The short answer
The Day of Judgement in Islam, Yawm al-Qiyamah, is the day Allah raises the dead (Al-Hajj 22:7) and sets a just balance where no soul is wronged (Al-Anbiya 21:47). Belief in the Last Day is one of the six articles of faith in Sahih Muslim 8, graded sahih (authentic). Al-A'raf 7:187 says knowledge of its time is with Allah only.
يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ
What is the Day of Judgement in Islam?
It is the day of resurrection and reckoning that the Quran describes. Its usual Arabic name is Yawm al-Qiyamah, which our translation of the Quran renders "the Day of Resurrection". Ibn Manzur (died 711 AH), in Lisan al-'Arab, gives the Day of Qiyamah as the Day of Resurrection, and quotes al-Tahdhib: it is the day on which creation stand before the Living, the Sustaining 9. The same entry records two views on where the word comes from.
وَأَنَّ ٱلسَّاعَةَ ءَاتِيَةٌ لَّا رَيْبَ فِيهَا وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ مَن فِى ٱلْقُبُورِ
Belief in the Last Day is one of the six articles of faith that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, named in the hadith of Jibril (the angel Gabriel, peace be upon him). This is Sahih Muslim 8, graded sahih.
1AuthenticSahih Muslim 8
When is the Day of Judgement?
The Quran says only Allah knows. The verses below speak of the Hour (al-sa'ah), and Al-Hajj 22:7, above, joins the coming of the Hour with the raising of the dead. Al-A'raf 7:187 says twice that knowledge of it is with Allah:
يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلسَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَىٰهَا ۖ قُلْ إِنَّمَا عِلْمُهَا عِندَ رَبِّى ۖ لَا يُجَلِّيهَا لِوَقْتِهَآ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ ثَقُلَتْ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ لَا تَأْتِيكُمْ إِلَّا بَغْتَةً ۗ يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ كَأَنَّكَ حَفِىٌّ عَنْهَا ۖ قُلْ إِنَّمَا عِلْمُهَا عِندَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that a man asked the Prophet when the Hour would be. He answered that the one asked about it knows no more than the one asking, said it is among five things that only Allah knows, and recited Luqman 31:34, which opens: "Indeed, Allah! With Him is knowledge of the Hour." This is Sahih al-Bukhari 4777, graded sahih.
2AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 4777
In the same report he named two of its signs (ashrat): when a woman gives birth to her mistress, and when the barefoot and unclothed become the heads of the people. The report gives no date and does not explain the signs. The signs have their own page, Signs of the Hour.
What does Surah Al-Qiyamah say?
Surah Al-Qiyamah, the 75th surah, takes its name from the word in its first verse. It opens with an oath by the Day of Resurrection and answers the doubt that the dead can be raised:
لَآ أُقْسِمُ بِيَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ وَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِٱلنَّفْسِ ٱللَّوَّامَةِ أَيَحْسَبُ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ أَلَّن نَّجْمَعَ عِظَامَهُۥ بَلَىٰ قَـٰدِرِينَ عَلَىٰٓ أَن نُّسَوِّىَ بَنَانَهُۥ
Verse 6 records the question man asks: "He asks: When will be this Day of Resurrection?" This page quotes only these verses of the surah.
What happens on the Day of Judgement?
The Quran and the authentic hadith name several matters of that Day. The table gives each one with a passage that describes it. It is a reading aid, not a timetable: where a source itself gives an order, the row says so.
| Matter | Where | What the source says |
|---|---|---|
| The Trumpet | Az-Zumar 39:68 | "the trumpet is blown, and all who are in the heavens and all who are in the earth swoon away, save him whom Allah wills"; "Then it is blown a second time, and behold them standing waiting!" The verse gives this order: a first blowing, then a second. |
| Resurrection | Al-Hajj 22:7; Ya-Sin 36:51 | Allah will raise those in the graves. Ya-Sin 36:51: "the trumpet is blown and suddenly from the graves they hasten to their Lord", the Trumpet first, then the rising. |
| The gathering | Sahih al-Bukhari 6527 | People are gathered barefoot, unclothed and uncircumcised. |
| The record | Al-Isra 17:13 to 14 | A book is brought out that the person finds wide open, and is told to read it. |
| The Scale | Al-Anbiya 21:47; Al-Qari'ah 101:6 to 8 | A just balance where no soul is wronged; "him whose scales are heavy" and "him whose scales are light". |
| The Sirat | Sahih Muslim 182a; Sahih al-Bukhari 806 and 7439 | Set across Jahannam and crossed: al-sirat in Sahih Muslim 182a and Sahih al-Bukhari 806, al-jasr ("the bridge") in Sahih al-Bukhari 7439. |
| Intercession | Ta-Ha 20:109; Sahih al-Bukhari 7439 | Only (that of) him to whom the Beneficent has given leave and whose word He accepts (20:109). In Sahih al-Bukhari 7439, Allah tells the pleading believers whom to bring out. |
Al-Tahawi's creed, al-'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah, names several of these in one line. "We believe in the resurrection and the recompense of deeds on the Day of Resurrection, the presentation and the reckoning, the reading of the book, reward and punishment, and the Sirat and the Scale" (our translation) 10. The line lists them; it does not say they happen in the order listed, and this page does not use it as a sequence.
The gathering
'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, reported that the Prophet said people will be gathered barefoot, unclothed and uncircumcised. She asked whether men and women would look at one another, and he said the matter would be too severe for that to concern them. This is Sahih al-Bukhari 6527, graded sahih.
3AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 6527
The record and the Scale
وَكُلَّ إِنسَـٰنٍ أَلْزَمْنَـٰهُ طَـٰٓئِرَهُۥ فِى عُنُقِهِۦ ۖ وَنُخْرِجُ لَهُۥ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ كِتَـٰبًا يَلْقَىٰهُ مَنشُورًا ٱقْرَأْ كِتَـٰبَكَ كَفَىٰ بِنَفْسِكَ ٱلْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكَ حَسِيبًا
وَنَضَعُ ٱلْمَوَٰزِينَ ٱلْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ فَلَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْـًٔا ۖ وَإِن كَانَ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِّنْ خَرْدَلٍ أَتَيْنَا بِهَا ۗ وَكَفَىٰ بِنَا حَـٰسِبِينَ
Az-Zalzalah 99:7 to 8 speaks of the smallest deeds: "whoever does good an atom's weight will see it then", and "whoever does ill an atom's weight will see it then".
What is the Sirat?
Two authentic hadith say al-sirat is set across Jahannam and crossed; a third uses the word al-jasr, "the bridge", for what is set across Jahannam. In Sahih Muslim 182a, graded sahih, Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet said the Sirat (al-sirat) is set across Jahannam, and that he and his community will be the first to cross. None will speak that day except the messengers, and their call will be:
Sahih Muslim 182a
اللَّهُمَّ سَلِّمْ سَلِّمْ
Allahumma sallim sallim
O Allah, grant safety, grant safety.
4AuthenticSahih Muslim 182a
Sahih al-Bukhari 806, also from Abu Hurayrah and graded sahih, has the same word al-sirat, and says the Prophet will be the first of the messengers to cross with his community.
5AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 806
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, reported a fuller description, where the word is al-jasr, "the bridge". Asked what the bridge is, the Prophet described it as slippery, with hooks. The believers cross it like the blink of an eye, like lightning, like the wind, and like fine horses and riding camels. Some are saved unharmed, some are saved though scratched, and some fall into the fire of Jahannam, until the last crosses being dragged. This is Sahih al-Bukhari 7439, graded sahih.
6AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 7439
These long narrations also cover other matters, among them seeing Allah, which this page leaves aside. The Prophet's words in them give no measurements for the bridge, and this page adds none.
What is intercession on the Day of Judgement?
Intercession is shafa'ah, the word in Ta-Ha 20:109 (ٱلشَّفَـٰعَةُ). In Sahih al-Bukhari 7439, below, the prophets, the angels and the believers intercede. The Quran ties it to Allah's leave:
يَوْمَئِذٍ لَّا تَنفَعُ ٱلشَّفَـٰعَةُ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ وَرَضِىَ لَهُۥ قَوْلًا
Ayat al-Kursi asks: "Who is he that intercedes with Him except by His leave?" (Al-Baqarah 2:255). Al-Anbiya 21:28 says "they cannot intercede except for him whom He accepts".
In Sahih al-Bukhari 7439, the believers, when they see that they are saved, plead with Allah for their brothers who prayed, fasted and worked with them. Allah tells them to bring out whoever has a dinar's weight of faith in his heart, then half a dinar, then an atom's weight. The report then says the prophets, the angels and the believers intercede.
6AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 7439
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet was asked who would be the most fortunate of people with his intercession on the Day of Resurrection. He said: whoever said la ilaha illa Allah (there is no god but Allah) sincerely, from his heart or self. This is Sahih al-Bukhari 99, graded sahih.
7AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 99
Al-Tahawi's creed says the intercession the Prophet has kept for his community is true, "as reported in the narrations" (our translation) 10.
So the conditions, as these sources state them, are leave from the Beneficent (20:109; 2:255) and His acceptance of the word of the one given leave (20:109); Al-Anbiya 21:28 adds that they intercede only for him whom He accepts. In Sahih al-Bukhari 7439, those brought out at Allah's command are those with faith in their hearts, and Sahih al-Bukhari 99 names whoever said la ilaha illa Allah sincerely as the most fortunate with the Prophet's intercession.
How are Jannah and Jahannam connected to the Day of Judgement?
Al Imran 3:185 joins them: "you will be paid on the Day of Resurrection only that which you have fairly earned. Whoever is removed from the Fire and is made to enter paradise, he indeed is triumphant." Each has its own page: Jannah and Jahannam. This page makes no statement about any person's end.
Does the Day of Judgement leave room for hope?
The sources that describe the reckoning also speak of mercy. Az-Zumar 39:53 says: "Do not despair of the mercy of Allah, Who forgives all sins." Al-Anbiya 21:47, above, says no soul is wronged. Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet said that when Allah created creation, He wrote in His Book: "My mercy overcomes My anger." This is Sahih Muslim 2751, graded sahih.
8AuthenticSahih Muslim 2751
If thinking about the hereafter is weighing on you, talk to a scholar you trust, and to your GP if it is affecting your sleep or daily life.
The Day of Judgement was mostly described to me in frightening terms growing up. Reading the passages themselves, including the ones about mercy and intercession, gave me a more balanced picture than the one I grew up with.
Try it: three questions
Pick an answer; each one explains itself.
1What does Al-A'raf 7:187 say about the time of the Hour?
Answer: Knowledge of it is with Allah only. The verse says it twice, and adds that it comes unawares.
2Which word does Sahih al-Bukhari 7439 use for the bridge over Jahannam?
Answer: Al-jasr. Al-jasr, "the bridge". Sahih Muslim 182a and Sahih al-Bukhari 806, both graded sahih, use al-sirat. Source 6
3In Ta-Ha 20:109, whose intercession avails on that day?
Answer: The one the Beneficent has given leave and whose word He accepts. The verse names both: leave from the Beneficent, and His acceptance of the word.
Questions people ask
Is the Day of Judgement near?
The Quran speaks of the coming of that Day as the Hour. Al-Ahzab 33:63 says "The knowledge of it is with Allah only." and then "It may be that the Hour is near." Al-Qamar 54:1 opens: "The hour drew near and the moon was rent in two." Neither verse gives a date.
Sources
Every claim on this page comes from one of these. Gradings are reported with the scholar's name; we do not grade hadith ourselves.
- 1
In the hadith of Jibril, a man asked the Prophet about Islam, and he answered: to testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to establish the prayer, give zakat, fast Ramadan and make Hajj to the House if you are able to find a way to it; asked about iman (faith), he answered: to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and the decree, its good and its bad.
Sahih Muslim 8 Book 1, Hadith 1
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 2
Abu Hurayrah reported that, asked when the Hour would be, the Prophet said the one asked about it knows no more than the asker, named two of its signs, said it is among five things only Allah knows, and recited Luqman 31:34.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4777 Book 65, Hadith 299
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 3
'Aisha reported that the Prophet said people will be gathered barefoot, unclothed and uncircumcised, and when she asked whether men and women would look at one another, he said the matter is too severe for that to concern them.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6527 Book 81, Hadith 116
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 4
Abu Hurayrah reported, in a long narration, that the Prophet said the Sirat is set across Jahannam, that he and his community will be the first to cross, that none but the messengers speak that day, and that their call is 'O Allah, grant safety, grant safety'.
Sahih Muslim 182a Book 1, Hadith 356
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 5
Abu Hurayrah reported, in a long narration, that the Prophet said the Sirat is set across Jahannam and that he will be the first of the messengers to cross with his community.
Sahih al-Bukhari 806 Book 10, Hadith 201
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 6
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported, in a long narration, that the Prophet said the bridge (al-jasr) is set over Jahannam and the believers cross it at different speeds, and that believers plead with Allah for their brothers, after which the prophets, the angels and the believers intercede.
Sahih al-Bukhari 7439 Book 97, Hadith 65
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 7
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet, asked who would be the most fortunate of people with his intercession on the Day of Resurrection, said: whoever said la ilaha illa Allah sincerely from his heart or self.
Sahih al-Bukhari 99 Book 3, Hadith 41
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 8
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet said that when Allah created creation, He wrote in His Book, which is with Him above the Throne: my mercy overcomes my anger.
Sahih Muslim 2751 Book 50, Hadith 17
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 9
Ibn Manzur gives the Day of Qiyamah as the Day of Resurrection, quotes al-Tahdhib that it is the day on which creation stand before the Living, the Sustaining, and reports two views on the origin of the word without preferring either.
Muhammad ibn Mukarram Ibn Manzur (d. 711 AH), Lisan al-'Arab, vol. 12, p. 506, entry 'qwm' (near the end of the entry) Read on 24 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnmanzur-qiyamah.
- 10
Al-Tahawi's creed: belief in the resurrection and the recompense of deeds on the Day of Resurrection, the presentation and the reckoning, the reading of the book, reward and punishment, and the Sirat and the Scale; and that the intercession the Prophet has kept for his community is true, as reported in the narrations.
Abu Ja'far Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tahawi, al-'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah, ed. al-Albani (al-Maktab al-Islami, Beirut, 2nd edition 1414 AH), pp. 47 and 72; also checked against Arabic Wikisource and al-Fawzan's edition Read on 24 October 2026; the translation is ours. Record: scholarly-tahawi-hereafter.
- Q
Quran Arabic and English for the verse blocks (Al-Hajj 22:7, Al-A'raf 7:187, Al-Qiyamah 75:1 to 4, Az-Zumar 39:68, Al-Isra 17:13 to 14, Al-Anbiya 21:47, Ta-Ha 20:109) and the clauses quoted from 2:255, 3:185, 21:28, 31:34, 33:63, 36:51, 39:53, 39:68, 54:1, 75:6, 99:7 to 8 and 101:6 to 8.
Tanzil Project Uthmani text, CC BY 3.0. English: adapted from Marmaduke Pickthall's translation (1930), modernised and checked against modern translations.
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