Thank you for visiting. This article is the fifth installment in a series explaining the original texts of Islam.
Last time (Article 4), I explained the stories of the prophets told in the Qur’an. This time, I look in detail at the theme the Qur’an tells most repeatedly and most powerfully — “the end times and the Last Judgment” — and the world of the afterlife, heaven and hell.
For an overview map of Islam’s original texts as a whole, please see this summary article.
Why the Qur’an Keeps Telling of the “End Times”
Reading the Qur’an, especially the chapters of the Meccan revelations sent down in the early period of the prophet’s activity, one notices something. It is that “the Last Day” and “the Last Judgment” are told astonishingly repeatedly.
There is a reason for this. Islam’s ethics are supported by the conviction that “one’s deeds in this world decide one’s eternal fate in the next.” A person does not end at death, but will one day surely rise and be judged — precisely because of this intense faith in the afterlife, Muslims earnestly engage in daily prayer and good works.
That is, the teaching of the end times is not a mere “prophecy of the world’s end,” but also a teaching for the present, asking “how should one live now.” Believing in the afterlife was also one of the Six Articles of Faith (Article 2). In this article, I look at that world of the afterlife step by step.
A Complete History of Philosophy and ReligionView on Amazon →
An Illustrated Introduction to the World’s 5 Great MythologiesView on Amazon →
The World of Death and the Grave
In Islam, the afterlife is thought not to begin suddenly with the Last Judgment, but to already begin right after a person dies.
After the Angel of Death takes the soul, a person is buried in the grave. Then, according to tradition, two angels called “Munkar and Nakir” appear in the grave and question the dead about their faith: “Who is your Lord?” “Who is your prophet?”
One who lived with correct faith can await the Day of Resurrection in peace, but for one who had no faith, suffering is held to already begin in the grave. This intermediate state, from death to resurrection, is called “barzakh (the intermediate realm).” That is, even while awaiting the Last Judgment, a person is thought not to be sleeping, but to be in their respective state.
The Signs of the End, and the Final Trumpet
The Qur’an and the Hadith tell that, as the world’s end draws near, various “signs” will appear. These have been told as divided into “minor signs,” in which faith and morals are gradually lost, and “major signs,” which occur one after another just before the end. The “major signs” that tradition (the Hadith) depicts in particular are dramatic.
- The appearance of the Dajjal (the false messiah): a one-eyed false messiah who deceives people appears and throws the world into chaos
- The coming of the Mahdi (the guided one): a leader who restores justice appears and stands against the Dajjal
- The second coming of Isa (Jesus): on the last day the prophet Jesus descends from heaven and strikes down the Dajjal
- Yajuj and Majuj (Gog and Magog): the wild peoples who had been shut away are released and ravage the earth
- The sun rising from the west, a beast appearing from the earth, and other upheavals of heaven and earth
After all these signs have appeared, the end of the world itself comes at last.
And when that time finally comes, the angel who governs the trumpet, “Israfil,” blows the final trumpet. With its sound, heaven and earth collapse, the mountains crumble away, the sun and stars lose their light, and all life perishes for a time. The chapters of the Qur’an depicting the end times portray this awesome scene in powerful, cascading words.
The Day of Resurrection — All the Dead Rise
After the world has perished, when the trumpet is blown again, all the humans who have ever lived, from Adam to the last human, rise with their bodies. This is the “Day of Resurrection (the Day of Qiyama).”
What is important in Islam is that humans rise not as souls alone, but with their bodies. Bones and flesh, too, are believed to be regenerated completely to their original state by God’s power. The risen people are gathered before God and await the time of judgment.
The Last Judgment — Deeds Are Weighed
Each risen person is judged for the deeds of their life before God. This is the “Last Judgment.” Its manner is told through several symbolic images.
The Book of the Record of Deeds
Every human is handed a “book of the record” that records, without leaving out one, the deeds of their life. One who piled up good works receives that book in their right hand, and one who piled up evil in their left hand. The record is said to hold everything, down to small deeds the person themselves has forgotten.
The Weighing of Deeds (the Scale)
Next, those deeds are placed on a giant “scale (mizan).” Good works and evil works are weighed, and if good is heavier, one goes toward salvation; if evil is heavier, toward punishment. Not the slightest good or evil is overlooked, and God is held to judge with complete fairness. This scene is a view of life and death where deeds are weighed, also resonant with the “weighing of the heart” in Egyptian mythology.
The Bridge of Fire, Sirat
Further, tradition tells that all people must cross a bridge laid over hell, “Sirat,” said to be thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword. The righteous, guided by light, cross over swiftly, but the sinful slip and fall from the bridge into hell.
Note that, in the judgment, God’s mercy and the “intercession” of the Prophet Muhammad are also told. God is at once a strict judge and an infinitely merciful One, and in the end is held to save the believers who repented of their sins.
Heaven (Janna) — the Promised Paradise
What those saved through the judgment are welcomed into is the paradise “Janna (heaven).” Janna means, in Arabic, “garden.”
As the ideal for a desert people was, the heaven the Qur’an depicts is a garden where water flows abundantly, overflowing with green and fruit.
- Rivers flow beneath the trees, and rich fruit ripens
- Clad in beautiful garments, relaxing on thrones, enjoying every food and drink
- With neither grief nor suffering nor weariness, eternal peace continues
- And above all, there is the highest joy for a believer — that one can draw near to God and see God
Heaven is divided into several stages (levels), and the more excellent one’s faith and deeds, the higher the stage one is welcomed into.
Hell (Jahannam) — the World of the Fire
On the other hand, those who rejected God and kept doing evil are cast into the fire of “Jahannam (hell).”
The Qur’an also vividly depicts the sufferings of hell.
- Blazing flames and boiling-hot water
- The endless torment of being burned, the skin regenerating and being burned again
- Food and drink full of pain, such as bitter fruit and boiling water
Hell is depicted as a warning toward God. However, it is also interpreted that not all sinners stay in hell eternally, and there is the idea that those who had faith are, after atoning for their sins, drawn out by God’s mercy. Those who stay in hell eternally are held to be those who kept rejecting God to the last.
Islam’s View of Life and Death — Living Now for the Sake of the Afterlife
Thus, Islam’s view of the afterlife carries extremely concrete, vivid images. This is because the afterlife is believed not as a mere abstract concept, but as a reality that will surely come.
And where this faith in the afterlife is ultimately directed is “how to live this world.” If one will surely rise and be judged one day, then one must, here and now, believe in God and live rightly and sincerely — the teaching of the end times and the judgment is, for a Muslim, at once a fear and a strong motivation to live well.
To Learn More
Here are some related books. Reading them alongside this series lets you savor this world even more deeply.
World Mythology for Beginners (illustrated)View on Amazon →
The Origins of Religion: Why We Needed a ‘God’View on Amazon →
Conclusion
In this article, I explained in detail Islam’s end times and Last Judgment, and the afterlife of heaven and hell. How was it?
Beginning with the world of the grave after death, the trumpet of the end, the resurrection of all the dead, the weighing of deeds and the bridge of Sirat, and then the paradise Janna and the fire Jahannam — I think you can see that Islam is a religion that, by vividly depicting the afterlife, strongly urges a right way of living in this world.
In the next Article 6 (the final installment), I will explain the second original text after the Qur’an, the “Hadith,” and the Islamic law Sharia derived from it, the four great schools of law, and the difference between Sunni and Shia.
I hope you’ll read the next article too.
📚 Series: The Original Texts of Islam (6/7)
