The Day of Judgement

• Ar-Rum 30:14 speaks of the Day the Hour comes, when people will be separated. Ibn Kathir reports that Qatadah said this is the separation "after which there will be no reunion": if one person is raised to the highest heights and another is sent to the lowest depths, they will never see each other again.[1][6]
• In the same passage Ibn Kathir explains the verses around it: the One who began creation is just as able to bring it back, and on the Day of Resurrection everyone returns to Him and is repaid for their deeds (30:11). Of those who believed and did righteous deeds, Mujahid and Qatadah said they will enjoy a life of luxury in a garden (30:15).[6]
• Ya-Sin 36:51 describes the Horn being blown and people hastening from their graves to their Lord. Ibn Kathir explains that this is the blast of the resurrection, which he describes as the third blast of the Horn, and that the word yansilun means they will walk quickly. He compares it with 70:43, where people come out of their graves quickly, as if racing to a goal.[2][6]
• On the verses that follow (36:52-54), Ibn Kathir explains that they will call their graves a "place of sleep" because, compared with what comes after, their time in the grave will seem like a nap. It takes only a single blast to gather them all, and on that Day no soul is wronged in anything regarding its deeds.[6]
• Al-Mutaffifin 83:6 follows a warning to those who give short measure and weight (83:1-5). Ibn Kathir explains the warning as asking: do these people not fear the resurrection and standing before the One who knows what is hidden and the innermost secrets, on a Day of great horror?[3][6]
• On verse 6 itself, he explains that people will stand barefoot, naked and uncircumcised, in a place that is hard and distressful for the wrongdoers. He cites the hadith of Ibn Umar, recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim, that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said people will stand before the Lord of the worlds until some sink up to the middle of their ears in sweat.[6]
• He also cites the hadith of al-Miqdad, recorded by Muslim and at-Tirmidhi, that on that Day the sun will be brought near to people, and their sweat will reach them according to their deeds: to the heels, the knees or the groin, while some will be bridled by it. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to seek refuge with Allah from the hardship of standing on that Day (Sunan Abu Dawud, as cited by Ibn Kathir).[6]
• Al-Isra 17:13-14 says that each person's deeds are fastened to his neck, and on the Day of Resurrection a record is brought out, spread open, and he is told: "Read your record." Ibn Kathir explains that this record gathers all of a person's deeds, given in the right hand to the blessed and in the left hand to the wretched, open to be read from the beginning of his life to its end.[4][6]
• On "Sufficient is yourself against you this Day as accountant", Ibn Kathir explains that no one is treated unjustly: nothing is recorded against a person except what he did, he remembers all of it, and everyone will be able to read his own book, whether literate or not. He adds that deeds are kept whether great or small, recorded night and day.[4][6]
• He ends with words of al-Hasan al-Basri: the book is opened for a person in life, folded at death, and found wide open on the Day of Resurrection, and the One who makes a person his own accountant is perfectly just. Ibn Kathir calls these some of the best words al-Hasan ever spoke.[6]
• Az-Zalzalah 99:7-8 says that whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it. Ibn Kathir relates from al-Bukhari and Muslim that the Prophet (peace be upon him) called this a "single, comprehensive" verse.[5][6]
• Ibn Kathir gathers narrations under these verses showing that no good deed is too small: to guard against the Fire even with half a date given in charity or a single good word, and not to look down on any kindness, even meeting a brother with a cheerful face.[6]
• He also gathers narrations showing that no sin is too small: the Prophet (peace be upon him) warned against sins that are belittled, because they gather on a person until they destroy him.[6]
• Earlier in the same surah (99:4), Ibn Kathir cites a hadith, which at-Tirmidhi graded sahih gharib, that on that Day the earth will testify against every person about what they did upon its surface.[6]

• The Day of Judgement is certain: the One who created people the first time will bring them back and repay each for their deeds.[1][6]
• The separation on that Day is final, so the choices that decide it are made now.[1][6]
• The resurrection comes suddenly, with a single blast; the time to prepare is before it.[2][6]
• No one will be wronged on that Day: each person is repaid only for what they did.[6]
• Honesty in ordinary dealings, such as fair measure and weight, is tied to belief in standing before Allah.[3][6]
• Following the Prophet (peace be upon him), a believer seeks refuge with Allah from the hardship of that standing.[6]
• Every deed is recorded, great or small, by night and by day.[4][6]
• On that Day a person's own record is enough to judge him; nothing is added that he did not do.[4][6]
• Do not belittle any good deed, however small.[5][6]
• Do not belittle any sin, however small.[5][6]

These questions are written by Qabas Academy to help you reflect. They are not part of the Quran or its tafsir.

1. If your record were opened today, which page would you most want to change?
2. Which small good deed have you been putting off because it seemed too small to matter?
3. Which small sin have you stopped noticing?
4. Where in your work or your dealings with people could you give a fairer measure?
5. The resurrection comes suddenly. What would you do differently today if you kept that in mind?