Resurrection, Reckoning, Standing Before Allah, the Exalted, and al-Ṣirāṭ

“I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘When Allah causes the inhabitants of the world to die,He will make the inhabitants of the lowest heaven [also] die, then He will make the inhabitants of the second heaven die, then He will make the inhabitants of the third heaven die, then He will make the inhabitants of the fourth heaven die, then He will make the inhabitants of the fifth heaven die, then He will make the inhabitants of the sixth heaven die, then He will make the inhabitants of the seventh heaven die. Then He will cause Mīkāʾīl to die, then He will make Jibraʾīl die, then He will make Isrāfīl die, then He will cause the Angel of Death to die. Then the horn will be blown and He will resurrect [them all].’ [In another report,] he said, ‘Then Allah, the Blessed and Exalted will ask, “To whom does the Kingdom belong this Day?” Then He will respond Himself saying, “To Allah, the Creator, the Originator, and the Fashioner; and Exalted is Allah, the One, the Subduer.” Then He will ask, “Where are the tyrants? Where are those who called upon another god besides Me? Where are the arrogant ones?...” then He will resurrect the creation.’”

“Verily Allah will favour His believing servant on the Day of Resurrection and bring him close to His Grace. Then He will show him that with which He blessed him. He, the Blessed and Exalted, will say, ‘Did you not supplicate to Me on such and such day for such and such and I answered your supplication? Did you not ask Me on such and such day and I granted you what you asked for? Did you not seek My help on such and such day and I helped you?’ Did you not ask that I relieve you of such and such hardship so I relieved your hardship and showed mercy to your plea? Did you not ask Me for wealth so I granted you its possession? Did you not seek My assistance so I assisted you? Did you not ask Me to get you married to so and so while she was with her family and not [directly] approachable, yet I got you married to her?’ So the servant will say, ‘Yes indeed, O Lord! You have granted me everything I asked for, and I used to ask You for Paradise [as well].’ So Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will say, ‘Indeed, I will grant You what you have asked Me for – here is Paradise, you are permitted [to enter] it. Have I pleased you?’ The believer will say, ‘Yes, my Lord! I am pleased.’ Then He, the Blessed and Exalted, will say, ‘I was pleased with your deeds, so I selected for you the best of rewards. Verily the best of your rewards with Me is that I have made you reside in Paradise.’”

“When the believer is taken to account [for his deeds], his [heavenly] wives will be waiting for him on the thresholds of the doors just as wives wait for their husbands in this world when they are absent.Then a messenger will come and give them glad tidings saying, ‘So-andso has, by Allah, passed the accounting.’ They will say, ‘[Really,] by Allah?’ He will say, ‘By Allah he has; I saw him returning from the reckoning.’ When he comes to them, they will say, ‘Welcome, welcome! Your family whom you used to be with in the world are not more deserving of you than us!’”

O son of the Messenger of Allah, verily I have a need.” So he said, “Meet me at Makkah.” [The narrator said,] “I said, ‘O son of the Messenger of Allah, verily I have a need.’ So he said, ‘Meet me at Minā.’ I said [again], ‘O son of the Messenger of Allah, verily I have a need.’ So he said, ‘Alright, tell me your needs.’ I said, ‘O son of the Messenger of Allah, verily I have committed a sin between myself and Allah which no one else is privy to, yet it weighs heavy on me, and I revere you too much to mention it to you.’ So he said, ‘When the Day of Judgment comes, and Allah takes account from His believing servant, He stops [and questions] him about all his sins, one by one, then He forgives him for them. No one comes to know of it, neither a close angel nor a chosen Prophet.’” ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm said, “I was informed by more than one person that he (a) said, ‘He conceals those of his sins that he dislikes to be questioned about.’ He [further] said, ‘And He says to his misdeeds, “Turn into good deeds!” That is [the interpretation of] the verse wherein Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says: They are the ones whose evil deeds Allah will change into good deeds, for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Merciful (Q25:70).’”

“I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘Verily when Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, wants to take account [of the actions] of the believer, He gives him his book [of deeds] in his right hand and calls him to account [in private] between Himself and him. He says, “My servant, did you do such and such, and performed such and such [deeds]?” So he will say, “Yes my Lord, I have done that.” He will say, “I hereby forgive you [for these misdeeds] and transform them into good deeds.” So [when they see his book of deeds] the people will say, “Glory be to Allah! Did this servant not have [even] a single evil deed?” And this is [the interpretation of] the verses wherein Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says: As for the one who is given his record in his right hand, he will have an easy reckoning, and will return to his people well pleased (Q84:7-9).’ I asked, ‘Who are his people [being referred to in the verse]?’ He said, ‘His people in the world will be his people in Paradise, if they were believers.’[1] And if He wishes ill for His servant [due to his evil], He calls him to account in front of all the people, reproves him, and gives him his book [of deeds] in his left hand. This is [the interpretation of] the verses wherein Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says: And as for the one who is given his record [in his left hand] from behind his back, he will cry for [instant] destruction and will burn in a blazing fire. He used to [previously] live among his people well pleased [with himself]. (Q84:11-13)’ I asked, ‘Which people [is it referring to]?’ He replied, ‘His people in the world.’ I asked, ‘[What is the meaning of] the statement: He thought he would never return (Q84:14)?’ He said, ‘He assumed that he would never return [to his Lord].’”

“I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘Verily the believer will be given, on the Day of Judgment, an opened scroll in which will be written: “[This is] a decree of Allah, the Mighty, the Wise. Admit so-and-so into Paradise.”’”

“Verily people will pass the bridge [of ṣirāt] in ranks, and the ṣirāt is thinner than [a strand of] hair and the edge of a sword. Some will pass over it like lightning, some of them will pass like a galloping horse, others will pass sliding along, yet others will pass it crawling [quickly on all fours]. Others will pass it walking, and another among them will pass hanging from it, with fire taking [and burning] part of him and leaving another part.”

“Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) said, ‘Verily the light on the Day of Judgment will be divided among the people in accordance to the extent of their belief. The share of the hypocrite will be such that his light will only extend to the tip of his left toe, then when it is extinguished, he will say [to the believer], “Stay where you are so that I can take from some of your light.” [But] it will be said, “Go back and seek a light [there],” (Q57:13) meaning where the light was [first] distributed. So they will [try to] return but a separating wall will be erected [to block them]. They will thus call out to them from behind the wall, “Were we not with you [in the world]?” They will reply, “Yes [you were], but you allowed yourselves to be tempted, awaited [our demise], doubted [the truth], and were deluded by false hopes until Allah’s decree came to pass. Hence the Deceiver deceived you about Allah. So today no ransom will be accepted from you [hypocrites], nor from the disbelievers. Your home is the Fire – that is where you belong. What an evil destination!” (Q57:14-15).’ Then he said, ‘O Abā Muḥammad,[1] by Allah this was not said to the Jews or the Christians; rather, it refers to the people of the Qiblah (i.e. those who outwardly profess Islam).’”

“ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (a) said to me, ‘When the Day of Judgment comes, Allah will gather all of creation, from the first to the last, on one plain. Then a caller will call out, “Where are the people of merit?” So a group of people will stand up and they will be met by the angels who will ask, “What was your merit?” They will reply, “We would establish ties with those who cut us off, give to those who deprived us, and forgive those who wronged us.” Thus they (i.e. the angels) will say, “Enter Paradise!” Then a caller will call out, “Where are the neighbours of Allah in His abode?” So another group of people will stand up. The angels will ask them, “How were you neighbours of Allah?” They will respond, “We used to take the initiative [in action] for the sake of Allah. We would hate for the sake of Allah and love for the sake of Allah. We would [share and] give for the sake of Allah. We would reckon for the sake of Allah, and we would seek blessings [for each other] for the sake of Allah.” Then a caller will call out, “Where are the people of patience?” So a group of people will stand up. The angels will meet them and ask, “With what were you patient?” They will reply, “We were patient in the obedience of Allah, and we would compel ourselves to remain patient in refraining from disobeying Him.” So they will be told, “Enter Paradise.”’”

“Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) said, ‘The registers on the Day of Judgment will be three: A register in which the blessings are listed, the register in which is the [record of one’s] good deeds, and the register in which will be the [record of] sins. Then the register of blessings will be juxtaposed with the register of good deeds, so all the good deeds will be taken up [as what was due for the blessings that were granted], and [only] sins will remain.’”

“The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘The servant will remain standing in front of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, until He asks him about four aspects [of his life in the world]: “Your lifetime – what did you spend it on? Your body – what did you exhaust it for? Your wealth – where did you earn it from and where did you invest it?” And [he will be asked] about our love – the Ahl al-Bayt.’”

“Jibraʾīl (a) came to the Prophet (ṣ), took him by the hand and led him to al-Baqīʿ. They came to a grave, and he called out to its occupant saying, ‘Rise by the permission of Allah!’ So a man with a bright face came out from it. He wiped away the earth from his face saying, ‘All praise belongs to Allah, and Allah is the greatest!’ Jibraʾīl then said [to him], ‘Return [as you were] with the permission of Allah.’ Then he took him to another grave and called out to its occupant saying, ‘Rise by the permission of Allah!’ So a man with a dark face came out from it saying, ‘Alas, what regret! Alas, what ruin!’ Then Jibraʾīl told him, ‘Return to your previous state with the permission of Allah!’ Then he said, ‘O Muḥammad, this is how they will be resurrected on the Day of Judgment; the believers will utter this statement and these others will say what you see.’”

“I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘A fire will come out from inside the city of Aden by which the necks of camels[1] will be illuminated. It will be visible from the land of Shām and will drive people towards the [gathering] plain of maḥshar.’”

“I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī (a) said, “When the Day of Resurrection comes, a caller will call out, ‘Where are the patient ones?’ So a group of people will stand up. Then a caller will call out, ‘Where are those who exercised self-control?’ So a group of people will stand up.” I said, “May I be your ransom! Who are the patient ones [and those with self-control]?” He said, “Those who are patient in performing what is obligatory upon them and those who exercise self control in abandoning [acts of] disobedience.”’”