The Day of Judgment in Islam...

All praises is due to Allah. We praise Him, ask him, and seek his forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from evils of ourselves and mischiefs of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, cannot be misguided. Peace and blessings be upon the Final Messenger Muhammed, on his family and his noble companions , Ameen

Belief in Doomsday is one of the fundamentals and pillars of faith. It is the day when everyone is to get recompense and punishment for one’s work and has to go to heaven or hell according to one’s deeds. This is the reason each and every Prophet warned his people of the Day of Judgement.

As for the knowledge of the time of Qiyamah (End of the World) , it has not been given to any angel or Prophet. Nobody besides Allah knows when the final hour is.
The Quran states, O Prophet the infidels ask you about the time of Qiyamah. So tell them that it’s knowledge is with Allah only.   (Surah Luqman)

However certain events are going to take place prior to the coming of the final hour. These events are known as the Signs of Qiyamah. All the Prophets informed their people of the signs of the final hour. Our Prophet Muhammed  being the last and the seal of Prophets, knowing that Doomsday is to come upon this very ummah, explained clearly and in considerable detail the signs of the final hour to the extent that sometimes he  would lecture his companions all day on this subject.
 Abu Zaid (R.A.) says, ‘The Holy Prophet  sat down on the pulpit after Fajar Prayer and began a deliver a long sermon until the time for Zohr prayer came. After saying the Zohr prayer he  again sat on the pulpit and began the sermon, which continued till Asr prayer. After the Asr prayer he  resumed the sermon so much so that the sun set. he  related whatever happened in the past and also related in detail whatever is to happen in the future. Those amongst us who had good memories retained many things.’ (Muslim)

The signs of the final hour can be divided into two groups.
1) Minor signs
Minor signs are events of normal nature prophesised by our Prophet Muhammed  to take place before Qiyamah like the consumption of alcohol, lifting of knowledge and prevalence of ignorance and immorality and signs of this nature. The majority of the minor signs have appeared while some are occurring and some will appear with major signs.
2) Major signs
Major signs ae events of extraordinary nature prophesied by our Prophet  to take place before Qiyamah like all the events mentioned in the following hadith narrated by Hudhaifa ibn Usayd that the Prophet  said, ‘The last hour will not arrive till  you have seen ten signs. He  then mentioned the Smoke, Dajjal, Beast, Rising of the Sun from the place of it’s setting, the Descent of Isa, Ya’juj Ma’juj, Three Landslides, one in the East , one in the West and one in the Arabian Peninsula after that a Fire would spread from Yemen and drive the people to their place of gathering.’ (Muslim).

Symptoms of The Day of Judgment

 Verily one day, the earth, the skies, humans, jins and Angels will all expire. Only Almighty Allah is All Existing. Before the world comes to an end, a few signs shall become apparent.

1. Three earth‑shattering earthquakes will occur causing many people to be swallowed by the earth. One will occur in the East, one in the West and one in Arabian Peninsula.

2. Knowledge will be taken away, in other words, the Ulama will be taken away from this world (very swiftly). This does not mean that the Ulama will remain and the knowledge will be taken from their hearts (It means that the Ulama will pass from this world).

3. There shall be an excess of ignorance.

4. Adultery will be in abundance. This will be so open, like donkeys mate with one another (without any shame). There will be no modesty between the old and the young.

5. The population of men will decrease and the population of women will increase. For every one man, there will be fifty women.

6. With the exception of the big ‘Dajaal’ there will be thirty other Dajaals, and all of them will claim to be Prophets, even though the door of Prophethood has been sealed. Some of these Dajaals have already passed, such as Musailama Kazaab, Tuwaila bin Khuwaild, Aswad Ansi, Sajjah (was a female who later accepted Islam) and Ghulam Ahmed Qadiani, etc. (and others like Rashad Khalifa etc)

7. There shall be an abundance of wealth. The river Euphrates will unveil its treasures which will form mountains of gold.

8. Lush vegetation and orchards will grow in the Arabian Desert.

9. To remain firm on Islam will be as difficult as holding burning coals in ones hand. People will go to the graveyard and wish that they were amongst the dead.

10. There will be no barkat in time. A year will pass like a month, one month will pass like one week, one week will pass like one day and one day will pass so fast, like when something burns rapidly after catching fire. In other words, time will pass very swiftly.

11. People will feel it a burden to give their Zakaat. They will think of it as a punishment.

12. People will study religion but not for the purpose of religion.

13. Husbands shall become the slaves of their wives.

14. Children will disrespect their parents.

15. People will associate with their friends and shun their fathers.

16. There will be shouting and bickering in Musjids.

17. Music will be in abundance.

18. People will curse their predecessors and use bad language when addressing them.

19. Wild animals (Lions, tigers etc.) will converse with humans. The tip of whips and the tongues of shoes will talk. They will say whatever a person did whilst in the market place.

20. Those disgraced persons who once had no clothes or shoes to wear, will live in huge mansions with pride and arrogance.

21. The appearance of Dajaal. With the exception of Haramain Sharifain (Makkah and Madinah), he will travel the entire world in forty days. In the forty days, the first day will be equivalent to one year, the second day will be equivalent to one month, the third day equivalent to one week and the rest of the days shall all be of twenty fours each. He will travel with great swiftness, like the strong winds steer the clouds. His fitna (corruption) will be very potent. He will have with him a garden and a huge fire. He will refer to his garden as Jannat and his fire as Jahanum. These will go with him where ever he goes. That which looks like a garden, will be fire and that which seems like fire, will be a garden. He will claim to be Allah. He will enter all those who bring faith in him into his garden and he will enter all those who reject him into his fire. He will bring the dead back to life, He will command barren land to grow lush vegetation, He will cause it to rain, He will cause the livestock to become healthy, When he enters a barren land, those buried there will rise and follow him like swarms of bees. He will show various other amazing signs, and in reality all these will be illusions and the tricks of shaitaan. They shall have no bearing with reality. When he leaves any place, the people living there shall be left with nothing. He will try to enter Makkah and Madinah, and the Angels appointed by Almighty Allah will turn him away from this direction. Three earth tremors shall occur in Madinah Shareef. There will be those who live in Madinah under the pretext of being Muslims, but they will be kaafirs and their end will be with dajaal. These people will leave Madinah with fear of the earth tremors and will join the army of dajaal. The army of the Jews will be with dajaal. The word ‘Kaafir’ will be engraved on his forehead. All true Muslims will see this clearly, but the kaafirs will not be able to see this. After travelling the world, he will go to Syria. At this time, Hazrat Esa (alaihis salaam) will descend on the Eastern Minaret of the Jaame Musjid of Damascus. It will be early in the morning. The Iqaamat for Namaaz‑e‑Fajr would have already been called out. Hazrat Imam Mahdi (radi Allahu anhu) will be present in this Jamaat. Hazrat Esa (alaihis salaam) will command him to lead the Fajr Namaaz. Hazrat Imam Mahdi (radi Allahu anhu) will lead the congregation and Dajaal will start melting through the fragrant breath of Hazrat Esa (alaihis salaam), like salt melts in water. This fragrant scent of Hazrat Esa’s (alaihis salaam) breath will spread for as far as the eye can see. He will flee and Hazrat Esa (alaihis salaam) will pursue him, and throw a spear into his back, sending him towards the fire of hell.

22. We have briefly explained the descending of Hazrat Esa (alaihis salaam) above. During his era, there shall be abundance of wealth. If any person gives wealth to another in this time, then he shall refuse it. There shall be no jealousy and hatred during this time. Hazrat Esa (alaihis salaam) will destroy all the crucifixes (crosses ‑ symbol of Christians). He will kill the swine. All the people of the book will accept Islam and bring Imaan on him. At this time, there shall be only one religion in the world and that will be Deen‑e‑Islam and one Mazhab namely Mazhab‑e‑Ahle Sunnat. During this time, children will play with snakes and goats and lions will graze together. Hazrat Esa (alaihis salaam) will be on the earth for forty years. He will marry and have children. After he passes away, he will be laid to rest in the Rauza‑e‑Anwar (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam).

23. A brief synopsis of Hazrat Imam Mahdi’s (radi Allahu anhu) arrival is as follows: A time will come when the entire world will be trapped in kufr. During this time, all the Abdaals and the Awliyah from all over the world will make Hijrat to Harimain Sharifain. It will be the only place where there will be Islam. The rest of the world will be filled with kufr. It will be the month of Ramadaan and the Abdaals will be making tawaaf of the Kaaba and Imam Mahdi (radi Allahu anhu) will also be present there. The Awliyah Allah will recognize him and will request to take (Bai’at) the oath of Allegiance at his hands. He will refuse to fulfill their requests. Just then, a voice would be heard saying, ‘This is Mahdi, the Khalifa of Allah. Listen to what he says and adhere to his commands.” Immediately, all the Awliyah will take bai’at at his hands. He will take all of them with him and journey to Syria. After the killing of Dajaal, Hazrat Esa (alaihis salaam) will receive a command from Almighty Allah, in which Allah will command him to take all the Muslims onto the Mount Toor, since such a nation would emerge, with whom none shall be able to do battle.

24. Yajooj Majooj (Gog and Mgog): They will emerge after all the Muslims go onto the Mount Toor. Their population will be very large. When they pass through Buhira Tibriya (which is a ten mile long river) the first jamaat that passes through will drink every drop of water in this river. When the second jamaat passes through, they will feel that there was never any water in the river before their arrival. They will kill and destroy everything that is in their path causing mayhem. After all the killings and massacres, they will say, ‘we have killed those all those on earth. Now let us kill those in the sky’. They will launch their spears into the sky and through the Will of Allah, they spears will return to the ground covered in blood. On the mountain Hazrat Esa (alaihis salaam) and his followers would be facing very harsh conditions. There will be a scarcity of everything. The price of one head of a cow will be even more valuable than the value of one hundred Ashrafis (gold coins) today. Hazrat Esa (alaihis salaam) and his companions will make dua and Almighty Allah will create a worm in the necks of the Yajooj Majooj. All of them will die instantly. After their destruction, Hazrat Esa (alaihis salaam) will descend with his followers from the mountain. They will see that the entire earth is covered with the foul smelling remains of the Yajooj Majooj. Again Hazrat Esa (alaihis salaam) and his companions will make dua. Almighty Allah will send a bird, which will lift their remains and discard of them where Allah Wills. The Muslims will burn the spears, bows and arrows and quivers. These will burn continuously for seven years. After this, it will rain. The rain will cause the earth to be cleaned. The earth will be commanded to grow delicious fruit and vegetation. The skies and the earths will be commanded to unveil their bounties. The condition during this time will be so fulfilling, that one entire congregation will be able to eat one pomegranate (Anaar) and ten people will be able to sit under the shade of the pomegranate peel. There will be barkat in everything. One entire congregation will be able to drink milk from just one camel, one entire clan will be able to drink the milk from one cow and one entire family will be able to drink milk from one goat.

25. A huge cloud of smoke will appear causing darkness from the earth up to the sky.

26. Daabatul Ard will emerge. This is a creature which will have the Aasa (Stick) of Hazrat Moosa (alaihis salaam) and the ring of Hazrat Sulaiman (alaihis salaam) in its hand. He will make a bright mark on the foreheads of the Muslims, by using the Aasa of Hazrat Moosa (alaihis salaam) and by using the ring of Hazrat Sulaiman (alaihis salaam); he will make an ugly black spot on the foreheads of the Kaafirs. At this time, all the Muslims and Kaafirs will be known clearly to all. This sign will never change. Those who are Kaafirs will never become Muslims and those who are Muslims will never lose their Imaan.

27. The sun will rise from the west. When this phenomenon occurs, then the doors of Tauba will be sealed. If any person accepts Islam after this, his Islam will not be counted.

28. After the passing away of Hazrat Esa (alaihis salaam) and when only forty years are left for Qiyaamat, a fragrant breeze will blow which will pass under the armpits of the people. When this happens, then all the Muslims will pass away and the entire earth will only be inhabited by kaafirs and it is upon them that Qiyaamat will come. Only a few signs of Qiyaamat have been explained here. Some of them are already evident and others are still to occur. After the fragrant breeze blows under the armpits of the people, and when all the Muslims have passed away, then there will come such a time, wherein no child will be born for forty years, in other words there will be no one younger than forty years of age. There will be kaafirs everywhere. There will be none to take the name of Almighty Allah. People will be engrossed in their worldly lives, painting their homes and feasting etc. when Hazrat Israfeel (alaihis salaam) will be commanded to blow the ‘Soor’ The sound of the soor will be very low at first and it will then slowly increase in power. People will strain their ears to listen to this sound, which will render them unconscious. This will cause them to die. The skies, the earth, the soor and even Israfeel (alaihis salaam) and all the creation will cease to exist. With the exception of One Allah, nothing else will be in existence. Almighty Allah will say, ‘Whose Supreme Rule is there today?’ (Where are the Tyrants and the Arrogant today? None will be in existence to answer). Almighty Allah will then say, ‘It is only the Rule of One Allah, The Most Powerful’. Then, when Almighty Allah wills, He will cause Hazrat Israfeel (alaihis salaam) to rise again. The soor will be brought back into existence and Allah will command Hazrat Israfeel (alaihis salaam) to blow the soor. All the creation of Allah, the Angels, Jins, humans, animals etc. will come back into existence. The Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) will be the first to rise from his blessed Rauza‑e‑Anwar. He will rise with Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique (radi Allahu anhu) on his right and Hazrat Umar‑e‑Farouk (radi Allahu anhu) on his left. Then all the Muslims buried in Makkah and Madinah Shareef will rise.The Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) will take all of them with him and go towards the Plains of Resurrection.