Akhirah - The day of final judgement

What is the underpinning belief about the Akhirah, and what are 2 key quotes?

• Akhirah is a vital belief for Muslims - you must believe this life is temporary and the afterlife is is eternal.

• ‘Not to care about akhirah is a serious failing’ - Ghulam Sarwar

• This shows if you don’t care about the akhirah you cannot do well in this life.

• ‘Does man think that we will not assemble his bones? Yes we are able even to proportion his fingertips.’ - Quran

• This can refer to resurrection.

• It all goes back to the Shahadah - if you accept Allah as God and Muhammad as the prophet, you must also accept the afterlife and day of judgement since they specify that it will happen.

What is a quote about the remembrance of death and what does it show?

• ‘' The most intelligent person is the one who often remembers death’ - prophet Muhammad

• Remembrance = prepared = intelligent

What is the belief of Allah as the judge and what is a key quote?

• One of the fundamental beliefs of Muslims is that Allah is the judge of the outcomes of all humans in the afterlife.

• One of his attributes is that He is the judge and this judgement also includes His other attributes such as:

• all merciful, all powerful, the punisher etc.

• His judgement cannot be overruled by any creation

• ‘Master of the day of judgement’ - opening chapter of the Quran.

What are the 3 stages of Akhirah?

• Barzakh

• Resurrection

• Judgement day

What happens in the Barzakh stage?

• The literal meaning of Barzakh is veil or barrier that stands between two things and doesn’t allow them to meet.

• It is a realm kept by Allah between this world and and the next where the soul goes.

• A soul lives in Barzakh after it has been questioned by angels Munkar and Nakir.

• It is almost a mini heaven or hell depending on the person - they will live in this state until the day of judgement.

What is a common analogy used for the Barzakh?

• A baby in the womb - Just as the baby cannot possibly begin to understand the vast outside world until they experience it for themselves.

• We cannot hope to understand what Barzakh entails until we transition there ourselves.

What are two Quran quotes about the Barzakh?

• ‘Before them is a barrier until the day they are raised.’

• ‘Between them is a barrier so neither of them goes beyond.’

What happens in the resurrection stage?

• When God intends to start resurrection, the first thing that happens will be the blowing of the trumpet by angel Israfil.

• When the trumpet is blown, all will die except those whom God desires otherwise.

• After all living things will die and after the intermediate period passes, the first one to come alive is Israfil who will blow the trumpet for the second time.

• Taking the trumpet to his mouth, Israfil will announce to the souls that they will be judged.

What is a key quote about resurrection?

• ‘The trumpet shall be blown, so all those that are in the heavens and all those that are in the earth shall swoon, except such as Allah please; then it shall be blown again, then they shall stand up awaiting.’

What happens in the judgement day stage?

• Your beliefs and actions in this world will affect the outcomes of the afterlife.

• The day of judgement isn’t 24 hours.

• There will be a mood of panic.

• The record of deeds written will be given to you - those who take the record with their right hand won’t know whether their evil deeds have outweighed the good.

• People have to walk over the bridge of Siraat over hell.

• The Siraat will have several stations that will check your deeds e.g. praying, charity etc.

What are three Quran quotes about the day of judgement?

• ‘This day every soul should be rewarded for what it has earned; no injustice.’

• ‘All creatures will appear before Allah.’

• ‘Anyone who has done an atoms weight of good, see it, and anyone who has done an atoms weight of evil, shall see it.’

How is heaven depicted?

• Heaven is eternal, it is where the believers will be saved.

• There is everything that the people of paradise will desire and what is with God is even more that what they can wish.

• Paradise is the place where there will be no sign of failure, grief, sorrow, difficulty, hardship, trouble, weakness, old age, illness, tiredness.

• Safety and security in every sense - named the ‘abode of peace.’

• It is the real kingdom in the sense that man has so much power that whatever he wishes will be available at once - it is available to only the people of paradise.

• Everyone will be at peace, there will be true happiness.

• A place where only good people will live, a wonderful place where God lives.

• Without pain, tears torment.

What is a key quote about heaven?

• ‘Righteous are promised, rivers of water unaltered, rivers of milk the taste of which never changes, rivers of wine delicious to those who drink and rivers of purified honey, all kinds of fruits and forgiveness from their Lord.’

How is hell depicted?

• Hell is the last prison where there will be various kinds of punishments, chastisements, pain, troubles, hardships and calamities.

• It will be unimageable, it is a place where all disbelievers will be perished.

• For the people of hell, there will be mental and spiritual tortures too - realisation they may be in hell for eternity, regret, taunting by the people of hell, blaming each other etc

• Originally designed for Satan and his demons.

• A place of torment cursed with fire.

• A place to be avoided

What are key quotes about hell?

• When they will be cast into it, they will hear it roar as it boils as though it will burst with rage.’

• ‘They will say, if only we had listened and understood, we would not be among the inmates of the blazing fire.’

Is there more description of heaven or hell in the Quran, and what does this show?

• In the Quran, there is more description of hell than heaven.

• Shows Allah’s mercy as He continuously warns us.

Why is the belief in an afterlife so fundamental for Muslims?

• Beliefs about Akhirah influences actions for Muslims today as Muslims believe that how they live on earth has a direct impact on what happens to them on the day of judgement.

• One of the most important aspects of the day of judgement is the handing over of the book of deeds recorded by two angels - everything has to be noted down.

• If there was no belief today in the afterlife, then this would mean there is no reason to pursue the straight path, therefore the belief is fundamentally relevant.

• Muslims beliefs and teachings must be seen as a whole - belief in an afterlife is an essential belief for all Muslims.

• Muslims stress the importance of preparing to meet with Allah at the end of their life from both fear and longing anticipation.

• A belief in the afterlife gives meaning to life and provides an explanation for suffering. In this way a life of submission is balanced between a desire to be with Allah and a fear of separating from Allah.

What do some Muslims think can be more important than hoping for an afterlife?

• Some Muslims may claim that demonstrating the will of Allah by living a moral life is more important than hoping for an afterlife.

• Whilst this is not saying that the belief in an afterlife is not relevant, it does indicate that there needs to be perspective and that other things are just as or more important for Muslims today.

What is a key quote about the belief in the akhirah?

• ‘Belief in the akhirah has a tremendous influence on the life of a Muslim. He knows that Allah is watching all his actions and will be accountable for them on the day of judgement.’ - Ghulam Sarwar