The Importance of Preparing for the Day of Judgement; Is the Time of the Occurrence of the Day of Judgement known?

Often, when the Day of Judgement is mentioned, we attribute it to a distant and uncertain future; an event after death that we think is far away from us. The truth is that just as we prioritize the mortal world and its affairs in our life’s concerns and strive to achieve them, we neglect the certain and true eternity that awaits us. Consequently, we do not feel the need to acquire the necessary information about the Day of Judgement and how to prepare for it, and we easily neglect this important issue.

This is while the concept of the Day of Judgement as the Day of Retribution in the hereafter is an accepted truth and of special importance, not only in Islam but also among various religions. The word “Qiyamah” comes from the root “Qawm,” meaning to rise, and according to the verses of the Holy Quran, it is a day whose measure is equivalent to fifty thousand years [1]. In our religious and narrative concepts, the Day of Judgement is divided into two parts: the minor Day of Judgement and the major Day of Judgement. The minor Day of Judgement begins as soon as we pass away from the physical world and refers to the realm of the grave and Barzakh; however, the major Day of Judgement, which is commonly referred to as the “Day of Judgement” in general terms, occurs after Barzakh. It begins with the resurrection of humans from their graves and is accompanied by the momentous events mentioned in the Holy Quran. In this stage, we will face the death of everything that exists, their return to their origin and source, and the presence of humans before God for the accounting of their deeds; It means, with our passing from the world, we will begin a stage that will continue until our final destiny to enter Heaven or Hell is determined. Considering this, understanding the mentioned stages and acting according to their requirements will form the foundation of preparing for the Day of Judgement.

Preparing for the Day of Judgement

In the course of our lives, the Day of Judgement is a definitive stage that not only involves various stopping points and calculates our performance in different dimensions, but also requires a comprehensive preparation throughout our entire life. The Day of Judgement is the scene of retribution and reward, which, contrary to popular belief that considers it distant and does not feel the danger to prepare and face it, may surprise us at any moment. Because, according to the Holy Prophet (PBUH), our death will coincide with the occurrence of our Day of Judgement [2]! Although death often does not have a specific and predetermined time, it is a definitive event and cannot be denied in any way.

The question here is, what should be done to reach such a monumental stage that does not even have a specific entry time? Naturally, first and foremost, we need to be aware of the content being questioned at the various stops of the Day of Judgement because the speed of the accounting of deeds is directly proportional to the level of preparing for the Day of Judgement to answer at these stops. These questions are the duties and rights that each of us has had toward our own lives and the lives of others during our worldly existence, and violating any of them can lead to our delay on the Day of Judgement. In separate lessons, we have addressed the questions of the Day of Judgement and the nature and manner of these questions and answers.

In fact, we as humans and responsible, free-willed beings who have the opportunity to benefit from the world for a certain period, we inevitably have to align the various dimensions of our lives with what we will be questioned about. We are never allowed to advance our life plans according to our personal desires and inclinations without considering the boundaries and priorities that God has set for us. The issue of the Day of Judgement, just as it is a serious and definitive matter in itself, also demands our seriousness in our worldly life to enter this critical stage because the quality of our exploitation of the world is exactly what determines our tomorrow and specifies the level of preparing for the Day of Judgement.

The Names of the Day of Judgement Reflect Our Condition

God in the Holy Quran has referred to the Day of Judgement by various names such as Al-Waqi’ah (The Inevitable Event), Yawm al-Fasl (The Day of Decision), Yawm ad-Din (The Day of Religion), As-Sa’ah (The Hour), Yawm al-Hasrah (The Day of Regret), etc., each of which somehow expresses our condition and how we position ourselves regarding this monumental stage. The multiplicity of these names and the reason behind each naming itself indicates the magnitude of the Day of Judgement and the vastness of its dimensions. In reality, a deep understanding of these names and their consequences can help facilitate the path of preparing for the Day of Judgement. To gain a deeper understanding of our relationship with this stage of life, we will examine a limited number of these names in the following sections.

-Yawm ad-Din (The Day of Religion)

As humans in this world, we face a winding path, and to reach the purpose of creation and becoming like Allah, we certainly need a plan and a method. Although often, due to our attachment to the world and forgetting eternity, we neglect the role that religion plays as a roadmap and method to reach the goal; however, the Day of Judgement is a day when the effects of religion and its truths become clear, and therefore it is called Yawm ad-Din. In fact, by leaving the world and seeing the spiritual realm of the universe, we will clearly observe the effects of following religion and the consequences of not adhering to it.

-Yawm Tubla as-Sara’ir (The Day Secrets Are Disclosed)

As we mentioned earlier, our departure from the world coincides with the coming of our Day of Judgement and the lifting of the veils. In previous lessons, under the Law of Proportion, we realized that the relationship between the world and the hereafter is similar to the relationship between a mother’s womb and the world. In fact, just as a fetus in its fetal stage in the mother’s womb is busy building organs for the world, and the moment of its birth into the world shows its performance during the fetal period, in the womb of the world, we are busy building tools for an eternity that we will face as soon as we leave the world. The occurrence of the Day of Judgement and the lifting of the veils cause the emergence of the reality and inward self that we have been busy building in the womb of the world, and by stepping out of the framework of the world, we will be able to comprehend it.

-Yawm al-Hasrah (The Day of Regret)

Among the various names for the Day of Judgement, perhaps the most tangible one is Yawm al-Hasrah, because almost all of us have faced situations in life where, due to a misunderstanding and neglect of opportunities, we have suffered some kind of regret and remorse. But certainly, the conditions of the Day of Judgement and the regret that will grip us at this stage are not comparable to any worldly regrets. Our condition on the Day of Judgement is like someone who has understood the importance of striving harder in the mother’s womb to enjoy better conditions in the world, or who, due to negligence in the mother’s womb, is born into a world whose structure they are not compatible with. And due to the lack of harmony with the structure they have entered, they carry a sense of loss and regret at every moment. Of course, what makes this feeling of remorse even deeper is the irreversibility of these conditions because just as upon birth into the world, we have no way to return to the mother’s womb to make up for shortcomings and neglects or even improve our condition, being born into the hereafter and the coming of the Day of Judgement also close the path to return to the womb of the world and leave us facing eternal regret and remorse. In fact, not preparing for the Day of Judgement is the penalty for our shortcomings or neglect of the unparalleled opportunity for self-improvement in the powerful womb of the world- an outcome that will weigh on us for eternity.

In this lesson, we examined the relationship between humans and the Day of Judgement, as well as the importance of preparing for the Day of Judgement. We stated that the Day of Judgement is a stage that begins with our departure from the physical world and continues until the accounting for entry into Heaven or Hell. The existence of the Day of Judgement is a definitive matter and requires our comprehensive preparation throughout our lives. Furthermore, we discussed how the various names of the Day of Judgement make us aware of the nature of this critical stage and how we should position ourselves toward it.

References

[1]. Quran, 70:4

[2]. “When one of you dies, his personal Day of Judgement has begun, and he will see what awaits him of good and of evil.” (Kanz al-Ummal, 42123)