The Day of Judgment.

Life doesn’t end at death

Belief in the Day of Judgment, Qiyāma, means this life has a purpose and a destination. Every soul continues on a journey, and every action, large or small, will be seen again.

1. This life — a test, full of choices.
2. Death — the soul leaves the body.
3. The grave — first questions.
4. Barzakh — a waiting world.
5. Resurrection — all are raised.
6. Judgment — deeds are weighed, leading to Paradise (Janna) or Hell (Jahannam).

What the Qur’an describes

Nothing is lost: “Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it” (99:7–8).

Each person receives a book of their deeds. Even our hands and skin will speak about what we did (36:65).

No one carries another’s burden, and no one is wronged (6:164). God’s justice and mercy meet on that Day.

The door is always open

“Say: O My servants who have wronged yourselves, do not despair of God’s mercy. God forgives all sins” (39:53). As long as we are alive, it is never too late to turn back to God. This turning is called tawba, repentance.

Imam ʿAlī’s six steps of true repentance

Nahj al-Balāgha, Saying 417 · summarised.

1. Sincere regret for what you did.
2. A firm decision never to return to it.
3. Returning any rights you owe to people.
4. Making up duties you neglected.
5. Letting the body shed what grew from wrongdoing.
6. Tasting obedience as you tasted sin.

“This world is a place of passage, and the Hereafter is the place to stay. So take from where you pass for where you will stay.”

Imam ʿAlī (ʿa) · Nahj al-Balāgha, Sermon 203

Part 6 of 9·All nine Discovering Islam articles