Qiyamah
Qiyamah is an Islamic term that refers to the Day of Judgment, when all people will be resurrected and called to account for their actions on Earth. It is also the name of the 75th chapter of the Quran, which has 40 verses.
On the Day of Judgment, Allah will assess every person’s deeds and decide whether they will go to Paradise or Hell for eternity. Some verses from Surah Al-Qiyamah include:
- “I do swear by the Day of Judgment! I swear by the Day of Resurrection!”
- “Do people think We cannot reassemble their bones?”
- “Yes ˹indeed˺! We are ˹most˺ capable of restoring ˹even˺ their very fingertips”
- “When the sight shall be dazed, and the moon will be eclipsed, and the sun and moon will be joined together”
- “Unto your Lord (Alone) will be the place of rest that Day
Surah Al-Ma‘ārij, Verse 4:
تَعْرُجُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ إِلَيْهِ فِي يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ
Transliteration: Ta‘ruju al-malā’ikatu war-rūḥu ilayhi fī yawm(in) kāna miqdāruhu khamsīna alfa sanah
Translation: “The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him on a Day whose measure is fifty thousand years.”
If the Day of Judgment is to Happen in the Future, why Does the Qur’an Often Use the past Tense for It?
The Qur’an sometimes uses the past tense (صيغة الماضي) for future events like the Day of Judgment. This stylistic feature is known as “past tense for future certainty” (ماضي التحقق). It emphasizes the inevitability and assured reality of the event. In Arabic rhetoric (balaghah), this technique is used to signify that something is so certain that it is as though it has already occurred.
-
Surah An-Naba [78:19]:
وَفُتِحَتِ ٱلسَّمَآءُ فَكَانَتۡ أَبۡوَٰبٗا
Translation: “And the heaven is opened and becomes gates.”- The event is in the future, but the past tense (فُتِحَتْ) is used to signify its absolute certainty.
-
Surah Az-Zumar [39:68]:
وَنُفِخَ فِي ٱلصُّورِ فَصَعِقَ مَن فِي ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَن فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ
Translation: “And the trumpet will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and the earth will fall dead.”- The verb نُفِخَ (blown) is in the past tense to emphasize the unavoidable nature of the event.
-
Certainty of Divine Decree: In Islamic theology, Allah’s decree is timeless. Once Allah decrees something, it is considered as good as done. This aligns with the Qur’anic verse:
إِنَّمَآ أَمۡرُهُۥٓ إِذَآ أَرَادَ شَيۡـًٔا أَن يَقُولَ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ
(Indeed, His command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, “Be,” and it is.) Qur’an 36:82 -
Rhetorical Effect: The past tense conveys that the event is so decisive that it is beyond doubt, helping to evoke awe and reflection in the reader.
-
Timelessness of the Qur’an: The Qur’an transcends temporal constraints, reflecting Allah’s knowledge, which encompasses past, present, and future equally.