The reason Allah does not immediately send down punishment for the sins committed in this world is because there is a Day of Resurrection (Hereafter)!
Countless types of sins continue to occur day and night all across the world: homosexuality (men with men and women with women), alcohol consumption, adultery, murder, stealing the wealth of orphans, destroying a person’s honor, oppressing the poor, female infanticide/foeticide, hate crimes/racist killings, cheating, hypocrisy, and being double-faced (saying one thing to someone’s face and another behind their back).
The Lord of the heavens watches all of this with patience. However, on the Day of Resurrection, Allah’s wrath will prevail. Humans will meet their Lord with their evil deeds. Allah will cast many into Hell without any interrogation.
Allah warns in the Qur’an:
إِنَّا أَنْذَرْنَاكُمْ عَذَابًا قَرِيبًا يَوْمَ يَنْظُرُ الْمَرْءُ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ وَيَقُولُ الْكَافِرُ يَا لَيْتَنِي كُنْتُ تُرَابًا
“Verily, We have warned you of a near punishment—the Day when a man will see that which his hands have sent forth, and the disbeliever will say: ‘Woe to me! Would that I were dust!'”
— Surah An-Naba: 40
The Bridge of Sirat al-Mustaqeem
On the Day of Judgment, there will be a bridge called ‘Sirat al-Mustaqeem’. This bridge will be extended over Hell. Every human being must cross over it. The bridge will be engulfed in darkness. Those who slip from it will fall headlong into Hell.
Two essential qualities are required to cross this bridge: one is Iman (faith), and the other is Sabr (patience). That is, those who bore the trials of this world with patience through the strength of their faith will cross the bridge with ease.
Some will cross the bridge of Sirat al-Mustaqeem like a flash of lightning. This is because they lived as those who showed patience towards Allah during hardships and expressed gratitude (Shukr) to Him during times of prosperity. Allah will make crossing the Sirat easy for such people.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“The believers will be stopped on the bridge (Sirat) between Paradise and Hell. They will settle accounts among themselves for the injustices committed between them in the worldly life. Only after that will they be permitted to enter Paradise.”
“I will be the first among the Messengers to cross it with my followers. On that day, the supplication of all the Prophets will be, ‘O Allah, save them! Save them!’ On that bridge, there will be hooks. No one knows the size of those hooks except Allah. They will snatch the people according to their deeds. Some will be destroyed due to their disbelief (Kufr), while others, despite having faith, will be lacerated due to their sins but will eventually be saved.”
People will cross the bridge according to the light of their Iman. Some will have a light as small as a tiny lamp, while some will have no light at all. To some, Allah will grant perfect, full light. No one can walk using another person’s light there, because the divine light granted to an individual will only be visible and useful to themselves.
It is narrated that the bridge of Sirat al-Mustaqeem is thinner than a hair. Do not miscalculate and wonder how so many humans can walk on something thinner than a hair. For Allah, Who created man from a drop of sperm when he was nothing, everything is entirely possible.
The Grand Gathering and the Shade of the Throne
The Day of Judgment contains long, overwhelming scenes. Allah will call upon certain people and, out of His love for them, forgive them and admit them into Paradise without reckoning. He will summon those who committed atrocious deeds and throw them into Hell without accountability. There will be no one to argue with Allah, asking “Why do You do this?” Allah alone is God; everything else is His creation. He is One, without partners or helpers.
The righteous will sit under the shade of Allah’s Throne (Arsh). Those who remembered Allah abundantly (Dhikr) will sit on pulpits adorned with pearls. Allah will honor mankind according to their good deeds. Under the shade of Allah’s Arsh, the righteous will be in complete peace.
Food will be provided to them from Allah, and thereafter, they will be given water to quench their thirst from the heavenly fountain of ‘Hawd al-Kauthar’ by the blessed hands of the Prophet (ﷺ). Following that, the righteous will never feel hunger or thirst again. Angels will surround them, continuously uttering glad tidings. The righteous will rejoice in supreme happiness in the presence of their Lord.
Every Prophet will stand with his respective nation (Ummah). The Ummah of Hazrat Muhammad (ﷺ) will be the very first to enter Paradise. On that day, Hazrat Muhammad (ﷺ) will be the only one granted the authority to intercede (Shafa’at) with Allah. Allah will bestow upon the Prophet (ﷺ) the highest station, ‘Maqam al-Mahmud’ (The Praiseworthy Station), honoring him in front of all creation.
The Witness of the Body Organs
On the Day of Judgment, everyone will be interrogated in the court of Allah. On that day, every mouth will be sealed. Allah will grant the power of speech to all organs, including the skin. Every body part will bear witness against its own soul before Allah. The limbs used for good deeds will testify to goodness, while the limbs used for sinful acts will testify to sins.
In the Hereafter, there will be two types of courts in the presence of Allah:
- The court of inquiry regarding the obligations owed to Allah (Huquq Allah).
- The court regarding the rights among His servants (Huquq al-Ibad).
The acts of worship that servants owe to the Creator include prayer (Salah), fasting (Sawm), charity (Zakat), remembrance (Dhikr), recitation (Tilawat), gratitude (Shukr), and patience (Sabr). In this court, forgiveness from Allah is attainable.
The second is Huquq al-Ibad, which concerns the rights between fellow human beings. People will be interrogated regarding the mischief done behind someone’s back and the blatant oppression committed face-to-face in this world. All of mankind will be gathered together, and individuals will be called out one by one, asking, “Is there anyone with a complaint against this person?” If anyone steps forward with a complaint, it will be investigated, and justice will be served.
That is, the good deeds of the oppressor will be taken away and handed over to the oppressed. If the complaints multiply to the point where the oppressor runs out of good deeds, the sins of the claimants will be transferred and heaped upon him, and he will be cast into Hell.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“Whoever has wronged his brother should ask for his forgiveness in this world, before a Day comes when there will be no gold coins (Dinar) or silver coins (Dirham) to pay back. If he has good deeds, they will be taken from him in proportion to the wrong he did. And if he has no good deeds, the sins of the wronged person will be taken and loaded onto him.”
— Bukhari
If someone has backbitten or spoken behind another’s back, those words will be revealed there and complaints will be filed. A person will plead, “O Allah! This person told people things about me that I never did. Therefore, grant me justice!”
Another will say, “O Allah! He used my clothes without my permission.” Another will say, “O Allah! This person ruined my business.” Yet another will cry, “O Allah! This person caused me such-and-such a loss.” Even such seemingly small matters will be brought forward as grievances there.
There will be no forgiveness in this court; instead, it will strictly be a matter of snatching good deeds to give away or taking others’ sins to bear. Therefore, while living in this world, it is best to clear all debts—whether financial or verbal promises. It is wise to live fearing Allah so that no one files a complaint against us. Otherwise, we risk losing the rewards of the good deeds we strived hard to perform.
If earning wealth in this world is a major task, protecting it is an even bigger one. Similarly, regarding the Hereafter, if performing good deeds is one task, protecting those earned rewards by not interfering in others’ rights or privacy is true wisdom. Otherwise, your hard-earned good deeds will be stripped away, and you will end up carrying sins you never committed.
The Book of Deeds
Furthermore, on that Day, the register of deeds known as ‘A’maal Nama’ will be unrolled. Every single action will be recorded in it. Whoever is given their record in their right hand is decreed as a companion of Paradise; whoever is given their record in their left hand is decreed as a companion of Hellfire.
On that Day, everyone will blame themselves. Filled with dread over their impending ruin, they will weep. On that Day, they will cry so much that their tears will dry up, and blood will flow from their eyes.
The angels will ask the dwellers of Hell, “Did no warner come to you before in the world?” They will reply, “Yes, warners did come to us, but we neither listened to their advice nor followed it.”
Then, Allah will say to the dwellers of Hell:
أَلَمْ تَكُنْ آيَاتِي تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ فَكُنْتُمْ بِهَا تُكَذِّبُونَ
“Were not My Verses recited to you, and then you used to deny them?”
— Surah Al-Mu’minun: 105
This is the time to realize Allah’s warning. If we miss this opportunity, we will have to face eternal punishment in Hell and the wrath of Allah in the Hereafter. May Allah grant us the grace to accept and act upon good counsel!
