What is the belief in hereafter in islam? What are the 3 main beliefs of islam?
The word ākhirah literally means “the last, the last day and after.” In Islam, it means “the next world or the hereafter”. Accordingly, this world is the “previous world” where living things live, while the hereafter is the “next realm”. As a term, the hereafter refers to the life that will begin with Israfīl (as) blowing the Trumpet for the first time at the command of Allah and it will last forever.
Allah Almighty created this world we live in and the creatures on it for a temporary period of time. One day, the world and all animate and non-inanimate beings in it will perish. Mountains, rocks, earth, and skies will be shattered, and the whole world will come to an end, leaving only Allah.[1] That day, which will begin and continue with the occurrence of these events, is referred to in the Qur’an as “al-yawm al-ākhir (last day)”, “yawm al-ba’th (resurrection day)”, “yawm al-qiyāmah (day of judgment)”, “yawm al-dīn (day of punishment and reward)”, “yawm al-ḥisāb (day of reckoning)”, “yawm al-talaq (day of reunion)”, and “yawm al-khasrah (day of longing and regret)”.
After the Day of Judgment, people will be resurrected and brought back from their graves, and they will gather in the place of Judgment in the presence of Almighty Allah to give an account of what they have done in the world.[2] After the reckoning, some people will go to Paradise as a result of their good deeds in the world and the mercy of Almighty Allah, and those who have committed bad deeds and are not worthy of Allah’s mercy will go to Hell.
Doomsday will come when Israfīl (as) blows on something called a sūr, its nature is known only by Allah. When the sūr is blown for the second time, the souls will return to their bodies and resurrection will take place. Allah Almighty says: “The Trumpet will (just) be sounded, when all that are in the heavens and on earth will swoon, except such as it will please Allah (to exempt). Then will a second one be sounded, when, behold, they will be standing and looking on!”[3]
Belief in the Hereafter is one of the fundamentals of the Islamic creed and is often mentioned in the Qur’an side by side with faith in Allah. A person who does not believe in the Hereafter goes beyond the limits of religion. The following is stated in the Qur’an regarding people who have disbelief in this way: “…Any who denies Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Judgment, has gone far, far astray.”[4]
In many verses of the Qur’an, it is emphasized that the life of this world is temporary and the hereafter is permanent and that people should not fall for the pleasures and deceptions of this temporary life. However, attention is drawn to the fact that the world should not be neglected, since the Hereafter will be gained by the life of this world. The following is stated in the verses: “O my people! This life of the present is nothing but (temporary) convenience: It is the Hereafter that is the Home that will last.”[5], “Nay (behold), you prefer the life of this world; But the Hereafter is better and more enduring.”[6], and “But seek, with the (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on thee, the Home of the Hereafter, nor forget thy portion in this world…”[7]
There are many verses in the Qur’an about the resurrection after death. “It is He Who begins (the process of) creation; then repeats it; and for Him, it is most easy…”[8], “Say, ‘He will give them life Who created them for the first time! for He is Well-versed in every kind of creation!’”[9], and “Assuredly the creation of the heavens and the earth is a greater (matter) than the creation of men: Yet most men understand not.”[10]
In worldly life, people can have different understandings, lifestyles, and deeds. Some are learned, some are ignorant, some are just, some are cruel, some are poor, some are rich, some do good, and some are evil. If there was no resurrection after death, those who did good deeds would not have been rewarded for it, and those who did evil would not have been punished for it. This is against the justice of Almighty Allah. That is why Almighty Allah has ordained resurrection and recompense for the deeds carried out in this world.
The life in the hereafter is described in the Qur’an as follows:
“Then, when one blast is sounded on the Trumpet, And the earth is moved, and its mountains, and they are crushed to powder at one stroke, on that Day shall the (Great) Event come to pass. And the sky will be rent asunder, for it will that Day be flimsy, And the angels will be on its sides, and eight will, that Day, bear the Throne of your Lord above them. That Day shall you be brought to Judgment: not an act of yours that you hide will be hidden. Then he that will be given his Record in his right hand will say: “Ah here! Read you my Record! I did really understand that my Account would (One Day) reach me!” And he will be in a life of Bliss, in a Garden on high, The Fruits whereof (will hang in bunches) low and near. “Eat you and drink you, with full satisfaction; because of the (good) that you sent before you, in the days that are gone!” And he that will be given his Record in his left hand, will say: “Ah! Would that my Record had not been given to me! And that I had never realized how my account (stood)! Ah! Would that (Death) had made an end of me! Of no profit to me has been my wealth! My power has perished from me!” (The stern command will say): “Seize you him, and bind you him, And burn you him in the Blazing Fire.””[11]
In the continuation of this Qur’anic verses, two issues lead the book to be given from the left. a) Not believing in Allah, and b) Not encouraging the poor to be fed.[12]
In the verses above, the situation of believers and non-believers in the Hereafter is briefly revealed. Believing in the hereafter, which is full of good news for the believer and full of fear for the disbeliever, is the biggest factor that puts a person’s worldly life in order. Anyone who has the love of Allah and belief in the Hereafter in his heart also knows that all his affairs are recorded by the angel scribes. This belief prevents him from committing evil.
The belief in the hereafter also includes believing in certain chronological steps and concepts such as life in the grave, resurrection, the bridge of Ṣirāt, mizān, the pool of Kawthar, intercession, heaven, hell, and Aʿrāf. We will briefly explain them below.
[1] See al-Qāria, 101: 4-5; al-Raḥmān, 55: 27[2] See al-Hijr, 15: 25; Āl ʿImrān, 3: 19; al-Ḥāqqa, 69: 19, 37.
[3] Al-Zumar, 39: 68.[4] Al-Nisā, 4: 136.[5] Al-Ghāfir, 40: 39.[6] Al-Aʿlā, 87: 16-17.[7] Al-Qaṣaṣ, 28: 77.[8] Al-Rūm, 30: 27.[9] Ya Sin, 36: 79.[10] Al-Ghāfir, 40: 57; al-Nazi’āt, 79: 27.[11] Al-Ḥāqqa, 69: 13-31.[12] Al-Ḥāqqa, 69: 33-34.
Source: Basic Islamic Principles (ʿilmi ḥāl) According to the Four Sunni Schools With Evidence From The Sources of Islamic Law, Prof. Hamdi Döndüren, Erkam Publications