Waiting for Armageddon

April 3, 2009, 8:09 am by dc-agape.

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Surah 101: Al-Qāri’ah: The Calamity

The Calamity!

What is the calamity?

And what will make thee know how terrible is the calamity?

The day wherein men will be as scattered moths,

And the mountains will be as carded wool.

Then as for him whose measure (of good deeds) is heavy,

He will live a pleasant life.

And as for him whose measure (of good deeds) is light,

The abyss is a mother to him.

And what will make thee know what this is?

A burning Fire. 

This surāh is based on the describing the “end times” or Judgment Day.  It is certainly not as horrific as the Christian version!  For in Islam it would seem to be a very short period and the results quickly reached.  One thing that must be kept in mind about Islam, punishment in “hell” is not permanent.  That is why the 9^th verse uses the concept of “mother to him”.  In life we are reliant on our mothers for only a short time, so it is the same in the Islamic concept of punishment for doing evil. 

The signs of the Judgment Day are also much more straight forward than in the Book of Revelations (with 21 different calamities – the seven seals in Rev 6-8, the seven trumpets in Rev 8-9 & 11, and the seven bowls in Rev 16) and don’t forget the four horsemen.  In the Islamic faith only two things are mentioned in this surāh: scattering humanity, and destruction of mountains.  Unless the Islamic faith believes that Allah will not destroy the earth in a flood again, and the climatologist are right, global warming will accomplish this scenario.

But what else can be gotten from this surāh?  Everything that happens in the Calamity is based on the weight of good deeds.  Isn’t it odd that in Christianity good makes you lighter than evil, where in Islamic faith good makes you heavier?  I always find it odd when differences like this occur.  Some of the commentaries mention that there are even striations of increasing good and increasing evil which will be rewarded and punished with appropriate recompensation.  From the surahs that I have read at least two acts can increase the weight of good that a person has: helping others – with the appropriate attitude and patience.

The way this surāh is written it would seem that the Calamity occurs here on earth during someone’s lifetime.  But most of the commentaries agree that the earth will be destroyed – “the mountains will be as carded wool”.  To a gay Atheist this brings up the question of what guarantee is there that this will happen?  Other than “faith” there is little to ensure that this promise is kept.  Since it is a hollow promise, without insurance, why wait until the Calamity to expose those who’s “measure of good deeds is light”?  Is it not in our (humanity’s) best interest to strive to correct those people and to punish those people now?  Does not waiting for a supernatural being to “take care” of it not just lead to compliance?  And is not compliance, at least in Christianity, the sin of omission?  So there is no reason to wait.  People of goodwill should not sit on their haunches waiting for “God” to do something about it!

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