THE DIVINE WARNING OF DOOMSDAY
Prepare before It’s Too Late
Scientists from all over the world are repeatedly emphasizing that global warming is the greatest danger of present times. Both print and electronic media inform people daily of this perilous situation, often publishing reports based on international findings with headlines such as “Doomsday Not Far.” An international panel of 25,000 scientists from 130 countries, organized under the aegis of the United Nations, has submitted a detailed report on global warming titled Warning Signs. A more fitting title, however, would have been Warning Signs of Doomsday. Climate change caused by global warming has led scientists to conclude that the earth’s life-support system will become so disturbed that most forms of life may come to an end by 2050.
Other alarming developments reinforce this outlook. The Covid-19 pandemic, rising floods, expanding forest fires, increasing earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions all signal serious disruption within the natural order. From the Quran and Hadith we learn that the present world is not eternal. A time will come when it will be wound up and replaced by an everlasting world. Today, both Quranic revelation and scientific observation point to the fact that the end of human history—Qiyamah—has drawn very near.
Prophet Muhammad made it clear that human beings were never meant to remain on earth forever. A moment will arrive when the present inhabited world will end and be replaced by another. Then all evildoers will be removed, while those who obeyed God will inhabit Paradise. It appears that the time is approaching when this world will be terminated and humankind brought before God for accountability on the Day of Judgement.
According to the Quran, God created this world as a testing ground to select suitable individuals for the eternal world of the Hereafter. Human life is divided into two periods: the pre-death period on earth, which is the time of trial, and the post-death period, which is the time of reward or punishment according to one’s deeds. These take the form of eternal Paradise or eternal Hell. God created man with unlimited desires so that he might seek the Paradise where these desires will find fulfilment. Yet throughout history, man has tried to build Paradise within this temporary world of trial. With the advances of modern civilization, he even imagined that worldly progress would allow him to create a perfect life on earth. Global warming and the coronavirus pandemic have now proven beyond doubt that Paradise cannot be established in this world.
It seems the present world has nearly reached its end. The time span set for it by the Creator has almost expired, and soon this temporary world will be terminated and replaced by the eternal world of the Hereafter. God made this world for a limited period as a test, and that period is now nearing completion. The time has come for human beings to awaken, learn from the signs in nature and history, and plan their lives in a way that benefits them in the post-death period before Doomsday.
Along with following the Quran, it is also our duty to convey its message to others. The Quran states: “By means of this (Quran), strive with them, with the utmost strenuousness” (25: 52). The purpose of the Quran is to make man aware of God’s creation plan and guide him from this life to the next. From the Quran and Hadith we also learn that before the end of the world, the Final Divine Call will be delivered so that all human beings understand that they must stand before their Creator for the final reckoning, after which there will be either eternal Heaven or eternal Hell. The Prophet observed that this event would be “the greatest witness in the entire human history.” (Sahih Muslim) With today’s advanced means of communication, the opportunities for delivering this call now exist fully. What remains is for people to rise and make full use of these opportunities by spreading the divine message throughout the world.
There is no doubt about the coming of Qiyamah. The signs indicate that the time is very near. This is the final hour in which every human being must awaken, reflect, seek God’s forgiveness, turn to His mercy, and reorganize his life to prepare for the Hereafter. Furthermore, it is our duty to stand for God and present His message in a clear and accessible form, as commanded in the Quran: “O Messenger, proclaim all that is revealed to you from your Lord. Unless you do it fully, you have not conveyed His message at all.” (5: 67) Each one of us must seize this final opportunity, for another such chance will never come again. q
