Surah Al-Haqqah (Surah 69 – The Reality) describes how The Day of Judgment will unfold with a Trumpet blast.

Then, when one blast is sounded on the Trumpet,

And the earth is moved, and its mountains, and they are crushed to powder at one stroke,-

On that Day shall the (Great) Event come to pass.

And the sky will be rent asunder, for it will that Day be flimsy,

And the angels will be on its sides, and eight will, that Day, bear the Throne of thy Lord above them.

That Day shall ye be brought to Judgment: not an act of yours that ye hide will be hidden.  (Surah al-Haqqah 69:13-18)

Surah Qaf (Surah 50) also describes a Day when the Trumpet of Allah sounds and the guardian angels on our right and left sides reveal the record of our deeds and merits. These ayat read:

It was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein.

Behold, two (guardian angels) appointed to learn (his doings) learn (and noted them), one sitting on the right and one on the left.

Not a word does he utter but there is a sentinel by him, ready (to note it).

And the stupor of death will bring Truth (before his eyes): “This was the thing which thou wast trying to escape!”

And the Trumpet shall be blown:  that will be the Day whereof Warning (had been given).

And there will come forth every soul: with each will be an (angel) to drive, and an (angel) to bear witness.

(It will be said:) “Thou wast heedless of this; now have We removed thy veil, and sharp is thy sight this Day!”

And his Companion will say: “Here is (his Record) ready with me!”

(Surah Qaf 50:16-23)

Ayah 20 says that the warning of the Trumpet had already been given (before the Qur’an was revealed).  When was this given? Isa al Masih (PBUH) gave it when he foretold in the Injil that the trumpet of Heaver would announce his return to earth:

And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matthew 24:31)

What happens after this? Surah Qaf describes an angel on our right and on our left, recording our deeds. Since Allah is nearer to us than our jugular vein, the Injil tells us that these records of our deeds are extensive. So extensive, in fact, that they are ‘books’. John, a disciple of Isa al Masih PBUH, describes this in the final book of the Injil, through a vision. Let’s take a look:

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)

This declares that all will be judged ‘according to what they have done’ as recorded in the ‘books’.  So we greet the angels on our right and left after prayers, hoping to get some advantage in the recording of deeds.

The Book of Life

But notice there is another book, called the ‘Book of Life’, which is different than the good-bad merit record-keeping books. It states that ‘anyone’ whose name is not found written in the Book of Life will be thrown into the Lake of Fire (another term for hell). So, what if our list of good merits recorded by the angel on our right is very long, and the list of sins recorded by the angel on our left side is very short? Even then – if our name is not in the ‘Book of Life’ we are still condemned to Hell.  What is this ‘book of life’ and how is our name recorded in this book?

Both the Taurat and Quran state that when Hazrat Adam sinned, Allah banished him from Paradise and made him mortal. This meant that he (and we his children) was separated from the Source of Life. This is the reason we are mortal and will die one day. The Prophet Isa al Masih PBUH came to restore this Life to us. That way, our names could be entered into the Book of Life. As he declared:

Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24)

How the Prophet Ibrahim PBUH foresaw this gift of life, and why Isa al Masih can give us life is explained in detail here. Surah Qaf warns us that:

(The sentence will be:) “Throw, throw into Hell every contumacious Rejecter (of God) (Surah Qaf 50:24)

So if there is Eternal Life available, why not learn about it?