What Is the Importance of Believing in the Day of Judgment?
Answered by Shaykh Abdul Sami‘ al-Yaqti
Question
What is the importance of believing in the Day of Judgment?
Answer
The importance of believing or having faith in the Day of Judgment is evident through several aspects. It is a matter related to faith and disbelief. Its frequent mention in the Quran and its often association with faith in Allah (Most High) is significant. The outcomes and great results of this belief in the life of a believer are manifold, such as feeling reassured that the rewards of their righteous deeds will not be lost, certainty in the realization of absolute justice on the Day of Resurrection, understanding the reality of this world and what comes after it, which reflects on their morals and behavior in it, among other things, and Allah knows best.
Detailed Answer
The Last Day is the day after which there is no other day ever; where the boundaries of time fade away, leaving only absolute time, and it starts from resurrection. As for its end, it is eternal.
Believing in the Day of Judgment means having a firm belief in the truth of everything that Allah (Most High) has informed us in His Noble Book, or the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) has informed us about what happens after death and what occurs before the Hour. This includes the signs of the Hour, the trial of the grave, its punishment and bliss, the bridge (Sirat), intercession, Heaven and Hell, and what Allah Almighty has prepared for their inhabitants, and other unseen matters that are beyond experimental or observational knowledge.
The first way to know and understand these matters is through transmission or religious texts, referred to by scholars as “true news,” like Quranic verses or authentic, mutawatir (widely transmitted) hadiths that give certainty and about which disbelief is considered apostasy, may Allah (Most High) protect us. Then comes – secondly – the role of sound reasoning, which dictates the necessity of a Last Day where absolute justice is realized, and people are judged for their deeds, especially the oppressors who died without being held accountable.
Firstly: Faith and Disbelief
It relates to the matter of “faith and disbelief”; as it is a pillar of faith that we are commanded to believe in through true news, as mentioned earlier. Allah (Most High) says:
“O believers! Have faith in Allah, His Messenger, the Book He has revealed to His Messenger and the Scriptures He revealed before. Indeed, whoever denies Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, and the Last Day has clearly gone far astray.” [Quran, 4:136]
And as Allah (Most High) said regarding the criminals:
“‘What has landed you in Hell?’ They will reply, ‘We were not of those who prayed, nor did we feed the poor. We used to indulge (in falsehood) along with others, and deny the Day of Judgment, until the inevitable came to us.’ So the pleas of intercessors will be of no benefit to them.” [Quran, 74:42-48]
The authentic Sunna also confirms this and clarifies the pillars of faith and the necessity to believe in them, as in the Hadith of Gabriel, who asked the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) about faith, and he said: “Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in divine predestination, both the good and the evil.” [Muslim] and many other hadiths.
Secondly: Association with True Faith
To illustrate its immense importance, it is sufficient to know that Allah (Most High) has mentioned it in the Quran more than three hundred times in various places and topics, in addition to its frequent association with faith in Allah Almighty. There are also countless hadiths on this subject.
Thirdly: Fruits it Bears
The importance of faith in it is also evident through the great fruits it bears in a person’s life, including:
- The feeling of reassurance that the rewards of righteous deeds will not be lost, which encourages the believer to work harder and increase their deeds seeking Allah’s pleasure and the great reward He has prepared for the believers.
- The feeling and reassurance of the realization of absolute justice among all creations: and the retribution against the oppressors, the arrogant, and the tyrants in this world, to the extent that animals will also be given justice. Allah (Most High) says:
“The Day all will appear (before Allah). Nothing about them will be hidden from Him. (He will ask,) ‘Who does all authority belong to this Day? To Allah—the One, the Supreme! Today every soul will be rewarded for what it has done. No injustice Today! Surely Allah is swift in reckoning.’” [Quran, 40:16-17]
- And as narrated by Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “The rights will be given to their owners on the Day of Resurrection, even the hornless sheep will be given justice from the horned sheep.” [Muslim]
- Correcting behavior and actions for believers: In other words, strengthening divine supervision or religious conscience and self-accountability.
- Understanding the reality of this world and its relationship with the hereafter.
- Providing clear and honest answers to the most important questions: that trouble humanity among the non-believers, such as “What is the fate of humans after death?”, the destiny of this worldly life, how long will it last and how will it end, and other important questions that are often surrounded by predictions, myths, and theories.
Thus, these are the most important aspects that illustrate the importance of believing in the Day of Judgment, and Allah knows best.
Summary
Our knowledge of the importance of believing in the Day of Judgment should drive us to increase our faith in it and in all other pillars of faith. This should also motivate us to increase our good deeds and acts of obedience, to strive against our souls in avoiding sins and wrongdoings, to correct the course of our lives, to straighten our behavior and morals, to clear our conscience from the rights of others, and to be prepared to meet our Lord, Exalted be He, at any moment in our lives. We ask Allah (Most High) for a good end for us, for you, and for all Muslims, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
[Shaykh] Abdul Sami‘ al-Yaqti
Shaykh Abdul Sami‘ al-Yaqti is a Syrian scholar born in Aleppo in 1977. He obtained his degree in Shari‘a from the Shari‘a Faculty of Damascus University, a Diploma in Educational Qualification from the Faculty of Education at Aleppo University, and a Diploma in Shari‘a and a Master’s in Shari‘a from the Faculty of Sharia, and Law at Omdurman University in Sudan. He is currently writing his doctoral thesis.
He studied under esteemed scholars such as Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri, Shaykh Mustafa al-Turkmani, and Shaykh Dr. Nur al-Din Itr, among others. Shaykh al-Yakti has worked in teaching and cultural guidance in orphanages and high schools in Aleppo. He served as an Imam, Khatib, and reciter at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi and as a certified trainer for Khatibs in Abu Dhabi’s Khatib Qualification Program.
He is involved in developing and teaching a youth education program at Seekers Arabic for Islamic Sciences.
Among Shaykh al-Yaqti’s significant works are “Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni: Bayna Ilm al-Kalam Wa Usul al-Fiqh” and the program “The Messenger of Allah Among Us (Allah bless him and give him peace).”
