Evidence of the enormity of the terrors of that day


The Day of Resurrection will be a Day of tremendous significance and immense horror, the like of which mankind will never have seen. Allah Almighty clarified the enormity of its terrors in many verses.


1) Allah, the Most Exalted, described that Day as being great. His description of it as such is sufficient for us to know that it is more serious than we can ever imagine. Allah Almighty Says (what means):


{Do they not think that they will be resurrected? For a tremendous Day —The Day when mankind will stand before the Lord of the worlds?} [Quran 83: 4-6]


In another verse, Allah, The Almighty, describes it as being heavy and hard; Allah Says (what means):


{Indeed, these [disbelievers] love the immediate and leave behind them a grave Day.} [Quran76: 27]


Allah also Says (what means):


{That Day will be a difficult day, for the disbelievers — not easy.} [Quran74: 9-10]


2) The fear and terror which will befall mankind on that Day will be so great that the mother, who would readily sacrifice herself for her infant will, on that Day, be heedless of him. Pregnant women will miscarry, and people will be like drunkards who have lost their senses; Allah Says (what means):


{O mankind, fear your Lord. Indeed, the convulsion of the [final] Hour is a terrible thing. On the Day you see it every nursing mother will be distracted from that [child] she was nursing, and every pregnant woman will abort her pregnancy, and you will see the people [appearing] intoxicated while they are not intoxicated; but the punishment of Allah is severe.} [Quran 22: 1-2]


Because of the intensity of the terror on that Day, eyes will not be blinking and not looking right or left. Because of their great fear, people’s hearts will be empty, not comprehending anything at all. The Almighty Allah Says (what means):


{And never think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. He only delays them [i.e. their account] for a Day when eyes will stare [in horror]. Racing ahead, their heads raised up, their glance does not come back to them, and their hearts are void.} [Quran 14: 42-43]


Because of their extreme terror, the hearts of the evildoers will rise to their throats, but they will not come out, neither will they settle back into their places, this is made clear in the following verse in which Allah Says (what means):


{And warn them, [O Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention )], of the Approaching Day, when hearts are at the throats, filled [with distress]. For the wrongdoers there will be no devoted friend and no intercessor [who is] obeyed.} [Quran 40: 18]


In some other verses, Allah The Almighty describes what will happen to people’s hearts and eyes on that Day, Saying (what means):


{... They fear a Day in which the hearts and eyes will [fearfully] turn about.} [Quran 24: 37]


Allah also Says (what means):


{Hearts, that Day, will tremble. Their eyes humbled.} [Quran79: 8-9]


It suffices to know that the hair of the child who has never committed sins will turn grey because of the intense horror of what he will be seeing. This is mentioned in the Quran, in the verses (which mean):


{Then how can you fear, if you disbelieve, a Day that will make the children white-haired? The heaven will break apart therefrom; ever is His promise fulfilled.} [Quran73: 17-18]


3) Blood-ties (bonds of kinship) will be severed on the Day of Resurrection, as Allah, the Exalted, Says (what means):


{… So when the Horn is blown, no relationships will there be among them that Day, nor will they ask about one another.} [Quran 23: 101]


On that Day, each person will care only about himself, and will not think of anyone else.


Indeed, a man will run away from those who are dearest to him, from his brother, his mother, his father, his wife and his sons. Ponder Allah's Words (which mean):


{But when there comes the Deafening Blast. 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 adequate for him.} [Quran 80: 33-37]


In another verse, Allah Almighty Says (what means):


{O mankind, fear your Lord and fear a Day when no father will avail his son, or will a son avail his father at all. Indeed, the promise of Allah is truth…} [Quran 31: 33]


Allah also Says (what means):


{And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all, nor will intercession be accepted from it, nor will compensation be taken from it, nor will they be aided.} [Quran 2: 48]


4) On the Day of Resurrection, the disbelievers will be prepared to give up everything to save themselves from the punishment. If they possessed everything on earth, they would try to ransom themselves with it.


About this, Almighty Allah Says (what means):


{And if each soul that wronged had everything on earth, it would offer it in ransom. And they will confide regret when they see the punishment; and they will be judged in justice, and they will not be wronged.} [Quran 10: 54]


Even if they had as many times as what is on the entire earth, they would not be able to ransom themselves with it, as Allah Says (what means):


{For those who have responded to their Lord is the best [reward] but those who did not respond to Him — if they had all that is in the earth entirely and the like of it with it, they would [attempt to] ransom themselves thereby. Those will have the Worst account, and their refuge is Hell, and Wretched is the resting place.} [Quran 13:18]


He will be prepared to sacrifice what he has, even if it were an earth full of gold, if that were possible, but Allah will not accept it from him, as Allah, the Almighty, Says (what means):


{Indeed, those who disbelieve and die while they are disbelievers-never would the [whole] capacity of the earth in gold be accepted from one of them if he would [seek to] ransom himself with it. For those there will be a painful punishment, and they will have no helpers.} [Quran 3: 91]


Furthermore, the Prophet Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) (may Allah exalt his mention) said:


“The disbeliever will be brought forth on the Day of Resurrection and it will be said to him, ‘Do you think that if you had an earth full of gold that you would be able to ransom yourself with it?’ He will say, ‘Yes.’ It will be said to him, ‘I (i.e. Allah Almighty) used to ask you for less than that.” [Al-Bukhari]


Length of that Day


Almighty Allah Says (what means):


{The angels and the Spirit [i.e. Jibreel (Gabriel)] will ascend to Him (Allah) during a Day the extent of which is fifty thousand years. So be patient with gracious patience. Indeed, they see it [as] distant. But We see it [as] near.} [Quran70: 4-7]


The context of these verses clearly indicates that what is referred to here is the Day of Resurrection as reported from Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him; this was also the view of Al-Hasan, Ad-Dahhaak and Ibn Zayd, may Allah be pleased with them. [An-Nihaayah, by lbn Katheer, 1/323]


Because that Day will be so long, people, on the Day of Resurrection, will think that they only stayed in this world for a part of a day, as Allah, the Most Exalted, Says (what means):


{And on the Day when He (Allah) will gather them, [it will be] as if they had not remained [in the world] but an hour of the day, [and] they will know each other. Those will have lost who denied the meeting with Allah and were not guided...} [Quran 10: 45]


Ibn Katheer  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him said when interpreting the above verse:


“Allah is reminding mankind of the Hour and when they will be gathered from their graves. ‘And on the Day when He will gather [resurrect] them…’ ; this is like the verses (which mean):


{… On the Day they see it, as though they had not remained [in the world] except for an afternoon or a morning thereof.} [Quran 79: 46]


{We are most knowing of what they say when the best of them in manner [i.e. wisdom or speech] will say, “You remained not but one day.} [Quran 20:104]


{And the Day the Hour appears the criminals will swear they had remained but an hour. Thus they were deluded...} [Quran 30:55]


This indicates how short the life of this world is in comparison with the Hereafter, as Allah Says (what means):


{[Allah] will say, “How long did you remain on earth in number of years?” They will say, “We remained a day or part of a day; ask those who enumerate.” He will say, “You stayed not but a little — if only you had known.’} [Quran 23: 112-114] [Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 3/505]


Some of the features of the horrors of the resurrection


The Quran speaks of the horrors of that Day, which will shock people and leave them staring in terror, when they will be shaken to the core of their being.


One of the greatest of these horrors will be the total destruction of this earth with its mountains, the heaven with its stars, as well as the sun and the moon.


Our Lord tells us that this earth will be shaken and turned to powder, that the mountains will be made to pass by and will be blown away, the seas will become as blazing fire or will overflow, the sky will split asunder and will shake with a dreadful shaking, the sun will be wound round and will disappear, the moon will be eclipsed, the stars will fall and their light will be extinguished, and the entire system (of the universe) will collapse.


The grasping of the earth and the rolling up of the heavens


Allah will grasp the earth in His Hand on the Day of Resurrection, and will roll up the heavens in His Right Hand, as He Says (what means):


{They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal, while the earth entirely will be [within] His grip on the Day of Resurrection and the heavens will be folded in His right hand. Exalted is He and High above what they associate with Him.} [Quran 39: 67]


In another verse, Allah tells us how He will roll up the heavens; Allah, The Almighty, Says (what means):


{The Day when We will fold the heaven like the folding of a [written] sheet for the records. As We began the first creation, We will repeat it. [That is] a promise binding upon Us. Indeed, We will do it.} [Quran 21: 104]


The meaning of this verse is, "the Day when the heavens will be rolled up like the scroll of a book, and as the scroll contains the writing, so too the heavens will be contained.” [Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 4/602]


There are authentic Ahaadeeth (narrations) which indicate the same as is indicated in these Quranic texts, but they also point to an additional idea, which is what Allah will Say after seizing the earth and rolling up the heavens. Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) (may Allah exalt his mention) said:


“Allah will seize the earth on the Day of Resurrection and will roll up the heavens in His Right Hand, then He will say: ‘I am the King, where are the kings of the earth?” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]


The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) also said:


“Allah will roll up the heavens on the Day of Resurrection, then He will hold them in His Right Hand, and will say: ‘I am the King. Where are the tyrants? Where are the arrogant ones?’ Then He will roll up the earth in His Left Hand - according to one narration, He will take hold of them with His other Hand - and will say, ‘I am the King. Where are the tyrants? Where are the arrogant ones?” [Muslim]


According to ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood, may Allah be pleased with him, a Jew came to the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) and said, “O Muhammad! Allah holds the heavens on one finger, the earth on another finger, the mountains on another finger, the trees on another finger, and the created beings on another finger, then He says, ‘I am the King.” The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) smiled so broadly that his eyeteeth could be seen, then he recited,


{They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal, while the earth entirely will be [within] His grip on the Day of Resurrection and the heavens will be folded in His right hand. Exalted is He and High above what they associate with Him.} [Quran 39: 67] [Al-Bukhari]


This seizing of the earth and rolling up of the heavens will happen after Allah causes all creatures to die. It is said that a caller will cry out after all creatures have been gathered on an earth, white like silver, on which no sin has ever been committed. On that Day, Allah Alone has sovereignty, when there will be no others who would be making any such claims, when every king and his kingdom will be disappeared, when the dominion of every arrogant and tyrant person will be vanished, and their claims will disappear with them.


The crushing of the earth and the blowing away of the mountains


Allah Almighty tells us that on the Day of Judgment, when the Trumpet will be blown, this stable earth of ours, with its strong and heavy mountains, will be crushed with a single crushing, as Allah, the Exalted, Says (what means):


{Then when the Horn is blown with one blast. And the earth and the mountains are lifted and leveled with one blow [i.e. stroke] —. Then on that Day, the Occurrence [i.e. Resurrection] will occur." [Quran 69: 13-15] and (what means): {When the earth has been leveled— pounded and crushed —.} [Quran 89: 21]


At that time, these firm and solid mountains will be turned into fine sand, as Allah Says (what means):


{On the Day the earth and the mountains will convulse and the mountains will become a heap of sand pouring down.} [Quran 73: 14]; i.e., after being solid rock, they will become like a heap of sand poured out, which describes the kind of sand where, if some is removed, the rest pours down. Words derived from the same root are used to describe what happens when a pile of sand collapses and the top of it falls to the bottom.


In other verses, Allah, the Most Exalted, tells us that the mountains will become like wool, as in the following verse (which means): {And the mountains will be like wool.} [Quran 70: 9]


In another verse, Allah, the Almighty, likens them to carded wool, as in the verse (which means): {And the mountains will be like wool, fluffed up.} [Quran 101: 5]


Then Allah will move these mountains from their places, and will flatten out the earth and there will be no peaks or troughs. The Quran describes the destruction of the mountains in the following verses (which mean):


{And when the mountains are removed…} [Quran 81: 3]


{And the mountains are removed and will be [but] a mirage.} [Quran 78. 20]


{And when the mountains are blown away...} [Quran 77: 10]


Then Allah explains what will happen to the earth after the mountains have been made to pass by and blown away, as in the verse (which means):


{And [remember] the Day We shall cause the mountains to pass away [to be removed], and you will see the earth as a leveled plain...} [Quran 18: 47]


And the verse (which means):


{And they ask you (O Muhammad) about the mountains, so say, “My Lord will blow them away with a blast. And He will leave it [i.e. the earth] a level plain. You will not see therein a depression or an elevation.'} [Quran 20: 105-107]


The bursting forth and overflowing of the sea


These seas which cover the greater part of our planet, in which such great numbers of creatures live and on the surface of which ships come and go, will on that Day be filled with flame. In modem times, we have learned of the great horror which is unleashed by the explosion of atoms which are smaller than water molecules, so how will it be then when the molecules of water in these vast oceans explode, when the seas will turn into blazing fire? You can imagine how these huge seas will be when they become inflammable, and how they will look like with flames reaching up to the sky.


Allah Almighty Says (what means):


{And when the seas are erupted...} [Quran 82: 3] and (what means): {And when the seas are filled with flame...} [Quran 81: 6]


The interpreters of the Quran of the past thought that this refers to the sea overflowing and breaking its barriers, so that the fresh water would be mixed with the salt water, and it would become one body of water. [Tafseer Al-Aaloosi, 30/63]


But what we have mentioned is more obvious and closer to the meaning; because the idea of exploding fits the idea of bursting, Allah knows best.


The shaking and splitting of the sky


Our beautiful blue sky, which lifts our spirits when we look at it, will be terribly shaken, as Allah Almighty Says (what means): {On the Day the heaven will sway with circular motion.} [Quran 52: 9]


Then it will split asunder, as Allah Says (what means): {When the sky breaks apart…} [Quran 82: 1] and (what means):


{When the sky has split [open]. And has listened [i.e. responded] to its Lord and was obligated [to do so].} [Quran 84: 1-2]


At that time the sky will become weak and torn up, like a great palace, solidly built with strong pillars, when it is shaken by an earthquake, so you see how, after being strong, it becomes broken, weak and cracked.


Allah Almighty Says (what means): {And the heaven will split [open] for that Day it is infirm.} [Quran 69: 16]


The color of this beautiful blue sky will also change. On that Day the sky will start to take on different colors, like dyes - red and yellow and green, and then blue, as Allah Says (what means):{And when the heaven is split open and becomes rose-colored like oil.} [Quran 55: 37]


The rolling up of the sun, the eclipse of the moon and the falling of the stars


This sun which we see shining every day, that fills our world with light and gives us warmth and energy which we cannot do without in order to see and move, and which is needed by every living creature and every plant that grows, will be collected and rolled up, and its light will vanish, as Allah, the Most High, Says (what means):


{When the sun is wrapped up [in darkness].} [Quran 81:1]


The moon, which appears at the beginning of the month as a crescent, then it waxes until it becomes a full moon, shining splendidly, whose beauty has always been enchanted by poets, will be eclipsed and its light will vanish. Almighty Allah Says (what means):


{So when vision is dazzled. And the moon darkens.} [Quran 75: 7-8]


The stars which are sprinkled across the blue dome of the sky will come to an end and they will fall and be scattered, as Almighty Allah Says (what means): {And when the stars fall, scattering...} [Quran 82: 2]


Allah also Says (what means): {And when the stars fall, dispersing…} [Quran 81: 2]


Source: The Day of Resurrection in the Light of the Quran and Sunnah


By: Umar Sulaymaan Al-Ashqar