eat the carcass. Each animal snatched a piece from the carcass and ate it.  

The scene that Hazrat Ibrahim saw made him curious. He thought, “I wonder how God Almighty will revive this animal. How will He bring the parts that are in the stomachs of different animals together?”

That thought aroused in him the desire to see the event of “reviving”. He turned to Allah and started to pray:

"My Lord! show me how you give life to the dead.”

 Allah said: "Do you not believe that Allah will revive them? Do you have any doubts about it"

 Ibrahim answered: "Oh my Lord! I definitely believe that you will revive the dead. However, I want to see that wondrous act with my own eyes and satisfy my heart."

Man sometimes wants to see the things that he believes and knows definitely with his own eyes. It is quite natural.

What Hazrat Ibrahim wanted was something like that. He definitely believed that Allah will revive the dead. He had no doubt about it. However, he was curious about reviving and wanted to see it with his own eyes.

It is thought-provoking that Allah asked Hazrat Ibrahim, “Do you not believe?” although He knew his intention. Thus, He made it possible for Ibrahim to utter his belief. Allah did not want the people who heard about it later to think bad things about him.

God Almighty accepted the wish of Ibrahim to see how He revived the dead and said to him:

 He said: "Take four birds from different species; make them familiar with you. Then cut them into pieces; mix the pieces; then put a portion of them on every hill that you see around. Then call to them using their names; you will see that they will come to you with all of their organs complete, with speed."

Hazrat Ibrahim fulfilled that command. First, he found the birds and became familiar with them. Then, he slaughtered them. He plucked them and divided each bird into four pieces. He mixed those four parts with the other parts and put their heads there too. He put the pieces on the top of four mountains. When he called to them with their names, he saw that all of them flew toward him.

When he saw the scene, his heart began to throb because he saw with his own eyes the truth of the reviving of the dead. Therefore, he praised Allah and thanked Him. His heart became fully satisfied and tranquil..

(Mehmed Dikmen - Peygamberler Tarihi)

As everything will die, the world will die, too. Sooner or later, the order and balance of the world will be broken, and everything in the world and in the sky will die. It is called Qiyama.

When Israfel blows the Trumpet (Soor), the earth and the sky will start to shake and everything will be upside down. The quake of Qiyama will be so horrible and terrifying that everybody will be stupefied, the earth will move. The mountains will be thrown like cotton, the things in the sky will be disarrayed, the sun, which illuminates the world, will be dark and break into pieces, the seas will boil and merge into one another, everything under the earth will come up, in short, the order and balance of the world and the skies will be broken and everything will be upside down. 

It is definite that the Doomsday will strike by the statements of all religious and holy books as well as by reason and science.

There are many scientific theories about the destruction of the world and the universe; it has been proved by calculations that the universe will end sooner or later, and the Doomsday will strike. 

Abdurrahman bin Abi Uqayl reported the following. I went to the Prophet with a group of people from Thaqif. We made our camels crouch in front of the gate. Everybody looked at us angrily as we walked in. However, when we walked out, we had liked everybody. One of us said, "O Messenger of Allah! Why did you not want a sultanate like that of Solomon?" The Prophet answered that question smiling: "What has been given to me is superior to the sultanate of Solomon in the presence of Allah. Allah gave every prophet a right of prayer. Some of the prophets wanted something from the world and it was given to them. Some cursed their nations because they rebelled, and their nations were destroyed. I am going to use the right that Allah gave me on the Day of Judgment for the shafa’ah (intercession) of my ummah."

***

"I was asked to choose between these two options: half of my ummah would go to Paradise or I would be given to right for intercession. I chose intercession because it is more comprehensive. Do not think that it is only for those who have taqwa; it is also for the sinners who made mistakes." (Qadi Iyad, Shifa)