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As for
the Day of Resurrection
“As
for the Day of Resurrection (yawm al-qiyamah), one must distinguish here
between the individual experience of eschatological realities and the
eschatological events concerning the whole of humanity. Usually the Day
of Resurrection or Yawm al-qiyamah refers in fact not to the death of
the individual but to the final end of present humanity not the
eschatological experience which every individual must understand at the
moment of his or her death, but that of the world of the present
humanity itself. The Islamic teachings reserve the term al-qiyamah for
cosmic eschatological event crowned by the resurrection of creation at
well as the resurrection of the individual. More specifically these
sources distinguish between the greater resurrection, al-Qiyamat al
kubra which is that of the cosmos followed by the resurrection of the
whole of humanity and the individual death and resurrection al-Qiyamat
al-sughra which the soul undergoes following upon the event of death.
What takes place between the death of the individual and the
resurrection of the whole of humanity has been debated by various
schools of Islamic thought and cannot be discussed in this work because
it involves very complicated theological and philosophical issues.
The Qur'an also refers to eschatological events which concern the whole
of humanity. As already mentioned Islam believes that this world in
which we live is not eternal. It has a beginning and an end after which
Allah will create other worlds. For He is always the Creator, al-khaliq.
But this present world was created with a definite beginning and will
have a definite end marked by eschatological events. According to
traditional sources, these events involve, first of all, the appearance
of a figure whose name is Muhammad al-Mahdi. This appearance is
anticipated on the basis of the hadith of the Prophet who said that
where oppression and iniquity cover the earth "a member of my tribe
shall appear whose name will be the same as mine." Therefore,
throughout the centuries, Muslims, both Sunni and Shi'ite, have believed
that a figure will appear one day who will be the Mahdi, the Guided One,
who will destroy iniquity, reestablish the rule of Islam and bring back
justice and peace to the world. His rule, however, will be fairly short
and it will followed by the return of Christ.
Islam and Christianity share the same vision concerning the second
coming of Christ because Christians also believe in his return.
Moreover, the Muslims also accept, as do the Christians, that Christ's
return will occur in Jerusalem and that this city will be the place
where final eschatological events will take place. Islam in contrast to
Christianity, however, sees the function of the Mahdi and Christ as
being associated with each other and their coming as part of the same
major eschatological events. While the Mahdi will rule for some years on
earth, the coming of Christ will coincide with the termination of the
present history of mankind and of time as we ordinarily experience it.
Historical time comes to an end and is followed by the Day Resurrection,
the final judgment of all human beings, the weighing of the good and
evil acts, the determination of the inhabitants of heaven, purgatory and
hell and the coming to end of the history of the cosmos. These very
complicated events have been described in Islam in such a way that no
man, no matter what claims he makes, can predict exactly when the Hour
will arrive. In fact, there is a hadith of the Prophet which says that
all those who predict the time of the coming of the Hour are liars.
Nevertheless, all Muslims believe that the Hour will come, that is,
there is an end to human history, that Allah intervenes finally like
lightning upon the stage of ordinary time/space consciousness, that
there is the final death and resurrection of humanity and that there is
an accounting for all that men have done in this world.
Most of the details of these teachings are usually put aside in every
day life by ordinary Muslims who are not given to meditating and
thinking about them. It is for theologians, philosophers and other
authorities in the religious sciences to deal with their ultimate
significance. But as their consequences are concerned, they are meant
for all Muslims to think about them. First of all, we all die whether we
are illiterate or great religious scholars, kings or beggars; therefore,
the reality of death and what happens to the human soul after death are
the concern of every human being. Not only every Muslim, but every human
being whether Muslim, Christian, Jew or other thinks naturally of his or
her end. The consequences of the eschatological teachings of Islam are
there for the benefit of all Muslims and they have been thought about by
all types of people and in very different forms ranging all the way from
popular stories and old wives' tales to the most scholarly and
intellectual expositions in which these realities have been presented in
metaphysical and theological terms.
The important lesson, as far as the general teachings of Islam are
concerned, is to keep in mind at all times the reality of death and the
afterlife, the ultimate consequence of our human actions and our
responsibility to Allah for what we do. The precious gift of human life,
while has allowed us by the grace of Allah to possesses the freedom to
act and to accept Allah's teachings on the basis of our freedom and not
by coercion, must always be kept in mind. Without the eschatological
realities the other teachings of religion would lose much of their
compelling influence and the spiritual tension of human life in this
world which is part and parcel of the reality of being human would
disappear, leaving human life without any ultimate meaning. This would
happen since no matter what man achieves in this world, there is always
the certitude that these achievements will ultimately flounder and
disappear. The greatest material achievements, not only of the
individual but also of whole civilizations, can and in fact do whither
away. It is only the eschatological realities which bring into focus the
permanent, abiding and eternal consequences of human actions precisely
because human beings are being created for immortality and the eternal
world.”
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