Muslim Beliefs 9 – Resurrection

In the Name of Allah, the benevolent, the Merciful, the creator and Sustainer of the universe, I greet you with the greetings of all the profits from Adam to Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon them. Assalamu Aleikum, which means peace beyond you. I'm your host, Hemant Rashid. Today is our ninth program in the series on Muslim beliefs. In today's program, we'll talk about the Day of Judgment. I have as my guest on the program, Dr. Jamal Badawi of St. Mary's University. Welcome to Islamic focus.

Last week, in our program, we had very interesting discussion on the soul, we were talking about the

contact of the soul with living in the contact of the souls among themselves. And we touched on the question of reincarnation, and we just got into a just had a chance to talk a bit about today's topic. I wonder if perhaps you could summarize the main points of our discussion last time. Certainly, we talked first that according to the Quran special in chapter 39, verses 42.

There is an allusion there to the fact that the souls of the dead and the living could possibly meet during the sleep and then God will send the souls of those who are still to live further. And that keeps away the source of the of those who have died or those who died during their sleep.

We also indicated that the whole issue of seance is shrouded with lots of mystery and superstitious. And that's from the Muslim perspective, he approached that with a great deal of caution. Because the souls of people are not just like toys in the hands of people who claim to invoke or get the source and the incidence of fake kind of, of exercises, which depends on darkness sounds and things to impress people. But souls are not just subject to playful people are just trying, we're trying to call on them at any time. We also mentioned that there are references and the saying of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, that the souls of those who are dead also meet among each other, they

meet and visit each other the same way that they do in this life, or the living people do.

There was a question about where the souls go after this. And then we indicated that there are sayings of the Prophet, which gives a clear indication that this was would be in paradise. But we find also references that gives the impression that this swords also be connected with earth. And he said that there is no contradiction between both. And we give the similar to us by ignore,

just like the sun and it stays the sun is up there, and the rain is still connected

or felt on Earth, it could be an impact also of the sword. It's not really something that's material that can be limited to one particular area. But the main thing that you indicate is that in any case, that the souls of those who are good and righteous would be in a state of Felicity and enjoyment. The souls of those who are wicked and unbelievers would be in a state of suffering.

There was a question on the reincarnation like you mentioned earlier and you said that the Muslim does not believe in reincarnation whatsoever in any shape or form that souls are created in the womb, and survive until the day of judgment and thereafter.

Almost like eternal existence after being created.

There was a question about the three states of the soul according to the Quran, the soul that pushes us towards even the soul that is self reproaching, conscious of the individual and then finally the soul in perfect peace and tranquility, which is the ultimate state to which people really should strive. And the last question that was raised as to whether resurrection will be both in body and soul or just by soul. And we indicated that the Quran always indicates that the resurrection would be both in body and soul. And I quoted the verse from the Quran in chapter 56, particularly in verse 16. That God is able to raise us in physical body but different from the physical body as we know it

today. So you need not necessarily be exactly the same physics.

existence, but it is both physical and spiritual.

Well, I'd like to take right off on your last point

where you say that they will be a combination of both the physical body and the soul, right? That's the Quran. How would the Quran respond to people who would make the point that? Or it would raise the question? How can our bodies come back to life? After they are totally decomposing the graves we all know the physical bodies that we have in this creation when we die, they cease to exist. What does it have anything to say about that? Oh, yes, in fact, this is not a new argument, really. It has been raised in the past by many people

who rejected God. In fact, the Quran make reference to that, for example, in chapter 45, in verses 34 through 36, it quotes those unbelievers saying that it is only

our earthly life here that we live,

we live and die and nothing really destroy us. But time. But the Quran make rebuttal of this kind of argument, saying that those people are saying that out of conjecture, not because of any certain knowledge that they have. They're simply guessed that because people live and die, that that that's the end of it. But they have no way of proving that there is nothing beyond this particular they just making conjecture. As far as the specific responses trying to explain to mankind, why the return is not that hard thing to imagine, you find beautiful examples in the Quran. Let me just go to a few of them.

In chapter 36, in the Quran, verses 77 through 79. It describes people who made this argument and this terms it says does not men, or mankind see that it is we that is God

who created him from a sperm. Yet behold, he is an open adversary.

And he that's mankind,

makes comparisons for us and forgets his own creation, forgets his own creation. He says,

who can give life to the bonds when they are decomposed? Say, he that's God will give them life who created them, and the first time or the first place, for he is well versed with every kind of creation. In other words, what people tend to ignore when they think about resurrection, and the Day of Judgment is the origin of creation, how we were created to start with from a microscopic sperm and an ovum or fertilized ovum.

That's in itself is a miracle. The fact that we are created from that very microscopic thing is in itself an evidence and clarification that he who created this is able to return us

in life to life again.

Not only this, we find that the Quran even appeals to our limited understanding, by showing us that to return something is easier than creating it to start with.

We find that for example in

in chapter 15, verse 15, where God says, where we then weary with the first creation, that they should be and confused about resurrection,

that God did not get tired from original creation and as we indicated in previous program, God does not need any rest, it does not really feel that any activity or any decisions or action that he makes requires any test.

Not only this, but even in a more clear term. In chapter 13, verses 27 and 28.

When God there says it is he who begins the creation, then returns it returned that creation and the day of judgment and for him, it is most easy.

This is one in addition to that, another aspect if I may continue with this Nixon analogy between giving life to the burden Earth and giving life to this decomposed bonds in graves. The analogy is very significant because if you look at the earth, when it's very in the grip of winter or drought, you never expect that any beautiful vegetation or plantation is going to arise out of that land but when the waterfalls on that land and the circumstances are ripe, then you find all kinds of lovely creation. We find examples of this for example, in

In chapter 41,

verse 39, when it says that when you see the earth, barren,

but when we send the water, it thrives, and burst forth with all kinds of lively type of creation. And then it says whoever

gave life to this earth after death is also able to give life to humans. After this, the same thing is repeated also, for example, in chapter 22 and verse five repeating again, the same analogy of plantation. And this actually,

last time when we were talking about the soul, we learned of the differing fate, so to speak of the righteous and the unrighteous. On this question of resurrection,

how about those who suggest that only the righteous are going to be resurrected? And that the wicked will will not be resurrected again? Is this correct? What for from the Muslim perspective this is contrary to the Quran, and contrary to justice also,

it's contrary to the Quran because we have indicated before that the resurrection and this will be shown also as the program continues today, for example, that everybody would be resurrected, whether believer or wicked, because everybody has to be recompensed for his life on Earth, for his deeds.

It is also contrary to justice. Because if you say that the punishment for the wicked is simply that you will not or should not resurrect, then you will find many people who says, All right, let me enjoy myself. In this life, I don't care to be resurrected again, I'm more interested in the short sighted pleasures that I could

obtain or enjoy.

So there is no motive really to be good. And on the other hand, it's also contrary to justice. Because if somebody conducts a life, of wickedness,

of crime of

really hurting other human beings,

with all this evil deeds, it is not enough

the compensation for him to simply let him die and not rise again. So it is the wisdom of God that everybody will be brought

before him for this accountability, both positive and negative deeds are covered, just to give a documentation, one or two citations from the Quran. In chapter 36, for example, in verse 12, it says, Verily, We shall give life to the dead.

And we record all that they sent before all that they have done before, and that they leave behind. And we have taken account of all what they did in a clear book, that is a clear book of evidence, which includes course both positive and negative. Also in chapter 39, in verse 17, we'll see at Kowloon FC mamilla, that's the Day of Judgment, and to every soul will be paid in full, the fruits of its deeds. And he that's God knows best all that they do. So the the rudimentary principle of justice requires that everybody would be distracted, just like everybody would have to find out the results of his tests, then the light here is the test, everybody would be brought horse to get the

results and the consequences of this.

I'm sure many of the people watching the program are anxious to know if there's any indication in the cron as to when the Day of Judgement will come. And this is something that people are speculating, oftentimes speculating. But is there any you hear a great deal about people, for example, coming up with all kinds of thoughts? I think it was in the 50s when some people thought that they were judgments is going to take place on x day. Yes. And they determined the particular years and yes, our even, no, there is no such thing with this kind of definitiveness about the coming of the Day of Judgment.

The Quran is very clear that the knowledge of the hour is only in the hands of God, not in the hands of any other human being.

one verse we cited in a previous program in chapter 31, verse 3634, in the line, that is, with God alone, lies the knowledge of the hour.

In another verse, which is very similar also a lie here at Messiah. That's in chapter 41, verse 47. In unto God is the knowledge or to which God is the knowledge of the hour.

There is indication, however,

That the hour would come suddenly, at least in the the specific hour or the specific day would be a sudden something that nobody would have expected. This we find documented in more than one place in the Quran. For example, in chapter seven, verse 187, mentioned that, in one of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. He even described the suddenness of the coming of the hour, that people would be selling each other, for example, material or clause and the hour would come before they fulfill their contract or their transaction. A person would be milking his goat or whatever, and he would not be able even to cut it through to the end, a person would be holding a morsel of

bread, and it would not reach his mouth and the Day of Judgment could could happen. So the main issue, then about the exact coming of the hour, is that one should not simply busy himself talking about the exact hour or exact day, but rather take the lesson as to how one could prepare for that hour. Let me cut you from the current

kind of attitude that it implants and the Muslim that appears in chapter

79.

Right. In verse 42, on it says they ask you that they ask you or Mohammed about our When will it be? It's that point of time, where and are you concerned with the declaration that are

with your Lord is the limit. Sixth, therefore,

you are, that is your Muhammad arbat a warner for such as feared. So the main message really is for those who worry about that hour, not the exact time that they they see it, it will be as if they had terrible or lived but a single evening, or at most till the following morning. That is it will come sooner or later that when it comes, most of us or all of us really would feel that this entire life, 50 years, 100 years, whatever we lived on this earth would appear to us as just an evening. In one verse in the Quran, it says the whole life would appear as one hour in our eyes as if we just took a nap and woke up again. Now,

even if there's it's not possible to be able to specify an exact time in which the world will end, surely there must be some indications or some signs of the approaching of the Day of Judgment.

Right? Yeah, there are signs but it is of course, there are science, which the Muslim jurist called Allah matters and other matters. Sora are the minor signs, which could extend over years of hundreds of years even. And then there are the major science that is when the Day of Judgment is imminent, that is within a few years. And then there are the description of actually what happens when the Day of Judgment starts.

The when we talk about science of approaching, we have to keep in mind also that it is relative. For example, Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him once was quoted as saying that I was sent less as a prophet. And the difference between my coming and the hour is like this, and he pointed with his fingers that it's too close. And now we know that he died for almost 1400 years. Now. So again, we're talking about the relative closeness because again, if you talk about hundreds of years, or even 1000s of years, compared to the age of the Earth, or the age of human life, even on Earth, it really becomes very miniscule, it's very trivial, very small. So we have to keep in mind this.

But when you talk about approaching, like I said, you can look at it, at least in terms of rough science, of the coming, taking the minor science, there are too many of them. I don't know which one you want to start with this, there are signs relating to the state of technology, there are signs relating to the state of economy, signs that relate to the spread of certain diseases, that are signs that relate to the change in moral standards on individual and social level. There are all kinds even in just in the minor assigns of the of the Day of Judgment, all kinds of perhaps we could take some of the minor signs that you referred to perhaps beginning with the with technology are

there

or is there or what is the relationship between technology in the approaching of the Day of Judgment Day of Judgment? Kind of twisted?

Okay, well, we have what what we have to keep in mind is that when we talk about technology, and that

Question of the Day of Judgment, we should not

imply from this, that technology in itself is bad, or that the fact that there will be certain inventions, that This in itself is a negative thing, the attitude of the Muslim towards science and technology is quite often the Quran urges the Muslim to learn and to use technology and science in fruitful way to the benefit of humanity at large. But the

there are very interesting prophecies that were made by Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him 1400 years ago. And when you look at it, in terms of today's achievement, it's very surprising how they resemble what happened. First of all, in one of the

start, even before has is from the Quran itself. The Quran indicate in chapter 10, verse 24, that when the earth becomes so much adorned, that is so much advanced, and the people who are living on this earth become a little bit arrogant, they think that they can do anything they want, but they really have a great deal of scientific or technological power, that this would be a sign that our could come at any time. So in a sense, the Quran describes that, but again, not looking at technology as a negative thing. But this would be one of the things that would lead people to deviate more from the task of God to be overly materialistic, because being so proud of that

technology, not that technology is bad.

In addition to that, I was just starting to mention some of the saying of Prophet Mohammed about this. For example, in a hadith narrated in a Bharani.

He said that there will be so many strange and amazing thing that will take place before the day of judgment, in terms of invention, something that addressing people that you've never heard of, or could imagine.

More specifically, there were specific prophecies narrated, for example, in the collections of Hadees are saying of the Prophet by Muslim, Ahmed and hackin, and Pavani. All of them point out to the fact that there would be a great development in the means of communication and particularly transportation.

For example, The Prophet said that the commons will no longer be used as means of transportation.

That's an interesting point, that there will be some other means, which means it's not animal, then it must be something else. More specifically, in one saying he said that people would ride on things that look like saddles, but not saddles.

Now, when you talk about saddles, you talk about things that you can put on horses, and he said it is not saddles, which means that there will be something that resembles the saddle, but not really put on an animal is that possibly an indication of the car seat after you go to sit it looks like I said, just but fixed on metal instead of the

horse on our cabinet. He also mentioned that when the false messiah come, he will be traveling at a speed that's similar to the speed of the clouds, I

think now of missiles and jet airplanes and so on. More specifically, when he says that the earth will become smaller, that the distances become very short that was narrated, for example, in a Bharani. So from all of this set, 1400 years ago, it appears very much in line with what

are really for thought what actually took place hundreds of years later, one of the things that you can't fully we can't fully understand now that he said that animals will be talking, or will talk to the humans. What he meant by that talking literally, which it's quite it's quite possible Prophet Solomon could communicate with the ants and other animals, or whether that might be also a reference or allegory of the fact that animals will be able to communicate with the human beings like the police dogs.

You know, the elements in the circus, for example, where they learn actually, to communicate and listen and receive commands from humans. We don't we don't really know. But another thing that's very interesting, that it was narrated also that the Prophet said that

the

the inanimate objects

with the speaking more specifically when he says on one hand is that for example, a person's whip or shoes will talk, which could also be an allegory of

objects, material objects speaking. And you think today about what

radius yes citytv Yes, they spying equipments whereby you can listen to what's what's going on at home or whatever you have this electronic devices. So in all of that, I find that this is particularly interesting

But I would I want to emphasize again what I said earlier, it doesn't mean that this technology itself is bad, it could be used for good or evil. But it simply show it as a sign not as a cost as a sign of the approaching of the Day of Judgment. And I really get fascinated with the the accurate and very meticulous description of what took place years. In fact, we probably could spend the whole program just talking on this particular aspect. But I'd like to

raise another point you were made reference in passing about the economy.

What about the signs in the economy and economic life which might give us a clue? There are how are they related? There are quite a few points, I can mention a few of them quite briefly. For example, in a tub, Ronnie, it was narrated that the Prophet said that lots of methods or you know, wealth would be discovered and the people who would be controlling that would be among the most unscrupulous people.

Again, whether that has been realized or will be realized in the future, I don't know. He talked also in another Hadees and sad and mad about the expansion of trade and the participation of women in this

progress

in another Hudis in a Buddha woods, for example, he talked about the spread of usury, or interest, as we call it today in modern terms,

to the point that it becomes so spread that everybody would have

some effect of that usury on him. Of course, you look today in terms of all this credit,

creation of credit through banks, and all that, the use of interest charge cards and all that.

He talked also about the fact that some of the spots on Earth, which were desolate, will have lots of construction, and areas that already had construction before or had buildings would be deserted. And sometimes I wonder in my own mind about what's going on today in terms of building of suburbs, living downtown areas, building new cities, other cities dying.

He also mentioned something very fascinating about people who used to be sheepherders,

building skyscrapers, or building as the hottest called buildings that are very high, almost getting into the sky.

And I wonder what's going on today, again, in the Gulf area, for example, people who really were sheepherders now building skyscrapers. Of course, it does not mean that only in Arabia, the ducks in general about the spread of this high buildings. In general, there is mentioned also about the spread of luxury. In houses, of course, as you compare it with houses in the past, the spread of the use of fine material, symbolized by the use of silk, and as one saying of the Prophet put it, that there'd be lots of progress in the material part, but lots of desolation and destruction in terms of the hearts,

materialism and decline in the modern consciousness of people. We have less than two minutes, I believe, left on today's program, I just want to refresh we might use that time to touch on the question of health conditions, we may not have a chance to finish in today's program. If not, we'll come back next week, perhaps in continuing I can try to put it in a brief way. One of the things that are very clear from the single the profit is the spread of drinking.

But in another Hadith, he made also a prophecy about the spirit of other things that does to the body, the same thing that drinking that's like drugs. For example, He said, some people will be intoxicated in the later days, or the exact terms drink wine. But of course, wine and Islam are also means something that declares the mind doesn't have to be something to be drank. And people would call it in different names, which to me seemed to be an indication of drugs and other things. He also talked in a number of sayings about the spread of serious diseases, either diseases that were not known before, or were not widespread before. And now the question arises with respect to the vd

for example, the the spread of cancer much more than any other time. And finally, something really interesting

that he described even one of the diseases that would be very common, and that is to die suddenly, which could also be a reference to heart attack.

But we'll have to close it off at that point. I'd like to invite everybody back next week we will continue our discussion along these lines will continue our discussion of the day of judgment and what will happen on that particular day. That's our program for today. Thank you for watching. Assalamu alaikum peace, peace