The gathering of mankind and the animals .

Dought & clear, - Belief in the Last Day and the Signs of the Hour, -
What can you tell us about how people will look following the
Resurrection? Will people will be wearing clothes or not? Will the
animals be resurrected after death or not?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Allaah calls the Day of Resurrection the Day of Gathering because
Allaah will gather His slaves, mankind and the jinn. Allaah says:
"Indeed in that (there) isa sure lesson for those who fear the torment
of the Hereafter. That is a Day whereon mankind will be gathered
together, and that is a Day when all (the dwellers of the heavens and
the earth) will be present"
[Hood 11:103]
"Say (O Muhammad): (Yes) verily, those of old, and those of later times.
All will surely be gathered together for appointed Meeting of a known Day"
[al-Waaqiyah 56:49-50]
"There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most
Gracious (Allaah) as a slave.
Verily, He knows each one of them, and has counted them a full counting.
And everyone of them will come to Him alone on the Day of Resurrection
(without any helper, or protector or defender)"
[Maryam 19:93-95]
"And (remember) the Day We shall cause the mountains to pass away
(like clouds of dust), and you will see the earth as a levelled plain,
and we shall gather them all together so as to leave not one of them
behind"
[al-Kahf 18:47]
Also included in this gathering are the animals. Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn
Taymiyah) said:
"As for the animals, they will all be gathered by Allaah, as is
indicated by the Qur'aan and Sunnah.Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
'There is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that
flies with its two wings, but are communities likeyou. We have
neglected nothing in the Book, then unto their Lord they (all) shall
be gathered'
[al-An'aam 6:38]
'And when the wild beasts are gathered together'
[al-Takweer 81:5]
'And among His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, etc.) is the
creation of the heavens and the earth, and whatever moving (living)
creatures He has dispersed in them both. And He is All-Potent over
their assembling (i.e. resurrecting them on theDay of Resurrection
aftertheir death, and dispersion of their bodies) whenever He wills'
[al-Shoora 42:29]
The word idha (translated here as whenor whenever) refers to something
that will inevitably come to pass. And there are many well known
ahaadeeth on this topic. On the Day of Resurrection Allaah will gather
the animals, and the scores among them will be settled. Then it will
be said to them, "Be dust!" and they will become dust. At that point
the kaafir will say, "Would that I were dust!" (al-Naba' 72:40 –
interpretation of the meaning). Whoever says that they will not be
brought back to life is making a serious mistake, indeed he is
misguided or is a kaafir. And Allaah knows best.
Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 4/248
Ahmad (20534) narrated from Abu Dharr that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wassitting, and two sheep
locked horns, and one ofthem butted the other and defeated it. The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
smiled, and it was said to him, "Why are you smiling, O Messenger of
Allaah?" He said, "Because of the sheep. By the One in Whose hand is
my soul, it will settle its score with the other on the Day of
Resurrection."
Ahmad Shaakir said, its isnaad is hasan and unbroken.
Muslim (2582) narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "All rights will be
restored on the Day of Resurrection, until even the hornless sheep
will settle its score with the one that has horns."
Al-Nawawi said:
This clearly indicates that the animals will be gathered on the Day of
Resurrection, and that they will be brought back to life like human
beings who are accountable, and like children and the insane and those
who were notreached by the call of Islam. This is what is indicated by
the Qur'aanand Sunnah. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And when the wild beasts are gathered together"
[al-Takweer 81:5]
If something is stated in a shar'i text, and there isno rational or
shar'i reason not to interpret itaccording to what it appears to mean,
then it must be taken at face value. The scholars said that it is not
a condition of the gathering or the resurrection that there should be
reward or punishment. With regard to the hornless sheep settling their
scores with those that have horns, this is not the retaliation that
comes with accountability, because they are not accountable. Rather it
is simply settling the scores. And Allaah knowsbest.
People will be gathered on the Day of Resurrection barefoot, naked and
uncircumcised. It was narrated from Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased
with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "You willbe gathered barefoot, naked and uncircumcised." Then he
recited, "As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it. (It is)
a promise binding upon Us. Truly, We shall do it" [al-Anbiya' 21:104 –
interpretation of the meaning]. Then he said: "The first one to be
clothed on the Day of Resurrection will be Ibraaheem. Some peoplefrom
among my followers will be taken away towards the left and I will say,
'My followers, my followers!' He will say, 'They kept turning back on
their heels after you left them.' And I will say what the righteous
slavesaid:
'And I was a witness overthem while I dwelt amongst them, but when You
took me up, You were the Watcher over them; and You are aWitness to
all things. (This is a great admonition and warning to the Christians
of the whole world).
If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them,
verily, You, only You, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise'
[al-Maa'idah 5:117]."
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3349)
It was narrated that 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said:
"The Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: 'You will be gathered barefoot, naked and uncircumcised.' I
said, 'O Messenger of Allaah, men and women will be looking at one
another?!' He said, 'The situation will be so terrible that that will
notconcern them.'" (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6527)
And it was narrated in the hadeeth that people will be resurrected in
the clothes in which theydied. It was narrated that when Abu Sa'eed
al-Khudri was dying, he called for new clothes and put them on, then
he said, "I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) say, 'The deceased will be resurrected in the
clothes in which he died.'" (Narrated by Abu Dawood, 3114; classed
assaheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1671).
This hadeeth may seem to contradict the hadeeth quoted above, which
says that they will be resurrected naked. The scholars reconciled
between the two reportsby noting the following points:
1- That they will be raised in those garmentsbut they will wear
out after the resurrection, and when they reach theplace of standing
they will be naked.
2- They will be raised naked then when the Prophets and Siddeeqs
etc have been clothed, everyone else will be clothed in the same
kindof clothes as those in which they died.
3- Some of the scholars interpreted this hadeeth as referring to
the martyrs (shuhada'), because they are the ones whom the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded should be buried
in the clothes in which they died, so they will be resurrected in
their clothes in order to distinguish them from others.
4- What is meant by clothes is righteous deeds, as in the verses
(interpretation of the meanings)
"and the raiment of righteousness, that is better"
[al-A'raaf 7:26]
"And purify your garments"
[al-Muddaththir 74:4]
What is meant by a person being resurrected according towhat he was
doing when he died is that if his final action was good, then it will
be good (for him) and if it was bad then it will be bad (for him).
This is indicated by the hadeeth of Jaabir who said: "I heard the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, 'Every person
will be resurrected in the manner that he died.'" (Narrated by Muslim,
2878)
And Ibn 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him): "The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'When Allaah
sends down punishment upon a people, the punishment also befalls those
who were among them, then they will be resurrected according to their
deeds.'" (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7108).
This is also indicated by the hadeeth of Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allaah be
pleased with him) who said: "Whilst a man was at 'Arafah, he fell from
his mount and broke his neck (or it broke his neck). The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, 'Wash him with water
and lotus leaves, and shroud him in two garments, but do not apply
perfume or cover his head, for he will be raised on the Day of
Resurrection reciting theTalbiyah.'" (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1265).
And it was narrated fromAbu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Every wound that the Muslim
receives for the sake of Allaah will appear on theDay of Resurrection
as it was at the time when it was inflicted; blood will be flowing
from the wound and its color will be that of blood but its smell will
be the fragrance of musk." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 237).
Hence it is mustahabb to encourage one who is dying to say Laa ilaaha
ill-Allaah, so that these good words will be his last words in this
world and he will be raised saying them on the Day of Resurrection.
See Fath al-Baari, 11/383
The people will be gathered on that Day on another earth, one that is
different from this earth, with specific features that are explained
in the Sunnah.It was narrated that Sahlibn Sa'd said: "I heard the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, 'The people
will be gathered on the Day of Resurrection on reddish white land like
a pure loaf of bread (made from pure fine flour)." Sahl or someone
else said, "It will have no landmarks for anyone (to make use of)."
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6521)
'Afra' (translated here as reddish) means white that has a hint of
redness; or it was said that it is intensely white;or it was said that
it means pure white. A pure loaf of bread means a loaf that is made
from pure flour that is unadulterated.

Does the Mahdi exist at present?.

Dought & clear, - Belief in the Last Day and the Signs of the Hour, -
Will the expected Mahdi resemble the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him)? What about the voices that have emerged in recent
times and claim that he is here and has been born, i.e., he exists at
present?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The appearance of the Mahdi at the end of time, when he will fill the
earth with justice and fairness after it had been filled with
injusticeand wrongdoing, is something that is mentioned in the
saheehSunnah, and some of thescholars of hadeeth said:The ahaadeeth
about the Mahdi are mutawaatir because of their large number, and the
descent of 'Eesa ibn Maryam (peace and blessings be upon him and our
Prophet) and hispraying behind him is something that is well known.
The name of the Mahdi and the name of his father will be like thename
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the
name of his father; he will be one of the descendents of Faatimah
(may Allaah be pleased with her).
It should be noted that this Mahdi who is mentioned in the ahaadeeth
is not the so-called awaited Mahdi mentioned by that deviant group,
the Ithna''Ashari (Shi'ah) who claim that he entered the tunnel and is
awaiting the order to emerge, and whose name they say is Muhammad ibn
al-Hasanal-'Askari. This is an illusion and a myth, and the refutation
of that is discussed in books, and there is no room to go into it
here.
But we advise you to read Minhaaj al-Sunnah by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah and summaries of it such as Manhaj al-I'tidaal by al-Dhahabi,
and Tuhfat al-Ithna 'Ashariyyah by Muhibb al-Deen al-Khateeb. It is
essentialto note that every groupis awaiting a Mahdi suchas the Jews
who are awaiting the Mahdi, but for them he will be the Dajjaal who
will be followed by the Jews of Isfahaan. The Christians are awaiting
a Mahdi which is the descent of the Messiah (Second Coming of Christ).
We Muslims have no doubt about the descent of 'Eesa ibn Maryam (peace
be upon him), when he will break the cross and kill the pigs, and will
abolish jizyah and rule according to the sharee'ah of Islam, and at
that time there will beno war.
Throughout history there have appeared liars who claimed to be the
Mahdi. Some historians have counted them and said that therewere more
than thirty ofthem, including Ibn Tumart in Morocco and the Mahdi of
the Sudan, etc.
As for the view that he exists at present and that he has been born,
this is merely a claim that is made by some people, but there is no
evidence for it. It is most likely that it is a myth. The ahaadeeth
that havebeen narrated about theMahdi do not mention where he will be
born orwhen, and they do not tell us to look for him or to bring him
up, rather they say that Allaah will prepare him in a single night and
that the Muslims will swear allegiance to him as their caliph and will
be united behind him.
When will that happen?
Only Allaah knows.
And Allaah knows best.

Belief in the Last Day and the Signs of the Hour, - The Muslim belief concerning the destiny of atheists in the Hereafter.

Dought & clear, - What do Muslims believewill happen to Athiests in
the Hereafter
Praise be to Allaah.
The athiest is destined toHell fire in the Hereafter.This is mainly
because anathiest refuses the most basic belief which is the existance
and oneness ofAllaah. I ask Allaah to guide us all to the truth and
help us to follow it, for He is the best Supporter and Helper.

A World of Smile

About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college, I was
working as an intern at my University's Museum of Natural History. One
day while working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an
elderly couple come in with a little girl in a wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was kind of perched on
her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck
and torso. She was wearing a little white dress with red polka dots.
As the couple wheeled her up to me I was looking down at the register.
I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink. As Itook the
money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving
me the cutest, largest smile I have ever seen. All of a sudden her
handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile
just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of
what life isall about. She took me from a poor, unhappy college
student and brought me into her world; a world of smiles, love and
warmth.
That was ten years ago. I'm a successful business person now and
whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think
about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that
shetaught me.