1. What it means to believe in the Last Day

Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Qurtubi said: “Believing in the Last Day means believing in the Day of Resurrection and what will happen on it, namely the resurrection after death, the rising of people from their graves, the gathering, the reckoning, the balance, the sirat (bridge over Hell), and Paradise and Hell; and believing that they are abodes of reward and punishment for the doers of good and doers of evil respectively, and other events and matters that are soundly narrated and proven.”

Al-Sa‘di said, “Everything that is mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunnah about what will happen after death is included in belief in the Last Day, such as what happens in the grave and al-barzakh, bliss and torment therein; what will happen on the Day of Resurrection, such as the reckoning, reward and punishment, presentation of people’s records of deeds, the balance and the intercession; what will happen to people in Paradise and Hell, the description of both realms and of the characteristics of their people, and what Allah has prepared for their people both in general terms and in detail. All of that is part of belief in the Last Day.”