Muslims must believe, without any doubt, in the Day of Judgment and the physical resurrection when the body will be recreated and the soul will surely be reunited with the body by God’s unlimited power. Just as God, The Gatherer of Mankind, created us the first time, He is surely The Resurrector who will bring us forth from death to stand in perfect judgment before Him. After the Day of Judgment, death will no longer be, and our existence will be forever. The Day of Judgment is when each and every individual will stand before The Creator and be questioned about his or her deeds. On that momentous day, we will each see in detail the results of even the smallest good and the smallest evil we have set forth in this life. On that day, lying and deception will no longer be possible. The ultimate reward is Paradise and the penalty is Hell. Heaven and Hell are literal places that actually exist. They are not symbols or metaphors.
God, The Recognizer and Rewarder of Good, describes Paradise (Heavenly garden) as a wonderful place of pleasure, filled with amazing eternal gardens with rivers flowing beneath. In Paradise, no hot or cold, no disease, fatigue, or evil will exist. God, The Giver of Security, will remove disease from the heart and body of its inhabitants, and everything one wishes for will be granted. It will be said to those who enter Paradise: This Paradise you have inherited as a result of God’s mercy and your good deeds. The greatest of pleasures in the Hereafter will be the believers’ ability to see the face of God, The Most High. Being a Muslim in and of itself does not assure Paradise unless one dies in a state of Islam — submission to The One God alone.
God, The Reckoner, describes Hell as an eternally horrible place, beyond imagination, a fire whose fuel is mankind and stone. When stern angels place people in Hell, they will say, “This is that which you used to deny.” [Qur’an 83:17] We believe God is The Most Compassionate and The Most Merciful; however, He is also severe in His punishment to those who deserve it.
God’s infinite justice is absolute and perfect. On the Day of Judgment, all deeds will be revealed and everyone will be justly treated. We will not enter Paradise because of our deeds alone, but by God’s mercy.