Allah (swt) says: “The trumpet is blown and those in the heavens and those in the earth swoon away, except those Allah wills. Then it is blown a second time and at once they stand upright, looking on. And the earth shines with the pure light of its Lord; the Book is put in place; the Prophets and witnesses are brought; it is decided between them with the truth; and they are not wronged. Every self is repaid in full for what it did. He knows best what they are doing.” (Az-Zumar: 68 - 70)

All who have lived on earth are resurrected on the Day of Judgment. The moment of resurrection is a perplexing one for disbelievers. Allah relates the bewildered conversations among disbelievers at the moment of resurrection in the Qur’an as follows: “They will say, ‘Alas for us! Who has raised us from our resting-place? This is what the All-Merciful promised us. The Messengers were telling the truth.’” (Yasin: 52). In another verse Allah says: “And the True Promise is very close, the eyes of those who were disbelievers will be transfixed: ‘Alas for us! We were unmindful of this! No, rather we were definitely wrongdoers.’”(Al-Anbiya’: 97)

The phrase “Alas for us” is an expression of the great panic, fear and regret of disbelievers. At the moment they are resurrected, they realize that those who warned them against the Hereafter were right and truthful. Much to their detriment, they are now aware that other warnings will surface one after another. Right now, with no possibility to escape, they will be dragged to this torment, which they never considered as real before.

After rising from the dead, disbelievers will be brought to stand before Allah. Then they will be called to account for what they did in the world and judgment will be made accordingly. For this purpose, they are brought into the presence of Allah with all those other arrogant people who transgressed against the limits set by Allah. Allah (swt) says: “The Day the trumpet is blown and you come in droves.” (An-Naba’: 18)

On Doomsday, disbelievers will come to understand that no other action is more important than earning the consent of Allah and avoiding His wrath. This is also stated in a hadith of the Prophet (saw) in which he gave the example of a disbeliever questioned on Doomsday: “A disbeliever will be brought on the Day of Resurrection and will be asked: ‘Suppose you had as much as gold as to fill the earth, would you offer it to ransom yourself?’ He will reply: ‘Yes’. Then it will be said to him: ‘You were asked for something easier than that (to join none in worship with Allah (i.e. to accept Islam, but you refused).’” (Bukhari)

Their failure to have grasped this fact in the world, where the signs of Allah’s power and existence were obvious, intensifies their regret. That day, they will plainly see that they missed this opportunity. Their regret is manifest from the way they speak: “The Day when a wrongdoer will bite his hands and say, ‘Alas for me! If only I had gone the way of the Messenger! Alas for me! If only I had not taken so-and-so for a friend! He led me astray from the Reminder after it came to me.’ Evil always leaves man in the lurch.” (Al-Furqan: 27-29)

On the Day of Judgment, disbelievers will so occupied with their own troubles that they turn a blind eye to the calls of their own children, spouses, mothers, and fathers. In the Qur’an, this is described as follows: “When the deafening blast comes, the Day a man will flee from his brother and his mother and his father, and his wife and his children. On that Day every man among them will have concerns enough of his own.” (Abasa: 33-37)

The concept of lineage loses its importance. From then on, the only thing that matters is to be saved from the penalty of Allah. This is so important that, in order to be saved from this state, disbelievers even offer to sacrifice their own sons, spouses, brothers, etc. Allah (swt) said: “On the Day the sky is like molten brass and the mountains like tufts of colored wool. No good friend will ask about his friend even though they can see each other. An evildoer will wish he could ransom himself from the punishment of that Day, by means of his sons, or his wife or his brother or his family who sheltered him or everyone else on earth, if that only meant that he could save himself.” (Al-Ma’arij: 8-14)

Surely, these efforts of disbelievers bring no results. The main target of disbelievers in the worldly life was amassing a fortune, making a career, or having sons. They spent all their lives to attain these goals. However, on the Day of Judgment, they grasp that all these concepts are not precious at all. Judgment Day is the time when disbelievers will desire to vanish. For believers, however, it is the time zealously and joyfully awaited for. Allah describes these moments in His verses as follows: “That Day some faces will be radiant, laughing, rejoicing. That day some faces will be dust-covered, overcast with gloom. Those are the dissolute disbelievers.” (Abasa: 38-42).

(To be continued)

by Harun Yahya