Encyclopedia of Islam

Judgment Day

  

413  J

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(for example, Obad. 15; Amos 5:18–20; Zeph. 

1:14–18). Isaiah uses the phrase “on that day” in 

referring to God’s judgment (24:21). In the New 

Testament the proclamation of a final judgment 

is expressed frequently. The phrase “day of judg-

ment” occurs in the Gospel of Matthew (10:15; 

11:22, 24, and 12:36) and in several of the epistles 

(2 Pet. 2:9, 3:7; and 1 John 4:17), while the Pau-

line epistles use the phrase “day of our/the Lord 

Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:8; 2 Cor. 1:14), indicating 

that Judgment Day is identified with the second 

coming of J

esUs

. The idea of a day of judgment 

also appears in extra-biblical religious literature, 

such as the Book of Enoch, the Book of Jubilees, 

the Revelation of Esdras, and the Apocalypse of 2 

Baruch. Islamic visions of the endtimes developed 

their own distinctive character in a seventh-cen-

tury milieu where beliefs in a last judgment were 

in wide circulation.

Judgment Day is explicitly mentioned in the 

q

Uran

. The most common renderings of this 

concept in Arabic are yawm al-qiyama, “resur-

rection day,” and yawm al-din, “judgment day.” 

Another common phrase, found especially in the 

Medinan chapters, is al-yawm al-akhir, “the last 

day.” Synonyms for Judgment Day identified by 

commentators include al-saa-a “the hour,” yawm 

al-fasl, “decision day,” and yawm al-hisab, “day of 

accounting.” According to the Quran only God 

knows when Judgment Day will come, but it may 

be very soon (Q 21:1) and happen suddenly (Q 

16:77; 6:31). The signs of the approaching judg-

ment are vividly portrayed in the Meccan suras: 

the seas will boil, mountains will move, the sun 

will darken, stars will fall, the fires of hell will 

be ignited, paradise will be brought near, the 

trumpet will be blown; and graves overturned 

(see, for example, Q 78; 81; 82). There is no set 

sequence for these events, except that they antici-

pate the resurrection of the dead, their gathering 

and standing before God (including angels and 

jinn), and the unfolding of the books containing 

the records of what individuals have done in their 

lives. Those given their book in the right hand will 

attain paradise, while those who receive it in their 

left will go to the Fire. The Quran also speaks of a 

weighing of good deeds against bad on a scale (for 

example, Q 21:47). God will interrogate prophets 

and angels about what they and their people have 

done, and people will even be obliged to testify 

against themselves for not heeding God’s signs 

(Q 6:130). The Quran also mentions the possibil-

ity of 

intercession

, but only if God allows it (for 

example, Q 2:254; 10:3).

The Quran’s depictions of Judgment Day and 

the 

aFterliFe

 inspired a large body of eschatologi-

cal literature that encompassed the hadith, mysti-

cism, 

theology

, 

philosophy

, and poetry. One of 

the issues addressed in this literature was whether 

there was a bodily resurrection, or whether the 

soul alone was resurrected. The consensus among 

most Sunnis and Shiis was that body and soul 

were conjoined for resurrection, although some 

maintained that the resurrected body would be 

different from the earthly one. Another issue was 

whether there was a preliminary judgment after 

death

, known as the “interrogation of the grave” 

or “the torture of the grave.” According to this 

view, each human underwent a preliminary judg-

ment in the grave and experienced a preview of 

his or her punishments or rewards until the final 

judgment was pronounced. There was also specu-

lation about the place where the final judgment 

would occur. Many asserted that J

erUsalem

 was 

where this would happen. However, the Muslim 

theologian and mystic al-g

hazali

 (d. 1111) lik-

ened the gathering of pilgrims at a

raFat

 during 

the hajj to the gathering of the resurrected before 

God on Judgment Day.

See also 

angel

;  a

ntichrist

; 

aya

; 

eschatology

; 

FUnerary

 

rites

; 

holy

 

books

; m

ahdi

; 

prophets

 

and

prophecy

; 

soUl

 

and

 

spirit

.