(for example, Obad. 15; Amos 5:18–20; Zeph.
1:14–18). Isaiah uses the phrase “on that day” in
referring to God’s judgment (24:21). In the New
Testament the proclamation of a final judgment
is expressed frequently. The phrase “day of judg-
ment” occurs in the Gospel of Matthew (10:15;
11:22, 24, and 12:36) and in several of the epistles
(2 Pet. 2:9, 3:7; and 1 John 4:17), while the Pau-
line epistles use the phrase “day of our/the Lord
Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:8; 2 Cor. 1:14), indicating
that Judgment Day is identified with the second
coming of JesUs. The idea of a day of judgment
also appears in extra-biblical religious literature,
such as the Book of Enoch, the Book of Jubilees,
the Revelation of Esdras, and the Apocalypse of 2
Baruch. Islamic visions of the endtimes developed
their own distinctive character in a seventh-cen-
tury milieu where beliefs in a last judgment were
in wide circulation.
Judgment Day is explicitly mentioned in the
qUran. The most common renderings of this
concept in Arabic are yawm al-qiyama, “resur-
rection day,” and yawm al-din, “judgment day.”
Another common phrase, found especially in the
Medinan chapters, is al-yawm al-akhir, “the last
day.” Synonyms for Judgment Day identified by
commentators include al-saa-a “the hour,” yawm
al-fasl, “decision day,” and yawm al-hisab, “day of
accounting.” According to the Quran only God
knows when Judgment Day will come, but it may
be very soon (Q 21:1) and happen suddenly (Q
16:77; 6:31). The signs of the approaching judg-
ment are vividly portrayed in the Meccan suras:
the seas will boil, mountains will move, the sun
will darken, stars will fall, the fires of hell will
be ignited, paradise will be brought near, the
trumpet will be blown; and graves overturned
(see, for example, Q 78; 81; 82). There is no set
sequence for these events, except that they antici-
pate the resurrection of the dead, their gathering
and standing before God (including angels and
jinn), and the unfolding of the books containing
the records of what individuals have done in their
lives. Those given their book in the right hand will
attain paradise, while those who receive it in their
left will go to the Fire. The Quran also speaks of a
weighing of good deeds against bad on a scale (for
example, Q 21:47). God will interrogate prophets
and angels about what they and their people have
done, and people will even be obliged to testify
against themselves for not heeding God’s signs
(Q 6:130). The Quran also mentions the possibil-
ity of intercession, but only if God allows it (for
example, Q 2:254; 10:3).
The Quran’s depictions of Judgment Day and
the aFterliFe inspired a large body of eschatologi-
cal literature that encompassed the hadith, mysti-
cism, theology, philosophy, and poetry. One of
the issues addressed in this literature was whether
there was a bodily resurrection, or whether the
soul alone was resurrected. The consensus among
most Sunnis and Shiis was that body and soul
were conjoined for resurrection, although some
maintained that the resurrected body would be
different from the earthly one. Another issue was
whether there was a preliminary judgment after
death, known as the “interrogation of the grave”
or “the torture of the grave.” According to this
view, each human underwent a preliminary judg-
ment in the grave and experienced a preview of
his or her punishments or rewards until the final
judgment was pronounced. There was also specu-
lation about the place where the final judgment
would occur. Many asserted that JerUsalem was
where this would happen. However, the Muslim
theologian and mystic al-ghazali (d. 1111) lik-
ened the gathering of pilgrims at araFat during
the hajj to the gathering of the resurrected before
God on Judgment Day.
See also angel; antichrist; aya; eschatology;
FUnerary rites; holy books; mahdi; prophets and
prophecy; soUl and spirit.Further reading: Muhammad Abu Hamid al-Ghazali,
The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife, Kitab dhikr
al-mawt wa-ma badahu, Book XL of The Revival of the
Religious Sciences, Ihya ulum al-Din. Translated by T. J.
Winter (Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society, 1995);K 414 Judgment Day