When Is the Day of Judgment, and Why Did Allah Keep Its Time Hidden?
متى يوم القيامة، ولماذا أخفى الله ذلك اليوم عن الناس؟
No one knows when Judgment Day is. Allah Almighty says: (They ask you ˹O Prophet˺ regarding the Hour, “When will it be?” But it is not for you to tell its time. That knowledge rests with your Lord ˹alone˺. Your duty is only to warn whoever is in awe of it.) [An-Nazi’at 79:42-45]
Allah conceals it from people, so that they work hard and get themselves prepared for that day every day by doing good deeds and refraining from doing evil. If man knew the date of that Day, he would postpone his repentance till shortly before it. Moreover, the worldly life would be filled with corruption more than it already is. In addition, if man knew when the Day of Resurrection is or when the hour of his death is, his whole life would be disturbed due to his fear of the close time of his death or the Day of Resurrection.
لا أحد يعلم متى يوم القيامة، قال الله تعالى: (يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَاهَا فِيمَ أَنتَ مِن ذِكْرَاهَا إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ مُنتَهَاهَا إِنَّمَا أَنتَ مُنذِرُ مَن يَخْشَاهَا) [النازعات 79: 42-45]
وقد أخفاها الله عن الناس حتى يجتهدوا في العمل ويكونوا مستعدين لذلك اليوم في كل يوم، عن طريق فعل الخيرات وترك الشر، ولو علم الإنسان ذلك اليوم لما تاب إلا قبل موعده بوقت قصير، وامتلأت الدنيا بالفساد أكثر مما فيها. وأيضا لو علم الإنسان قرب يوم القيامة أو قرب وفاته لأدى ذلك إلى اضطراب حياته وخوفه من قرب الأجل أو حلول القيامة.
1. Its Knowledge Is Only With My Lord | إنما علمها عند ربي
Allah says: They ask you regarding the Hour, When will it be? Say, That knowledge is only with my Lord. He alone will reveal it when the time comes (7:187). Ibn Kathir explains that Allah commanded His Prophet, when asked about the time of the Hour, to return its knowledge to Allah, for He alone knows its exact time; Qatadah said: its knowledge weighs heavily on the people of the heavens and the earth, for they do not know it. On 79:44, To your Lord alone is its end, he adds that when Jibril asked about the time of the Hour, the Prophet said: The one asked about it knows no more than the one asking (Sahih Muslim 8). What the Last Day is is explained in what the Last Day is.
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَاهَا ۖ قُلْ إِنَّمَا عِلْمُهَا عِندَ رَبِّي ۖ لَا يُجَلِّيهَا لِوَقْتِهَا إِلَّا هُوَ (سورة الأعراف: 187)
قال تعالى: (يسألونك عن الساعة أيان مرساها قل إنما علمها عند ربي لا يجليها لوقتها إلا هو) (الأعراف 7: 187)، قال ابن كثير: أمر تعالى نبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا سئل عن وقت الساعة أن يرد علمها إلى الله تعالى؛ فإنه هو الذي يجليها لوقتها، أي: يعلم جلية أمرها ومتى يكون على التحديد، وقال قتادة: ثقل علمها على أهل السماوات والأرض أنهم لا يعلمون، وقال ابن كثير في قوله: (إلى ربك منتهاها): ولهذا لما سأل جبريل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن وقت الساعة قال: "ما المسئول عنها بأعلم من السائل" (صحيح مسلم 8).
2. The Five Keys of the Unseen | إن الله عنده علم الساعة
Allah says: Indeed, Allah alone has the knowledge of the Hour (31:34). Ibn Kathir explains that these are the keys of the unseen whose knowledge Allah kept for Himself: the time of the Hour is known to no prophet sent and no angel brought near. The Prophet said: The keys of the unseen are five which none knows but Allah (Sahih al-Bukhari 4697).
إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِندَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ (سورة لقمان: 34)
قال تعالى: (إن الله عنده علم الساعة) (لقمان 31: 34)، قال ابن كثير: هذه مفاتيح الغيب التي استأثر الله تعالى بعلمها، فلا يعلمها أحد إلا بعد إعلامه تعالى بها؛ فعلم وقت الساعة لا يعلمه نبي مرسل ولا ملك مقرب، وقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: "مفاتيح الغيب خمس لا يعلمها إلا الله" (صحيح البخاري 4697).
3. Hidden So That Every Soul Is Rewarded for Its Efforts | أكاد أخفيها
The wisdom the scholar describes is in the verse: The Hour is sure to come. My Will is to keep it hidden, so that every soul may be rewarded according to their efforts (20:15). Ibn Kathir reports from Ibn Abbas: I do not reveal it to anyone but Me; and from Qatadah: Allah has hidden it from the angels brought near and from the prophets and messengers.
إِنَّ السَّاعَةَ آتِيَةٌ أَكَادُ أُخْفِيهَا لِتُجْزَىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا تَسْعَىٰ (سورة طه: 15)
قال تعالى: (إن الساعة آتية أكاد أخفيها لتجزى كل نفس بما تسعى) (طه 20: 15)، قال ابن كثير: وقال علي بن أبي طلحة، عن ابن عباس: (أكاد أخفيها) يقول: لا أطلع عليها أحدا غيري، وقال قتادة: ولعمري لقد أخفاها الله من الملائكة المقربين، ومن الأنبياء والمرسلين.
4. Its Signs Have Already Come | فقد جاء أشراطها
The time is hidden, but its signs are not: Are they only waiting for the Hour to take them by surprise? Yet some of its signs have already come (47:18). Ibn Kathir explains that the sending of the Messenger of Allah is one of the signs of the Hour, because he is the seal of the messengers with whom Allah completed the religion. The Prophet said, pointing with two fingers: I have been sent and the Hour like this (Sahih al-Bukhari 6503). Death, which ends each person’s time, is explained in what death is.
فَهَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا السَّاعَةَ أَن تَأْتِيَهُم بَغْتَةً ۖ فَقَدْ جَاءَ أَشْرَاطُهَا (سورة محمد: 18)
قال تعالى: (فهل ينظرون إلا الساعة أن تأتيهم بغتة فقد جاء أشراطها) (محمد 47: 18)، قال ابن كثير: أي: أمارات اقترابها، فبعثة رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من أشراط الساعة؛ لأنه خاتم الرسل الذي أكمل الله به الدين، وأقام به الحجة على العالمين، وقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: "بعثت أنا والساعة هكذا" ويشير بإصبعيه فيمد بهما (صحيح البخاري 6503).
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
When is the Day of Judgment?
No one knows except Allah. Allah told the Prophet to say: That knowledge is only with my Lord (7:187), and to your Lord alone is its end (79:44).
Why did Allah hide its time?
So that people strive and prepare for it every day by doing good and leaving evil, and do not delay repentance until shortly before it.
Did Jibril or the Prophet know its time?
No. When Jibril asked about the Hour, the Prophet said: The one asked about it knows no more than the one asking (Sahih Muslim 8).
What did the Prophet tell the man who asked when the Hour would come?
What have you prepared for it? When the man said he loved Allah and His Messenger, he said: You will be with those you love (Sahih al-Bukhari 6167).