(1/2) Belief in the Last Day

Belief in the Last Day means believing in the Coming of the Hour of Reckoning and Recompense.

Belief in the Last Day includes belief in the torment of the grave and its pleasures, such that when a person has died and is buried, he will be asked in his grave about his Lord, his religion, and his prophet. If he was a disbeliever, an idol worshipper, an atheist, or a non-Muslim, he will be punished in his grave until the Day of Resurrection—the Day when people will stand before the Lord of the Worlds (Noble & Sublime) for reckoning. Then they will enter the Fire where they will remain forever and ever. 

 If he was a believer, who obeyed Allah (Mighty & Majestic), he will experience pleasure in his grave until the Day of Resurrection, when he will be brought back to life to be presented before his Lord (Blessed & Exalted). Then he will enter Paradise where he will live forever and ever. 

If he was a disobedient believer, he will be subject to the Will of Allah (Mighty & Majestic): if He wills, He will punish him, before allowing him to enter Paradise and live forever and ever, or if He wills, He (Blessed & Exalted) will forgive him, and let him enter Paradise where he will live forever and ever. 

We would like to draw attention to certain aspects of the proof of the coming of the Hour, or the Last Day: 

Allah (Mighty & Majestic) created the life of this world as a realm of trials and tribulations for men. A person spends his brief time in the life of this world meeting tests and challenges Allah (Mighty & Majestic) has set for him. His Lord (Noble & Sublime) has charged him with obligations and forbidden him from violating the prohibitions and transgressing the limits set for him. This is in accordance with the requirements of the Wisdom of Allah (Mighty & Majestic). Then, after that, this person meets his due after death when his Lord (Noble & Sublime) presents him with his account. 

Man's good nature and honest reason reject the idea that the destiny of a good, obedient servant of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) could be the same as that of a bad person who did evil deeds and disobeyed Allah (Noble & Sublime). They refuse to believe that good people are equal to bad people—that they both die without the superiority of one over the other ever being established. 

As everyone knows, the life of this world is not the realm of reward and punishment. One might see a good person's rights being violated or an innocent being harmed by thugs or tyrants just because they are stronger or more forceful than him, and he may die before getting revenge or getting back his rights. 

Therefore, there must be another world where there is punishment and reward: where such matters can be settled, where the oppressed can take his right back from the oppressor, where the righteous will be rewarded by Allah Almighty for the good deeds performed in this world, and where the wicked will face the consequences of the evil deeds he did in this world, as a punishment for him. 

This is what agrees with normal human nature and rational minds. In fact, they actively seek it out. This is what Allah Almighty has acknowledged in the form of a rhetorical question in His Saying (Noble & Sublime), 

Uncorrupted human nature and sound reason refuse to accept that good people be equatedwith bad people. 

From another angle, the Hereafter is a moral necessity.

If there were no afterlife for reward and punishment, people would not uphold moral values and good qualities, and no society can survive without these. Without the Hereafter, honest people would ask themselves (hypothetically): Why should I care about being honest when I could get what I want by doing this and that…without being honest? 

If there were no afterlife where people get rewarded for the worldly things and interests they sacrificed by being honest and bearing other good traits and noble values, it would make more sense for them to abandon their morals in order to get what they want in this world. 

Therefore, the Hereafter is a moral necessity, in order for societies to maintain order and avoid corruption, and this is from the Wisdom of Allah (Mighty & Majestic). 

2. News from the prophets and messengers of the resurrection and reckoning:

Allah (Mighty & Majestic) sent His prophets and messengers with a clear doctrine and honest invitation which agrees with uncorrupted human nature and sound logic. He supported them with miracles and wonders, the likes of which no one but a prophet or messenger could produce without support from his Lord (Blessed & Exalted). 

As such, it is a necessity that people believe what they were preaching, that they have faith in the news they brought and that they follow them. 

Among the news brought by the prophets and messengers was the Last Day, when people will be raised from the dead to face their judgment and receive recompense from their God and Creator for their deeds.

Therefore, it is essential for people to believe in the Last Day, the Day of Reckoning and Recompense, in accordance with what the prophets and messengers have told us.

3. The Wisdom of Allah (Glorious & Exalted) and His Justice require resurrection and recompense:

It is from the Wisdom and Justice of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) that He made another Day afterthe end of the life of this world when everyone will receive the fruits of his actions: whatever he deserves, either reward or punishment, according to the good or evil he did. 

Indeed, we see people leaving this world having harmed others without the victims having the satisfaction of reprisal, and we see others leaving this world oppressed without having their rights restored.

We see some people immersed in evil and good people suffering. If everyone just did what they wanted, right or wrong, without settling the score between aggressor and victim, and without distinguishing between good and evil, this would be a stain on the Justice and Wisdom of Allah (Mighty & Majestic). 

Therefore, it is from the Wisdom and Justice of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) that there will be a Day when everyone will stand between the Hands of God, the King (Glorious & Exalted) and victims will face their oppressors, and every good and bad person will receive their recompense, in accordance with the Saying of Allah Most High,