Allah has said in the Quran:
الْقَارِعَةُ مَا الْقَارِعَةُ ، وَمَا أَدْرَكَ مَا الْقَارِعَةُ يَوْمَ يَكُونُ النَّاسُ كَالْفَرَاشِ الْمَبْثُوتِ وَتَكُونُ الْجِبَالُ كَالْعِهْنِ الْمَنْفُوشِ
The Striking Calamity – What is the Striking Calamity? And what can make you know what is the Striking Calamity? It is the Day when mankind will be like moths, scattered, And the mountains will be like wool, fluffed up.
— Surah Al-Qari’ah: 1-5
The final day of this world will be a Friday. On that day, the sun will not rise in the morning as it usually does. Because of this, confusion and terror will spread among all the people of the world. By midday, the sun—which always rises in the east—will deviate from its usual course, rise from the west, and set back in the west a few hours after rising.
At that moment, the mountains will be uprooted from the earth and begin to float in the sky like wool. All the oceans will catch fire and burst into flame.
Allah says in the Quran:
يَوْمَ تَرْجُفُ الرَّاجِفَة تتبعها الرادفة قُلُوبُ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَاحِفَةٌ ، أَبْصَارُهَا خَاشِعَةٌ
On the Day the blast [of the Horn] shivers [the universe], Followed by the subsequent [blast], Hearts, that Day, will tremble, Their eyes humbled.
— Surah An-Nazi’at: 6-9
The entire earth will shake and convulse with an earthquake. Everyone’s heart will be filled with absolute terror.
The angel Hazrat Israfil (peace be upon him) has been created to blow the Soor (the Trumpet). As for his appearance, the entire earth appears like a tiny grain in his sight. From the day he was created, he has kept his mouth to the Trumpet, waiting for Allah’s command to blow it.
Allah says in the Quran:
فَإِذَا نُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ نَفْخَةُ وَاحِدَةً وَحُمِلَتِ الْأَرْضُ وَ الْجِبَالُ فَدُكَّتَادَكَةً وَاحِدَةً فَيَوْمَئِذٍ وَقَعَتِ الْوَاقِعَةُ وَانْشَقَتِ السَّمَاءُ فَهِيَ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَاهِيَة
Then when the Horn is blown with one blast, And the earth and the mountains are lifted and crushed with a single crushing blow— Then on that Day, the Occurrence will occur, And the sky will split open, for that Day it is infirm.
— Surah Al-Haqqah: 13-16
Upon receiving Allah’s command, the angel will blow the Trumpet. The sound rising from it will cause everything on earth to shatter into pieces. A pregnant woman will miscarry her fetus out of sheer terror from that sound.
In that deafening blast, humans, Jinn, animals, and all other living creatures across the earth will die. Not a single living thing will survive. Everything on earth will be destroyed.
The planets will deviate from their orbits and collide with one another. The stars will lose their light and fall away.
After that, Allah will call upon the Angel of Death, Hazrat Izrail (peace be upon him), and command him to take the souls of all the angels. He will extract the souls of all the angels and then present himself before Allah.
Allah will ask the angel, “Is anyone else still alive?”
To this, Hazrat Izrail (peace be upon him) will reply, “There is no one alive except You and me.”
Then, Allah will ask, “Who am I? And who are you?” The angel will reply, “You are the Lord who created me, and I am Your creation!” Allah will say, “I, the Sovereign, am now going to take your soul, O my creation.”
Following this, the angel Izrail (peace be upon him) will endure the agony of death (Sakarat) for forty years. The collective death agonies of every human being—from the first man, Adam (peace be upon him), to the very last human to appear in this world—will be given to him. After forty years of death agony, Allah will seize the soul of the angel Izrail (peace be upon him). At this point, nothing will exist in this universe except Allah alone.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Allah will fold up the heavens on the Day of Resurrection and then take them in His right hand and say, ‘I am the King; where are the tyrants? Where are the arrogant?’ Then He will fold up the earths in His left hand and say, ‘I am the King; where are the tyrants? Where are the arrogant?'”
— Sahih al-Bukhari
Once all the souls in Aalam-e-Arwah (the realm of souls) have appeared and finished their time in this world, this earth will be destroyed one day. The mountains, the sky-high buildings, and everything else on this earth will be demolished.
Then, by the command of Allah, the Trumpet (Soor) will be blown once again. All humans and Jinn who appeared and passed away during various eras on this earth will be given life anew and gathered together on the Day of Resurrection.
Allah has said in the Quran:
الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَوةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا
[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed.
— Surah Al-Mulk: 2
Allah created the heavens, the earth, and everything between them for the sake of man, and He observes whether man lives his life in this world according to His commandments. He sent Messengers and Scriptures to guide people to the right path. As long as even one person who says “Allah” remains alive, Allah will not destroy this earth.
Allah has said in the Quran:
وَهَدَيْنَهُ النَّجْدَين
And Have We not shown him the two ways? (of good and evil)
— Surah Ash-Shams: 10
There is the path of the Prophet, and there is the path of base desires shown by Iblis (Satan). Whichever path one chooses to live by, they will face its ultimate consequence in the Hereafter.
Allah says in the Quran:
الَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّهُ مَنْ يُحَادِدِ اللهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَأَنَّ لَهُ نَارَجَهَنَّمَ خَالِدًا فِيهَا ذَلِكَ الْخِزْيُ الْعَظِيمُ
Do they not know that whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger – that for him is the fire of Hell, wherein he will abide eternally? That is the great disgrace.
— Surah At-Tawbah: 63
If those who commit evil deeds in this world seem to face no immediate harm, it is because this worldly life is only a place of trial; it is not the place of reward or punishment. However, the Day of Judgement is the place where accounts are settled.
There, the righteous will receive the verdict for Paradise, and those who lived in disobedience to divine commands will receive the verdict for Hell. After that, they will enter a long life where death no longer exists.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“When a disbeliever does a good deed, he is given its reward in this world itself. As for the believer, Allah stores his virtues to reward him in the Hereafter and provides him sustenance in this world in accordance with his obedience.”
— Sahih Muslim
That Day of Resurrection will be equivalent to fifty thousand years of this world. The sun will be brought down to a height of just one mile (or a palm-tree height) above the creations. People will suffer immense agony due to its scorching heat.
Allah has said in the Quran:
وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا لَا تَجْزِى نَفْسٌ عَنْ نَفْسٍ شَيْئًا وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا شَفَاعَةٌ وَلَا يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهَا عَدْلٌ وَلَا هُمْ يُنْصَرُونَ
And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all, nor will intercession be accepted from it, nor will a compensation be taken from it, nor will they be helped.
— Surah Al-Baqarah: 48
On the Day of Resurrection, every soul that ever existed in this world will be made to stand individually before Allah, the Just, for accountability. At that time, people will not be able to help one another as they did in this world. No recommendation (intercession) will be accepted for anyone, nor can any substitute ransom be paid for wrongful actions.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“There is none of you but his Lord will speak to him directly without an interpreter or a screen to hide him. The person will look to his right and will see nothing but his deeds; then he will look to his left and will see nothing but his deeds. Then he will look in front of him and will see nothing but the Hellfire facing him. So protect yourselves from the Fire, even if it is by giving half a date in charity.”
— Sahih al-Bukhari
Allah has said in the Quran:
أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَكُمْ عَبَثًا وَأَنَّكُمُ الَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ
Then did you think that We created you uselessly and that to Us you would not be returned?
— Surah Al-Mu’minun: 115
When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “If you knew what I know (about the realities of the Hereafter), you would laugh little and weep much, and you would leave your beds and women to go out into the wilderness crying out to Allah,” his companion Hazrat Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) wept and said, “I wish I were a tree that is chopped down and done with!”
Allah has said in the Quran:
وَجَانَى يَوْمِنَا بِجَهَنَّمَ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَتَذَكَّרُ الْإِنْسَانُ وَآتَى لَهُ الذِّكْرَى يَقُولُ يُلَيْتَنِي قَدَّمْتُ لِحَيَاتِي فَيَوْمَيذٍ لَا يُعَذِّبُ عَذَابَهُ أَحَدٌ
And Hell, that Day, is brought [view]. On that Day man will remember, but what good to him will be the remembrance? He will say, “Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my life.” So on that Day, none will punish [as severe as] His punishment.
— Surah Al-Fajr: 23-25
For Allah, who made the mountains stand as anchors on the earth, uprooting those same mountains and making them fly like dust is a minor thing.
For Allah, who placed coolness in the water of the sea, turning that same water into a raging, blazing fire is a simple matter.
For Allah, who created man from absolute nothingness, giving life back to that same man after he has died is not a difficult task.
Human incapacity is one thing, and Allah’s absolute power is another. A creation can neither fully comprehend the power of the Creator nor should it attempt to measure the Creator’s power.
Allah has said in the Quran:
إِنَّمَا تُوعَدُونَ لَوَاقِعُ فَإِذَا النُّجُومُ مِسَتُ وَإِذَا السَّمَاءُ فُرِجَتْ ، وَإِذَا الْجِبَالُ نُفَتُ Assuredly, what you are promised is bound to happen. So when the stars are obliterated, And when the sky is split open, And when the mountains are blown away…
— Surah Al-Mursalat: 7-10
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“On the Day of Resurrection, the sun will be brought near the creation until it is a mile away from them. The people will be submerged in perspiration according to their deeds. Some will be submerged up to their ankles, some up to their knees, some up to their waist, and some will be bridled by sweat (up to their mouths).”
— Sahih Muslim
Those who spent their entire lives performing good deeds and abstaining from sinful acts while living in this world will not be touched by the heat of the nearby sun on the Day of Resurrection. Such people will sit safely with Allah under the shade of His Throne (Arsh).
Those who performed good deeds but also committed sins will drown in sweat in proportion to the weight of their sins on the Day of Resurrection. The sins of this world will manifest as that person’s sweat in the Hereafter.
Allah says in the Quran:
تَظُنُّ أَنْ تُفْعَلَ بِهَا فَاقِرَةٌ
Anticipating that there will be done to them a back-breaking calamity.
— Surah Al-Qiyamah: 25
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “People will be gathered on the plain of Mahshar naked, just as they were born from their mother’s womb.” Upon hearing this, Mother Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Won’t it be embarrassing to stand naked in front of everyone? Won’t they look at one another?” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied, “At that moment, the distress gripping the people will be so severe that they will not have the opportunity to look at anyone else. Everyone’s eyes will be fixed upward. Each person will be submerged in sweat according to their evil deeds. For some, the sweat will rise up to their feet, some to their ankles, some to their bellies, and some up to their mouths.”
The angels will stand in rows surrounding all four sides of the Throne (Arsh).
At that moment, every human will be called out by name. Whoever is called will emerge from the crowd and present himself there. When he is made to stand before Allah, an announcement will be made: “Let anyone who holds rights or claims against this person come forward!” If anyone holds a right over him, or if he has committed any injustice against anyone, each claimant will be called forward, and the dues owed to them will be paid out from his virtues (Hasanat).
If it turns out that he has no virtues left, or if they run out, the sins of those aggrieved people will be loaded onto him. He will carry his own sins along with the sins of others upon his head. It will then be said to him, “Go! Depart to your Hawiyah” (meaning, go into the fiercely blazing Hellfire).
In the Hereafter, all forms of assistance among humans will be cut off. A person cannot claim someone else’s good deed, nor will anyone step forward to bear another person’s burden of sin. The relationships and friendships of this world will benefit no one on the Day of Judgement.
Allah has said in the Quran:
فَأَمَّا挽 مَنْ تَقَلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَهُوَ فِي عِيشَةٍ رَاضِيَةٍ وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُمُّهُ هَاوِيَةٌ وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا هِيَهُ نَارُ حَامِيَةٌ
Then as for he whose scales are heavy [with good deeds], He will be in a pleasant life. But as for he whose scales are light, His refuge will be an abyss (Hawiyah). And what can make you know what that is? It is a Fire, intensely hot.
— Surah Al-Qari’ah: 6-11
The companion Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) states: “On the Day of Judgement, accounts will be reckoned. He whose good deeds exceed his bad deeds by even a single virtue will enter Paradise. And he whose bad deeds exceed his good deeds by even one will enter Hell.”
Mother Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: “I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) supplicating in some of his prayers, saying: ‘O Allah! Grant me an easy reckoning!'”
Allah has said in the Quran:
فَإِذَا نُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَلَا أَنْسَابَ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَلَا يَتَسَاءَلُونَ
So when the Horn is blown, no relationship will there be among them that Day, nor will they ask about one another.
— Surah Al-Mu’minun: 101
On the Day of Resurrection, a father will approach his son and say, “I was your father; I took care of you and did favors for you in the world, did I not?” The son will admit all the favors his father did for him. Then, the father will plead, “I need just one good deed, even the weight of an atom, so that the scale of my virtues may become heavy.”
The son will refuse, saying, “I myself am in distress. I do not know what is going to happen to me, and since I am unaware of my own fate, I cannot give you any virtue.” Following this, the man will approach his wife, state his relationship, remind her of the favors he did for her, and ask for a virtue. She will refuse him in the exact same manner.
Hazrat Ikrima (may Allah be pleased with him) stated that a person will thus request a good deed from every relative based on their worldly ties, but everyone will reject him.
Regarding this, Allah says in the Quran:
يَوْمَ يَفِرُ الْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ وَأُمِّهِ وَأَبِيهِ وَصَاحِبَتِهِ وَبَنِيهِ لِكُلِّ امْرِى مِنْهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ شَانُ يُغْنِيه On the Day a man will flee from his brother, And his mother and his father, And his wife and his children, For every man, that Day, will be a matter occupying him suffices him.
— Surah Abasa: 34-37
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“On the Day of Resurrection, every human will be terrified that anyone they recognized or were closely related to in the world might see them. This is because they will fear that those relatives might ask them for help.”
— Durr al-Manthur
Under such circumstances, only a person’s own righteous deeds will be able to help him. Therefore, if one wishes to attain peace on the chaotic Day of Judgement, they must strive hard in this world, perform good deeds, and send them ahead for the Hereafter.
In this world, if someone does not have wealth in their savings, there might be someone to give and help them. Similarly, if someone does not possess virtues in the Hereafter, there will be no one there to give or help them. Just as worldly possessions belong specifically to each individual here, virtues and sins belong exclusively to each individual there.
On the Day of Resurrection, every single human being—from the first man, Adam (peace be upon him), who appeared at different periods in this world, to the very last human to be born—will be gathered together on a single plain.
On that day, every soul will long and yearn to receive personal grace and mercy from Allah. If we wish to attain Allah’s personal grace amidst that massive gathering, we must seek divine grace individually right here.
The companion Hazrat Ubay ibn Umair (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: “On the plain of Mahshar, people will be in severe hunger, extreme thirst, and absolute nakedness. However, whoever fed others for the sake of Allah, Allah will feed him. Whoever gave water to others to drink for the sake of Allah, Allah will give him water to quench his thirst. And whoever clothed others for the sake of Allah, Allah will clothe him.”
Regarding this, Allah says in the Quran:
وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَى حُبّهِ مِسْكِينَا وَيَتِيمَا وَأَسِيرًا إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لوجْهِ اللهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنْكُمْ جَزَاءً وَلَا شُكُورًا إِنَّا نَخَافُ مِنْ ربَّنَا يَوْمًا عَبُوسًا قَمْطَرِيرًا فَوَقَهُمُ اللهُ شَرَّ ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ وَ لَقْهُمْ نَضْرَةً وَசُرُوران
And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive, [Saying], “We feed you only for the countenance of Allah. We wish not from you reward or gratitude. Indeed, We fear from our Lord a Day sour and distressful.” So Allah will protect them from the evil of that Day and give them radiance and happiness.
— Surah At-Dahr (Al-Insan): 8-11