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قQuranicpediaEncyclopedia of the Glorious Qur’an

The Hereafter (al-Akhirah) الْآخِرَة

In review — pending scholar verification

The next life in Islam — the entire phase that follows death, beginning with the grave (Barzakh), proceeding through the Day of Judgement, and ending in Jannah or Jahannam eternally.

Overview

Al-Ākhirah (Arabic: الْآخِرَة, "the latter [life]") is the entire phase of existence that follows physical death — encompassing the Barzakh (intermediate state in the grave), the resurrection by the second blast of the Trumpet, the gathering, the Reckoning, the Scale, the Bridge, and the eternal abodes of Paradise and Hell. Belief in the Akhirah is the fifth article of Iman in the Hadith of Jibril (Sahih Muslim 8) and is paired with belief in Allah in scores of Quranic verses.

Etymology

From the Arabic root ʾ-kh-r ("to delay, come later"); ākhirah is the feminine of ākhir ("the last"), the Quranic counterpart of al-ūlā or ad-dunyā ("the first" / "the lower" — the present life).

Quranic references

  • Surah Al-Aʿla 87:16–17 — "But you prefer the worldly life, while the Hereafter is better and more enduring."
  • Surah Al-Baqarah 2:201 — "Our Lord, give us in this world good and in the Hereafter good."
  • Surah Al-Ankabut 29:64 — "And this worldly life is not but diversion and amusement; the home of the Hereafter — that is the [eternal] life, if only they knew."
  • Surah Al-Hadid 57:20 — Contrasts the worldly life with the Hereafter.
  • Surah Ar-Raʿd 13:26 — "They rejoice in the worldly life, while the worldly life is no more than meager enjoyment compared to the Hereafter."
  • Surah An-Nahl 16:30 — "And the home of the Hereafter is better; and how excellent is the home of the righteous."

Hadith

Anas ibn Mālik reported the Prophet ﷺ said: "By Allah, this worldly life compared to the Hereafter is like one of you putting his finger into the sea — let him see what comes back on his finger." — Sahih Muslim 2858

Stages

  1. Death — the soul taken by the Angel of Death
  2. Barzakh — the intermediate state in the grave; questioning by Munkar and Nakir
  3. The Hour and the Trumpet
  4. Resurrection and the Gathering
  5. Reckoning, Scale, Bridge, Intercession
  6. Final destination: Jannah or Jahannam

Significance

The Quran pairs belief in the Last Day with belief in Allah more than fifty times, framing Akhirah as the moral horizon against which every present action is calibrated. Surah Al-ʿAdiyat, Al-Qari'ah, Az-Zalzalah, and Al-Infitar are among the early Meccan surahs devoted to it.

See also

References

  1. The Quran (Sahih International translation): Surahs Al-Baqarah 2:201; Ar-Raʿd 13:26; An-Nahl 16:30; Al-Ankabut 29:64; Al-Hadid 57:20; Al-Aʿla 87:16–17.
  2. Sahih Muslim 8, 2858.
  3. Ibn Kathir, Tafsīr, commentary on Al-Hadid 57.
  4. al-Qurṭubī, at-Tadhkirah fī Aḥwāl al-Mawtā wa-Umūr al-Ākhirah.
  5. Umar Sulayman al-Ashqar, al-Yawm al-Ākhir series (Dar an-Nafāʾis).