The Day of Judgement in Islam: Signs, Resurrection, Reckoning, Paradise and Hell

The Day of Judgement is the day on which, Muslims believe, this world will end, Allah will raise the dead and every person will be judged and recompensed for their deeds. Belief in it is one of the six pillars of iman: in the hadith of Jibril, Sahih Muslim 8a, the Prophet defined faith as affirming Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Day of Judgement and the divine decree, and Quran 4:136 names the Last Day among the articles of faith.

Britannica summarises Islamic doctrine in the same terms: on the Last Day the dead will be resurrected and judgement pronounced on every person according to their deeds. It notes that the early chapters revealed in Makkah are much concerned with the Day of Judgement, and Quran 22:7 states that the Hour will come without doubt.

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The Quran gives the Last Day many names, each drawing out one aspect of it. The best known are Yawm al-Qiyamah, the Day of Resurrection (Quran 75:1), and Yawm ad-Din, the Day of Judgement or Recompense (Quran 1:4). Several chapters take their titles from these names. Translations below follow the version used on this site.

• Al-Yawm al-Akhir, the Last Day (Quran 4:136), and As-Sa'ah, the Hour (Quran 7:187).
• Yawm al-Hisab, the Day of Reckoning (Quran 40:27), and Yawm al-Fasl, the Day of Decision (Quran 78:17).
• Yawm al-Jam', the Day of Assembling, and Yawm at-Taghabun, a day of mutual disillusion (Quran 64:9).
• Al-Haqqah, the Reality (Quran 69:1); Al-Qari'ah, the Calamity (Quran 101:1); Al-Waqi'ah, the Event (Quran 56:1); Al-Ghashiyah, the Overwhelming (Quran 88:1).

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Only Allah knows when the Hour will come. Quran 7:187 tells the Prophet to say that its knowledge is with his Lord alone and that it will come suddenly, and Quran 31:34 and 33:63 repeat that knowledge of the Hour is with Allah. When Jibril asked the Prophet about it, he replied that the one asked knew no more than the questioner (Sahih Muslim 8a), and in Sahih al-Bukhari 50 he then recited Quran 31:34.

Its suddenness is part of the warning. Sahih al-Bukhari 7121 describes the Hour arriving while two people are spreading out cloth to trade and while a man raises food to his mouth. Claims to know the date, or to match signs with today's news, go beyond these sources.

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The minor signs are changes in people and society that authentic hadith report before the Hour. In the hadith of Jibril the Prophet gave two: that a slave woman would give birth to her master, and that barefoot, destitute herders would compete in constructing tall buildings (Sahih Muslim 8a; Sahih al-Bukhari 50). Sahih al-Bukhari 59 adds that when trust is lost, through authority being given to the unfit, one should wait for the Hour.

The reports give no dates and name no people. They are best read as reminders to keep trusts and act justly, not as a checklist for dating the end.

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The ten major signs come from one report. In Sahih Muslim 2901a, Hudhayfah ibn Asid al-Ghifari relates that the Prophet told the Companions the Hour would not come until they had seen ten signs, listed below. The fire from Yemen is named as the last, and no dates are given.

Several are mentioned elsewhere. Quran 27:82 speaks of a beast of the earth, Quran 21:96 of Gog and Magog let loose, and Sahih al-Bukhari 7121 links the sun rising from the west to Quran 6:158: faith professed only then will not benefit a soul.

• The smoke.
• The Dajjal.
• The beast.
• The rising of the sun from the west.
• The descent of Jesus, son of Mary.
• Gog and Magog.
• A landslide in the east.
• A landslide in the west.
• A landslide in Arabia.
• A fire that will come out of Yemen and drive people to their place of assembly.

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The Dajjal is a great deceiver whose trial the Prophet warned against. Sahih al-Bukhari 7131 reports that every prophet warned his people against the one-eyed liar, that your Lord is not one-eyed, and that 'kafir' is written between his eyes. Sahih Muslim 2937a advises reciting the opening verses of Surah Al-Kahf against him and describes Jesus, son of Mary, descending east of Damascus and killing him.

The Mahdi is described in Sunan Abi Dawud as a man from the Prophet's family who will fill the earth with justice as it had been filled with oppression. Sunan Abi Dawud 4283 and 4284 are graded Sahih (Al-Albani) on Sunnah.com and 4282 Hasan Sahih (Al-Albani), while a longer narrative in the same chapter, 4286, is graded Da'if (Al-Albani).

Scholars have weighed these reports differently. IslamQA quotes al-Shawkani and others who held the reports to be mass-transmitted and count the belief among those of Ahl al-Sunnah, and notes elsewhere that no authentic report fixes where he will appear. Britannica notes that the Quran does not mention him, that such reports are absent from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, and that many Sunni theologians question Mahdist beliefs, which form a necessary part of Shi'i doctrine.

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The Day begins with the trumpet: Quran 39:68 says all in the heavens and the earth swoon, and at a second blast they stand up, waiting. The dead hasten from their graves to their Lord (Quran 36:51), and Sahih al-Bukhari 4712 and 6527 describe every generation gathered on one plain, barefoot and unclothed. Quran 18:49 then says the Book of deeds is placed, leaving out nothing small or great, and Quran 21:47 promises a just balance so that no soul is wronged.

Authentic hadith add two scenes. In Sahih al-Bukhari 4712 people go from Adam to Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa and Isa seeking an intercessor, until the Prophet Muhammad prostrates beneath the Throne and is told to intercede. Sahih al-Bukhari 806 and 7439 describe as-sirat, a bridge over Hell crossed according to deeds. The texts do not always give one strict order, so the table follows their general outline.

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The Quran describes Paradise as a garden 'as wide as are the heavens and the earth' (Quran 3:133), with rivers of pure water, milk and clear honey (Quran 47:15), where people hear no idle talk, only 'Peace' (Quran 56:25-26). Quran 32:17 adds that no soul knows the joy kept hidden for them, and Quran 9:72 says Allah's acceptance is greater still.

Hell is described in stark terms as a warning, for example in Quran 4:56. Britannica's summary of Islamic doctrine describes Paradise and Hell as both spiritual and physical, and notes that most Islamic schools accept intercession. Sahih al-Bukhari 7439 tells of believers brought out of the Fire who had faith the weight of an atom.

Hope runs through the sources. Quran 39:53 tells people not to despair of Allah's mercy, for He forgives all sins. In Sahih Muslim 2752a the Prophet said Allah made mercy in one hundred parts and sent down one, from which all creatures show compassion, and Sahih Muslim 2753a says the other ninety-nine are kept for the Day of Resurrection.

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It turns attention from predicting the end to preparing for it. When a man asked when the Hour would come, the Prophet asked what he had prepared for it; the man said love of Allah and His Messenger, and was told, 'You will be with those whom you love' (Sahih al-Bukhari 6171). Sahih al-Bukhari 6018 links the same belief to ordinary conduct: whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not harm a neighbour, should honour a guest and should speak good or stay silent.

It also gives weight to justice. Britannica explains that because not all requital happens in this life, a final judgement completes it. In Sahih Muslim 2581 the Prophet described the truly bankrupt person as one who brings prayer, fasting and zakat but has abused or wronged others, so his good deeds go to those he harmed, and in Sahih Muslim 2577a Allah says it is people's own deeds that He records and repays.

• Do small good deeds steadily: Quran 99:7 says an atom's weight of good will be seen.
• Put right wrongs done to others while you can (Sahih Muslim 2581), and turn back to Allah after a slip without despair (Quran 39:53).
• In prayer, seek refuge from the trial of the Dajjal and the punishment of the grave (Sahih Muslim 588a).

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