Judgement
During my days without faith, when caught in the grip of sin, horrifically I used to say, ‘God curse me, let me burn in hell.’ As an agnostic living in the slipstream of a contemporary reinterpretation of the afterlife such a remark was so easily said. It was as if to say two things: I cannot help my sinfulness and hell could not be all that bad really. Indeed, many Christians today no longer think of hell in the traditional terms of centuries past. There is ample evidence of this in Christian literature: we find that hell is often described merely as a feeling of alienation from God. As a result, the whole notion of judgement appears somewhat sketchy: ‘I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the Cross,’ said a prominent Anglican evangelist some years back. Only a God who had suffered as mankind suffers, the argument goes, could have any right to judge them.
For Muslims, belief in the Day of Judgement, Paradise and Hell is indisputable. Each of these elements is very real. In the Islamic worldview, the life we are living now is preparation for the great examination of the Day of Judgement. It is only necessary to consider the suffering which many have endured to see that Muslims do not share the unorthodox reservations of some Christians.
One of the first individuals to embrace Islam during the lifetime of Muhammad was an Abyssinian slave named Bilal. In order to demonstrate his opposition to Islam, the chief of one of the Meccan clans would take him into the desert each day where he would beat him severely and torture him, repeatedly demanding that he renounce Islam and declare that he believed in the handcrafted idols. Bilal, however, would only repeat that God is One. Later in the early years of Islam, the Meccan tribes placed a boycott on the Muslims, forcing them into starvation. The Muslims, however, continued to affirm that God is One, believing that they would face the Day of Recompense. In fact, many pious souls believe striving through affliction to be a means of expiating sins.
Today I would not dream of uttering those words which once so easily slipped from my tongue. When despairing at my sinful soul, today I can only plead, ‘O my Lord, forgive me, turn me from my sins and save me from the Fire.’ The Day of Judgement is something to truly fear, for every deed we put forth in this life, good or bad, will be recalled.
Protestants—brought up on the apostle Paul’s appeal to Grace and his sustained condemnation of legalism in his letter to the Galatians—are sometimes heard lamenting the Muslim’s insistence on living by the letter of the Law. Grace sets mankind free from all that, they will argue, but surely the state of the world around us bears witness to the fallacy of that view. Some people are indeed blessed with great self-restraint, but some of us might argue that Islam is simply realistic about the strength of individuals and communities.
Yes, some people are just good folk, and yes, some people can become good folk with the promise of reward. But it is true too that some of us must be deterred from deeds which are harmful to us and others. In truth it is few that live by Grace; like donkeys, most of us will only respond to a carrot or a stick, or both depending on our state of mind. I appreciate possessing a faith which is realistic about human nature, does not simply tell me that mankind is born in sin and can do nothing about it except rejoice that a ransom has been paid on my behalf. I appreciate possessing a framework through which I might overcome that which holds me back.
I sometimes feel quite sad that I do not have the pure, beautiful, sound heart of some of my fortunate brothers and sisters in faith. Sometimes we meet people whose whole being exudes kindness. I envy such people a lot, but I also recognise that all is not lost for me. The sunna, the Law, this noble framework for our lives, is a blessing for those of us who need a little more help. In our lives, we sometimes deprive ourselves of certain pleasures, for which we are often derided by those around us, but we do so because we know that, in the long run, it is good for us. At other times, we expend our efforts on tasks which we may find a burden, which we may even dislike, but we persevere nevertheless because we know that it is good for us, our family or our community.
Although Protestants differ on this point, Roman Catholics traditionally believe that faith in Jesus must be accompanied by works. Presumably one who believes that faith in Jesus alone leads to salvation does not need to think very much about the Hour. It is, however, very much in the mind of the practising Muslim. When preparing for a journey we always spend some time thinking about what we should take with us: this is the likeness of the Muslim preparing for the Day of Judgement. He or she is not thinking much about this life, for it is only a temporary realm. ‘Be in this world as a stranger or a traveller,’ the Prophet reportedly told one of his companions.Hadith reported in the sahih collection of Bukhari. God granted mankind this life in order that we might prepare for our return to Him.
It was in despair at my propensity to slip that I used to utter some hideous words, but I was not alone. Others philosophise about the hereafter: some demand a suffering judge; some want a hell wherein man experiences only alienation from God. A Christian colleague at work, arguing with a passionate atheist who insisted on deriding the beliefs of religious folk as the legends of peoples past, recently defended her belief in Heaven courageously; but, she said, she was not sure that she believed in Hell. Nowadays, some people afford themselves the luxury of believing whatever they like so long as it is not a ‘salvation issue’. Muslims, however, believe that there is a reality, one which is defined by God.
As our lives hurtle along apace, we wonder what will become of us tomorrow and what can be said of our store of good deeds. As Muslims we are taught that when we are gathered back together on that Revered Day we shall protest that we lived our life for but a day. It will be as if time had not dragged on at all. Pondering the swift passage of time, a dear friend proposed that we should understand the saying of our Blessed Prophet that time will decrease as the Hour approaches as meaning that the value of time will decrease. Our days, he noted, have been chopped into the smallest of units and the more an item of value is chopped into smaller articles, its value reduces correspondingly. Thus we are troubled by a minute’s delay, whilst our predecessors were happy to journey for a day, noting that the angels travel down to earth in a day the like of which is 1,000 years.
I believe there is truth in my friend’s view, but none of it weakens the approach of the Hour. As I look back on the speed with which the past five years have passed me by, there is a sense of regret. Time is all we have; as another friend said, time is the most breathtaking of our Lord’s creation. It is both unfathomable and true; He can stop it at will and extend it without limit. Indeed, He promises that our days in this fleeting abode will seem like nought compared to the days of the hereafter.
As another week passes us by, it is only natural that we ask what we have done to draw closer to our Lord. Conversely, what has distracted us and led us away? Are we on call to every whim of the breaking news? Are we reactionaries, darting in one direction and then another, led by every plot and plan? Believing that we are doing good, we jeopardise our obligations in our race to respond to every provocation placed before us.
We have no idea what will become of us tomorrow as time hurtles along; taking stock of our store of deeds, we recognise that time is too precious. When we are gathered back together on the Day of Judgement, we will complain that we tarried for just a few hours, but our complaints will have no impact. On that Day, all truth will be known. On that awesome Day, which will last 50,000 years, all truth will be made apparent. There is wisdom in our Creator’s great plan.
Today we can travel between different locations faster than ever before, whizzing along in our cars. Journeys that once took weeks, months, even years, can now be covered in hours. When I arose this morning, I did not have to go out of my house to draw water for the day. In mid-winter I do not need to venture outdoors for fuel. At night there is no running around getting lamps lit. I arrive at work just after eight and leave again just after four. I have more time on my hands than the generations of the previous millennium and yet I complain that I do not have enough time to do everything that needs to be done.
And so what will be my excuse before my Lord on that awesome Day when I will complain that I tarried on the earth for but a matter of hours, for that will be as it seemed on a day lasting eons? That the internet evaporated my evenings? That I was too busy to seek knowledge? My life is ease and I have no excuse. For followers of the two traditions, it is a reality that is drawing near.
