The urgency of the Day of Judgment:
"˹The time of˺ people’s judgment has drawn near, yet they are heedlessly turning away." (Quran 21:1)
One of the fundamental themes of the Quran is man's flight from reality. Even at the simplest every day level there is a constant avoidance of the thought of death. The worldly life makes man forget and neglect the inevitable end of his life as well as the end of the entire creation.
It is the tearing-away of all illusions of security that characterizes both the Last Judgement and its anticipation in the Qurān; and this is the background against which life is seen as a brief but immensely precious opportunity, offering a once-and-for-all choice.
Hence the sense of urgency which informs the whole Qurān, making the very thought of 'passtimes' an outrage against common sense; for to waste the little time we have seems to the Muslim like insane profligacy.
The common plea of those described in the Quran as 'the losers' (al-khāsirūn) –
those who face damnation - is to be sent back, if only for a short while, to human life; and one understands that even a single day in which to make good use of time would be, for them, a treasure beyond anything they desired while living.
'So warn mankind of the Day when the punishment comes to them and the wrongdoers exclaim: Our Lord! Grant us respite for a short while we will obey Your call and follow the messenger!" (Quran 14:44).
Adapted from 'Islam and the Destiny of Man' by Charles Le Gai Eaton.
