Scenes from the Hereafter

The Exposure
Mankind, from Aadamto the last man to be created, will be exposed
before their Lord-Allaah Almighty- for judgment, as He, The Most
Exalted, Says )what means(:"And they shall be presented before their
Lord in rows."]Quran 18:48[
The Prophetsaid,"Mankind will be exposed three exposures on the Day of
Resurrection. The ]first[ two exposures shall be disputation and
excuses, but at the third]exposure[, the scrolls ]of deeds[ will be
distributed, and then some will take them in their righthands, others
in their left."]At-Tirmithi[
So, the first time, people will dispute with one another: the weak
with the tyrants who hinderedthem from faith, the tyrants responding
that they are, in the final analysis, not to blame, foreach individual
believes or disbelieves by his/her own conscious decision. The
disbelievers will denythat prophets came to them.
At the second exposure, people will acknowledge their wrongs, and will
seek excuses. With the third exposure, the booksof deeds will be
distributed amongst them. Receiving the bookin the right hand
signifies success, while receiving it in the left hand or behind one's
back signifies failure.
Allaah, the Most Exalted, Says )what means(:
"O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with]great[
exertion and will meet it. Then as for he who is given his record in
his right hand. He will be judged with an easy account. And return to
his people in happiness. But as for he who is given his record behind
his back. He will cry out for destruction. And ]enter to[ burn in a
Blaze."]Quran 84: 6-12[
The Questioning
Allaah, the Most Exalted, Says )what means(:"So by your Lord, We will
surely question them all. About what they used to do."]Quran 15:
92-93[ and )what means(:"Then We will surely question those to whom ]a
message[ was sent, and We will surely question the messengers."]Quran
7: 6[
The people will be questioned about whether messengers came to them,
and how they responded to them. The messengers themselves will be
questioned about whether they conveyed the message.
Belief in the questioning and reckoning of the Hereafter instills a
sense of responsibility and accountability in the Muslim. He must be
constantly watching overhis heart and his deeds, and must be prepared
to forego those fleeting, ephemeral pleasures of this world which are
available to him on the path of sin. He must be prepared to undergo
some suffering and hardship in the temporary abode)worldly life(, in
order to avoid the inescapable consequences of evil in the Hereafter.
He must fear standing before his Lord if he desires safety on that
ghastly day. Allaah, the Almighty and Majestic, Says in a Hadeeth
Qudsi )narrationin which the meaning is from Allaah and the wording is
from Prophet Muhammad(:"By My Might! I shall not combine for My slave
two lives of fear, nor two lives of surety."]Ibn Hibbaan[
People will be questioned, on the Day ofJudgment:
1. About faith, as the Prophetsaid:"You will beasked about)the
testimony of faith(: 'Laa ilaaha illallaah )none isworthy of worship
but Allaah('"]At-Tirmithi[
2. About the five-daily prayers: The Prophetsaid"The first thing which
the slave will be questioned about onthe Day of Resurrection will be
his prayer. If it is in order, then he shall have prospered and
succeeded, while if it is impaired, then he shall have failed and be
ruined."]At-Tirmithi[
3. About those under one's care: Allaah Almighty Says )what means(:
"O you who have believed! Protect yourselves and your families from a
Fire whose fuel is people and stones..."]Quran 66: 6[
The Prophetsaid:"Every one of you is a guardian, and every one of you
will be asked about those under his care. The man is a guardian over
his family,and will be questioned about those under his care. The
womanis a guardian over her husband's house, and will be questioned
about that under her care. The slave is a guardian over his master's
property, and will be questioned for that under his care."]Al-Bukhaari
and Muslim[
4. About the bodily organs: Allaah Almighty Says )what means(:
"And do not pursue that of whichyou have no knowledge. Indeed, the
hearing, the sight and the heart- about all those ]one[ will be
questioned )by Allaah(..."]Quran 17: 36[
5. About delights: Allaah Almighty Says )what means(:"Then on that Day
you shall be asked about pleasure)you indulged in, in this
world(!"]Quran 102:8[
6. About intentions: Allaah Almighty Says)what means(:"Whoever desires
the life of this world and its adornments — We fully repay them for
their deeds therein, andthey therein will not be deprived."]Quran
11:15-16[
In a long narration reported by Muslimwe are told that the men whose
cases shall be judged first on the Day ofResurrection shall be a man
who was martyred, a man who acquired knowledge and taught it and who
recited the Quran, and a man to whom Allaah had been generous and
given many varieties of wealth.These men will acknowledge Allaah's
favors upon them, and will claim that they did these deeds for His
sake. They will be exposed as liars, for they did not do these deeds
for the sake of Allaah. The man who was martyred had been fighting in
order to be called brave, the scholar or reciter of the Quran had
acted thus in order to gain a reputation as such, and the benefactor
had sought recognition as a generous person. Since deeds are judged
according to their intentions, these people received what they had
sought through these deeds, and so they will not receive reward for
them on the Day of Judgment. Hence, they will be dragged into Hell on
their faces.
Additionally, there are four questions which everyone must face on the
Day of Judgement. The Prophetsaid:"The feet of a slave will not move
on the Day of Judgement until he has been questioned about ]four
things:[ his life – how he spent it,his knowledge – how he acted upon
it, his wealth – where he earned it and how he spent it, and his body
– how he used it."]At-Tirmithi[
The Reckoning
Allaah Almighty Says)what means(:"Indeed, to Us is their return. Then
indeed, uponUs is their account."]Quran 88: 25-26[ People will be
brought to account for their deeds, as well as fortheir resolved
intentions. The Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallm said:"When two
Muslims encounter one another with their swords, the murderer and the
murdered shall be in the Fire."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
The murdered individual will also enter the Fire because he was intent
onkilling his brother. However, out of the Grace of Allaah, we are
excused for fleeting thoughts which we do not consciously entertain or
sustain, nor verbalize. Allaah Says )what means(:"Allaah does not
charge a soul except ]with that within[ its capacity"]Quran 2: 286[
The Prophethas said:"Allaah has forgiven my Nation Nation for those
things which their hearts whisper to them."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
There will be some who will enterParadisewithout reckoning. In
theHadeeth narrated by Muslimthe Prophetsaid that the nations of all
the prophets may Allaah exalt their mention were exposed tohim. Hesaw
some prophets with only one or two people, or their family members
with them )i.e. no-one else had believed in them(. Then, hesaw a huge
crowd, and thought that was his Nation. Jibreel)the angel Gabriel(
told him that it was actually the Nation of Moosa)Moses(but he
indicated to him a larger crowd which stretched across the horizon,
and told him that this was his Nation. Hesaid,"…and with them are
70,000 who shall enterParadisewithout reckoning or punishment. They
are those who do not seekRuqyah from others )words from the Quran or
Sunnah said for the express purpose of protection or cure(, nor draw
omens, but rely upon their Lord."]Muslim[
Martyrs of the battlefield who died in the cause of Allaah will also
be exempted from the reckoning. The Prophethas said:"While the
slaves)people( are standing at the placeof reckoning, a ]group of[
people will come with their swords)hanging( on their backs dripping
blood, and they will assemble at the gate ofParadise. It will be
asked: 'Who are these?' whereupon it will be said: 'They are the
martyrs; they were alive, receiving sustenance.'"]At-Tabaraani[