Belief in Qiyamah

Belief in Qiyamah and the Hereafter is one of the principles of Islam.  The Quran discusses this topic extensively in many verses and chapters. This article is an introduction to this topic.

The article will cover the following topics:

Belief in Qiyamah in Islam

Belief in Qiyamah is one of the principles of the Islamic faith and many verses and chapters of the Quran are devoted to this topic.

One of man’s innate and essential desires is the desire to be immortal. Since this is a Divinely given and innate desire, it must therefore be fulfilled by God. Qiyamah and eternal life is the answer to this desire and one of the philosophies of the Hereafter of which this day is part.

Another reason for Qiyamah is God’s justice. Since the material world does not have the capacity – due to factors like free will, causality, etc. – for complete and perfect justice to be delivered and since God is just and has promised justice, there must be a time when it is delivered. This promise is fulfilled on the Day of Judgment.

There are also other philosophies and reasons for this day which can be referred to in relevant books.

Proof of Resurrection to help Belief in Qiyamah

The Quran provides proof for this day and this is so that no one has an excuse for their lack of belief in Qiyamah. Although there are many proofs in the Quran, here we will mention just two.

Not a Vain Creation

أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ عَبَثًا وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ ﴿115﴾

What! did you then think that We had created you in vain and that you shall not be returned to Us? ¹

Man should not think that he has been created in a way that he can do whatever he wishes and not face any reprimand or consequences; indeed, such a creation is vain.

This is because if someone does something that neither benefits them or others, he has performed a vain action. It is obvious that God is needless and gains no benefit from the creation of man. Therefore, the benefit of creation must come back to man, i.e. man must worship and be rewarded.

As a result, it is on the Day of Judgment that there must be a distinction between a sinner and a good person. ²

The Execution of Justice as proof for the Belief in Qiyamah

إِلَيْهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا ۖ وَعْدَ اللَّـهِ حَقًّا ۚ إِنَّهُ يَبْدَأُ الْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُ لِيَجْزِيَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ بِالْقِسْطِ ۚ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَهُمْ شَرَابٌ مِّنْ حَمِيمٍ وَعَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْفُرُونَ ﴿4﴾

To Him will be the return of you all; [that is] Allah’s true promise. Indeed, He originates the creation, then He will bring it back that He may reward with justice those who have faith and do righteous deeds. As for the faithless, they shall have boiling water for drink, and a painful punishment because of what they used to defy. ³

Divine justice – which is one of Allah’s attributes of action – does not allow that he deal equally with someone who brought faith in Him, was humble and performed good actions and one who was arrogant and denied His signs.

In the world, these two groups were equally under the governance of natural causes and reasons; causes that – with the permission of God – either brought harm or benefit. If, in the Hereafter too, they were dealt with equally, it would be oppression and injustice.

Therefore, the only thing possible is that when the creatures return to Him, He differentiates between the two and rewards the believers and good doers and punishes the disbelievers and evil doers. ⁴

Names of Qiyamah in the Quran

The most common name for Qiyamah in the Quran is ‘Yawm al-Qiyamah’ (یوم القیامة) which has been mentioned 70 times in the Quran.

However, it also has many other names in the Quran. Some of these are:

• Yawm al-Din (یوم الدّین) ⁵ : the day of retribution
• Yawm Tubla as-Sara’ir (یوم تبلی السّرائر) ⁶ the day when the secrets are examined
• Yawm al-Mow‘ood (یوم الموعود) ⁷ the promised day
• Yawm al-Fasl (یوم الفصل) ⁸ the day of separation or sorting out (one thing (the truth) from another (falsehood))
• Yawm un Asir (یومٌ عسر) ⁹ the difficult day
• Yawm al-Taghabun (یوم التغابن) ¹⁰ the day when the people of Heaven and Hell will see the fate they could have met had they acted differently (i.e. the people of Heaven will see what place they could have had in Hell and vice versa for the people of Hell)
• Yawm al-Jam‘ (یوم الجمع) ¹¹ the day of gathering
• Yawmun Ma‘loom (یومٌ معلوم): the known day
• Yawm al-Hasrah (یوم الحسرة): the day of regret
• Yawm al-Hisab (یوم الحساب): the day of accounting
• And many other names as well.

Summary of Belief in Qiyamah

Belief in Qiyamah is something that is obligatory for all believers and Muslims. It is also something that is important in other religions.

Man’s immortality and Divine justice that God has promised mankind are two of the reasons and philosophies of the establishment of this day.

The Quran provides various proofs for this day so that people can believe in it and also so that no one has an excuse for not believing in it. Two of the proofs the Quran provides are: 1. Creation is not in vain where mankind can do whatever it wishes without facing the consequences; 2. The execution of God’s justice. The material world does not have the capacity for justice to be meted out appropriately and so there must be another world where this is possible.

The Quran also mentions many names for this day and some have been mentioned in the article.

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