Sermon Title: The Events of the Day of Resurrection
Themes of the sermon:
Everything has a cause and a purpose, an end and a conclusion.
The horrors of the Day of Resurrection.
Encouragement to work for the Hereafter.
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah alone, without partners, the Guardian of the righteous, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, the honest and trustworthy. May Allah exalt and send peace to him, his family, and his companions. As to what follows:
O servants of Allah, fear Allah as He should be feared, and be mindful of Him in private and in your secret conversations:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
“O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].” (Quran 3:102).
O brothers in Islam:
Whoever contemplates the creation of Allah around him will find that everything has a cause and a purpose, an end and a conclusion. If this is the case, then you, O human being, were not created in vain or without purpose, but rather you have a great objective. Your Creator has made it clear to you in His saying:
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الجِنَّ وَالإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Quran 51:56).
Allah has appointed a day for you when your life will come to an end, and then another day when you will return to your Lord. He will resurrect you and raise you from your grave, showing you your records and holding you accountable for your deeds. So you will either be a successful and honored person in the Gardens of Bliss, or a doomed person, eternally in the torment of Hell.
واتّقُوا يَومًا تُرْجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللهِ ثُمّ تُوَفّى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُون
يَومَ يَفِرُّ الْـمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ * وَأُمِّهِ وَأَبِيهِ * وَصَاحِبَتِهِ وَبَنِيهِ * لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِّنْهُمْ يَومَئِذٍ شَأْنٌ يُغْنِيه
“And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be treated unjustly.” (Quran 2:281).
“On the Day a man will flee from his brother. And his mother and his father. And his wife and his children, For every man, that Day, will be a matter adequate for him.” (Quran 80:34-37).
On that Day, the sky will be like molten copper and the mountains like tufts of wool. The heavens will be shaken violently, and the mountains will be blown away entirely. The sun will be put out, and the stars will fall. The contents of the graves will be spilled out, the wild beasts will be gathered together, the pregnant camels will be left untended, and the seas will be set on fire.
On that Day, people will be resurrected with hearts trembling, their minds bewildered, their eyes staring, their bodies naked, and their feet bare.
يَومَ لَا يَنْفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُون * إِلَّا مَن أَتَى اللهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ
“The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children. But only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.” (Quran 26:88-89).
At that time, the earth will declare its information and testify against everyone as to what they used to do upon it, saying, “He did so and so, on such and such a day.” So, what do you think will happen to the sinful and disobedient person on that Day?
On that Day, a nursing mother will be distracted from her infant, and every pregnant woman will drop her load. And you will see a young child grow old due to the horror of what they see.
وَتَرَى النّاسَ سُكَارَى وَمَا هُم بِسُكَارَى وَلَكِنَّ عَذَابَ اللهِ شَدِيدٌ
“You will see the people [appearing] intoxicated while they are not intoxicated; but the punishment of Allah is severe.” (Quran 22:2).
The Day of Resurrection, if you knew of its horror,
You would have then run away from your loved ones.
A gloomy, dark day, the worst of all,
And it will be shocking enough to turn the children’s hair gray.
On that day, the sun draws near to the heads of creation until it has come a mile, causing them to sweat according to their deeds. Some will sweat up to their ankles, some up to their knees, yet others up to their waists, and still others will be bridled by sweat, as the truthful and trustworthy Prophet ﷺ informed.
On that day, the deed records will be distributed:
فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ * فَسَوْفَ يُحَاسَبُ حِسَابًا يَسِيرًا * وَيَنْقَلِبُ إِلَى أَهْلِهِ مَسْرُورًا * وَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ وَرَاءَ ظَهْرِهِ * فَسَوْفَ يَدْعُو ثُبُورًا * وَيَصْلَى سَعِيرًا * إِنَّهُ كَانَ فِي أَهْلِهِ مَسْرُورًا * إِنَّهُ ظَنَّ أَنْ لَنْ يَحُورَ﴾ ﴿بَلَى إِنَّ رَبَّهُ كَانَ بِهِ بَصِيرًا
“Then as for he who is given his record in his right hand, he will be judged with an easy account and return to his people in happiness. But as for he who is given his record behind his back, he will cry out for destruction. And [enter to] burn in a Blaze. Indeed, he had [once] been among his people in happiness; Indeed, he had thought he would never return [to Allah]. But yes! Indeed, his Lord was ever of him, Seeing.” (Quran 84:7-15)
At that moment, the faces of the believers will brighten, while the faces of the disbelievers will darken.
The angels and the holy spirit will descend, standing forth in rows. The Lord will come to judge, and voices will be hushed before the Most Merciful, so that only whispers are heard:
وَعَنَتِ الوُجُوهُ لِلحَيِّ القَيُّومِ وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ حَمَلَ ظُلْمًا
“And [all] faces will be humbled before the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence. And he will have failed who carries injustice.” (Quran 20:111)
The wrongdoers will be filled with regret for their actions in this world, and Hell will be brought forth with seventy thousand reins, each rein held by seventy thousand angels who drag it forth:
وَجِيءَ يَوْمَئِذٍ بِجَهَنَّمَ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَتَذَكَّرُ الْإِنْسَانُ وَأَنَّى لَهُ الذِّكْرَى * يَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي قَدَّمْتُ لِحَيَاتِي
“And Hell will be brought near that Day. On that Day will man remember, but how will that remembrance (then) avail him. He will say: “Alas! Would that I had sent forth (good deeds) for (this) my life!” (Quran 89:24).
On that day, the scales will be set up to weigh deeds:
فَمَنْ ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ * وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ فِي جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدُونَ
“Then, those whose scales (of good deeds) are heavy, - these, they are the successful. And those whose scales (of good deeds) are light, they are those who lose their ownselves, in Hell will they abide.” (Quran 23:102-103).
The Day when a man will come with prayers, fasting, and alms, but he comes having struck this one, wrongfully consuming the wealth of that one, and having insulted this one. Each will take from his good deeds until his good deeds are exhausted. If there are still rights to be taken, they will be taken from their bad deeds and placed upon him, and then he will be thrown into the Fire. The rights will be given to their due, such that the hornless sheep will get its claim from the horned sheep. The fortunate one is he who is saved on that great day.
May Allah bless us and you with the Qur'an and the Sunnah and benefit us with their verses and wisdom. I say this and ask Allah for forgiveness for me, you, and all Muslims for every sin, so seek His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
The Second Sermon
All praise is due to Allah, and may Allah exalt and send peace to the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and those who follow them. To proceed:
O Brothers and Sisters in Islam:
All of us, and all praise is due to Allah, believe in the Day of Reckoning, and we have no doubt or uncertainty about it. However, we are heedless and negligent, turning away from preparing for it, and we are immersed in our worldly pleasures. Indeed, we work for this worldly life as if we will live in it forever, and we neglect deeds and times that we cannot make up for or avoid. So, fear Allah, O Muslims, and hasten to do righteous deeds, so let whoever aspires to this strive diligently. For after youth, if a person is destined to live, comes old age, and then death approaches, and worry, sadness, and regret take hold.
Indeed, this world is nothing but a farm for the Hereafter:
يَا قَوْمِ اتَّبِعُونِ أَهْدِكُمْ سَبِيلَ الرَّشَادِ * يَا قَوْمِ إِنَّمَا هَذِهِ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا مَتَاعٌ وَإِنَّ الْآخِرَةَ هِيَ دَارُ الْقَرَارِ * مَنْ عَمِلَ سَيِّئَةً فَلَا يُجْزَى إِلَّا مِثْلَهَا وَمَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَأُولَئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ يُرْزَقُونَ فِيهَا بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
“And he who believed said, "O my people, follow me, I will guide you to the way of right conduct. O my people, this worldly life is only [temporary] enjoyment, and indeed, the Hereafter - that is the home of [permanent] settlement. Whoever does an evil deed will not be recompensed except by the like thereof; but whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - those will enter Paradise, being given provision therein without account.” (Quran 40:38-40).
Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The most fearful thing I fear for you is twofold: following desires and having long hopes. As for following desires, it stops you from knowing the Truth. As for having false hopes, it makes you forget the Hereafter. Know that this world is journeying in retreat and the hereafter is journeying forward. Each of the two has children, so be among the children of the Hereafter and not among the children of this world; for today there is action without reckoning, and tomorrow there is reckoning without action.”
Then send blessings and peace upon the one you were commanded to send blessings and peace upon: O Allah, exalt and send peace to our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all of his companions.
O Allah, we ask You for all goodness, both immediate and deferred, what we know of and what we do not know, and we seek refuge in You from all evil, both immediate and deferred, what we know of and what we do not know. We ask You for Paradise and what brings us closer to it in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from the Fire and what brings us closer to it in word and deed. We ask You for the best that Your servant and Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) asked for, and we seek refuge in You from the evil from which Your servant and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) sought refuge. O Allah, guide our leader to what You love and are pleased with, and lead him to righteousness and piety. Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire.
O Servants of Allah, Remember Allah abundantly and glorify Him morning and evening, and our closing prayer is, “All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds!”
