29 March 2015: Prophet Suleiman and Hud hud bird; Being resurrected

29 March 2015: Prophet Suleiman and Hud hud bird; Being resurrected

Lives of the Prophets: Suleiman* continued

Lessons from the Story of Suleiman* with the Ants

“And there were gathered before Suleiman his hosts of jinn and men, and birds, and they all were set in battle order (marching forward). Till, when they came to the valley of the ants, one of the ants said: "O ants! Enter your dwellings, lest Suleiman and his hosts should crush you, while they perceive not." So he smiled, amused at her speech and said: "My Lord! Grant me the power and ability that I may be grateful for Your Favours which You have bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may do righteous good deeds that will please You, and admit me by Your Mercy among Your righteous slaves." [TMQ Al-Naml 27: 17-19] 
 
Allah tells the story of Suleiman* when he once rode out with his army of people and with Jinns escorting him, and the birds casting a shadow on him to shield him from the heat, " and they were all kept in order and ranks", which means the front lines were halted until the back lines would catch up with them so that no creature would overstep its limits. 

Suleiman* was able to understand the speech of the ant and smiled out of joy and happiness for being solely chosen by Allah to be let in on this. Hence, all the gifts and blessings we enjoy from Allah we should be thankful for. All the achievements we amass, and all the possessions we gather – we should be thankful to Allah.

Suleiman* invokes Allah to enable him to thank Him for the Grace Allah has bestowed on him and the privilege that only he was granted. He also supplicates Him to enable him to do good deeds, and, should he die, to be resurrected together with the pious and the righteous of the servants of Allah. Hence we should always thank Allah for all the gifts and blessings from Allah.
We also learn of the responsibility the ant had to the Ummah of the ants. It was easy for the ant to run away but he chose to stay and warn the other ants because he knew this was his responsibility and that he would not survive without his Ummah. Living in this society we need to be aware of what is happening around us, and what is happening to other Muslims around the world and we should have a bond and responsibility to each other. We should know that, no matter how strong we think we are, we can never protect ourselves and deen unless we stay with the Ummah / Jamaah. Furthermore, as we mentioned last week – we should look for excuses for our fellow Muslims rather than being the first to blame / accuse them!

Suleiman*'s Story with the Hoopoe (Hud Hud) bird:
 
“He inspected the birds, and said: "What is the matter that I see not the hoopoe? Or is he among the absentees? "I will surely punish him with a severe torment, or slaughter him, unless he brings me a clear reason." But the hoopoe stayed not long, he (came up and) said: "I have grasped (the knowledge of a thing) which you have not grasped and I have come to you from Saba' (Sheba) with true news "I found a woman ruling over them", she has been given all things that could be possessed by any ruler of the earth, and she has a great throne. "I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of Allah, and Shaitan has made their deeds fair-seeming to them, and has barred them from (Allah's) Way, so they have no guidance," [As Shaitan has barred them from Allah's Way] so they do not worship (prostrate themselves before) Allah, Who brings to light what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, and knows what you conceal and what you reveal. Allah, La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Lord of the Supreme Throne! [Suleiman said: "We shall see whether you speak the truth or you are (one) of the liars "Go you with this letter of mine, and deliver it to them, then draw back from them, and see what (answer) they return." [TMQ Al-Naml 27: 20-28]

It is stated that the Hoopoe used to guide Suleiman* to places of water. Whenever he was in the desert, he would ask for him to be brought so as to locate water at great depths. The Hoopoe was able to see it just as a man is able to see the apparent objects above the surface of the earth, and it was capable of determining its depth, too. Once it specified the exact spot, Suleiman* would order the Jinns to dig up this place so that water would come gushing out.
Suleiman* was in the habit of inspecting the birds, and each day every species would delegate one of them to meet him. As a great leader he was aware of all his soldiers and subjects and cared after them. This is an important lesson for us that leaders to look after everybody.
The punishment for being absent was rather strict/severe but we should bear in mind that this is during a wartime operation as opposed to being during peacetime. Hence, the rules and regulations are often stricter because failure to obey commands in military matters can lead to severe consequences and death. This was highlighted when the archers failed to obey the command of the Prophet* during the Battle of Uhud to remain at their posts – and consequently they suffered a huge defeat.

We also mentioned the believer who was eager to accompany the Prophet* on the Battle of Tabuk but did not obey his command bring only a strong camel. When he died on the journey the Prophet* cautioned people from claiming he was a martyr. Hence the rules are quite strict. We compared this to when the Prophet* sent out one of his young servants (Anas bin Malik) to get something from the market but he got distracted and lost the money whilst playing with some other boys. When the Prophet* found him he excused his behaviour and told him to carry on playing.

The bird returned and mentioned that he had new and specific knowledge that would interest the king. He explained what he had found and that despite being a queen with an impressive kingdom she had a particularly impressive throne. The throne she used to sit on was grand, splendid and decorated with all types of gems, pearls and gold - which should not compare to the throne of Allah. Allah's magnificent Throne is the Greatest ever as it surpasses any other throne possessed by any creature.

The name of the Queen is Bilqees and she was the Queen of Saba or Sheba, a city in Yemen. The bird then made an excuse for the people and the fact that they have been misguided but remain open to proper guidance.

Controversially, we discussed the famous hadith of the Prophet where he mentioned that a nation will never succeed that appoints a woman as its leader. This is not a prediction but legal instruction that, according to Islam, it is not permitted to have a female as the ruling leader for all the Muslims (nor in a specified position of ruling within the government (outside the scope of this discussion). This should not be misinterpreted that they cannot take positions of leadership within society but that they are barred from certain positions of ruling. The justice of this legal rule can be addressed at another point in time!

 
The Main Topic: The Resurrection

The first grave to open

Prophet Muhammad*, whose grave is in Medina, will be the first one whose grave will open up. The Prophet* says, “I am the leader of mankind on the day of judgement and I am the first one whose grave will open on the day of judgement.” 

In another authentic hadith, a Muslim had a dispute with a Jew. The Jew said, “In the name of the One who revealed the Torah on Musa” so this Muslim hit him and started praising Muhammad*. So the Jew came and complained to The Prophet*. The Prophet* said, “Do not prefer me over Musa, because I will be the first one to come out of his grave, but I will find that Musa is already holding onto the throne of Allah. So I do not know whether he was included in the ones who were dead in the first blow or not.” 

The hadith asks us not to get into competitions with the non-Muslims about who has the better leader as that will only distance them from Islam and make us less inclined to the other Prophets, hence: ‘do not say that I am better than Musa’? Obviously, the Prophet* did say in many ahadith that he is the leader of mankind. We believe that The Prophet* is the greatest of all of the Prophets, but the Prophet* does not want us to say that when we are in a conversation with a non-believer because we are just putting down the ambiya just to make the non-believer upset. The Prophets (ambiya) of Allah belong to this Ummah, not to anybody else. Musa belongs to the Ummah of Islam. That’s why when The Prophet* went to Medina and saw the Jews fasting, he asked why they were fasting, and they said, “This is the day in which Allah has saved Musa from Pharaoh.” The Prophet* said, “Musa belongs to us more than he does to them, so we should fast this day.” 

We should not go to the Jew and say, “Muhammad is better than your Prophet!” We should not go the Christian and say, “Muhammad is better than your Prophet!” We are putting the Messengers of Allah down; we need to show the respect we have for all Messengers, even though we believe Muhammad* is the one Allah chose out of all of his creation.

In what condition will people will be resurrected? 

The Prophet* says, “You will be resurrected barefoot, naked and uncircumcised.” Then The Prophet* recited the ayah, where Allah says, “[...]as We began the first creation, We shall repeat it, (it is) a promise binding upon Us. Truly, We shall do it.” (21:104) When ‘Aa`isha heard this, she was concerned that men and women are going to be in the same place, naked. Allah’s Apostle said, “The people will be gathered barefooted, naked, and uncircumcised.” I said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Will the men and the women look at each other?” He said, “The situation will be too hard for them to pay attention to that.” [Bukhari]

So Allah is going to return you in the exact form when you were born – naked, barefoot and uncircumcised. Allah will bring you once again in your natural state. 

Allah will restore the souls of His slaves, but they will be created anew, different from the way they were in the life of this world. One feature of this new creation will be that they will not die, no matter what trials befall them. For example, people will be able to see things that they could not see before. They will see the angels and the jinn, and other things which only Allah knows. Similarly, the people of Paradise will not spit, defecate or urinate.

Allah says: “And death will come to him from every side, yet he will not die…” (TMQ 14: 1 7) The Prophet* said “You know that you will be resurrected to (meet) Allah, then (you will go) to Paradise or to Hell, where you will settle and never leave, you will abide forever and never die, in bodies that will never die."' 

This does not mean that those who are resurrected on the Day of Judgement will be an entirely different creation than they were in this world. Ibn Taymiyah said: "The two creations are two things of the same category, they are similar in one way and different in another."

Allah will assemble all creation

Allah will assemble everyone, whether this human was lost in the depths of the ocean or this human being was in the dungeons of the earth. Allah will bring them all together. Allah says: “[...] Wheresoever you may be, Allah will bring you together (on the Day of Resurrection). Truly, Allah is Able to do all things.” (2:148) Allah says, “We bought them together, we did not leave any one of them.”

Wherever you may be – even in outer space – Allah will bring you together, because all of this universe belongs to Allah. Even the animals will be included. Allah says, “When the wild beasts are herded together.” (81:5) 

Abu Hurairah says, “On the Day of Judgment, Allah will assemble all of the creation: the beasts, the birds, even the insects - everything. And Allah will be Just on that day, because His Name is the Just (al ‘Adl). And of the justice of Allah, Allah will take revenge for the goat that did not have horns from the goat that did have horns.” 

In this world, it could’ve been that the goat with horns took advantage of the goat without horns and hurt it. Abu Hurairah said that Allah will take revenge for that goat without horns. After every dispute is settled, then Allah will tell the beasts and animals to be dirt (turaab) and they would turn into dirt.

Allah says in the Qur’an, “And the non-believer will say, ‘I wish that I am dirt.’” The non-believer will wish they never lived or existed. This non believer who was so careful to save money and live in this money and enjoy himself; he will wish he were dirt.

Divergent topic: Non-believers and their actions:

The actions of the non-believers (kuffaar) are of two types. The first type includes actions which are evil and sinful, spreading corruption on earth, etc. These are all false and evil actions from which people can never hope for anything good or to earn any reward. 

The second kind of actions are those which they think will earn them something from Allah, such as charity, freeing slaves, upholding ties of kinship, spending for good purposes. But Allah has coined likenesses of such actions in His Book.

“The parable of those who disbelieved in their Lord is that their works are as ashes, on which the wind blows furiously on a stormy day; they shall not be able to get aught of what they have earned. That is the straying, far away [from the Right Path].” (TMQ 14: 18) 

Hence Allah will make their deeds like scattered floating grains of dust: “And We shall tum to whatever deeds they [disbelievers, polytheists, sinners] did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust.” (TMQ 25: 23)

This group, who think that they are following something good, will have a shock on the Day of Resurrection when they discover that their deeds are worthless. This group includes the devoted worshippers among the Jews and Christians, after the time of the Prophet*.

After all, the ultimate evil (unforgivable sin) is not to even believe in Allah!

22 March 2015 - Prophet Suleiman and The Resurrection, Names of the Day

22 March 2015 - Prophet Suleiman and The Resurrection

Lives of the Prophets: Prophet Suleiman* continued

Prophets leave no inheritance

Allah says in Surah Saad: "To Dawud* we gave Suleiman* (for a son)" and he was a Prophet "how excellent in Our service! Ever did he tum when (to Us)!"

"And Suleiman* was Dawud's heir." (AI-Naml: 16) 

This verse means that Suleiman* inherited his father's kingdom and Prophetic office. It does not imply that he inherited his property and riches as Dawud* would not bequeath him solely his property. Moreover, it was reported by authentic transmission that the Prophet* said, "Our property, we the chain of Prophets, is not to be inherited, and whatever we leave is to be given to charity.

His Power and Kingdom:

Allah, Exalted be He, says, "And we did try Suleiman* - We placed on his throne a body (without life). But he did tum (to Us in true devotion): He said, 'O my Lord! Forgive me, and grant me a kingdom which (it may be), suits not another after me. For Thou art the Grantor of Bounties (without measure). " (Saad: 32)

One of the possible interpretations of this ‘dead body on his throne’ is the story mentioned by some of the early Muslims that Suleiman* had a many wives (900 or 700 or 300) and Abu Hurairah stated that Allah's Messenger* said, “Suleiman*, son of Dawud said, I can stop by all my wives causing each of whom to give birth to a baby who will fiercely fight for Allah's cause. However he did not say InshaAllah ("if Allah wills it"). He did stop by his wives and not one of them conceived, with the exception of one who gave birth to half a child. Allah's Messenger* said, had he said, 'If Allah wills it', each of the Women would have given birth to a boy who would fiercely fight for Allah's cause. "

After that incident Suleiman asked for forgiveness and wanted a unique kingdom which was granted to him by Allah – one that would not occur again. Hence, his power over the Jinn, the wind and special buildings.

It was reported by Abu Hurairah, that the Prophet* said, "A strong demon from the Jinns came to me yesterday suddenly, so as to spoil my prayer, but Allah enabled me to overpower him, and so I caught him and intended to tie him to one of the pillars of the mosque so that all of you might see him, but I remembered the invocation of my brother Suleiman*:' o my Lord! Forgive me, and grant me a kingdom which (it may be), suits not another after me: ' so I let him go humiliated. "

Virtues of Al-Aqsa

It was stated by Amr Ibn Al-Aas that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "When Suleiman* built Jerusalem, he asked Allah, Exalted be He, three things, two of which he was granted and we hope to have been granted the third: he asked Him judgment that was comparable to Allah's, and this he was granted, he asked him a kingdom that suits not another after him, and this he was granted, and he asked him that whenever a man left his house with the sole intention of praying in this mosque (Al Aqsa Mosque), he would be absolved of all his sins and would become sinless as he was the day he was born. We therefore hope that Allah has granted us this. "

The Valley of the Ants

"And before Suleiman* were marshaled with his hosts - of Jinns and men and birds, and they were all kept in order and ranks. At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, one of the ants said, 'O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Suleiman* and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it.' So he smiled, amused at its speech; and said, "O my lord! so order me that I may be grateful for Thy favours, which Thou hast bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may work the righteousness that will please Thee: and admit me, by Thy Grace to the ranks of Thy Righteous Servants. "(AI Naml: 17-9)

The ant voiced an order, issued a warning, and saw the excuse of Suleiman* and his soldiers namely, that they did not know or did not do it deliberately. Suleiman* understood its speech, and smiled out of joy and happiness for being solely chosen by Allah to be let in on this. Even as the colony of ants may be destroyed the ant still sought to find an excuse for Suleiman* and his army. How quick are we nowadays in blaming our fellow Muslims for the most minor issue and come up with 70 ways to blame. Rather than look for 70 excuses and seeking to forgive our fellow Muslim.

Main Topic: The Resurrection

Our purpose in Life

Our purpose in Life is to live according to the wishes of Allah (what makes Allah pleased) and to avoid the evil. If we do that we will pass the test and enter into Paradise for eternity. That is the deal. Hence, the central tenant of our deen and all religions from Allah are this contract and ‘The Hour’ / ‘Day of Judgment’ have been mentioned by all Prophets throughout all the ages. Essential to this is for Muslims to believe without doubt that we will return (be resurrected) ready for Judgement. There are some people that have always denied that we can come back and many people still do as they see only what is in front of them and are materialistic. So, Allah tries to address this in many ways and one way to communicate this to the desert Arabs was how life returns to seemingly dead land after rain.

The short video clips highlight this:

The Desert: https://youtu.be/2jX9SgtRTgE

Flowers in the Desert: https://youtu.be/z1IBnHIOFxs

Al Ba’ath wa An-Nushur (Resurrection)

Allah described it and said, “And the trumpet will be blown and behold, from the graves they will come out quickly to their Lord. They will say, ‘Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep? This is what the Most Gracious has promised us and the Messengers spoke the truth.’ It will be but a single shout, and behold, they will all be bought before us.”

Notice how people say “Who has woke us up from our sleep?” because when we are sleeping, the worse thing that can happen is that we wake up in a state of surprise. When we’re sleeping, we want to wake up slowly and calmly. You’ll find that when you suddenly wake someone up, that person wakes up disoriented. Imagine waking up from the graves after a long state of sleep…

Imagine that a child is coming out of the grave. On the day of resurrection, he comes out and sees mountains exploding; the oceans in flames; the planets knocked out of their orbits; the sun will be just above their heads; the people will be running around them as if they are drunk. What do you think the response of this child will be? Allah says in the Qur’an, “How will you save yourselves from a day [if you disbelieve] that will make a child grey-headed?” The horrors of that day will turn that child’s head grey. A child that hasn’t even sinned! What will happen to us – who are insisting on sins and not repenting?

How will the Resurrection Happen?

Allah will send down a rain after everything is destroyed and dead. We will grow from our seeds. What are our seeds? The Prophet* told us in a hadith that every part of our body will decompose except for a small part of our body – at the bottom of our spines. That small part will remain intact and that will be the seed we are going to grow from. Allah will send down a liquid from the sky (different from water) and we will grow up from that small seed.

The Prophet* says in a hadith in Bukhari, “Between the two shouts is forty.” The Prophet* was asked, “Forty days?” He did not respond. “Forty months?” He did not respond. He was asked, “Forty years?” Still, The Prophet* did not respond. So we do not know. The Prophet* said that a fluid will fall from the sky and then we would grow up like plants would grow. Everything in the human being will decompose except for ajab udh-dhanab, and that is what the human body would grow out of it. That is why you will find when Allah talks about the Resurrection, He ties it up with the growing of plants.

Allah says, “And it is Allah who sends the winds so that they raise up the clouds and we drive them to a dead land and revive the earth therewith after its death. As such will be the resurrection.” Allah is telling us to look at the dead earth, and how He revives the plants. This is the exact thing that will happen with us on the day of resurrection. Just as flowers in a desert bloom after rain (despite the desert being as dead) that is how we shall be brought back to life.

The reason why there are so many names for the Day of Judgment

If things are important to people and society – there will often be many names to reflect that. In this society alcohol is important and we find so many names for it – and even all the soap operas in the UK are based around the pub! The names given by the children in the circle within 60 seconds included: Alcohol, beer, cider, ale wine, red / white, drink, vodka, lager, strongbow, whiskey, gin, Guinness.......

A Muslim scholar stated: "Everything that is of great status has many attributes and many names. This is the way in which the Arabs express the importance of a thing. Do you not see that because the sword is so important to them and is held in such high esteem by them, that they gave it five hundred names? And there are other similar examples. Because the Resurrection is so important and its terrors are so many, Allah has given it many names in His Book, and has described it in many ways."

The Names of The Day Of Resurrection

Allah has called this Day - on which this universe will be destroyed and the Resurrection and Reckoning will take place - by many names. A number of scholars have endeavoured to list these names. Al-Ghazali and Qurtubi counted them and listed fifty names.

1 - Yawm al-Qiyaamah (The Day of Standing)

This name is mentioned in seventy ayat (verses) of the Qur'an, such as:

“Allah! Laa ilaaha ilia Huwa [none has the right to be worshipped but He]. Surely, He will gather you together on the Day of Standing about which there is no doubt..)” (Qur 'an 4: 87)

“And We shall gather them together on the Day of Standing on their faces, blind, dumb and deaf .. )” (TMQ 1 7: 97)

“Verily, the losers are they who lose themselves and their families on the Day of Standing.” (TMQ 42: 45)

The root of the word qiyaamah in Arabic is to stand, rise. It appears in the feminine form (with the ending -ah) to give more emphasis to its meaning, as is the custom of the Arabs in their speech. It is so called because of the great events which will happen (yaqoomu fihaa) on that Day, as described in the texts. One of these events is when the people will stand before the Lord of the Worlds.

2 - Al-Yawm al-Aakhir (The Last Day)

“But Al-Birr is [the quality of] the one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book, the Prophets .. ) (TMQ 2: 1 77)

“... This [instruction] is an admonition for him among you who believes in Allah and the Last Day .. ) (TMQ 2: 232)

“The mosques of Allah shall be maintained only by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day .. ) (TMQ 9:18)

This Day is called the Last Day, because it is the Day after which there will be no more days. Sometimes it is called Al-Aakhirah (the Hereafter) or Ad-Daar alAakhirah (the Home of the Hereafter), as in the verses:

“... Truly, We chose him in this world and verily, in the Hereafter he will be among the righteous) (TMQ 2: 130)

3 - As-Saa'ah (The Hour)

“... And the Hour is surely, coming, so overlook [O' Muhammad], their faults with gracious forgiveness.) (TMQ 15: 85)

“Verily, the Hour is coming - and I am almost hiding it...) (TMQ 20: 15)

“O' mankind! Fear your Lord and be dutiful to Him! Verily, the earthquake of the Hour [of Judgement] is a terrible thing) (TMQ 22: 1)

There are 3 interpretations for the Hour (not just the 24 hours!):

• it refers to the current time, i.e. now. The Resurrection is called As-Saa 'ah either because it is close at hand, for everything that is coming is near

•  or as an indication of the tremendous, heart-stopping events that will happen on that Day

• It was also said that it is called the Hour because it will come suddenly, in an instant

4 - Yawm al-Ba'th (The Day of Resurrection)

Allah says: “O' mankind! If you are in doubt about the Resurrection, then verily, We have created you [i.e. Adam] from dust..) (TMQ 22: 5)

lbn Man’oor said: "Al-Ba'th refers to when Allah will revive the dead and bring them forth on the Day of Resurrection.

5 - Yawm al-Khurooj (The Day of Coming Out)

Allah says: “The Day when they will hear A􀀠-SaylJah [shout] in truth, that will be the Day of coming out [from the graves, i.e. the Day of Resurrection].) (TMQ 50: 42)

“The Day when they will come out [yakhrujoon] of the graves quickly as racing to a goal) (TMQ 70: 43)

It is so called because on that Day people will come out of their graves when the Trumpet is blown.

6 - Al-Qaari'ah (The Striking Hour)

Allah says: (A!-Qaari'ah [the striking Hour, i.e. the Day of Resurrection]. What is the striking [Hour]? And what will make you know what the striking [Hour] is?) (TMQ 101: 1-3)

“Thamood and 'Aad people denied the Qaari 'ah [the striking Hour of Judgement] !

7 - Yawm al-Fadl (The Day of Judgement, Day of Decision)

 “This is the Day of Judgement which you used to deny.• (TMQ 3 7: 21)

It is so called because on that Day Allah will judge or decide (yafe.il) between His slaves in that concerning which they differed and disputed. Allah says: “Verily, your Lord will judge [yafe.il] between them, on the Day of Resurrection, concerning that wherein they used to differ) (TMQ 32: 25)

8 - Yawm ad-Deen (The Day of Recompense)

“And verily, the Fujjaar [the wicked, disbelievers, polytheists, sinners and evildoers] will be in the blazing Fire [Hell], Therein they will enter, and taste its burning flame on the Day of Recompense, And they [Al-Fujjaar] will not be absent therefrom. And what will make you know what the Day of Recompense is? Again, what will make you know what the Day of Recompense is? [It will be] the Day when no person shall have power [to do anything] for another, and the Decision, that Day, will be [wholly] with Allah) (TMQ 82: 14-19)

In Arabic, the word deen means recompense and reckoning. (This Day) is so called because Allah will reward or punish His slaves and will bring them to account for their actions on that Day.

9 - Ad-Daakhkhah (The Trumpet-Blast)

 “Then when there comes Ad-Daakhkhah [the (second) blowing of the Trumpet on the Day of Resurrection]. (TMQ 80: 33)

lbn Katheer said: "Al-Baghawi said: Ad-Daakhkhah means the tumult of the Day of Resurrection. It is so called because it will penetrate their ears to such an extent that it will nearly make them deaf. '"

10 – At-Taammat al-Kubraa (The Greatest Catastrophe)

“But when there comes the greatest catastrophe [i.e. the Day of Recompense]. (TMQ 79: 34)

Qurtubi said: "At-Taammah means overwhelming - as you say tamma ash-shay 'u if it overwhelms and takes over. Because it will overwhelm everything, this Day alone has this name which is true.

11 - Yawm al-Hasrah (The Day of Grief and Regrets)

“And warn them [O' Muhammad] of the Day of grief and regrets, when the case has been decided, while [now] they are in a state of carelessness, and they believe not) (TMQ 1 9: 39)

“... Until all of a sudden, the Hour [signs of death] is on them, and they say: 'Alas for us that we gave no thought to it.' .. ) (TMQ 6: 31)

It is so called because of the intensity of the grief and regret that people will feel on that Day. The disbelievers - will regret their lack of faith. The sorrow and regret that the disbelievers feel will reach their peak when the masters and followers disown one another:

“And those who followed will say: 'If only we had one more chance to return [to the worldly life], we would disown [declare ourselves as innocent from] them as they have disowned [declared themselves as innocent from] us. ' Thus Allah will show them their deeds as regrets for them. And they will never get out of the Fire. (TMQ 2: 167)

12 - Al-Ghaashiyah (The Overwhelming)

“Has there come to you the narration of the overwhelming [i.e. the Day of Resurrection]? (TMQ 88: 1)

It is so called because its terrifying events will overwhelm the people and cause them grief. One of the aspects of this meaning is that the Fire will overwhelm the non-believers and encompass them from above and from beneath their feet, as Allah says:

“On the Day when the torment [Hell-fire] shall cover them from above them and from underneath their feet.” (TMQ 29: 55)

13 - Yawm al-Khulood (The Day of Eternal Life)

“Enter you therein in peace and security - this is a Day of eternal life!) (TMQ 50: 34)

That Day is called the Day of eternal life because the people will go to their place of eternal abode: the disbelievers will abide forever in Hell, and the believers will abide forever in Paradise.

Allah says: “But those who disbelieve and belie Our Aayaat [proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.] - such are the dwellers of the Fire. They shall abide therein forever) (TMQ 2: 39)

14 - Yawm al-Hisaab (The Day of Reckoning)

Allah says: “- .. Verily, those who wander astray from the path of Allah [shall] have a severe torment, because they forgot the Day of Reckoning) (TMQ 38: 26)

“Moosa [Moses] said: 'Verily, I seek refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant who believes not in the Day of Reckoning! ' (TMQ 40: 2 7)

This Day is called the Day of Reckoning, because on this Day Allah will bring His slaves to account. The meaning of Al-Hisaab (the Reckoning) is that Allah will count people's deeds, good and bad, and will count His blessings (that He bestowed). Then He will weigh the elements of good and evil (in each action), and whichever outweighs the other will determine whether that action is recorded as good or evil. It is narrated that the Prophet* said: "There is not one among you but Allah will speak to him directly without any mediator."

15 - Al-Waaqi'ah (The Event)

 “When the Event [i.e. the Day of Resurrection] befalls - (TMQ 56:1)

Ibn Katheer said: "It is so called because it will definitely come to pass."

The root of waqa 'a in Arabic means "took place" or "existed".

16 - Yawm al-Wa 'eed [The Day Whereof Warning (had been given)]

 “And the Trumpet will be blown - that will be the Day whereof warning [had been given] [i.e. the Day of Resurrection].) (TMQ 50:20)

- because it is the Day of which He had warned His slaves, and warning means telling of the punishment when an offence takes place.

17 - Yawm al-Aazifah (The Day that is Drawing Near)

 “And warn them [O' Muhammad] of the Day that is drawing near [i.e. the Day of Resurrection], when the hearts will be choking the throats ...  (TMQ 40: 18)

It is so called because it is close at hand. The Hour is very near, for everything that is coming is near, even if it is still far away. And after its signs appear, the Hour is even closer.

18 - Yawm al-Jama ' (The Day of Assembling)

 “And thus We have revealed to you [O' Muhammad] a Qur'an in Arabic that you may warn the Mother of the Towns [Makkah] and all around it, and warn [them] of the Day of Assembling of which there is no doubt..) (TMQ 42: 7)

It is so called because on this Day Allah will assemble all of mankind together.

19 - Al-Haaqqah (The Inevitable)

Allah says: “The Inevitable [i.e. the Day of Resurrection]! What is the Inevitable? (TMQ 69: 1 -2)

It is so called because on this Day the promise and the warning will be fulfilled. It is the Inevitable because on that Day there will be reward and punishment and the reality of things will become apparent.

20 - Yawm at-Talaaq (The Day of Mutual Meeting)

 [He is Allah] Owner of High Ranks and Degrees, the Owner of the Throne. He sends the Revelation by His Command to any of His slaves He wills, that he [the person who receives Revelation] may warn [men] of the Day of Mutual Meeting [i.e. the Day of Resurrection].) (TMQ 40: 15)

lbn Katheer said: on that Day, Adam and the last of his children will meet, on that Day the people of heaven and earth will meet, and the Creator and His created beings will meet, on that Day the oppressor and the one whom he oppressed will meet.

21 - Yawm at-Tanaad (The Day When There will be Mutual Calling)

Allah tells us that the believer among the people of Pharaoh said to his people:  “And, O' my people! Verily, I fear for you the Day when there will be mutual calling [between the people of Hell and of Paradise].) (TMQ 40: 32)

It is so called because there will be so much calling that Day. Each person will be called by name to be brought to account and rewarded or punished accordingly. The people of Paradise will call the people of Hell, and the people of Hell will call the people of Paradise.

22 - Yawm at-Taghaabun (The Day of Mutual Loss and Gain)

 [And remember] the Day when He will gather you [all] on the Day of Gathering, - that will be the Day of mutual loss and gain .. ) (TMQ 64: 9)

It is so called because the people of Paradise will get the better of the people of Hell; they will enter Paradise and take that which was promised to them, and they will inherit the disbeliever's share of Paradise.

Other names:

These are the most famous names of the Day of Resurrection. Some scholars also list other names apart from those that we have mentioned. These names they have derived from what is mentioned in the texts.

So they called it Yawm as-Sadr (the Day of proceeding), based on the aayah (verse): “That Day mankind will proceed [yasdur] in scattered groups that they may be shown their deeds.) (TMQ 99: 6)

Yawm al-Jidaal (the Day of pleading), based on the aayah: [Remember] the Day when every person will come up pleading [tujaadil] for himself...) (Qur'an 16: 111)

They listed names describing that Day in the same terms that Allah has described it. Among the names they mentioned are the following:

A Hard Day:

A Mighty Day;

the Day when all (the dwellers of the heavens and the earth) will be present;

A Day, hard and distressful, that will make the faces look horrible (from extreme dislike of it);

The Day after which there will be no night.

Other names that they have mentioned include:

The Day which will bring low and exalt:

The Day of retribution;

The Day of recompense;

The Day when the Trumpet is blown;

The Day of the (final) earthquake;

The Day when the earth and the mountains will shake violently;

The Day when the Trumpet is sounded;

The Day of dispersal;

The day when the earth will split;

The Day when the contents of the graves are brought forth;

The Day of regret; the Day of flight.

The Day when all the secrets will be examined:

The Day when no person shall have power (to do) anything for another;

The Day when they will be pushed down by force to the Fire of Hell, with a horrible, forceful pushing;

The Day when the eyes will stare in horror;

The Day when their excuses will be of no profit to the Dhaalimoon (wrongdoers);

The Day when they shall not speak;

The Day whereon neither wealth nor children will avail;

The Day when not a single fact will be hidden from Allah;

The Day from Allah which none can avert;

The Day on which there will be neither mutual bargaining nor befriending;

The Day of which there is no doubt.

Some scholars add other names. Qurtubi said: "There is no reason not to call it by names other than those which have been mentioned, based on the circumstances that will prevail on that Day, such as crowding, constriction, humiliation, helplessness, the appointed Day, and so on."