Be A GOOD MUSLIM

The Journey To The Hereafter

This world is a temporary station on our ultimate journey towards Allah: the hereafter is our true end goal.

In the Qur’ān, Allah (subḥānahū wa taʿālā) describes to us in vivid details the moment of death, the terrors of the Day of Judgement, the horrors of Jahannam and the eternal bliss of Jannah. In a world where mention of death or the hereafter is labelled as ‘morbid’ and deemed unnecessary, every other page in the Qur’ān reminds us of our ultimate end. Reciting these verses and reflecting on the descriptions of the hereafter mentioned by our beloved Prophet ﷺ should increase our īmān in the hereafter, and remind us to not get distracted by the mirage of the world. 

The Throes of Death

At your appointed time, the Angel of Death will come to you. He will extract your soul from your body: at this point, there will be no going back, no chance to repent, no opportunity to make amends with your Creator. As your body is being prepared for its burial, your soul will ascend upwards on its own unique journey, depending on how you lived your life.
As you hear the footsteps of your loved ones walking away from your grave, you will be approached by two terrifying angels, Munkar and Nakīr, who will begin their interrogation. If you answer correctly, the grave will become a peaceful garden of Paradise. But if you don’t know the answer, the grave will become a pit from the Hellfire; dark, narrow and suffocating.

The only thing that will come to rescue you at this time will be your good deeds.

Your ṣalāh will be positioned by your head, fasting on your right, zakāh on your left, and your other good deeds (including charity, tying kinship, kindness to people) by your feet. Punishment will approach you from each of these directions, but each of your deeds will block the punishment, and intercede on your behalf by saying, “You have no means of access here.”

Accumulate all of these good deeds today, so that tomorrow you will rest peacefully in your grave.

The Trumpet is Blown

It will be a Friday. The deafening sound of Isrāfīl (ʿalayhis-salām) blowing the Trumpet will fill the air, and the entire earth will shake violently and be reduced to rubble. The mountains will be crushed into dust and will become like fluffed up wool. The oceans will burst forth and overflow. The sky will be shaken violently and it will tear open. The sun will be folded up, the stars will fall down; and they will all lose their light. The world will come to an end. Everyone and everything will be destroyed. It will be a terrifying day.

The trumpet will be blown again. The earth will crack open and everyone will be brought back to life: they will be resurrected from their graves and will be gathered on a vast, empty land. 

The Day of Judgement

You will be naked and barefooted. The sun will be right above you, blazing. Its heat will be unbearable, causing everyone to sweat profusely, with some fully drowning in their sweat. However, the special believers will be shaded under the shade of Allah’s Throne.

The Day will feel never-ending and gruelling: the worldly life will feel like a fleeting moment in comparison to this Day. It will be equivalent to 50,000 years.

The angels will be lined up in straight rows. You will be gathered with everyone in one plain: animals, humans, believers, disbelievers, from the beginning of the creation to its end.

Imagine the sheer number of people all gathered together in one space!

Your regrets will consume you: everything will be revealed and everyone will be humbled. The sinners will stare in horror, the hearts of the tyrants will leap into their throats, and the oppressors will be terrified. “Allah will hold the whole earth, and roll up the heavens in His Right Hand. Then He will say, ‘I am the King! Where are the kings of the earth?’” (Bukhārī).  On that Day, all authority will solely belong to Allah — The One, The All-Dominant.