The Qur’an is very specific in its descriptions of resurrection, judgment day, punishment, and reward, but vague about the state of the dead and the place of reward and punishment.
Everyone raised
The Qur’an has all people raised from the dead and required to give account to Allah:
“And verily the Hour will come: there can be no doubt about it, or about (the fact) Allah will raise up all who are in the graves” (22:7);
“Do they not think that they will be raised again (called to account)? On a Mighty Day, a Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the Worlds?” (83:4-6);
“As to the dead, Allah will raise them up… There is not an animal (that lives) on earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you. Nothing have we omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end” (6:36-38); etc.
Note the inclusion of animals at the resurrection. While the Qur’an has many favorable things to say about birds and beasts, it doesn’t detail what happens to them at the resurrection.
The calling to account of every person who ever lived may seem unreasonable, as Mohammed did not come on the scene until 600 AD. We need to remember, however, that the Qur’an claims Mohammed was one of a long line of prophets which began with Abel and includes Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Elisha, etc. (46:9; 2:136; 5:27; 17:55). All of these, according to the Qur’an, preached the revelations of Allah which included the law of Moses and the Old Testament, before it was corrupted by the Jews, and the gospel, before corrupted by Christians (5:44; 7:162). In fact, according to an author cited in an earlier article, Adam was also a major recipient of Allah’s revelations:
“According to Islamic tradition, of all the 124,000 prophets sent into the world, only eight received ‘books’ or ‘pamphlets’ to share with their people. These books are 124 in number, with ten having been entrusted to Adam… one to Jesus, and one to Muhammad. Unfortunately, the first 100 have been lost… and the two (Old and New Testaments), other than the Qur’an that remain, have been tainted by falsehood, so that all that can be trusted now is the Qur’an” (Elass, Understanding the Qur’an, p. 97).
Given this view of the matter, holding everyone to account would seem to Muslims as a reasonable outcome of Allah’s supposedly universal presence and appeal.
Judgment day
While the day of judgment is referred to throughout the Qur’an, Suras 52, 56 and 69 contain fairly succinct accounts. The great day is said to be accompanied by tremendous physical cataclysms with all people trembling at the personal results:
“Then, when one blast is sounded on the Trumpet, and the earth is moved, and its mountains, and they are crushed to powder at one stroke, on that Day shall the (great) Event come to pass, and the sky will be rent asunder… that Day you shall be brought to Judgment; not an act of yours that you hide will be hidden” (69:13-18).
“Verily the Doom of your Lord will indeed come to pass; there is none can avert it; on the Day when the firmament will be in dreadful commotion. And the mountains will fly hither and thither” (52:7-10);
“And to every soul will be paid in full (the fruit) of its deeds; and (Allah) knows best all that they do” (39:70).
Divided into three classes
“And you shall be sorted out into three classes”:
- “Those Foremost (in faith) will be Foremost (in the Hereafter). These will be those Nearest to Allah: In Gardens of Bliss: a number of people from those of old, and a few from those of later times” (56:10-26).
- “The Companions of the Right Hand… (They will be) among lote-trees without thorns, among Talh trees with flowers (or fruits) piled one above another… and on thrones (of Dignity), raised high… a (goodly) number from those of old, and a (goodly) number from those of later times” (56:27-40).
- “The Companions of the Left Hand… (They will be) in the midst of a fierce Blast of Fire and in Boiling Water, and in the shades of Black Smoke” (56:57).
Reward of the righteous
What the Qur’an says about the rewards for the faithful is clear on some points and ambiguous on others. As noted in earlier articles regarding Jesus and Jihad, some special cases are said to go straight to heaven at death. And in a couple of places the reward for all the faithful is said to be in heaven:
“(To the righteous soul will be said:) ‘O (you) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction! You come back to your Lord, well pleased (yourself), and well-pleasing unto Him! You enter, then, among My Devotees! Yes, you enter My Heaven!’ ” (89:27-30).
In other places, the righteous are said to inherit the earth:
“The Day that We [angelic representatives of Allah] roll up the heavens like a scroll [i.e., judgment day] — even as We produced the first Creation, so shall We produce a new one: a promise We have undertaken: truly shall We fulfill it. Before this We wrote in the Psalms, after the Message (given to Moses): ‘My servants, the righteous, shall inherit the earth.’ Verily in this (Qur’an) is a Message for people who would (truly) worship Allah” (21:104-106; note also 39:74).
Overall, however, whether the location is heaven or earth, the Qur’an stresses the pleasures enjoyed by the faithful. We would call them fleshly pleasures; in fact, in some cases we might feel they suggest decadent indulgence. Evidently these descriptions have become an embarrassment to some western Muslims and they have opted to spiritualize them. But there can be no doubt about what the Qur’an actually says:
“They will be on thrones encrusted… Round about them will serve youths of perpetual freshness… with cups (filled) out of clear-flowing fountains: no after-ache will they receive therefrom, nor will they suffer intoxication… and (there will be) companions with beautiful, big and lustrous eyes” (56:15-22);
“But Allah will deliver them from the evils of that Day, and will shed on them a light of beauty and of (blissful) joy. And because they were patient and constant, He will reward them with a Garden and (garments of) silk. Reclining in the (Garden) on raised thrones, they will see there neither the sun’s (excessive heat) nor excessive cold… And amongst them will be passed round vessels of silver… And round about them will (serve) youths of perpetual (freshness)… Verily this is a Reward for you and your Endeavor is accepted and recognized” (76:11-22);
“For the Righteous, is a beautiful place of (final) Return. Garden of Eternity, whose doors will (ever) be open to them… And beside them will be chaste women restraining their glances, (companions) of equal age. Such is the Promise made to you for the Day of Account!” (38:49-53);
“In them will be (Maidens), chaste… whom no man or Jinn [the Islamic version of demons] has touched… and besides these are two other Gardens… dark-green in color… in them will be Fruits, and dates and pomegranates… [the righteous will be] reclining on green cushions and rich carpets of beauty” (55:56-76);
“He that works a righteous deed — whether man or woman — and is a believer — such will enter the Garden; therein will they have abundance without measure” (40:40);
“Gardens of perpetual bliss: they shall enter there, as well as the righteous among their fathers, their spouses, and their offspring” (13:23); etc. Such passages occur in many places in the Qur’an.
While there is much said in the Qur’an that would appeal to a resident of the Arabian deserts, there is nothing about ruling the earth in righteousness with Christ and the saints, and of course nothing about Jerusalem or the promised land, nor about a lovely oneness with God.
Punishment of the wicked
What the Qur’an says about the reward of the righteous is graphic. What it says about the punishment of the wicked is ghastly. As noted above, Class 3 goes to Hell. The only ones spared its fires are faithful Muslims. Jews, Pagans and Christians are specifically mentioned:
“Strongest among men in enmity to the Believers will you find the Jews and Pagans; and nearest among them in love to the Believers will you find those who say, ‘We are Christians’: They listen to the revelation received by the Messenger (Muhammad)… they pray, ‘Our Lord! we believe; write us down among the witnesses…’ And for this their prayer Allah has rewarded them with Gardens… But those [Christians] who reject Faith and belie Our Signs — they shall be Companions of Hell-fire” (5:82-86).
Evidently, according to the Qur’an, Christians can stay Christians so long as they believe Allah is God, Muhammed is a true prophet, and the Qur’an is an inspired book. Otherwise we go to Hell.
Hell is for all who do not believe and practice Islam:
“And to every soul will be paid in full (the fruit) of its deeds; and (Allah) knows best all that they do. The Unbelievers will be led to Hell in crowd” (39:70-72).
Their pleas will be rejected:
“If only you could see when the guilty ones will bend low their heads before their Lord, (saying:) ‘Our Lord! We have seen and we have heard: now then send us back (to the world): we will work righteousness: for we do indeed (now) believe.’ If We had so willed, We could certainly have brought every soul its true guidance: but the Word from Me will come true, ‘I will fill Hell with Jinns and men all together.’ Then you taste — for you forgot the Meeting of this Day of yours, and We too will forget you — you taste the penalty of Eternity for your (evil) deeds!” (32:12-14).
There is no let-up in the agonies of Hell:
“For them will be cut out a garment of Fire: over their heads will be poured out boiling water. With it will be scalded what is within their bodies, as well as (their) skins. In addition there will be maces of iron (to punish) them. Every time they wish to get away therefrom, from anguish, they will be forced back therein, and (it will be said), ‘You taste the Penalty of Burning!’ ” (22:19-22).
When their skins are burned off, they are given new skins so the agony can continue:
“Those who reject our Signs, We shall soon cast into the Fire: as often as their skins are roasted through, We shall change them for fresh skins, that they may taste the penalty: for Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise” (4:56).
One time we enquired of a hospital technician wearing the Muslim scarf what she thought of the horrors of Hell. She accepted them as true teaching and felt they were primarily intended to keep Muslims attentive to the ordinances of Islam. With a somewhat fatalistic shrug, she accepted that Allah would inflict such punishment and there was no use denying it.
State of the dead
This is another topic where the Qur’an is not particularly clear. In one place it speaks of resurrection from the sleep of death:
“The trumpet shall be sounded when behold! from the sepulchers (men) will rush forth to their Lord! They will say: ‘Ah! woe unto us! Who has raised us up from our beds of repose?’… (A voice will say) ‘This is what (Allah) Most Gracious had promised’ ” (36:51,52).
This statement indicates the dead are asleep in the grave awaiting the resurrection. However, as we saw in the articles on Jesus and Jihad, special believers (e.g., martyrs) go straight to heaven, bypassing the Judgment Seat and currently enjoy pleasures requiring a body. Where the body comes from is not indicated. And there is reference to a barrier between the faithful and rejected which exists during the death state before permanent separation takes place at the resurrection:
“In order that I may work righteousness in the things I neglected — By no means! It is but a word he says — Before them is a Partition, till the Day they are raised up. Then when the Trumpet is blown, there will be no more relationships between them that day, nor will one ask after another!” (23:100,101).
Evidently this passage, along with one or two others, has led some Muslims to develop ideas that there is a purgatory similar to that in the Catholic religion.
Future of the earth
We have already noted that the earth suffers great calamities on Judgment Day. Chaos rules and the mountains are flattened. What happens after that is difficult to determine. The Qur’an does not speak of a rejuvenated earth as we find in the Bible prophets. So what the Qur’an leaves in the reader’s mind is that the afterlife consists either of the horrors of Hell or the blessings of the Garden of Paradise. These are the points of emphasis.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One