Meaning of the Day of Judgment: Types, Signs and Lessons from it – All living things will die, whether it’s the elderly, adults, teenagers, children, even babies can die at any time. However, no one knows when death will come. In the end everyone in the world will die, no one will live forever. This event is known as the apocalypse.
Just like death, no one will be able to guess or predict the apocalypse. Even if that person has extraordinary intelligence, the event of the apocalypse can never be known when the time will come.
So what we need to prepare as provisions to deal with it are good deeds throughout life that will save us all from the pain of the Day of Judgment. Before coming, there will be signs that start the big event. What is the perspective of doomsday in Islam and what are the signs of doomsday?
Definition of Doomsday According to Islam
Doomsday or the end of time in Islam is the culmination of all life on this earth in the form of the destruction of the universe and its contents including humans and other creatures. No creature can escape from the apocalypse. Muslims must believe in the existence of the Day of Judgment as a sign of their faith in Allah SWT.
Doomsday is the beginning of life that will actually be passed by humans. Because, the life we live now is mortal or temporary. While eternal life is life in the hereafter. For creatures of Allah SWT who believe, are pious, carry out all the commands, and stay away from His prohibitions during life will get happiness after passing through the apocalypse with eternal rewards in heaven.
While creatures who do not believe and do not carry out orders and commit many sins without being able to repent when alive will feel suffering after doomsday, namely entering the fires of hell. In the Al-Qur’an there are many verses that explain the arrival of this day of destruction, one of which is in the Al-Qur’an Al-Hajj verse 7 which reads:
“Surely the Day of Judgment will come, there is not the slightest doubt about it. Indeed, Allah will resurrect whoever is in the grave.
Believing in Allah means also having to believe in all events that occur according to Allah’s will, such as the apocalypse. If Muslims believe in the end of the world, then they must know the signs of the coming of the last day which can be found in the Encyclopedia of Doomsday.
The afterlife is a supernatural thing; no matter how sharp his mind, no matter how clear his heart, cannot be lifted. So, knowledge about it is only obtained through information from Allah and His Messenger. And in fact, the information has been conveyed not only in the form of gestures and symbols. Allah SWT. and Rasulullah saw. has disclosed it to us openly and in detail, so that there is no longer any reason to doubt. The “Ecyclopedia” of Doomsday collects, comments on, analyzes, and debates passages from the Koran and valid sunna concerning death and the afterlife, along with the various opinions of scholars that have developed around these passages, in full. Collecting three previous successful books. Minor Doomsday and Major Signs of Doomsday; Great Apocalypse; and Heaven and Hell. this book describes,
Types of Apocalypse
Before knowing what are the signs of the apocalypse, we must know that the apocalypse can be divided into two, namely the Sugra apocalypse and the Kubra apocalypse.
1. Sugra’s Apocalypse
Sugra Doomsday or known as a small doomsday is death that occurs in some of God’s creatures. The death of a person caused by disease or natural disasters such as floods, tsunamis, landslides, fires, and accidents is an example of a sugra apocalypse.
Even though it is called a small apocalypse, a sugra apocalypse is an event that can cause the loss of a large number of lives, such as the tsunami in Aceh in 2004 which has left many sad stories to this day. How hundreds of thousands of lives were lost as a result of being swept away by the swift waves of the tsunami that began with an earthquake with an extraordinary magnitude at that time.
2. Kubra’s Apocalypse
The Aceh tsunami in 2004 was one of the major events that ever occurred. However, when compared to the Kubra apocalypse or the great apocalypse, the Aceh tsunami was only a small incident. When Kubra’s apocalypse comes, all creatures on this earth will be destroyed and none of them will be left.
The whole world will be destroyed because of the enormity of this event. Houses that were magnificently built will be destroyed, historical monuments in the world will no longer be able to stand, all existing buildings will disappear in a matter of seconds. That is the magnitude of the Kubra doomsday event.
If in the Sugra Judgment maybe some of them have signs such as people who die from illness will be able to see the signs or people who died as a result of previous natural disasters can feel the signs of the impending disaster, some even have no signs -a sign because of the speed with which the event occurred.
However, in the Kubra doomsday the signs can clearly be felt and have been explained in detail in Islam. Then what are the signs of the apocalypse that will occur on the last day?
Signs of Doomsday According to Islam
a. Dajjal appears
The coming of the Dajjal is a sign that the end of the world is very near. Dajjal is a creature of Allah who has body characteristics, namely curly hair and only has one eye on the left because his right eye is blind. On the forehead written the word infidel. Dajjal will come out in a place called Lake Tiberias.
With his power, Dajjal is able to order the sky to rain down because before that there will be a long drought. Due to drought, all plants and animals will experience hardship. However, Dajjal is able to order the earth to fertilize the soil so that plants and livestock can develop properly.
Another extraordinary ability of the Dajjal is that he is able to revive dead people. With this ability, many people will follow him because they think he will think of himself as God. Whoever follows it will get heaven, and whoever rejects the teachings to worship, he will get very painful punishments and will even be killed if he refuses.
In fact, what Dajjal promised was that heaven is hell for Allah and those who have a firm stand and only worship Allah as God will be saved from Allah’s hell. Dajjal will rule for approximately 40 days on earth.
As stated in the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad narrated by Ibn Majah,
“Forty days, but a day can be a year, it can be a month, it can be a week, while the other days will be the same as how you feel now” .
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However, in this hadith, it is not stated whether the 40 days of the Dajjal’s reign are 40 days like the time on earth or 40 days according to other circumstances, it is not explained in more detail. The coming of the Dajjal will not necessarily make the earth prosperous, but he will do damage that will cause the earth to be destroyed.
b. The emergence of Imam Mahdi
The second signs of doomsday is the emergence of Imam Mahdi. However, Imam Mahdi is not a name, but rather a nickname given to someone sent by Allah.
Imam in Arabic means leader, while Mahdi means one who gets guidance. So, Imam Mahdi is a messenger of Allah who is made a leader and has been given instructions.
The characteristics of Imam Mahdi include that he is a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad SAW, has a wide forehead, and a sharp nose. Imam Mahdi came to fight the cruelty of the Dajjal who had ruled before. His presence will quell all forms of acts committed by the Dajjal.
This is to show the truth to mankind that the teachings given by the Antichrist are heretical teachings and order mankind to return to the right path of believing in Allah as the only God.
Book Recommendation: Apocalypse Mayhem
The world is old. Various natural disasters that have claimed lives and property, ranging from flash floods, forest fires, global warming, landslides, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and so on, are some of the evidence. Even that has not been coupled with the outbreak of a number of diseases, plus the emergence of diseases for which no cure has been found until now. Actually, all the disasters that occur, are not empty of divine messages. It is as if nature reminds people to be aware of their temperament that is no longer fit to carry out the mandate of the caliphate on earth. Also a reminder, of this post-mortal eternal life.”
c. The descent of Prophet Isa As
Imam Mahdi will not be alone in fighting the Antichrist. Prophet Isa As was also sent by God to come down not bringing new teachings and Shari’a, but bringing teachings that had been given before, namely Faith in Allah.
The descent of the Prophet Isa has been described in the Qur’an Surah Ali Imran verse 55
“Allah said: O Isa, I will pass you off and bring you back to me, purify you from the disbelievers and make those who follow you over the disbelievers until the Hour comes. To Me you return and I give a decision about what is disputed by you “.
The Prophet Isa has the characteristics that his body is not too tall and not too short, his hair is curly and long flowing down to his shoulders, his chest is broad, and he has reddish skin. The white tower to the east of the city of Syria is the place where the Prophet Isa descended to earth.
The descent of the Prophet Isa as a sign of the apocalypse, namely with Imam Mahdi to fight the Dajjal and undermine his power for some time on this earth. The battle of Prophet Isa and Imam Mahdi to quell the Dajjal ended with the killing of the Dajjal as a result of being pierced in the chest by Prophet Isa As at the door of Lud in the Aqsa Mosque complex.
d. The emergence of Gog and Magog
The next signs of Kubra’s apocalypse are the release of Yakjuj and Magjuj. Al-Quran explains that what is meant by Gog and Magog are people who like to do damage on earth.
It is stated that Yakjuj and Makjuj are human beings who have characteristics such as having slanted eyes, snub noses, and blond hair. Yakjuj and Makjuj are said to be trapped in a valley flanked by two mountains, king Zulkarnain who confined them. With a huge wall surrounding it, Gog and Magog cannot get out of it.
However, in the Al-Qur’an Surat Al-Anbiya verse 96 it is stated that later the barrier will collapse, then Gog and Magjuj will come out to wreak havoc on earth. They will drink the water that is in Lake Tiberias, the place where the Antichrist is believed to come out. No human being is able to stop it except with the permission of Allah SWT.
In the end, Yakjuj and Magjuj will die because they are attacked by a caterpillar-like animal which causes their bodies to decompose. Then come the birds that lift them from the earth, then rain falls to wash them away.
e. Rising Sun from the West
Signs of the apocalypse that are no less surprising to other human beings are the rising of the sun from where it sets. The rising of the sun from the west has been mentioned in the Hadith of Muslim History:
“Doomsday will not come before the sun rises from the west. When the sun rises from the west, all will turn to faith. However, a person’s faith is no longer useful if he previously did not have faith or did not benefit from his faith.
Not only Islam shows that the sun will one day rise from the west, Science also predicts that the sun rises from the west is not impossible. A number of studies state that the earth’s rotation that has occurred so far will experience a slowdown which causes the direction of rotation to be reversed.
During this time the earth rotates from west to east so that the sun appears to rise from the west. Later the earth will rotate from east to west so that the sun seems to rise from the west. When the sun rises from the west, all good deeds are closed. All of God’s commands that have not been carried out so far will be carried out by humans, but they will no longer have any meaning because everything has been done in vain.
f. Appearance of Deadly Smoke
The appearance of smoke that makes people who breathe it die are other signs of the apocalypse. Smoke or Ad-Dukhan in the Qur’an is a threat to humans. Dukhan first appeared during the life of the Prophet Muhammad SAW. At that time Dukhan appeared to be the punishment for the Quraysh infidels who had been hostile to the Prophet.
Dukhan will reappear at the end of the day for 40 days and 40 nights. The earth will feel dark due to the smoke. The smoke can kill people who inhale it. However, for human beings who believe in this smoke, it will only have an effect like someone having a cold. Conversely, in a sinful person it will result in heat like burning the skin.
A practical guide for you to recognize and know the signs of the events of the doomsday and the afterlife can also be found in S. Royani Marhan’s book entitled Doomsday and Hereafter.
Book Synopsis
Human destiny does not end after death picks up or with the destruction of the universe. The death and destruction of the universe is only one phase of human journey to a new realm that is everlasting, namely the afterlife. The final fate of humans will be determined there, will they be put into heaven or hell. This book guides every Muslim to know and know more about the afterlife. By reading this book every Muslim is expected to know more about the purpose of his life in the world, whether to gain the pleasure of Allah SWT in exchange for heaven, or for the sake of worldly pleasures that will only lead him to hell.
Wisdom From Believing in the Day of Judgment
After knowing the signs of the apocalypse that will come one day, we can learn the wisdom of believing in these signs. As discussed through the book Dahsyatnya Doomsday which is the phenomenal work of the great scholar Ibu Katsir.
Here’s a lesson that can be drawn from believing in the coming of the end of the world.
1. All good and bad deeds will eventually be rewarded
For people who believe, the signs of the apocalypse are a way to remind people that all the actions they are doing now will be rewarded later. Good deeds while in the world will bring him ease when his deeds are counted in the hereafter.
Whereas those who commit bad deeds and are prohibited by religion will get painful and sad retribution as a consequence of what they have done in the world. The Day of Resurrection will show which people are good and which people are bad in the eyes of Allah SWT.
2. Increasing piety to Allah SWT
The signs of the apocalypse seem to be an alarm for us that the time of life on earth will not be long. Good deeds that are done may be rare. As beings who are gifted with intelligence in thinking, the signs of the apocalypse should appear as a way for us to increase our piety to Allah SWT by carrying out all the commands and staying away from what is forbidden.
When the Day of Resurrection comes, the door of forgiveness will be closed and good deeds will not be recorded as a reward. The good deeds done by someone will be in vain if all of that is only realized when the end of the world arrives. Increasing taqwa to Allah must be done early so that it is not too late and safe from the pain of doomsday.
2. Do not give priority to worldly interests compared to the interests of the hereafter
For those who believe, the signs of the Last Hour are a sign that everything in this world will return to its origin, namely Allah. So for a believer, it is obligatory to prepare himself with the provision of good deeds while in the world. Not concerned with worldly affairs just because of indulging in lust to get it.
Everything that is done is in vain if you are concerned with worldly affairs, because later when you are in the hereafter everything that is done while living in the world will be accounted for before Allah SWT. Life in the world must be in harmony and must be balanced, taking care of worldly interests and not forgetting matters with the afterlife is an obligation for all of us
3. Realizing that nothing is permanent in this world
All creatures in the world are creations of Allah SWT. In the end, all will return to Allah SWT. This means that nothing will last forever in the world. Beauty, good looks, wealth, possessions in the world are not things that will last forever, one day all of that could disappear in the twinkling of an eye.
It should be for us who are still living in the world, developing good and noble deeds is a must. The signs of the apocalypse make us aware that everything in this world will be destroyed without anything left, only good deeds will lead to the next life (afterlife).
That is the understanding and signs of the apocalypse that will happen later. As God’s creatures, it is our duty to have faith and believe in the coming of the Day of Judgment. Therefore, we must prepare well by developing good deeds, carrying out all commands, and staying away from all forms of Allah SWT’s prohibitions so that we can avoid the pain of the doomsday.