Basic Beliefs of Islam

Basic Beliefs of Islam0%

Basic Beliefs of Islam Author:
Publisher: www.alhassanain.org/english
Category: Religions and Sects

Basic Beliefs of Islam

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Author: Sayyid Qasim Mujtaba Moosavi Kamoonpuri
Publisher: www.alhassanain.org/english
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Basic Beliefs of Islam

Basic Beliefs of Islam

Author:
Publisher: www.alhassanain.org/english
English

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Chapter 14: Qiyamat - Doomsday

Qiyamat, resurrection or theday of judgment is the fifth fundamental belief in Islam. The doctrine of Tawhid and resurrection are the most basic concepts of Islam which were emphasized by all the prophets. This is the reason that we find these two concepts in almost all the religions of the world. However, in other religions, the concept of resurrection has been distorted like other teachings of the prophets and only Islam gives correct and accurate information about the occurrence of this great event.

The Doomsday: Why! How!and When!

Why the Doomsday mustoccur ?

How the Doomsday would occur?

When the Doomsday shall occur?

These are indeed very pertinent questions. Almost every nation has asked these questions from their prophets. But mostly the questions were asked in sarcastic manner to ridicule the actuality of the concept.

Basically, those who are not capable to understand, why the universe was created, are not qualified to comprehend, why the universe should have an end. But, even those scientists who reject the core concept of the creation, believe in an inevitable occur rence of the Doomsday.

The Holy Quran has answered these and many other related questions about the Doomsday in hundreds of verses. Allama Faiz-i-Kashani, one of the renowned scholar of Islam, has discovered more than 100 names of this great event and said that the significance of each name is that it reveals a peculiar secret about theincident . The most common name of this event is Qiyamah which has appeared 70 times in the Holy Quran.

Different names of Qiyamat

Some other names of Qiyamat which throw considerable light on what will happen on this day are as follows

1 - Yaumul- Hisab: i.e.,The day when the final and total accountability of all human deeds will take place.

2 - Yaumul-Akhera: i.e.,The final and the last day after which no any other event will occur.

3 - Yaumut- Talaq: i.e.,The day when all belongings will be detached from their owners.

4 - Yaumul- Hashr: i.e.,The day when all the human beings will gather to know their ultimate fate.

5 - Yaumul-Fasl: i.e.,The day when a clear separation between the evil-doers and vir tuous will take place or the day when all existing relationships among humans will be cut off.

6 - Yaumul-Jamaa: i.e.,The day when every thing that existed will be brought into account.

7 - Yaumud-Deen: i.e.,The day when the final judgment of all affairs with absolute justice will be declared.

8 - Yaumul- Huq: i.e.,The day when only truth will prevail.

9 - Yamus-Saah: i.e.,The definite time when all of us will be resurrected for final judgment.

10 - Yaumul-Baath: i.e.,The day when all dead people will be given a new life.

11 - Yaumun-Nashr: i.e.,The day when who were born in this world will rise.

12 - Yaumul-La-yanfaul maal wala banoon: i.e.,The day when all material belongings and family relationships will be of no use.

Thus, summing-up the meanings of these words used in the Holy Quran, and connecting it with other facts described in other verses and hadiths, a clear picture of the Doomsday can be visualized.

When the Doomsday will occur?

Scientists strongly believe that one day the world will cer tainly come to an end but do not know when it will precisely happen. It is vir tually impossible to know the timings of the Doomsday. From the Quran and the hadith, it is clear that the exact timings of the Doomsdayis an absolute Divine secret. No one except Allah (swt) knows the time of Qiyamat. Quran clearly tells us, why the time of the Qiyamat is held in secret. "The Hour of Doom is sure to come. But I choose to keep it hidden, so that every soul may be rewarded for its efforts". (20:15)

"They question you (Muhammad) about the Hour of Doom: When shall itbe ? (say ) you have no knowledge to say anything about it. Allah alone knows when it will come. You are but a Warner for those who fear". (79:42-44) The Doomsday will come suddenly at its own time fixed by Allah (swt). The time is fixed but no one knows it except Him.

"They ask you (Muhammad) about the Hour( of Doom ) and when it is to come. Say: None knows except my Lord. He alone will reveal it at the appointed time. A fateful hour it shallbe , both in the heavens and the earth. It will come suddenly." (7:187)" People ask you about the Hour of Dooms. Say: the knowledge of it is with Allah alone. Who knows?it may well be that it is near at hand". (33:63)

What will be the length of the Doomsday?

No one knows the actual length of the Doomsday. However, we can guess a figure from the reliable data available to us. The Doomsday will cause complete destruction of the universe. There are billions of galaxies in the universe and each galaxy contains billions of stars. Thus, from the size of the universe as well as from the hadiths, it seems that the whole event of Doomsday will take quite a long period of time.

Professor Bashiurdin Mahmood has given an approximate length of the Doomsday. He said that from the Quranic verse 70:4, the minimum length of the Dooms may be as long as 50,000 solar years. But the length of one day of Allah is equal to 1000 solar years (32:5) . In this proportion, the period of Universal Doomsday from the star t to the end may be as long as 18 billion solar years of our ear thly measure of time.

However, this is just a figure based on some reliable calculation. But no one knows the actual duration of the Doomsday. Allah is All- Mighty. He can do everything. He can complete it in 18 seconds or less, and He can spread it in 18 billion of solar years.

Another clue in support of the above calculation is that Allah (swt) has created the universe in six days. These days are not cer tainly the 24 hours days of ours, as the sun and the earth were not created then. Six days means six periods which may be of billions or trillions ofyears duration. Thus, as creation of the universe has taken trillions of years, the distraction process can also consume billion years. [Allah knows better.]

How the Doomsday willstart ?

The Doomsday will appear all of sudden with a catastrophic big bang. It has been referred in the Holy Quran as Soor. No one knows the actual nature of the Soor. But Quran tells us that the Soor will be a tremendous bang which will spread a wave of terror throughout the universe. "And the day when the Soor will be blown and all who are in the heavens and theearth, will stare in terror, save him whom Allah wills." (27:87)

There will be two Soors:

The First Soor

The Divine Bugle! The Big - Bang - Sound! - The star t of the Universal Doomsday. It will be a horrible event. The whole universe will star t shaking causing to shake everything everywhere. The Quran has called it a 'heavy day ' "Heavy day in the Heavens and the Earth". (7:187 )

An unprecedented and an unexampled condition of sweeping chaos on a cosmological scale will grip the entire universe. The residents of planet earth will experience tremendous turbulence of whole-earthquake, that has never occurred before in the entire history of mankind. Then a chain of disastrous events will occur one after the other destroying the whole universe. Every living creature living anywhere in the universe, including the Angel of Death and the Angel who will blow theSoor, will finally die.

"Every thing that exists will perish, except the Face of your Lord, Full of Majesty, Bounty and Honor". (55:26-27)

The Secound Soor

Resurrection Day:

Allah will then command the blowing of the second Soor by His will for resur rection of the dead souls. The second Soor will bring the new order of creation. Allah will create a new universe much larger than the present one and the most beautiful one. This will be the fulfillment of the promise of Allah Subhanahu taala, made in the Holy Quran.

"He will surely repeat the creation of the universe again" (21:104)The new world will be unimaginably different (but with some resemblance also) in all respects viz. shape, size, climate, laws and living conditions. "On that Day when the earth will be changed into another earth and the heavens (they will also be changed)" (14:48)

An Important hadith about the initiation of the Doomsday. Some one asked a question to Imam Zainul-Abideen (as) about the duration between the two soors. Imam replied: "As much as Allah would please."

Then Imam was further asked by the same person about the nature of the soor and how it would be blown.

Imam replied: "So far as the first blowing is concerned, verily Allah will command angel Israfil to come down towards the earth to blow the Soor. The Trumpet will have one mouth-piece and two tubes. The space between the two tubes will be like the distance between the sky and earth.

When the angels will see Israfil descending towards the earth with his Trumpet, they will say: Verily, Allah has ordered the inhabitants of the earth to die, and the inhabitants of the heaven to die.

Then Israfil will bump into it, and the voice will come out from that tube which is towards the earth side. All living beings on the earth will die. And the voice will come out from that tube which is towards the heaven side, and all living beings in the heaven will die, except Israfil. Then Allah will say to Israfil: "O Israfil, Die.and he will die."

Then they will remain in this condition as long as Allah would wish. And His ARSH will retur n upon the water, as it was in the beginning, independent with His Majesty and Power. At that time, Allah will create a very loud voice which will reach in every part of the heavens and the earth, saying: Whose is the Kingdom this day? No one will answer as there will be nonealive.; then Allah will answer Himself creating a loud voice: It is of Allah, the One, the Irresistible (Quran 40:16).

The One Who created all the creatures and gave them death; verily, I am Allah, there is no god except I alone, there is no par tner for Me nor any minister; and I made the creatures by My hand (power) and I made them die by My Will; and I shall resurrect them by My power. Then Allah will cause the second blowing of the Trumpet; the voice will come out from the side which is towards the Heavens, and all inhabitants of the heaven will become alive.and will take their previous positions, and then all people will be gathered for reckoning."

While Imam was saying all this, he was weeping profusely. [Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol. iii] The important part of the Imam's narration is the eventuality of the whole episode, i.e., when all living creatures in the universe i.e. both, the inhabitants of the earth and the heavens will die by the order of Allah, and then Allah alone will sustain His Arsh and will create a loud voice saying, There is no god but Allah. This would be an absolute affirmation that,

He is the sole creator of everything, and He is alone and absolutely one, He has no partner, noPrime Minister, no father and no son, and there is no god of any kind but Allah, and there is no power other than Him who can create and destroy.

Absolute silence other than His one voice is an absolute proof of His absolute oneness.The scientific clues of the Doomsday - From Big-Bang to Big-crunch. Scientists can explain how and why the Doomsday would occur. As the Big-bang theory explains how the universe came into existence, the Big Crunch theory explains how the universe will come to an end.

Scientists believe from observing the red shift in distinct galaxies that the universe is currently expanding. According to Einstein theory, the universe has a finite volume and finite number of hydrogen atoms. At some time in the future, no one knows when, the expansion of the universe would stop. The galaxies which are now receding from one another will star t to approach towards each other and finally they will star t colliding with each other. As there are more than 100 billions of galaxies, billions of collisions will occur one after the other - that is how the scientists believe in the occurance of the Doomsday. The Holy Quran confirms it.

"All that is there will perish, except the Countenance of your Lord, Full of Majesty and Bounty and Honor." (55:26-27) The Big Crunch will be like the Big Bang in reverse. At present the universe is expanding, but it is being observed that the rate of expansion of the universe is gradually slowing down. This shows that the time of the Doomsday is approaching nearer and nearer.

Quran warns:

"Closer and closer to mankind comes their reckoning, yet they heed not and they run away." (21:1)

This verse is a dire reminder to all the inhabitants of the earth that the Doomsday is not too far but is gradually approaching its appointed time. "Every event has its appointed times." (54:3).

The possible scientific explanation of the Doomsday in the light of the Holy Quran has been described by a renowned Muslim scholar Professor S. Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood in his monu- mental book Doomsday and Life after death. We shall take relevant material from his book.

Why the Doomsday will be indescribably a horrible day?

The earth is a planet out of the nine planets of the solar planetary system. The sun is one star out of billions of stars in the Milky Way. The Milky Way is just one galaxy out of billions of galaxies floating in the universe.

There are more than 200 billion [200,000,000,000,000,000,000.] stars in the universe. Many of these stars are bigger than the sun. The sun is only a medium-sized star, but its diameter is more than 100 times the diameter of the earth . The Doomsday will be a universal event in which billions of galaxies and their trillions of stars along with their planets, satellites and all other kinds of heavenly bodies will collide with each other and will ultimately come to an end with high explosion.

Both, Quran and scienceexplain, how all this will happen in a chain-reaction immediately after the Soor is blown.

A star is a huge ball of gas. The sun is also a star like other stars in the sky. It looks different from other stars in its size and brightness because it is the only star which is very near to our earth - 150 million Km. The other billions of stars are so far away that they appear to be like phosphorescent dots. We can hardly imagine the great size of these stars. They look like the tiny dots of light because they are billions of kilometers away from us. For example, the nearest star - other than the sun - is more than 40 million million kilometers away. The fastest Jet would take a million years to fly that far. But even this great distance is only one-billionth the distance to the farthest stars. Stars produce nuclear energy by changing hydrogen into helium through a series of nuclear reactions. This is just like the explosion of atom bomb.

Billions and trillions of atoms are exploding every second in sun and in other stars producing tremendous amount of energy. It is a great mercy of Allah Subhanahu taala and His Hikmat that He equipped the light to travel without a material medium but did not fit out the Sound Waves to travel in this way. Thus, by His mercy, the residents of earth receive only light from sun and not the horrible sound of nuclear reactions.

The First Soor

The great natural events that will occur on the planet earth and in other parts of the cosmos will start with the Soor - The Divine Alarm. It would be a bugle raised by a special angel - Hazrat Israfeel, who has been appointed by Allah (swt) to declare the Doomsday. The bugle will be an indescribably high - pitched sound which will be heard by everyone as if it were near and will make all resident of the earth instantly unconscious for some time.

A series of earthquakes of extremely high intensity, massive volcanic eruptions on earth, and gigantic thermonuclear explosions in the solar system and in other heavenly bodies will combine to bring the following chaotic changes in the universe.

"One Day We shall remove the mountains, and thou wilt see the earth as a level stretch, and We shall gather them, all together, nor shall We leave out any one of them.[ 18:47] Other Quranic Reference:

[18:49, 20:102, 23:101, 27:87, 30:25, 36:51, 38:51, 39:68, 50:20, 50:42, 69:13, 74:8, 78:18, 79:13-14.]

1 - The loudness of the Sound of the Soor will make everyone in the heavens and the earth unconscious.

Sound is produced by vibrations of cer tain object. The intensity of a sound depends upon the amount of energy flowing in the sound wave. At a given frequency, the more intense a sound is, the louder it seems. Sound of 140 decibels produce severe pain in the ear and can damage the tissues. A supersonic jet airplane creates shock waves which is 130 decibels at close range. No one can imagine the intensity of the Soor and its immense vibrational pressure. The loud noise, known as a sonic boom, of the Soor will sweep over the vast universe. All who are in the heavens and earth shall fall down fainting except those who will be spared by Allah's mercy.

"On that day the Trumpet shall be sounded and all who dwell in heavens and earth be seized with fear, except those whom Allah will be pleased (to exempt). All shall come to Him." (27:87)

Other Quranic Reference:

[22:2, 52:45 27:87, 39:68,] 2 - The earth will burst and will be leveled flat.

It is more likely to happen due to bursting of the earth's interior explosive materials. There are millions of tons of molten lava inside the earth . According to the modern geologists, the earth is gradually contracting since its beginning. As the earth is constantly contracting, its internal pressure is also continuously rising. At its climax, when it can no longer hold back its internal pressure, the earth will explode like a bomb. This theory is supported by the Holy Quran.

"See theynot ? HowWe are reducing the earth gradually, from all its sides."( 13:41) As the Quran has told us 1400 years ago, the modern geologists have also reported in their recent findings that the earth has been shrinking in size since it came into existence 4.5 billion years ago. This shows that like living species, the earth is also approaching its end with its age.

· "They wait not but one blast, which will surprise them, while they are disputing." (36:49)The continous powerful earthquake can also level the earth. Earthquake greater than 8.5 on Richter scale can level the skyscrapers and huge mountains. A severe ear thquake may release energy 10,000 times as great as that of the first atomic bomb. Rock movements during an earthquake can make rivers change their course.

Quranic Reference:

[ 36:51, 50:44, 54:7, 70:43, 79:13, 82:4, 99:6, 100:9, 18:4, 84:3,84:4-5,99:2]

3 - The gigantic mountains will fly like dust particles. Massive earthquake, volcanic eruptions, and continuos showers of meteorites will grind the huge mountains into pieces.

Prof. SB Mahmood gives some other explanations of how the gigantic mountains like Himalayas and Kilimanjaro will become like carded wool.

According to him, this is likely to happen due to the increased centrifugal forces acting on the body of the earth. The increase in the magnitude of centrifugal force will be due to the increasing speed of rotation around the axis and on its orbits. First the mountains will break apart, and then, they will be thrown around like the projectiles from apotter 's vessel. Another possible explanation rendered by him is that the earth may explode like a powerful bomb by its massive internal pressure.

"The mountains which you see to be firm will pass away like clouds. Such is the Might of Allah, Who has rightly perfected all things. He has knowledge of all your actions". (27:87) Quranic Reference:

[18:47, 20:105-107, 27:88, 52:10, 56:5-6, 69:14, 70:9, 72:10, 73:14, 77:10, 78:20, 81:13, 101:15.]

4 - Vigorous shaking of the earth.

Vigorous shaking of the earth may be caused due to the combined effect of powerful earthquake, disturbance in the gravitational equilibrium of the earth - sun - moon and other planets in the solar system.

It is possible if a giant asteroid or any other heavenly body ofa extremely large mass strikes the earth and pushes it out of its orbit. The earth will start shaking vigorously as a result of being hit by the massive asteroids and also due to the expulsion from the orbit. Ground shaking by the normal earthquake causes huge structures to sway from side to side, bounce up and down, and move in other violent ways.

"One DayWe shall remove the mountains, and thou wilt see the ear th as a level stretch, and We shall gather them, all together, nor shall We leave out any one of them". (18:47) "When the earth is shaken with a (violent)shock , and the mountains crumble away and scatter abroad into finest dust". (56:4-5)

Quranic Reference:

[22:1, 56:4-5, 18:47, 73:14, 79:6-7, 99:1.]

5- All oceans will boil and catch fire.

The fire in oceans has been scientifically explained by Prof. S.B Mahmood in two ways.

1 - Violent release of red hot lava beneath the sea due to the volcanic activity.

2 - There is a large amount of hydrocarbon in the interior of the earth . As it is highly explosive in nature, it can easily catch fire beneath the sea beds during the massive ear thquakes.

When it happens, the oceans will become the fireballs.

Also, an earthquake on the ocean floor can ignite the under-sea-petroleum reservoirs, which on explosion can cause fire in the oceans.

Quranic Reference: 81:6, 82:3-4 6 - The earth will pour out its entire contents.

This may be the result of ear thquakes and volcanic eruptions.Earthquake usually begin deep in the ground in a range of 70 to 700 kilometers beneath the surface of the earth. Powerful earthquake will throw out the contents of the earth with pressure.

"When the earth is expanded and casts out all that is within it and becomes empty, obeying its Lord as it must do". (84:4) Quranic Reference: [99:1-2, 84:4-5, 99:3, 99:4-5,86:9, 100:10. 7 - The earth will be pounded and pounded again and again.

The earth is revolving around the sun in its orbit and also spins on its own axis. The centrifugal force and electrostatic force keep the earth in equilibrium. The disturbance in these forces will cause imbalance in the earth's motion.

Quranic Reference:[ 56:4,69:14,89:21] 8- The normal atmosphere of the earth will be filled with suffocating smoke. The combined effect of massive volcanic eruption, gaseous material from the heavenly bodies and the bombardment by meteorites may fill the earth's atmosphere with dust, porous glassy matter and mixture of gases.

Volcanoes release gases like carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, carbon monoxide and water vapors. These volcanic gases go up to the 15 kilometers height in the stratosphere. "Then watch thou for the Day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke (or mist) plainly visible".

The Holy Prophet said:

"Dukhan refers to the smoke which will be seen on the day of judgement." This is a warning to those who reject the true faith. They will see smoke every where on the day of reckoning. It will envelop them as a grievous penalty.

Quranic Reference: [44:10-11] 9 - The sun, planets and the moon will collide with each other. There are many possible explanations.

1- All heavenly bodies are floating in their respective orbits under the influence of gravitational and other kinds of forces. The disturbance in the equilibrium of these acting forces will bring the heavenly bodies out of their orbits. Inevitably they all will start colliding with each other.

2- After the sun becomes a red giant, it may explode and the debris may be blasted into space.

3- The sun and its planet are in equilibrium. When the nuclear fuel of the sun would be exhausted, the planets including our earth will fall into the sun.

"When the Sun is folded up" (81:1)

Quranic Reference: [84:4-5, 99:2-3, 75:8, 75:9. 44:10-11]

10 - The dazzling light will blind the eyes.

"So when the sight becomes dazed". [75:7]

11 - The galaxies will be split asunder.

Once the precise equilibrium of the universe is disturbed, billions of stars and planets will crash into one another filling the space with gases.

"A day, when the heaven splits asunder, with a dazzling white cloud, and the angels ascend in continuos stream." (25:25)

Quranic Reference: [25:25, 55:37, 69:15, 73:18, 77:9, 78:19, 82:1, 84:1-2.] 12 - The stars will disintegrate and will be scattered into dust balls. In the receding universe, stars, embodied in white hot space will star t to boil,then explode. The stars will disintegrate and their atoms will be smashed to pieces.

Quranic Reference: [77:8, 81:2, 82:2,70:8 , 55:37]

13 - The galaxies will shake vigorously and the entire space will be filled with gaseous material.

It would be the scene of a contracting universe. Galaxies will be full of turbulence as the stars would be crashing into each other, spewing out hot plasma gases, space filling up with smoky radioactive particles, the skies littered all round with the radioactive debris.

Thus, when clusters of galaxies containing billions of stars will collide with each other, the entire space will be filled with their radioactive gaseous materials by nuclear blasts. Quranic Reference: [52:9, 44:10, 39:68]

14 - The stars in their galaxies will be rolled back like the scroll of papers. According to the modern cosmological theories, the present universe is not open but closed one. This precisely means that the universe has a beginning and eventually it would come to an end. This phenomenon of creation and then annihilation is described as cosmological expansion and contraction.

Quran also tells us that there was a time when Allah (swt) created the universe, gave a full course of its evolution, and finally He will fold it back. Allah Subhanahu taala will then recreate a new more larger and magnificent open universe which will never end.

"Remember the Day When We shall roll up the HeavensAs a Recorder rolls up a Scroll:

LikewiseWe began the First Creation, Surely, We are going to repeat it" (21:104) Quranic Reference: [21:104, 39:67] 15 - The whole universe will collapse and will take a new shape.

The universe will be shrinking more and more. Finally the cosmic contraction will end into an uncontrolled implosion, Big-Crunch, setting the stage for a re-beginning. Quranic Reference: [14:48, 55:26]

Thus, these were some of the conditions of the Doomsday, but no one can imagine its full destructive nature. In one verse of the Holy Quran, the condition of the men at the initial occurrence of the Doomsday has been pictured as;

"O mankind! Fear your Lord and be dutiful to Him. Verily, the earthquake of the Doomsday is a terrible event. The day you shall see it, every nursing mother will forget her nursling, and every pregnant mother will drop her load, and you shall see mankind reeling like drunkards although notdrunk ; but dreadful will be Allah's chastisement." (22:1-2)

Thus, the First Divine Doomsday bugle - will envelope the entire universe and will shake the billions of galaxies at once. Everyone in the heavens and the earth will die except what Allah wills. The whole course of destruction of the universe might take billions of years.

The Second Soor

1 -The Second and the last soor will bring the new world into existence. [17:51]

3- The Resurrection DayBegins ! All men will be brought into life and will be assembled in groups and nations. Each group will attend the Divine Cour t with his Imam. Every event recorded or not recorded in the history of the previous world will be discussed with the highest accuracy and with all minor and major details. Allah, The Master of the Day of Judgment will give His final judgment.

Quranic Reference:

[53:47, 2:28, 2:73,2:222-259-260, 4:7, 18:48, 6:36, 60, 7:14, 7:24, 7:36, 16:21, 21:104, 22:5, 23:16, 26:81, 27:65, 30:14, 30:19, 31:28, 36:52,37:144, 38:79, 42:9, 58:6-18, 64:7, 67:15,71:18, 72:7, 78:18, 83:4-6, 89:25, 99:6,45:28, 101:9.]

All Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus and atheist scientists strongly believe that the world is not a permanent place to live. A day will come when the whole solar system will collapse. According to the modern astronomical findings, the sun has passed 4.5 billions years of its age and hasanother 4.5 billions of years to live. But ultimately the sun will also die like many other stars in the galaxy.

It is not very difficult to perceive the concept of the Doomsday. We know that the usual small scale Doomsday have occurred several times in the universe.

Astronomers know very well that a large number of stars die somewhere in the universe at all times. Similarly, the earthquakes and natural disasters frequently occur on the earth. Doomsday would be just the universal disaster with total collapse of the cosmos. However, only Islam gives the most precise picture of the Doomsday and its purpose. Islam teaches its adherents to do all the necessary preparations to escape from the horrors of the Doomsday.

Both, creation and the destruction of the universeis according to the Divine planning. Neither the universe came into existence accidentally norit will be destroyed by any accident. "We have not created the heavens and the earth, and all that lies between them but with a purpose, according to a pre-fixed measurement. [Quran - 46:3]

Chapter 15: Explicit signs of the Qiyamat

Exact timings of the Qiyamat, as mentioned earlier, is an absolute Divine secret. No one knows it except Allah Taala.Even the archangel Israfeel, who has been assigned the duty from the first day to blow the Soor on its appointed time, does not know its exact time and is vigilantly waiting the command of Allah.

But Allah Subhanahu taala has told His last Prophet (sws) some of the major signs which will appear before the commencement of the Qiyamat. This is a great favor to him and his Ummah.

The Holy Prophet (sws) has explained these signs in many different ways. But it was impossible to illustrate the exact signs to the people of his time who were totally unaware of the things which would happen in future.

For example, the people during the time of the Holy Prophet (sws) had no idea about the television, computers and many other sophisticated products of modern technology.

Thus, the Holy Prophet (sws) had used simple symbolic expressions familiar to the people of his time to ascertain the identity of the future events.

It is, therefore, imperative to analyze the metaphorical expressions of the hadith, ser ving as illustration, in order to identify the figurative objects hidden in the words to elucidate the related events of the future. This kind of explanations based on deep research can give the true picture of the scene.

Hudhaifah bin Usaid al-Ghafari, quoting the Prophet (sws), narrated the following 10 specific signs of the Doomsday. Some of them are as follows:

(1) The Smoke (2) Dajjal (3) Dabbatul-Ardh (4) Rising of the sun from the West (5) Re- appearance of Imam Mehdi (as) and Hazrat Isa (as) (6) YaJooj and Majooj.

The Smoke - Climax of the climatic deterioration

According to many traditions, some kind of smoke will spread throughout the world near the Doomsday. This will penetrate the ears (and eyes) of the people.

Possible explanation: It may be the result of big volcanic explosions releasing many kinds of volcanic gases followed by strong wind storms, and excessive meteorite showers. The combined effect of all these catastrophic things can fill the whole atmosphere of the earth with smoke.

Dajjal - Climax of the spiritual deterioration

According to many hadith, Dajjal will rise near the Doomsday. He will be a powerful ruler and a staunch enemy of the Muslims. He will demonstrate incredible things to attract the people. He will have the means to travel from the East to the West in a day or a part thereof. He will have with him Jannat and Jahannum. He will grant Jannat to his followers and will throw his opponents in his Jahannum.

It is also mentioned in ahadiths that Dajjal will be one-eyed person who will falsely claim that he is the Messiah, awaited by the Jews( or by Christians ). He will attract a large number of the people living in different par ts of the world and with this increase of power, popularity andprestige, he will finally claim that he is god. The Dajjal will be killed by Imam Mehdi (as). It has been reported in Sahih-e-Muslim, that the Holy Prophet (sws) said:

"There is not, between thecreation of Adam up to the appearance of Qiyamat, any matter more difficult than that of Dajjal."

Now it is difficult to hypothesize accurately the nature and picture of Dajjal from the words of the hadith. Many people can imagine Dajjal literally as a one-eyed person. But Dajjal could also be a powerful technologically advanced nation.

A nation who calls himself a Massiha (peace-maker), and a Superpower( god ). One-eyed person can be interpreted as a developed nation exploring the universe with one eye, i.e., material aspects only.

Today, the United States is being considered by many people as Jannat. There are many Muslims, living in Muslim countries, who desperately wish to migrate to the United States by all means. Green Card for them is like an entry permit of Jannat.

Viewing the technological advancement and spiritual decline of this country in the light of the hadith, one can say that America is the Dajjal. There can be many other countries in the world which can be referred as the Jannat of Dajjaal. The Holy Prophet has warned the Muslims repeatedly about the Fitna of Dajjal. The literal meaning of Dajjal is "TheDeceiver " Allah knows better.

Yajuj (Gog) and Majuj (Magog). Nuclear World War

According to the Muslim scholars, Yajuj and Majuj are the two big tribes from the children of Japheth. In Old Testament, Majuj has been referred to the chief of Mashech and Tubal. These places have been identified by the researchers as located now in present Moscow.

Some scholars have also identified the word Mangol as the Chinese word Mangog or Manchog. If this is true than the region associated to Yajuj and Majuj would cover the entire area between Russia and China from the Moscowriver to Mongolia.

In the Tafseer Majma-ul-Bayan, the author says that "after dominating the earth, Yajuj and Majuj will aspire to conquer the space. They will shoot the arrows towards the heavens and it will return to them with something like blood-stain on it. So they will say: we conquered the inhabitants of the earth and the heaven."

Allama S. Saeed Akhtar Rizvi has interpreted the arrows as rocket and space-ships. If his analysis is correct then we can conclude from this that the whole story of Yajuj and Majuj indicates a "World War " between the future nuclear powers such as Russia, China and the United States , using the rockets from the various space stations to launch nuclear arsenals.

The Smoke, another major sign of the Qiyamat, may be the result of this nuclear war. Dabba-tul-Ardh The meaning of Dabbat-ul-Ardh is a "walker of earth". There is a lengthy hadiths explaining the nature of Dabbatulardh.