With the help of all of Allaah's Names; [including] the Entirely Merciful,

the Especially Merciful. Certainly, all praises and thanks are due to Allaah;

Creator & Sustainer of all the worlds. May blessings and peace be upon the

most honored of the Prophets and Messengers, and upon his family, his

companions, and whoever follows them in good until the Day of Recompense.

My vision was to do a comparative study of beliefs about the Last Day

between Judaism, Christianity, and al-Islaam. Research material was a challenge

to come by as neither of the other two faiths have much dogma in this area.

This in itself is instructive as to the nature of the beliefs these two groups hold.

After reviewing the beliefs I’ll try and make a brief summary, drawing some

comparisons (very basically) to the Islamic creed in this regard. I’ll use as an

example of those beliefs the seminal work ‫( العقيدة الطحاوية‬Al-‘Aqeedah ut-

Tahaaweeyah).

In my examination of Jewish beliefs I’ve decided, after much research on

the matter, to use Rambam’s 13 Principles as “the most accepted summary of

Jewish beliefs”[ CITATION Ric21 \l 1033 ]. According to Rambam (better known as

Maimonides to the west), “the last four deal with reward, punishment and the

ultimate redemption.”[ CITATION Wik10 \l 1033 ] These four would be as follows;

Term Paper for Religions & Doctrines with Omar Suleiman, by Aboo Suhaylah Sa’eed bin Roderick bin
Roderick Purcell al-Amreekee al-Hanbalee
 10. I believe with perfect faith that God knows all of man's deeds and

thoughts. It is thus written (Psalm 33:15), "He has molded every heart

together, and He understands what each one does."

11. I believe with perfect faith that God rewards those who keep His

commandments, and punishes those who transgress Him.

12. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah. How long it

takes, I will wait His coming every day.

13. I believe with perfect faith that the dead will be brought back to life

when God wills it to happen.[ CITATION Rab10 \l 1033 ]

So, belief in resurrection and reward/punishment is intrinsic to the Jewish

faith. However, as one of my sources noted, “Judaism does not have much

dogma about the afterlife, and leaves a great deal of room for personal

opinion.”[ CITATION Tra21 \l 1033 ] Due to this, let’s suffice it to say, there are many

differences regarding the particular nature and details of these matters.

As an indicator of Christian beliefs I’ve decided to limit myself to the

United Methodist Church; which was the church I grew up attending. To

establish the beliefs of the church I’m relying on a few key documents; the

Term Paper for Religions & Doctrines with Omar Suleiman, by Aboo Suhaylah Sa’eed bin Roderick bin
Roderick Purcell al-Amreekee al-Hanbalee
Nicene Creed, and the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church. In the

latter it says the following:

Article XII—The Judgment and the Future State

We believe all men stand under the righteous judgment of Jesus

Christ, both now and in the last day. We believe in the resurrection

of the dead; the righteous to life eternal and the wicked to endless

condemnation.[ CITATION The04 \l 1033 ]

This is the only explicit mention of it in the 25 Articles of Religion & the

Confession of Faiths 16 points. Now in the main source document for the

Christian church, namely the Nicene Creed, it states the beliefs thusly:

“He (i.e. Jesus) will come again in glory to judge the living and the

dead, and his kingdom will have no end.”

“We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world

to come.” [ CITATION Wik101 \l 1033 ]

So, between these two documents, there are only three explicit

statements of faith regarding resurrection or reward/punishment. In fact,

Term Paper for Religions & Doctrines with Omar Suleiman, by Aboo Suhaylah Sa’eed bin Roderick bin
Roderick Purcell al-Amreekee al-Hanbalee
reward and punishment aren’t even mentioned specifically, but at best alluded

to. So, as with Judaism, there isn’t much dogma related to these matters.

Now, if we look into the seminal work by at-Tahaawee (may Allaah show

him mercy) we find something interesting almost immediately. Conservatively

speaking, there are 114 points to this creed, and out of those 15 have at least

something to do with belief in the Last Day, Resurrection, or Reward and

Punishment.[ CITATION Abo21 \l 1033 ] So the details of Muslim beliefs about these

matters are much more precisely defined then in the other religions.

While my approach to this matter evolved through many different forms

prior to this one, I hope that the result is one of a coherent and comprehensible

whole. It may seem a little over-simplistic, but by simply comparing the amount

of detail in the various major statements of faith from these three religions I

have demonstrated the marked contrast between them in the matter of belief

in the Last Day. In addition to the above matters, which clearly indicated a much

more detailed development of principles of faith in al-Islaam, there is the simple

fact that neither Judaism nor Christianity had any definitive statements on the

matter from within their revelations. However, al-Islaam DOES have such a

definitive statement (many in fact). Just one such statement should satisfy us:

Term Paper for Religions & Doctrines with Omar Suleiman, by Aboo Suhaylah Sa’eed bin Roderick bin
Roderick Purcell al-Amreekee al-Hanbalee
the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace be upon him) was asked, “What is

Faith?” Upon this he replied, “That you affirm your faith in Allaah, His angels,

His Books, His meeting, His Messengers and that you affirm your faith in the

Resurrection hereafter.” (Agreed Upon)[ CITATION Min10 \l 1033 ] So, while some of

the writings of the various scholars may agree with Islamic beliefs, they are

based on mostly conjecture and human reasoning – very unreliable sources.

This is, in part, the reason for the massive amounts of differences in the

doctrines within each religion. Conversely, Muslims suffer much less difference

of opinion due to the detailed exposition of our beliefs given to us in the

Qur’aan and Sunnah. Wa-lillaahi’l-Hamd!!!

Freed from all imperfections are You, O Allaah, and You are praised! I

bear witness that nothing deserves to be worshipped or adored except for You.

I seek Your Forgiveness and turn in repentance to You. Aameen.

Works Cited
at-Tahaawee, A. J.-A. (2000/1421). The Creed of at-Tahaawee. In '. b.-'. ad-Dimashqee, Commentary on
the Creed of at-Tahaawee (p. 538). Riyadh: The General Administration of Culture and Publication.

Term Paper for Religions & Doctrines with Omar Suleiman, by Aboo Suhaylah Sa’eed bin Roderick bin
Roderick Purcell al-Amreekee al-Hanbalee
Maimon, R. M. (n.d.). The Rambam's Thirteen Principles of Jewish Faith. Retrieved December 9, 2010,
from Orthodox Union: http://www.ou.org/torah/rambam.htm

Ministry of Islamic Affairs (KSA). (n.d.). Hadith - Hadith Site - Islam - Resources and information.
Retrieved December 14, 2010, from Al-Islam.Com: http://hadith.al-islam.com/Loader.aspx?
pageid=715&BookID=687&PID=2&SubjectID=34082

Rich, T. R. (1999/1421). Judaism 101: Olam Ha-Ba: The Afterlife. Retrieved December/Muharram 7/3,
2010/1432, from Judaism 101: http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm

Rich, T. R. (1999/1421). Judaism 101: What do Jews Believe? Retrieved December/Muharram 7/3,
2010/1432, from Judaism 101: http://www.jewfaq.org/beliefs.htm

The United Methodist Publishing House. (2004). The Confession of Faith of The Evangelical United
Brethren Church IX-XII. Retrieved November 27, 2010, from UMC.org:
http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=1656

Wikipedia Contributors. (2010, November 8). English versions of the Nicene Creed in current use.
Retrieved December 13, 2010, from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_versions_of_the_Nicene_Creed_in_current_use#1988_ecumenical
_version_.28ELLC.29

Wikipedia Contributors. (2010, December 6). Maimonides. Retrieved December 9, 2010, from
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maimonides&oldid=400839540

Term Paper for Religions & Doctrines with Omar Suleiman, by Aboo Suhaylah Sa’eed bin Roderick bin
Roderick Purcell al-Amreekee al-Hanbalee