What
Does Islam Say about the Day of Judgment?
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Like Christians, Muslims believe that
the present life is only a trial preparation for the next realm of
existence. This life is a test for each individual for the life after
death. A day will come when the whole universe will be destroyed and the
dead will be resurrected for judgment by God. This day will be the
beginning of a life that will never end. This day is the Day of Judgment.
On that day, all people will be rewarded by God according to their beliefs
and deeds. Those who die while believing that “There is no true god but
God, and Muhammad is the Messenger (Prophet) of God” and are Muslim will
be rewarded on that day and will be admitted to Paradise forever, as God has
said: |
 And those who believe and do
good deeds, they are dwellers of Paradise, they dwell therein forever. 
(Quran, 2:82)
But those who die while not believing that
“There is no true god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger (Prophet) of
God” or are not Muslim will lose Paradise forever and will be sent to
Hellfire, as God has said:
And whoever seeks a religion
other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him and he will be one of the
losers in the Hereafter.
(Quran, 3:85)
And as He has said:
Those who have disbelieved
and died in disbelief, the earth full of gold would not be accepted from any of
them if it were offered as a ransom. They will have a painful punishment, and
they will have no helpers.
(Quran, 3:91)
One may ask, ‘I think Islam is a good
religion, but if I were to convert to Islam, my family, friends, and other
people would persecute me and make fun of me. So if I do not convert to Islam,
will I enter Paradise and be saved from Hellfire?’
The answer is what God has said in the
preceding verse, “And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will not
be accepted from him and he will be one of the losers in the Hereafter.”
After having sent the Prophet Muhammad 
to call people to Islam, God does not accept adherence to any religion other
than Islam. God is our Creator and Sustainer. He created for us whatever is in
the earth. All the blessings and good things we have are from Him. So after
all this, when someone rejects belief in God, His Prophet Muhammad ,
or His religion of Islam, it is just that he or she be punished in the
Hereafter. Actually, the main purpose of our creation is to worship God alone
and to obey Him, as God has said in the Holy Quran (51:56).
This life we live today is a very short
life. The unbelievers on the Day of Judgment will think that the life they
lived on earth was only a day or part of a day, as God has said:
He (God) will say, “How many
years did you stay on the earth?” They will say: “We stayed a day or part of a
day....” (Quran,
23:112-113)
And He has said:
Did you then think that We
had created you in jest (without any purpose), and that you would not be
returned to Us (in the Hereafter)? So, God is exalted, the True King. None has
the right to be worshipped but Him...
(Quran, 23:115-116)
The life in the Hereafter is a very real
life. It is not only spiritual, but physical as well. We will live there with
our souls and bodies.
In comparing this world with the Hereafter,
the Prophet Muhammad said: {The
value of this world compared to that of the Hereafter is like what your finger
brings from the sea when you put it in and then take it out.}1
The meaning is that, the value of this world compared to that of the Hereafter
is like a few drops of water compared to the sea.
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Footnotes:
(1)
Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #2858, and Mosnad Ahmad, #17560.
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