The Vivid Imagery of Death and Judgment

“Many early and modern scholars and worshippers have recorded their moving experiences of meditating on the nature of death, the barrier (barzakh) and the hereafter. Among these is Al-Harith al-Muhasibi who compiled the Kitab al-Tawahhum (The Book of Imagination) in which he describes the tribulations of death, the bliss of paradise and the torment of hell. He moves readers to a visualization and contemplation of these transcendental images, describing them so minutely and effectively that readers can imagine themselves actually experiencing these colossal events. Here is how he describes the tribulations of death and resurrection:

You imagine yourself beaten by death, unable to rise until the Day of Judgment when you have to appear before your Lord. You imagine yourself in the various tribulations of death, as the angel begins to pull your soul out of your feet, suffering tremendous pain therein. Then the angel turns to withdrawing the soul from the entire body, and your soul trickles upward through your body. The throes of death are now over all your body… Then you look at the face of the angel…and see him extending his hand to your mouth, to pull your soul out of your body, and you are overwhelmed by the sight… Then your heart pounds vigorously in suspense as you await the imminent Divine verdict: “Rejoice, you follower of God! You have gained His pleasure and reward” or “Woe to you, enemy of God! You have incurred His anger and punishment.”

When preparations of the dead are completed, and heaven and earth are emptied of their inhabitants who have quietened down after their agitation, nothing is heard and no one is seen except the Supreme Almighty, alone in Grandeur and Majesty, as He has always been. Then your soul is startled by a call to all creatures. You imagine the sound of that voice in your ears and your mind; then you realize that you are being called to appear before the Archangel. So your heart fails and your hair turns grey at the sound of that call. While you are so disturbed, you hear the earth opening above your head, so you jump to your feet, covered with the dust of your grave, staring toward the source of the sound, with all other creatures roused with you, covered with the dust of the earth upon which they had suffered. You imagine their agitation and terror… You imagine your nakedness and disgrace…your cares and worries amid the crowding creatures, naked, barefooted and all silent in disgrace, fear and horror. You hear nothing but the shuffling of their feet…Sovereignty is stripped from the kings of the earth. They are humbled and disgraced more than any in the crowd, after their tyranny over the servants of God in His land. When the entire population of the earth is gathered together, including humans and jinn, devils and beasts, wild animals, cattle and flies, all in line, ready for judgment, the stars above them are scattered, the sun and the moon are eclipsed and the earth is darkened with the fading of its light. While you and the other creatures are aghast, the sky above spins, and you witness that horror, then it splits asunder, five hundred years deep…And lo! The clash in your ears! Then the sky crumbles into fragments, with the angels waiting on its sides to witness the Lord melting it into liquid silver, turning pale for fear of the Day of Judgment, as described by the Almighty: “it becomes red like ointment” (55:37).

Then the books start to fly right and left, and the scales are set up, and you imagine the scales set upright, while your heart anxiously follows to see where your book settles: on your right or on your left… While you wait with the other creatures you behold the Archangel ordering the myrmidons (Angels) to step in. They approach with iron shovels and forks… You see them and your heart is overwhelmed with terror. Meanwhile your name is called in the presence of all: where is so-and so? Imagine yourself shivering with terror…Imagine their grasping your arms in their rough hands as they drag you, gripping you tightly…until you are brought to the throne of the Compassionate, where they hurl you down. The Almighty Himself in His infinite greatness addresses you with His notable words: “Come closer, you son of Adam.” You are lost in His light, as you are placed before the great Lord, Majestic and Generous. Your heart is laden with sorrow…and you look like a newborn lamb… How ashamed and frightened you are before the Lord Who has always been kind and protective towards you.

So how will you answer when He asks you about your evil deeds and gross crimes?”

-Extracted from Contemplation; An Islamic Psychospritual Study, Dr Malik Badri. Translated by Abdul-Wahid Lu’lu’a.

Dhikr publications: dhikr.com.au

Originally published on the Dhikr Substack.