Light of believers on the day of judgement

I am going to share some verses from Quran which are very close to my heart, so close that I named my deceased daughter Bushra based verse 12 in Surah Al-Hadid.

On the Day you see the believing men and believing women, their light proceeding before them and on their right, [it will be said], "Your good tidings today are [of] gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein you will abide eternally." That is what is the great attainment. On the [same] Day the hypocrite men and hypocrite women will say to those who believed, "Wait for us that we may acquire some of your light." It will be said, "Go back behind you and seek light." And a wall will be placed between them with a door, its interior containing mercy, but on the outside of it is torment. The hypocrites will call to the believers, "Were we not with you?" They will say, "Yes, but you afflicted yourselves and awaited [misfortune for us] and doubted, and wishful thinking deluded you until there came the command of Allah . And the Deceiver deceived you concerning Allah . (Quran 57:12-14)

Each and every word of Allah in the Quran is powerful but there are some ayaat and suraahs which offer so much to reflect upon and so many lessons to draw from and sura al-Hadid is one of them. It is one of the most powerful and most beautiful of surahs, and one of my most favorite one.


There is an intense beauty in these words which stir the soul. For example just take ayaah 12 which I quoted above and the expression that ‘their light running forward before them …’ It’s gut wrenching! I wish every Muslim could understand Allah’s words directly, without the human factor of translation getting involved. Then we would experience the true miracle of Quran.


Anyways these verses talk about the light which believers will get on the day of judgement. Let’s look at some of the ways to achieve this light based on hadiths:


1. By going to mosque in the darkness on night ( Meaning praying Fajr and Isha in the mosque in congregation):

Give glad tidings to those who go to the mosque in the darkness of night that they will receive perfect light on the Day of Judgment.” [Abu Dadwud, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah; Graded authentic by Al-Albani]

Subhanallah who will want to miss praying Fajr and isha in the mosque after reading above Hadith.

2.By taking care of all five daily prayers:

He who takes care of his five daily prayers [that is, performs them regularly fulfilling all their essentials], it will serve as light, proof and salvation for him on the Day of Judgement. He who fails to take care of it, there will be no light, nor proof or salvation for him on the Day of Judgement. The latter will be in the company of Qarun, Haman and Fir’aun.[Ahmad, Tabarani]

3. By reading Surah Kahf on Friday & by reading any verse from Quran:

Whoever recites sura Al-Kahf, there will be so much of light for him on the Day of Judgement that it will spread from his place to Makkah. [Narrated by al-Haakim, 2/399; al-Bayhaqi, 3/249. It was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6470]

In another narration:

Whoever recites Surah Al-Kahf on a Friday, light will extend from his feet to the heights of the heaven on the Day of Judgment. [Tabarani; Al-Mundhiri said, this was narrated by Abu Bakr ibn Mardawayhin his Tafseer, with an isnaad with which there was nothing wrong]

Whoever recites just a single verse of the Quran, it will be a light for him on the Day of Judgement. [Ahmad]

Let’s start by reciting Surah kahf today and make it a habit for rest of our lives.

4.By Sending Darood on Prophet Muhammad PBUH:

Whoever sends salah (durud) to me, it shall be the cause of light on the Bridge of Sirat. [Dailami]

It is also recommended to send lot of Salah to prophet Muhammad PBUH on the day of jummah. Let’s make a habit of sending salah on prophet Muhammad PBUH for at least 100 times.

5. By performing rituals of Hajj:

The hair, that falls on the ground at the time of shaving it when coming out of the state of ihram, will be a light for him on the Day of Judgement. [Tabarani]

Stoning the jamaraat in Mina will be a light on the Day of Judgement.[Musnad of Bazzar]

May Allah make us among those who can afford to do multiple Umra and hajj.

6. By remaining steadfast on Islam:

He whose hair turns grey in Islam, it will be a light for him on the Day of Judgement.

[Tabarani]

Means to remain steadfast on Islam for whole life

7. By fighting in the path of Allah:

He who shoots even one arrow in Allah’s way while fighting in jihad, it will be a light for him on the Day of Judgement.[Bazzar]

8. By remembering Allah in the marketplace:

He who remembers Allah in the marketplace will receive light for every strand of hair on the Day of Judgement.[Baihaqi in Shua’ib-ul-‘Iman]

Markets being the places where the temptations of dunya manifest themselves.

9. By helping to ease calamity on fellow Muslims:

He who alleviates the calamity of a Muslim, Allah will create two compartments of light for him at the bridge which will brighten up a whole world. No one besides Allah knows its number. [Tabarani]

May Allah grant us the light! Ameen

Signs of Hypocrites:
It is also worth mentioning some signs of hypocrites who are also mentioned in the verses I quoted above. Let's read some hadiths which tells us some of the signs of hypocrites

Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (RA) says that Rasulullah (SAW) said:

Four traits whoever possesses them is a hypocrite and whoever possesses some of them has an element of hypocrisy until he leaves it:
the one who when he speaks he lies,
when he promises he breaks his promise,
when he disputes he transgresses and
when he makes an agreement he violates it.” [Muslim and Bukhari]

May Allah save us from the hypocrisy! Ameen!

If we read further then we reach ayah 16 which says:

“Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth? And let them not be like those who were given the Scripture before, and a long period passed over them, so their hearts hardened; and many of them are defiantly disobedient.” (Quran 57:16)

Let’s race towards Allah’s mercy and blessing together. Let’s make this intention today that nothing else will take priority of our relationship with God. Let promise to Allah that from this day we will change for good inshallah and work towards meeting our Lord with a sound heart (Qalb-e-Saleem).