And that the whole story of Last Judgment which looks such a horrifying experience - 1

But Ye - Ye Were Not Aware!
On the Day that the Hour (of Reckoning) will be established,
The transgressors will swear that they tarried not but an hour:
Thus were they used to being deluded!
But those endued with knowledge and faith will say:
"Indeed ye did tarry, within Allah's Decree, to the Day of Resurrection,
And this is the Day of Resurrection: but ye - ye were not aware!"
So on that Day no excuse of theirs will avail the transgressors,
Nor will they be invited (then) to seek grace (by repentance.)
Verily We have propounded for men in this Qur'an every kind of Parable:
But if thou bring to them any Sign, the Unbelievers are sure to say,
"Ye do nothing but talk vanities."
Thus does Allah seal up the hearts of those who understand not.
So patiently persevere: for verily the promise of Allah is true:
Nor let those shake thy firmness, who have (themselves) no certainty of faith.

surah 30:55-60 Al Rum (The Romans)
(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, Amana Corporation, 1989.)

"Main Entry: tarry
a: to delay or be tardy in acting or doing
b: to linger in expectation

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

"But the Muslims do not want to talk about Resurrection (Al Qadr: The Night of Power) at all because they want to frighten people with the Doomsday (Al Qariah: Day of Noise and Clamor). They don't want to talk about the Resurrection Time which is going to come, which is the intermediary time, because they want to use the time which will frighten people by saying that: 'Now your Doomsday is coming! Now your Doomsday is coming!'"

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

"Though you can understand that Mother's Love makes it very easy for you to get to your Realization and that the whole story of Last Judgment —which looks such a horrifying experience— has been made very beautiful, and very tender, and delicate, and does not disturb you."

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
Bombay, India - September 28, 1979

Islamic view of the Last Judgment
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yawm al-Qiyamah (literally: "Day of the Resurrection") is the Last Judgment in Islam. Belief in Qiyâmah is part of Aqidah and is a fundamental tenet of faith in Islam. The trials and tribulations associated with it are detailed in both the Qur'an and the Hadith, as well as in the commentaries of the Islamic expositors and scholarly authorities such as al-Ghazali, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Majah, Muhammad al- Bukhari, and Ibn Khuzaimah who explain them in detail. Every human, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, is held accountable for his or her deeds and are judged by Allah accordingly (Qur'an 74.38). Al-Qiyâmah is the 75th sura of the Qur'an.

Etymology
Qiyâmah is called "day of reckoning" at Qur'an 71.18. It is also known as "the Hour" (Qur'an 31.34, 74.47), "Day of the Account" (Qur'an 72.130), "Day of the Gathering", "Day of the Reckoning", "Day of Distress" (Qur'an 74.9) and the "Great Announcement".

Overview
At a time unknown to man, but preordained [1], when people least expect it, Allah will give permission for the Qiyâmah to begin. The archangel Israfil, referred to as the Caller, will sound a horn sending out a "Blast of Truth" (Qur'an 50.37-42, 69.13-18, 74.8, 78.18). This event is also found in Jewish eschatology, in the Jewish belief of "The Day of the Blowing of the Shofar", Yom Terua and in Ezekiel 33:6:

All men and women fall dead,[citation needed] Those who were evil, did not believe in God's will power or did bad things will be engulfed in hellfire.[2] On the other hand, those who truly believe in God, and are pious, referred to as Al-Ghurr-ul-Muhajjalun[3] due to the trace of ritual ablution performed during their lives, repent their sin and return to "jannah (the Garden) beneath which rivers flow".[4] The world is destroyed. The dead rise from their graves and gather, waiting to be judged for their actions.[5]

The Qur'an also states that even the smallest acts of the believers will not be wasted. "anyone who has an atom's worth of goodness will see it and anyone who has done an atom's worth of evil will also see it" (Qur'an 99:7-8). Those who do good if they are Muslims, will be rewarded not only in this world but also in the world hereafter. However, the final Judgment is up to God himself. (Qur'an 2:62) [2]

"He questions: "When is the Day of Resurrection?". At length, when the sight is dazed, And the moon is buried in darkness. And the sun and moon are joined together." (75.6-9)

This ayat is interpreted in many ways. Classical commentators Al- Jalalayn, Al-Tabari and Al-Qortobi interpret this verse as meaning that the sun and moon are joined in darkness, rather than physically merged together.

The Gathering
'Alameen (humankind, the Jinn, and all other living beings) are gathered upon a vast, white, featureless ground, under intense heat of the Sun overhead. They are naked, uncircumcised and crowded together to the point where some are submerged in their own sweat, as in the beginning of creation.[6] The degree to which one is submerged in sweat depends on the extent of one's piety and goodness. The faces of those who practiced good adab by following the Five Pillars of Islam in their daily lives are nadirah (shining and radiant). On the other hand, the faces of disbelievers are basirah (dark, sad and frowning).[7]. The creatures thus wait to be brought before God for their judgment.

The Qur'an mentions the duration of the Qiyamah as 50,000 years.[8] Maulana Muhammad Ali interprets this ayat as, "...A day of the spiritual advancement of man is spoken of as being equal to fifty thousand years to show immense vastness of that advancement. Or, the day of fifty thousand years may be the day of final triumph of Truth in the world, from the time when revelation was first granted to man."

Some believe that signs of Qiyamah have already occurred.[9] People beseech the prophets to intercede on their behalf, Abraham, Moses, Adam, and Noah, all of whom decline to do so and instead point to Muhammad, who intercedes on behalf of the world.[10] Abraham meets his father Azar whose face is dark and covered with dust. When Abraham demands that his father not be disgraced he is informed that on this day no one is above reproach.[11] Abraham finds a blood- stained Dhabh beneath his feet which will be caught and thrown into Hell.

Adam is ordered by Allah to bring all of those who rejected Islam to Jahannam. He asks how many he should bring and Allah answers, "From every one thousand, take out nine-hundred-and ninety-nine." At that time children will become hoary headed (Qur'an 73.12), previously healed wounds will reappear (Sahih Bukhari, book 4 "Ablution", number 238), every pregnant female will have a miscarriage. One sees mankind as drunken, yet the people are sober, but dreadful is the Wrath of God (Qur'an 69.47, Sahih Bukhari, book 55 "accounts of the prophets", number 567.)

Rejection of false Gods
Idols will assert that only Allah is Lord, and that they were wrongfully worshipped. The Qur'an and Hadith state that Jesus returns and denies he claimed he is God (Qur'an 43.61). In regard to idolatry, Muhammad said, "If any religious man dies amongst those people they would build a place of worship at his grave and make these pictures in it. They will be the worst creature in the sight of Allah on Qiyama (the Day of Resurrection)," (Sahih Bukhari, book 8 "Prayers", number 409 [419 in the USC MSA database.])

Personification in Qiyâmah
The personification of objects that are not normally considered anthropomorphic is a recurrent motif in Kalam (Islamic theology) regarding the wa'dul akhirati (promise of afterlife). For instance, artists who depict living creatures are tormented by their creations. Allah infuses each with a soul due to the Islamic prohibition against artists depicting beings that have "souls", interpreted as meaning all animals including humans.

In the grave one faces either a reassuring man (his or her good deeds), or a foul-looking creature (his or her sins).[citation needed] Again, this recurs in the subject of the Qiyâmah. For instance, the Qu'ran appears as an anthropomorphic being that greets those who loved it in their lives and offers them some solace. In the same vein, accounts in primary Islamic literature mention that at some point, perhaps after creatures are confined to either jannah (paradise) or jahannam (hell), Death will be brought forth in the form of a black or white ram. It will be slaughtered in front of everyone and a caller will explain, "O people of Paradise! Eternity for you and no death. O people of Hell! Eternity for you and no death," hence the slaying of the ram symbolises the 'Death of Death'. [12]

Barzakh
Barzakh is a sequence that happens after death, in which the archangel Azrael with the help of other less significant angels will separate the soul from the body, either harshly or painlessly depending on how righteous the person was during their lifetime (Qur'an 79.1-2). Three main events take place chronologically which constitute the Barzakh sequence:

The separation of the soul and the body.
Nakir and Munkar's (two Islamic Angels) interrogation of the soul in its grave.
"Who is your (lord)?"
"What is your way of life?"
"Who is your leader?" Sura 17.71
The "Waahsh" or the horror of the grave, the pressure of the grave depending on whether the person was righteous or not.
Muhammad(PBUH) referred to the interrogation as, "...the worst hours of a man's life".

Shia use this event when presenting arguments about the Status of a Shia Imam.

Al-Kawthar
Believers will be led by Muhammad to a vast basin or lake-fount called al-kawthar, where their thirst will be sated with a white-colored drink that tastes like sweetened milk. Whosoever drinks it, never thirsts thereafter. In one hadith al-kawthar is said to be a river of paradise (al-Bukhari, book 76, hadith 583.) Sahih Bukhari, in book 76 (the book of tenderness), the chapter on the basin contains at least 14 hadiths regarding it.

"Seeing" Allah
According to Imam Muslim and Muhammad al-Bukhari believers will not see Allah until they have died. Again, classical commentators, with the notable exception of Ibn Taymiya, prefer the safe route of interpreting that Hadith as neither literal (haqiqi) nor figurative, but most if not all agree that it answers the question in the affirmative; believers will see God. Another Hadith states that believers will be able to see their Lord, just as we are able to see the sun or the moon in the sky. When God reveals Himself to the faithful, a Hadith states that those who during their life would not pray of their own free will will be made to fall on their backs.

Most of these hadith are reported on the authority of Abu Huraira. Most Shi'a dismiss them, because they distrust certain sahaba, including Abu Huraira and also from a philosophical point of view.

Judgment
During judgment, a man's or a woman's own book of deeds will be opened, and they will be apprised of every action they did and every word they spoke (Qur'an 54.52-53). Actions taken during childhood are not judged. The account of deeds is so detailed that the man or woman will wonder at how comprehensive the account is, that even minor and trivial deeds are included. When the Hour is at hand, some will deny that al-Qiyâmah is taking place and will be warned that al-Qiyâmah precedes the Day of Pining (distress) (Qur'an 30.55-57, 19.39). If one denies a deed he or she committed, or refuses to acknowledge it, his or her body parts will testify against him or her.

The Qur'an states that some sins can condemn someone to hell. These include lying, dishonesty, corruption, ignoring God or God's revelations, denying the resurrection, refusing to feed the poor, indulging in opulence and ostentation, and oppressing or economically exploiting others.[13]

Throughout judgment, however, the underlying principle is that of a complete and perfect justice administered by Allah. The accounts of judgment are also replete with the emphasis that Allah is merciful and forgiving, and that mercy and forgiveness will be granted on that day insofar as it is merited.

This is similar to some Protestant theologies that state that salvation is by the grace of God, and not by deeds. Islam, however, emphasizes that grace does not conflict with perfect justice.

Jahannam (Hell) and Jannah (Heaven)
After judgment(also the yum al aakhira) all men and women are made to cross over a deep abyss, whence the flames of Jahannam (Hell) leap up, on as-Sirt, a thorny bridge so thin that it cannot be seen. It is said in Hadith that crossing the bridge is such a difficult task, because the bridge is as thick as one seventh strand of hair, and as sharp as the edge of a sword. The believers and those destined for Jannah are able to cross quickly and safely, seeing it as a thick stone bridge, whereas others fall off this hair-thin bridge into Jahannam.

Concerning the matter of reward or Jannah {(Heaven) (paradise) and Jahannam (punishment), there is the subject of the Intercession Hadiths classified as sahih state that Muhammad will be allowed to intercede on behalf of all of mankind, as opposed to the prophets who preceded him who were only able to appeal to nations (Sahîh al-bukhari, book 7 "Tayammum (rubbing hands and feet with dust)", number 331.) Furthermore, a believer will be allowed to plead for members of his family and for his loved ones. Throughout the discourse regarding the ultimate destiny, the consistent tenet is that being sent to Jannah (paradise) or to Jahannam(hell) is a matter in Allah's hands alone (or, in Christian parlance, a matter determined by grace). God is thus the ultimate arbiter and qadi (judge) as to who remains in Jahannam(hell) and who is rescued.

Redemption
In one Hadith, it is related that after the Intercession of Muhammad, Allah Himself intercedes, repeatedly ordering His angels to fetch out of Jahannam (hell) any who sincerely professed the Shahada (Sahih Bukhari, book 3 "book of learning or knowledge", number 97 (98 in another edition)) until the angels are ordered to return and find anyone with even an atom's measure of goodness in his or her heart. Those who have worshipped false gods, or have participated in shirk (idol worship) are not rescued from Jahannam (hell) and instead remain there forever. After the Intercession, life resumes, either in Jannah (paradise) or in Jahannam (hell).

Signs
Among many hadith related to signs of day of judgment, one of the most famous hadith is Hadith of Gabriel.

A narration attributed to Abu Hurairah reports:

" One day while the Prophet was sitting in the company of some people, (The angel) Gabriel came and asked, "What is faith?" Allah's Apostle replied, 'Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, (the) meeting with Him, His Apostles, and to believe in Resurrection." Then he further asked, "What is Islam?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah Alone and none else, to offer prayers perfectly to pay the compulsory charity (Zakat) and to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan." Then he further asked, "What is Ihsan (perfection)?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you." Then he further asked, "When will the Hour be established?" Allah's Apostle replied, "The answerer has no better knowledge than the questioner. But I will inform you about its portents.
When a slave (lady) gives birth to her master.
When the shepherds of black camels start boasting and competing with others in the construction of higher buildings. And the Hour is one of five things which nobody knows except Allah.
The Prophet then recited: "Verily, with Allah (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour--." (31. 34) Then that man (Gabriel) left and the Prophet asked his companions to call him back, but they could not see him. Then the Prophet said, "That was Gabriel who came to teach the people their religion." Abu 'Abdullah said: He (the Prophet) considered all that as a part of faith. Sahih Bukhari 1:2:47"

The Mahdi
The coming of the Mahdi (also Mehdi and meaning "the divinely guided one"), which precedes the Second Coming of Isa (Jesus), triggers the redemption of Islam and the defeat of its enemies. The exact nature of the Mahdi differs between Shi'ah Muslims and Sunni Muslims, but both agree that Isa (Jesus) and the Mahdi work together to fight evil in the world and to cement justice on Earth. Will unite the Muslims and true Christians under true Islam and abolish Jizya.

"Even if the entire duration of the world's existence has already been exhausted and only one day is left before Qiyama (Doomsday) (Day of Judgment), Allah will expand that day to such a length of time, as to accommodate the kingdom of a person out of my Ahlul Bayt who will be called by my name. He will then fill out the earth with peace and justice as it will have been full of injustice and tyranny before then."

Sahih Tirmidhzi, V2, P86, V9, P74-75.

The Mahdi comes from Mecca and rules from Damascus, Syria. Isa (Jesus) will defeat Dajjal (literally: deceiver; the false Messiah,) and then shall live on Earth for many years. According to some traditions Isa (Jesus) will get married and have a family, and then die.

The antichrist is physically misshapen, and blind in one eye. He deceives the faithful, teaching them that Jannah is Jahannam and vice versa through his power to work miracles. Upon his head are the Arabic letters [[kaf]], [[fa]] and [[ra]] (kufr). He will revive the dead, and claim to be a god. Some traditions of Islam relate that he will appear at Isfahan, and that he will rally Jews to his support. However, that is not necessarily a majority view.

Muhammad asked his followers to recite the first and last ten verses of Chapter 'The Cave' as protection from the Dajjal. He also taught his followers to pray, "O Allah! I seek refuge in Thee from the trial of the Dajjal." He also said, There is no tribulation greater than that of the Dajjal from the creation of Adam to Qiyama (the day of resurrection).

Mark of the Beast
In the text, Signs of Qiyamah, Muhammad Ali Ibn Zubair Ali states that after the arrival of the Enlightened One, Imam Mahdi, "the ground will cave in, fog or smoke will cover the skies for forty days (ayah). A night three nights long will follow the fog. After the night of three nights, the sun will rise in the west. The Beast of the Earth shall emerge. The beast will talk to people and mark the faces of people. A breeze from the south shall cause all the believers to die. The Qur'an will be lifted from the hearts of the people."

Notes
^ Qur'an 17.49-51, 34.28-30, 72.25-26, 79.42-44, Sahih al-Bukhari, book 2 ("book of faith"), number 47
^ (Qur'an 2.174-6, 72.4, 72.15, 73.12, 74.26-27, 74.42-46, 79.36-39
^ Sahih Bukhari, book 4 "Ablution", number 133; 138 in another edition
^ Qur'an 58.21, 61.2, 64.9, 65.11, 66.8-11, 68.17-32, 69.21-24, 70.32- 38, 71.12, 74.40, 76.12-14, 78.32, 79.40-41, 80.28-31, 85.11, 88.8-11
^ Qur'an 11.102-7
^ Qur'an 21.104; Sahih Bukhari, book 55 "accounts of the prophets",
number 656; Qur'an 5.117-118
^ Qur'an 75.22-24
^ Qur'an 70.4
^ Qur'an 42.17, 47.18, 70.6-7
^ Qur'an 74.48; Sahih Bukhari, book 55 "accounts of the prophets", number 555, 569
^ Sahîh al-Bukhârî, book 55 "accounts of the prophets", number 581
^ Sahih al-Bukhari Volume 6, Book 60, Number 254 [1]
^ Encyclopedia of Islam and Muslim World, p.565
References
The Qur'an
al-Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari (hadith collection)
fath al-bârî fî sharh sahîh al-bukhârî (hadith collection)
Al-Ghazâli, Ihya' `Olôm al-dîn (Revival of religious sciences)
Signs of Qiyamah
Esposito, John (2003). The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-512558-4.
Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World. (2003). Ed. Richard C. Martin, Said Amir Arjomand, Marcia Hermansen, Abdulkader Tayob, Rochelle Davis, John Obert Voll. MacMillan Reference Books. ISBN 978- 0028656038.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiyamah

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