lawtrumpet, signaling the arrival of the final hour. The Qur’an refers to one
blast (69.13) and two blasts (39.68) of the trumpet. The first blast signals
the disruption of nature, whereas the second blast signals the dramatic
cataclysm and extinction of all living things except God. Then, God resur-
rects the bodies of the deceased and joins them with their spirits. The
general resurrection is followed by the Final Judgment when God appears
with His angels and the book of deeds will be opened. At this point, an
individual’s own limbs will testify against a person (36.65). Those judged
righteous will have the book placed into their right hands, while the
unrighteous will have the book hung around their necks. Both the saved
and the condemned must pass over a bridge, which is described as sharper
than a sword and thinner than a hair by tradition, suspended over hell. The
saved faithful will easily pass to heaven, whereas the condemned imme-
diately fall into the fire of hell.
Further reading: Obayashi (1992); Peters (2003); Smith and Haddad (2002)
LAW
The concept of law includes principles, duties, and regulations that gov-
ern a religious community and obligate its members to obey and con-
form to its stipulations. The source of religious law is usually divine
beings, a sacred text, tradition, or social custom. The laws can be
enforced by a god, a body of elders, ancestors, communal pressure, or
elected officials.
In ancient Judaism, the law is called Torah (teaching), and is connected
to the covenant bond with Yahweh. There are two types of law found in
the Pentateuch: conditional and absolute or apodictic. The formula for the
conditional type of law expresses that if something happens then that will
be the legal consequence. Each case contains numerous conditions. The
absolute law is certain, meaning that it contains no “ifs” or “buts” about
it, such as do not kill or steal. It is usually expressed in sharp, terse lan-
guage. The Torah is intended for all humanity, but its purpose for Jews is
to turn Israel into a nation of priests (Deut. 33.4), which amounts to a
holy nation.
The centrality of the law in Judaism is matched by the role that it plays
in Islam. The Arabic term for law is shar’ia, a term that originally means
a path leading to water, that is, a way to the very source of life. Within a
religious context, it means the way or the right path of action, the path
ordained by God. The law, which makes all life and activity the sphere of