The Foundations And Concepts of Islam

Therefore, it is of His Perfect Wisdom and Great Power to raise up the creation on the Day of Resurrection in order to recompense every human being for his deed; and to reward the good-doer and punish the evil doer. Allaah says,

 “To Him is the return of all of you. The promise of Allaah is true. It is He Who produced the creation and then will reproduce it, that He may reward with justice those who believed and did righteous deeds. But those who disbelieved will have a drink of boiling fluids and painful torment because they used to disbelieve.”[151]

Belief in the Last Day – the Day of Resurrection – has great impacts on individuals and the society. Among its impacts are:

1.               It makes man endeavour to obey Allaah seeking for reward of that Day and keeps him from disobeying Him out of fear of the punishment of that Day.

2.               Belief in the Last Day consoles the believer on the bliss and pleasure of this world that he misses with the pleasure and reward of the Hereafter which he hopes for.

3.               It is through the belief in the Last Day that man knows his fate after death and knows that he will get good reward for his deed if it is good, and get punished if it is evil. He knows that he will be made to stand for reckoning; that revenge will be taken on him for those he wronged in this world and the rights of those he wronged or oppressed would be taken back from him.

4.               Belief in the Last Day actualises peace and security for mankind especially in this time that there is inadequate security and wars rage with no end – because, belief in Allaah and the Last Day makes man abstain from doing evil to others privately and publicly. That belief even penetrates his heart and makes him dismiss evil intentions -if he has any.

5.               Belief in the Last Day deters man from doing injustice to others and violating their rights. If people believe in the Last Day, they will be safe from wronging one another and their rights will be protected.

6.               Belief in the Last Day makes man look at this worldly abode as just one of the stages of life and that it is not the real life in itself.

To conclude this section, let us quote the words of “Win Bet” the American Christian who used to work in one of the churches and then embraced Islaam and found the fruit of belief in the Last Day. He says, “I now know answers to the questions that had very much occupied my life. The questions are: Who am I? What do I want? Why did I come to this world? And what is my destination?”[152]