Signs Are Pointing to the Day of Judgement

While we do not know exactly when it will take place, Muslims know the Day of Judgement is inevitable. On this day, Allah will resurrect every human who has ever lived, gather us together, and question us about our deeds. 

“But when there comes the Deafening Blast, on that Day a man will flee from his brother and his mother and his father and his wife and his children, for every man, that Day, will be a matter adequate for him. [Some] faces, that Day, will be bright -laughing, rejoicing at good news. And [other] faces, that Day, will have upon them dust. Blackness will cover them. Those are the disbelievers, the wicked ones.” 

(Surah Abasa,  80:33-42)

Our good deeds and bad deeds will be weighed on a scale, and Allah the Most Wise, the Most Just, and All-Knowing will determine whether each of us goes to the final destination of Paradise or Hellfire. Considering how monumentally important this day will be, we should always keep it in the forefront of our minds, and yet it can be easy to forget about something that seems so far in the future.

But is it nearer than we think?

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, foretold some major and minor signs that will indicate that the Day of Judgement is near. If we look at our modern life, we can see that numerous minor signs are already apparent. In fact, though we find most of them to be distasteful or even tragic, many of us have become numb and now see them as a normal part of life. 

Here are some of the minor signs of the coming of the Day of Judgement that are already evident¹: 

• There will be much killing and murder.
• Honesty will be lost.
• Power and authority will be given to the wrong people.
• Earthquakes will increase.
• There will be an abundance of wealth.
• People will cheat with goods.
• Drinking of alcohol will be very common.
•  There will be a prevalence of open illegal sexual intercourse.
•  Fornication and adultery will become widespread.
• Leaders will not rule according to the commands of Allah.
• Female singers and musical instruments will become popular.
• The nations of the Earth will gather against the Muslims like hungry people going to sit at a table full of food. This will occur when the Muslims are large in number, but “like the foam of the sea.“
• Books/Writing will be widespread, but religious knowledge will be low.
• Children will be filled with rage.
• Children of fornication will become widespread or prevalent.
• Rain will be acidic or burning.
• People will dance late into the night.
• Great distances will be traversed in short spans of time. 
• Family ties will be cut.
• People will claim to follow the Quran but will reject the Hadith and Sunnah.
• People will reject al-Qadr (the Divine Decree of Destiny).
• There will be attempts to make the deserts green.
• People will carry on with their trade, but there will be few trustworthy people.
• Mosques will be decorated, but the hearts of the people will be devoid of guidance.
• There will be an abundance of critics, tale-carriers, and backbiters in society.
• People will establish ties with strangers and sever relations with their near and dear ones.
• There will be years of deceit in which the truthful person will not be believed, but the liar will be.
• Bearing false witness will become widespread.
• Arrogance will increase throughout the earth.
• Offspring will become a cause of grief and anger for their parents.
• Women with children will become displeased on account of bearing offspring, while barren women will remain happy on account of having no responsibility for offspring.
• People will indulge in homosexuality.
• Men will lie with men, and women will lie with women.
• Men will begin to look like women, and women will begin to look like men.
• Music and musical instruments will be found in every home.
• Various wines will be consumed excessively.
• Immorality will overtake shamelessness and will be perpetrated publicly.

If we turned on the nightly news or a popular sitcom and watched for evidence of these minor signs, we could probably tick every single box. That means the major signs, like the appearance of the Dajjal (Anti-Christ), the sun rising from the west, the return of Prophet Isa, son of Maryam, peace be upon him, etc. will follow at some point, heralding the arrival of the Day of Judgement. That can be a very frightening thought for ourselves and our children. What can we do to prepare? 

When a man asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, about the Hour, the Prophet responded:

"What have you prepared for it?" The man said, "Nothing, except that I love Allah and His Messenger." The Prophet said, "You will be with those whom you love." 

(Bukhari)

To truly love Allah and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, we must know them well and follow their guidance. Realizing that the Day of Judgement is imminent, we can focus on educating ourselves and our children about our Creator, His attributes, and His message brought to us by the most perfect human who has ever lived, the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Loving them means that we do our utmost to obey them, so we should strive to increase our worship and repent from our sins, always keeping in mind that every single action matters; nothing we do is insignificant to our Lord. 

That Day, the people will depart separated [into categories] to be shown [the result of] their deeds. So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it.” 

(Surah Az Zalzala, 99:6-8)

Looking at the world today with all its trials, flaws, tragedies, and corruption, we know that we are growing nearer to the Day when life as we know it will end. In fact, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, believed that the Hour was near during his lifetime, over 1,400 years ago. Sahl bin Sa`d reported: 

I saw Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) pointing with his index and middle fingers, saying. "The time of my Advent and the Hour are like these two fingers."

Although we do not know when the Hour is coming, the fact remains that eventually we will all face our Creator to be judged, and it will be too late to go back and change a single thing. But we are not without hope. We have been told what to do. Let us use our knowledge to become better Muslims and to teach our children the true priorities of life. 

End Notes

1 Signs of the Day of Judgment | by Fatima Karim

Laura El Alam is a freelance writer and editor and the author of the book Made From the Same Dough, as well as over 100 published articles. A wife and mother of five, Laura lives with her family in Massachusetts. You can visit her online at www.seaglasswritingandediting.com.