—messengers from among yourselves, reciting to you the verses of your Lord and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?” They will answer, “Yes indeed, but the decree of punishment has become inevitable for the disbelievers.” (71)
It will be said, “Enter the gates of Hell to dwell therein forever; how wretched is the abode of the arrogant.” (72)
And those who were mindful of their Lord will be herded to Paradise in throngs; when they reach it and its gates are opened, its keepers will say, “Peace be upon you! You have done well, so enter it to abide forever.” (73)
They will say, “All praise belongs to Allah, who has fulfilled His promise to us and made us heirs of the land, so that we may settle in Paradise wherever we wish—how excellent is the reward of those who labored.” (74)
You will see the angels stationed in ranks around the Throne, proclaiming the praise of their Lord. Judgment will be passed between them in truth, and it will be proclaimed, “All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all beings.” (75) [Al-Zumar: 69–75]
He noted that these will be driven to the Garden and those to Hell after the standing for the Reckoning and the people’s dispersal from it.
Allah, exalted is He, also says: “On the Day it comes, no soul will speak except by His permission; some of them will be wretched and some happy. (105) As for those who are wretched, they will be in the Fire; therein they shall have sighing and sobbing. (106) Abiding therein as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as your Lord wills; surely your Lord does whatever He wills. (107) But those who are blessed will be in Paradise, abiding therein as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as your Lord wills—an unceasing gift.” (108) [Hud: 105-108]
And He says: “Warn of the Day of Assembly, about which there is no doubt: a party in Paradise and a party in the Blaze.” [Al-Shura: 7]
And He says: “The Day He gathers you for the Day of Gathering—that is the Day of Mutual Loss and Gain. Whoever believes in Allah and works righteousness, He will remove from him his misdeeds and admit him into gardens beneath which rivers flow, to abide therein forever; that is the supreme triumph. (9) But those who disbelieved and denied Our signs—they are the companions of the Fire, abiding therein forever; and wretched is that destination.” (10) [Al-Taghabun: 9-10]
And He says: “On the Day We gather the God-fearing before the All-Merciful as honored guests, (85) and drive the criminals to Hell, thirsty, (86) none will have power to intercede except one who has taken a covenant with the All-Merciful.” [Maryam: 85-87]
And He says: “On the Day faces will be bright and faces will be darkened. As for those whose faces are darkened: ‘Did you disbelieve after your belief? Then taste the punishment for what you used to disbelieve.’ (106) But as for those whose faces are brightened, they shall be within the mercy of Allah; therein they shall abide.” (107) [Al-‘Imran: 106-107]
Verses on this theme are far too numerous to cite exhaustively. Let us therefore mention some prophetic reports suited to this discussion; they contain many objectives besides this section, to which we shall allude.
Ibn Abi al-Dunya said: Muhammad ibn ‘Uthman al-‘Ijli narrated to us; Abu Usamah narrated to us, from Malik ibn Mighwal, from al-Qasim ibn al-Walid, regarding the words of Allah Most High: “When the Overwhelming Calamity arrives” [al-Nazi‘at: 34]. He said: It is when the people of Paradise are driven to Paradise and the people of the Fire to the Fire.
[Presentation of the hadiths on this matter]
Al-Bukhari said: Abu al-Yaman narrated to us, Shu‘ayb informed us, from al-Zuhri. Sa‘id and ‘Ata ibn Yazid informed me that Abu Hurayrah informed them from the Prophet ﷺ. (Ḥ) Mahmood also narrated to me; ‘Abd al-Razzaq narrated to us; Ma‘mar narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from ‘Ata ibn Yazid al-Laythi, from Abu Hurayrah, who said:
Some people asked, “O Messenger of Allah, shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?” He replied,
“Do you have any difficulty in seeing the sun when there is no cloud before it?” They said, “No, O Messenger of Allah.” He said,
“Do you have any difficulty in seeing the moon on the night it is full, when there is no cloud before it?” They said, “No, O Messenger of Allah.” He said—