Belief in the Last Day

The fifth thing every Muslim believes in is the Last Day: the Day of Judgment, and everything that happens after we die and are brought back to life.

After someone dies and is buried, two angels named Munkar and Nakir come to the grave (or to wherever the body is, if it was not buried). They ask three questions: Who is your Lord? Who is your Prophet? What is your religion?

The Day of Judgment is the day Allah will destroy this world, bring everyone who has died back to life, and judge everything they did. This day is absolutely certain to come.

On that day, a Scale called the Mizan will be set up to weigh everyone's good deeds and bad deeds.

Every person's deeds will be written down in a book. Believers will be given their book in their right hand, from in front of them. Disbelievers will be given their book in their left hand, from behind them.

Every action, big or small, will be counted and gone through; this is called the Hisab.

Everyone will be asked how they spent their life, whether they obeyed Allah or disobeyed Him. If a person tries to deny what they did, their own hands, feet, eyes and other body parts will speak up and tell the truth about them.

A bridge called the Sirat will stretch over Hell, thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword. Everyone must cross it. People who did good will cross quickly, according to how good their deeds were, and go into Paradise. People who did wrong will slip and fall into Hell.

Allah has given Prophet Muhammad ﷺ a special pool called Kawthar. On the Day of Judgment his followers will drink from it; its water is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey, and whoever drinks from it will never be thirsty again.

The fifth article of faith is belief in the Last Day and resurrection after death (al-yawm al-ākhir wa'l-baʿth baʿd al-mawt). It covers a sequence of events, each explained in turn below.

After a person dies, whether buried or not, two angels, Munkar and Nakir, come to question them where they lie. They ask three questions: Who is your Lord (Man Rabbuka?), Who is your Prophet (Man Nabiyyuka?), and What is your religion (Ma Dinuka?).

The Day of Judgment (Qiyamah) is the day Allah will destroy this world, resurrect all the dead, and take account of their deeds; its coming is an absolute truth. All the signs foretold by Allah and His Messenger will occur.

A scale, the Mizan, will be set up to weigh people's good and bad deeds. Every person's deeds will be recorded in a book: believers will receive their book in their right hand, from the front; disbelievers will receive theirs in their left hand, from behind.

Every action, small and large, will be accounted for: the Hisab. Everyone will be asked how they spent their life, whether in obedience and submission or in sin and disobedience; if a person denies their wrongdoing, their own body parts (hands, feet, eyes) will testify against them.

A bridge (Sirat) thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword will be laid over Hell. Everyone must cross it: the righteous cross swiftly, in proportion to their good deeds, and enter Paradise; sinners slip, fall, and are cast into Hell.

Allah has blessed Prophet Muhammad ﷺ with a special pond called Kawthar; on the Day of Judgment his followers will drink from it. Its water is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey, and whoever drinks from it will never be thirsty again.

The fifth article of belief, al-yawm al-ākhir wa'l-baʿth baʿd al-mawt, comprises the sequence of events set out below, each of which is a matter of belief in its own right.

On death, whether the body is interred or not, two angels, Munkar and Nakīr, come to the place of the deceased and pose three questions: Man Rabbuka? (Who is your Lord?), Man Nabiyyuka? (Who is your Prophet?), Mā Dīnuka? (What is your religion?).

Qiyāmah (the day Allah annihilates this creation, resurrects every soul, and calls all to account) is an absolute certainty (ḥaqq muṭlaq); every sign foretold of it by Allah and His Messenger ﷺ will come to pass exactly as narrated.

Al-Mīzān is then erected, weighing the ḥasanāt and sayyiʾāt of every soul. Ṣaḥīfat al-aʿmāl, the record of deeds, is distributed: the muʾminūn receive theirs in the right hand from in front; the disbelievers, in the left hand from behind.

Al-Ḥisāb comprehends every act, minor and major. Each is questioned as to how life was spent, in obedience or in transgression, and where denial is offered, the limbs themselves (hands, feet, eyes) bear testimony against their owner.

Aṣ-Ṣirāṭ, a bridge laid over Jahannam finer than a hair and keener than a blade, must be traversed by all; the righteous pass over it swiftly in proportion to their deeds and enter al-Jannah, while the sinful slip and are cast into the Fire.

Al-Kawthar, a pond granted uniquely to Muḥammad ﷺ, will be drunk from by his ummah on that day: its water whiter than milk, sweeter than honey; whoever drinks from it will thirst no more.