How Long Will the Good Believers Stand on the Day of Judgment?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
I have heard that on The Day of Judgment everybody will stand for 50,000 years, and then after this, we will go to each Prophet (i.e. Prophet Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim etc.) which will take 1000 years to get to each Prophet. Then the judgment will start and will only last for 24 hours.
Will the good believers stand for 50,000+ years as well or will their time be very brief?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
Short Answer
From that which has reached us from the Quran and the Prophetic narrations, we can affirm that the Day of Judgment will be at least 50,000 years for the Disbelievers. As for the Believers, it will be as short as half a day down to the length of an obligatory prayer. Below is the detailed answer with the specific texts:
Long Answer
Allah Most High says, “A challenger has demanded a punishment bound to come for the disbelievers—to be averted by none—from Allah, Lord of pathways of ˹heavenly˺ ascent ˹through which˺ the angels and the ˹holy˺ spirit will ascend to Him on a Day fifty thousand years in length.” [Quran, 70:1-4]
Exegesis (tafsir) of the Above Verse
In the 7th century A.H. commentary by Imam al-Qurtubi (May Allah have mercy on him) comments on the above passage with the following transmitted opinions:
Ibn ‘Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) said, “It is the Day of Judgment. Allah has made its length for the Disbelievers fifty thousand years, after which they will enter the Fire permanently.”
Imam al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) supports the opinion of Ibn ‘Abbas saying, “This is the best opinion regarding this verse if Allah wills. In support of this is the narration of Qasim bin Asbagh (may Allah have mercy on him) on the authority of Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (Allah be pleased with him):
Abu Sa‘id (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “It is a day that lasts fifty thousand years.” So I said, “How long it is!” So He (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “I swear by the One in whose control is my soul, indeed, it will be lightened for the Believer until it is briefer than an obligatory prayer which he prayed in the World.” [Ahmad] [Qurtubi, al-Jami‘ li-Ahkam al-Qur’an]
The Reckoning for the Believers is Short
Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The Day that mankind will stand before the Lord of the Worlds lasts for half a day of the fifty thousand years. Thus, it will be shortened upon the Believers like the sun’s approaching the horizon till it sets.” [Musnad Abu Ya‘la; the narrators are trustworthy according to Haythami, Majma‘ al-Zawaid]
Summary
From the above, we see that for the disbelievers the Day of Judgment will last, at least, 50,000 years. As for the Believers, their standing and reckoning will be half a day or even shorter than the length of an obligatory prayer: each is given expedience according to their level of closeness to Allah Most High.
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
