Why Allah Has Given Us Signs of the Day of Judgment
In his book, Ma’alim wa-Manarat, Shaykh Abdullah al-Ujayri mentioned some wisdoms behind why Allah has given us signs of the Day of Judgment:
𝟏 - 𝐓𝐨 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥
Having Iman in everything that the Prophet (peace be upon him) has told us is compulsory for the validity and completion of our Iman. Thus, these signs were not only told to us on a “for your information” basis, but rather for us to wholeheartedly believe in. We will be rewarded and judged based on this.
𝟐 - 𝐓𝐨 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐃𝐨
Among the signs of the Day of Judgment, we see that several Muslims will fall into sins and fitan. This is an indirect, yet clear, warning that we should strive not to be among that category of people.
𝟑 - 𝐓𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐔𝐬 𝐁𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
These signs instill in us a feeling about the nearing of the Day of Judgment, and this feeling prompts us to be spiritually prepared by making tawbah for our sins. Other forms of preparation could involve reciting Surat Al-Kahf on Fridays for protection against the Dajjal, etc.
𝟒 - 𝐓𝐨 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐮𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐝 (𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐁𝐞 𝐔𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐦)
In addition to being helpful in da’wah, this also increases our own Iman.
𝟓 - 𝐓𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫
There is a natural desire amongst many to know what the future holds. This drives many people to go to fortune-tellers and astrologers, and some even involve themselves in baseless predictions and forecasts.
However, Islam has provided a legitimate means of satisfying this curiosity by providing countless details of what the future holds for us. That helps us stay focused on our primary responsibilities in the present so that we do not busy ourselves needlessly by speculating about what might happen in the future.