Boreal
Alice Visits a Mosque to Learn About Judgement Day
All Aboard
Alice: There is a beast in the Koran!!! Does the beast
have a number like in the Book of Revelation?
Imam: The reference in the Koran is to a beast that will come out of the ground, a beast which may or may not be Allah in disguise. On the cusp of Judgement Day, the beast will ask a “throng” from each nation why they denied Its Signs. Allah said:
27:82 And when the Word (the Devine Decree) is fulfilled against them, We shall bring out of the earth for them a beast which shall address them thus: “Mankind has not believed with certainty in Our Signs.”
27:83 On the Day when we shall muster from each nation a throng of those who denied Our Signs; then they will be held in check.
27:84 Until they come forward and He says: “Have you denied My Signs, and did not comprehend them? Otherwise, what were you doing?”
Alice: Is Allah, or His avatar, accusing [making air quotes] "the throngs" of denying His signs, or of not understanding them?
Imam: It does not matter. It is all the same; they are all wrongdoers. How could anyone claim not to understand who made the night and the day, one of the more obvious of Allah’s Signs, and why? That is why Allah said they would be cast face first into His Fire. Allah said:
27:85 And the Word shall come down upon them for their wrongdoing and so they will not speak.
27:86 Do they not see that We made the night, so that they might rest in it, and the day so that they might see? Surely in that are signs for a believing people.
27:90 And those who perpetrate an evil deed, their faces will be cast into the Fire. Will you be rewarded except for what you used to do?
Alice: After the beast has made its appearance, what happens next?
Imam: A trumpet will be blown. Scholars disagree on the sequence as to whether the beast comes before the trumpet is blown or after.
Alice: At this point, what does it matter?
Imam: It matters, and you should take this [mimicking her air quotes] "matter" seriously. Islamic scholars do not labour night and day, often for years, to explain trivia.
Alice: I am sorry; I did not mean to imply that it was trivia. I just meant that it's really the Judgement that matters. Everything else is simply a buildup to the main event, a very interesting build-up I might add; a buildup worthy of a God, I might also add.
Imam: There is no god worthier than Allah!
Alice: Who will be blowing what will have to be the most humongous trumpet ever if everyone on Earth is expected to hear it?
Imam: The angel Israfil, who has been waiting all his life for this one big occasion, will do the honours, blowing his massive horn not once, but twice. The first blow will kill anyone who is still living…
Alice: Even the undead dead, the people in the graves?
Imam: [ignores her] After everyone is dead, Israfil will blow his horn a second time. This second blast will raise the dead who will begin marching out of their graves like zombies (or maybe locusts) in a ghoulish procession in Israfil’s direction to gather in a place which Islamic traditions hold to be somewhere in present day Syria. Allah said:
39:68 And the Trumpet shall be blown, so that whoever is in the heavens and on earth shall be made to expire, save him whom Allah wishes. Then it shall be blown another time, and behold, they shall arise, looking out.
36:51 … then behold how from their graves, unto their Lord, they slink away.
54:7 … with their eyes downcast, as if they were swarming locusts,
54:8 Scrambling towards the caller. The unbelievers will say: “This is a very hard day.”
Alice: Will it be a mad scramble?
Imam: No. Allah’s Koran is all about creating an ordered god-fearing society. Judgement Day reflects Allah’s love of orderliness. Most will walk towards the caller in row upon row. Allah said:
18:47 And on the Day We shall cause the mountains to move and you see the earth uncovered, and We gather them all, having left no one behind.
18:48 And they will be brought before your Lord in rows: “Now you come to Us as We created you for the first time. Nay, you claimed that We would not fix for you an appointed time.”
Alice: Will it be a long walk?
Imam: No. Both Paradise and Hell will be brought forward. Allah said:
50:31 Paradise will be brought closer to the God-fearing, not a far distance.
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89:23 And Hell is brought forth on that Day. Then man will remember on that Day; but wherefrom will remembrance come to him?
89:24 He will say: “Would that I had advanced something for (this) my life!”
89:25 On that Day, none shall punish like His (Hell’s) punishment.
89:26 And none shall bind with fetters like His.
Alice: Paradise and Hell are moveable objects?
Imam: Paradise is a place and Hell is a living thing. A gigantic humungous breathing nightmarish thing which, the Prophet, the peace and blessings of God be upon him, said will have to be dragged to its appointed place on Judgement Day by seventy thousand angels pulling on seventy thousand ropes.
Alice: You would think something that big could be seen from the earth, unless it is the sun, but even seventy thousand angels pulling on seventy thousand fire-resistant ropes I don’t think could move it.
Imam: Hell is not the sun but like the sun, you feel its effect every day. The Prophet, the peace and blessings of God be upon him, said that Allah allowed [Hell] to take two breaths – one in the winter and the other in the summer and this is the cause of the severe heat and bitter cold you experience during these two seasons.
Alice. Then that means that Hell is a two-headed monster. One head whose breathing causes the seasons in the northern hemisphere and the other in the southern hemisphere, since the seasons are reversed above and below the equator.
Imam: Don’t be silly. A two headed Hell!!! That is ridiculous.
Alice: Sorry. Will Paradise and Hell be close enough to Earth for people to jump into it or on it?
Imam: The god-fearing will be able to reach Paradise via a ramp or wall called the Ramparts. Allah said:
7:46 Between them (the people of Paradise and the people of the Fire) is a veil, and on the Ramparts are men who know everyone by his mark. And they will call out to the People of Paradise: “Peace be upon you.” That is, before they enter it, though they hope to do so.
Other believers will be taken to Paradise by angels. Allah said:
16:30 And, it is said to those who fear God: “What has your Lord revealed?” They say: “Something good.” To those who do good in this world is the good reward; and the Hereafter is surely much better. Blessed indeed is the abode of the God-fearing! 1
6:31 Gardens of Eden they shall enter, beneath which rivers flow. They will have therein whatever they desire. Thus Allah rewards the God-fearing.
16:32 Those whom the angels will carry off while in a state-of-grace, saying: “Peace upon you; enter Paradise for what you did.”
Alice: What about the unbelievers?
Imam: They, too, will be carried off by angels, but the flight will not be as pleasant. Allah said:
47:27 How then, will it be when the angels shall carry them off, beating their faces and their buttocks?
Alice: I always thought that angels only did goods things, dragging Hell to within a short flying distance of the unbelievers notwithstanding.
Imam: Not the charmer!
Alice: The what!?
Imam: Allah said:
75:22 On that Day, faces shall be radiant,
75:23 Looking upon their Lord.
75:24 And faces, on that Day, shall be scowling;
75:25 Thinking that a disaster shall be wrecked upon them.
75:26 No indeed, when (the soul) reaches the breast-bones,
75:27 And it is said: “Who shall be the charmer?”
According to Abul A’la Moududi, a foremost authority on Allah's Book and the first recipient of the King Faisal International Award for his contribution to Islamic studies and our understanding of the Koran, “charmer” refers to the angel from the Punishment contingent who will carry off the reborn unbeliever, as opposed to the angel from the Mercy contingent who will carry off the believer.
Alice: How charming! How should people dress?
Imam: It might be a good idea for unbelievers to wear fireproof clothing, not that it will make much difference.
Alice: Should women wear pants to avoid an upskirt moment as they are being lifted aloft by Allah’s winged servants?
Imam: An upskirt moment!!! What is that?
Alice: People on the ground might catch a glimpse of their underwear, or worse.
Imam: Oh! Allah does not like pants on women. There will be no, to use your vulgar expression, “upskirt moments” for believing women who, for the occasion, will have put on Allah’s head-to-toe finery. Allah said:
7:32 Say: “Who has forbidden Allah’s finery which He fashioned for His servants, or the good things He provided?” Say: “These are meant, in the present world, for those who believe, and exclusively for them on the Day of Resurrection.” Thus We make clear Our Revelations for a people who know.
Alice: Can people stop for a smoke on the way to be judged?
Imam: Smoking is bad for you, don’t you know that?
Alice: I am trying to stop, but what if I can't stop before Judgement Day? With all the stress...
Imam: There will be a lot of smoke on Judgement Day; just take a deep breath, if you dare, along with all those who will be pleading not to be sent to Hell, claiming they were true believers, which they were not. Allah said:
44:8 There is no god but He. He gives life and causes to die; your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers.
44:9 Yet, in doubt, they frolic.
44:10 Await, then, the Day when heaven shall bring forth visible smoke;
44:11 Enveloping the people. This is a painful punishment.
44:12 “Our Lord, lift the punishment from us, for we are true believers.”
Alice: Why did Allah assume they were not true believers?
Imam: Allah does not assume. Allah knows. They may have believed in Allah but not in the Prophet, the peace and blessings of God be upon him, whom they accused of being a "tutored madman." Nobody, but nobody calls any of Allah’s Messengers madmen, and certainly not the Prophet Muhammad, the peace and blessings of God be upon him, and gets away with it! Allah will have his revenge on Judgement Day. Allah said:
44:13 How can there be for them an admonition, when a manifest Messenger has already come to them?
44:14 But they turned away from him saying: “He is a tutored madman.”
44:15 We will lift the punishment a little. Surely, you are reverting.
44:16 On the Day when We shall strike the mightiest blow, then We shall take our revenge.
Alice: Everything is about revenge with Allah, isn't it?
Imam: He will have His revenge only on those who were warned but ignored His warnings or said bad things about His Messengers.
Alice: That is still a lot of people. If Judgement Day occurred tomorrow three out of four people living would experience Allah’s Wrath and end up as fuel for His Hell; and probably an even greater proportion of the reborn deceased.
Imam: Whatever the number, Allah can handle it. Allah said:
35:16 If He wishes, He will annihilate you and bring forth a new creation.
35:17 That for Allah is not a grave matter.
Alice: With the sun all coiled up, perhaps as a result of the collision with the moon, and all that visible smoke, won’t it be difficult for those marching in row upon row not to crash into each other in the darkness?
Imam: Not the believers, for Allah will have provided them with a light. Allah said:
57:12 On the Day that you will see the believers, men and women, with their light beaming in front of them and in their right hands [the sign]: “Your good news today is Gardens beneath which rivers flow; dwelling therein forever. That indeed is the great triumph.”
57:19 And those who believe in Allah and His Messenger are truly the pious and the martyrs in their Lord’s Sight. They shall have their wage and their light; but those who disbelieve and deny Our Signs, are truly the companions of Hell.
Alice: If I don’t have a light of my own, can I follow those with a light beaming in front of them from their right hand?
Imam: No. If you are not given a light, it is because you don’t deserve one. Allah said:
57:13 On the Day the hypocrites, men and women, will say to the believers: “Wait for us, so that we may borrow from your light.” It will be said: “Go back and seek for yourselves a light.” Then a wall will be raised between them both, which has a door. On the inner part thereof is Mercy, and on the opposite side the outer part thereof is punishment.
57:14 They will call out to them: “Were we not with you?” They will say: “Yes indeed; but you deluded yourselves, you waited long, doubted and were deceived by false hopes, until Allah’s Decree came and the deceiver (Satan) deceived you regarding Allah.”
57:15 Therefore, today no ransom will be taken from you (the hypocrites), nor from the unbelievers. The Fire will be your refuge; it will be your master; and what an evil fate!”
Alice: Isn't Allah again prejudging people by giving some a light and having them enter by a different door than those without?
Imam: No, the condition of one’s grave will already have singled one out as worthy or not worthy of a light; and it is not a different door, it is the same door, which will close after all the believers have entered Paradise.
Alice: Then believers will emerge from their graves before the unbelievers, if not, how will Allah stop the unbelievers from mixing with the believers and entering heaven through that one big door before He has a chance to lock it?
Imam: No, everyone will emerge from their graves at the same time. Any unbelievers or hypocrite who tries to sneak into Paradise will be stopped by the angels guarding its borders. Allah said:
69:17 And the angels shall be ranged around its borders, eight of whom will be carrying above them, on that Day, the Throne of your Lord.
Alice: What is the difference between an unbeliever and a hypocrite?
Imam: A hypocrite is an unbeliever, but an unbeliever is not always a hypocrite. Hypocrites are first and often identified in the Koran as contemporaries of the Prophet, the peace and blessings of God be upon him, who pretended to believe in God's Messenger but did not. To believe in Allah and not the Prophet, the peace and blessings of God be upon him, is worse than not believing in either, which is why the hypocrites will suffer double the punishment.
Alice: Allah is not a nuanced type of god.
Imam: He is when it comes to the pretenders to belief and who is deserving of a greater punishment.
Alice: I thought Allah valued unswerving, unthinking blind loyalty above all, and many of those He will roast, if only once for an eternity, were steadfast in their loyalty to Him, if not the Prophet?
Imam: You cannot be loyal to one without swearing allegiance to the other; that Allah has made abundantly clear.
Alice: What must I do so Allah does not interpret my cluelessness on Judgement Day as not having paid close enough attention to what His Messenger had to say about the big Day?
Imam: Everyone will be accompanied by two angels; one of the two who has been following them around all their life and recording their good and bad deeds in a book, and who will give this book of evidence to Allah, and another angel the Koran identifies as the driver. These angels will know what to do, and you will be able to easily follow them for everyone’s vision will have been greatly improved. Allah said:
50:19 The death pang has come in truth. “That is what you were turning away from.”
50:20 The Trumpet will be blown; “That is the Day of Warning.”
50:21 Every soul will come forward with (an angel) driver and a (an angel) witness.
50:22 “You were oblivious of this; so We lifted your cover from you and your vision today is keen.”
Alice: At two angels per person, that is a lot of angels, not counting the countless winged wonders milling around praising Allah as He is being paraded around on His Throne, the angels guarding the entrances to Paradise and those guarding Hell so that no unbelievers burning therein escapes and, of course, the angels from the Punishment and Mercy contingent.
Imam: The number of angels required will be significantly reduced for unbelievers that were part of a nation of unbelievers. They will be marched into the Fire as one, following their leaders into the Fire, as the people of Pharaoh will do. Only the leader will need to be guided to his final roasting place ̶ I mean, final destination ̶ which will be Hell. The first and last nations to enter Hell will shout accusations at the other, probably in unison so as to be heard above the din of Judgement Day. Allah said:
7:38 Allah will say: “Enter together with nations who have gone before you, jinn and men, into the Fire. Every time a nation enters it, it curses its sister-nation; so that when they shall have followed each other into it, the last of them will say of the first: “Our Lord, these led us astray; inflict on them a double punishment in the Fire.” He will say: “A double [punishment] to each, but you do not know.”
7:39 And the first of them will say to the last: “In no way are you better than us; so taste the punishment for what you did.”
Alice: Which Pharaoh, or will it be all the Pharaohs? If the angels are flying the unbelievers to Hell, including Pharaoh’s people, I have to assume, while slapping their behinds, how will that reduce the number of angels?
Imam: Not all unbelievers will be flown to Hell obviously, and it is the Pharaoh of Moses, Rameses II. He is the only historical real-world leader singled out by Allah, although not by name, as making an appearance on Judgement Day. He will lead his people into Hell. It should be a magnificent procession of the downcast. Allah said:
11:97 ... Pharaoh’s command was not sound.
11:98 He shall be at the head of his people on the Day of Resurrection; thus he shall lead them into the Fire. How wretched is the place to which they will be led!
Alice: Note to self: “Don’t follow Pharaoh on Judgement Day; he’s going where you don’t want to go.” At least those who don’t have a leader to follow will have a driver; that is very considerate of Allah.
Imam: Not really. The driver angel and his friend will mean trouble, big trouble for those who believed in other gods, or worshipped the Son He never had. Allah said:
50:23 His companion (angel) will say: “This is what I have; it is ready.”
50:24 (Allah will say): “Cast into Hell every obdurate unbeliever;
50:25 “Hinderer of the good, transgressor and doubter;
50:26 “Who has set up another god beside Allah. Cast him, then, into the terrible punishment.”
It may also be the driver’s responsibility to boil the unbelievers before herding them into Hell. Allah said:
40:70 Those who disbelieved in this Book and what We sent Our Messengers with; they shall surely know.
40:71 When the fetters and chains shall be upon their necks and they shall be dragged along.
40:72 In the boiling water; then, in the Fire they will be consumed.
19:86 And drive the wicked into Hell as one thirsty herd.
Alice: Boiling people like lobsters before roasting them. I think I am going to be sick.
Imam: Please don't. I warned you that you might not be able to handle the truth, and there are more painful truths to come. Go home.
Alice: I’m going to be okay. So every unbeliever gets boiled before being herded into Hell? Got it!
Imam: But not before being paraded around Hell's perimeter on their knees, after which Allah will proceed with a selection of the most guilty. Allah said:
19:66 Man says: “If I die, shall I be raised from the dead?”
19:67 Does not man remember that We created him before, when he was nothing?
19:68 By your Lord then, We shall certainly gather them together with the devils, then we will lead them around Hell on their knees.
19:69 Then We shall seize from each group the most rebellious against the Compassionate.
Alice: Why would the Compassionate do this, single out the most rebellious, since everyone on parade is going to Hell?
Imam: To single them out for special treatment, for a double burning for example. Allah said:
16:88 [As for] those who disbelieve and debar people from the Path of Allah, We will add punishment to their punishment on account of the mischief they used to make.
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19:70 And We certainly know best who among them deserves most to be burned therein (that is Hell).
Alice: How often can you burn a person to a crisp?
Imam: As many times as you wish if you are Allah. Allah said:
4:56 Those who have disbelieved Our Signs, We shall surely cast them into the Fire; every time their skins are burnt, We will replace them by other skins, so that they might taste the punishment. Allah indeed is Mighty and Wise!
Alice: Will the believers enter Paradise individually, after perhaps a nice warm bath, or, like the unbelievers, do so in groups and individually?
Imam: Sarcasm does not become you, young lady, and Allah does not like the sarcastic. To answer your question, Allah said:
19:85 The Day we shall gather the God-fearing before the Compassionate as one party.
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13:23 They shall enter the Gardens of Eden, together with the righteous among their fathers, their spouses and their posterity; and the angels shall enter upon them from every gate [saying]:
13:24 “Peace be upon you for your forbearance and blessed is the final Abode!”
13:25 As to those who break Allah’s Covenant once it is contracted, sever what Allah commanded to be joined and spread corruption in the land, upon them shall be the curse and theirs is the evil abode (Hell).
Alice: What covenant did the Hell-bound break? What is a covenant?
Imam: A covenant is an agreement between a god and his supplicants. Allah's first covenant was with Adam and his progeny at a place according to the Prophet, the peace and blessings of God be upon him, called Na'maan on the day of 'Arafah, the ninth day of Dhul-Hijjah, the 12th and final month of the Islamic calendar. Allah extracted a promise from Adam and his descendants, all his posterity that they would worship Him and only Him and believe in His Revelations, the last and most important being those contained in the Koran which supersede all others. Allah said:
7:172 And [remember] when your Lord brought forth from the loins of the Children of Adam their posterity and made them testify against themselves. [He said]: “Am I not your Lord?” They said: “Yes, we testify.” [This] lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: “We were in fact unaware of this.”
Alice: They all agreed to submit to Allah and any descendant of Adam who refuses to submit, refuses to believe in Allah and His Messenger, has broken that Covenant?
Imam: Yes, and will burn in Hell, but not before being blinded.
Alice: To blind them! Why?
Imam: Because they shunned His Reminder, the Koran. Allah said:
20:124 “But he who shuns My Reminder will have a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up a blind man, on the Day of Resurrection.”
20:125 He will say: “Lord, why did your raise me up a blind man, while I was originally capable of seeing?”
20:126 He (Allah) will say: “That is how our Revelations came to you, but you forgot them; and that is how, today, you shall be forgotten.”
20:127 And that is how We reward the extravagant who would not believe in the Revelations of His Lord. The punishment of the Hereafter is surely more terrible and more lasting.
Alice: Then that means all unbelievers, billions upon billions of men, women and children will be blinded. O MY GOD!
Imam: Allah is speaking metaphorically.
Alice: [places a hand over her heart] Thank goodness.
Imam: Allah’s Hell is not just about pain and terror on a cosmic scale; it is also, as I mentioned earlier, about Allah and the believers enjoying the spectacle of unbelievers in agony, twisting and turning and screaming as the Fire tries to consume them but the Compassionate keeps on replacing their burnt skin so that they never get even a fraction of a second of respite from the pain of burning.
Alice: Now that you mention it, I think I would rather be blind if it meant I would not have to look at the faces of people enjoying seeing me suffer.
Imam: And that is the point. Allah is master not only of physical pain, but the psychological as well. Remember the twice daily visit of the angel to the unbelievers in claustrophobic graves to show them a vision of Hell.
Alice: Don’t remind me; the nightmares I can expect. O my god!
Imam: For the unbelievers in excruciating pain, the sight of what might have been will only add to their agonizing distress, and that is why Allah will not literally blind them. In fact, the Compassionate admits as much. Allah said:
36:66 And had We wished, We would have blotted out their eyes. Then they would race upon the pathway but how will they see.
36:67 And had We wished, We would have deformed them upon their own seats, so that they could not take off or turn back.