al-Qiyamah al-Sughra
- Author died
- 1433 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Nafa'is li-l-Nashr wa-l-Tawzi'
al-Qiyamah al-Sughra (The Minor Resurrection) is a theological treatise on Islamic eschatology by the Jordanian-Palestinian scholar Umar Sulayman al-Ashqar (d. 1433 AH / 2012 CE), examining the events of death, the intermediate realm of the grave (barzakh), and the portents of the Hour.
Scope and Structure
The book is structured into two principal divisions (abwab), addressing individual eschatology and universal portents prior to the final Day of Judgment:
Part One: The Minor Resurrection and the Intermediate Realm
Al-Ashqar defines the "minor resurrection" as individual death, citing the scholarly consensus and classical reports stating that whoever dies has entered the ruling of the afterlife and begun their personal resurrection. This part examines:
- Death and its Reality: The linguistic and terminological definitions of death as the severing of the soul’s connection to the physical body and transition between realms. It contrasts death with sleep (termed the "minor demise" or al-wafat al-sughra).
- Predetermined Lifespans: The inevitability of death for all created beings and the preordainment of each individual's appointed time (ajal), the exact timing of which remains solely within God's hidden knowledge.
- The Agonies of Death (Sakarat al-Mawt): The physical and spiritual distress experienced during dying, the relief granted to martyrs, and the longing of the dying to return to worldly life to perform righteous deeds.
- States at the Moment of Death: The believer's joy and eager anticipation of meeting God contrasted with the disbeliever's dread. It analyzes the demonic temptations occurring at death and details the causes leading to an evil end (su' al-khatima), drawing on the analyses of Siddiq Hasan Khan and Ibn Taymiyyah regarding doctrinal corruption, persistence in sin, deviation from righteousness, and attachment to worldly desires.
- The Grave and the Barzakh: The trial of the grave (fitnat al-qabr), its inherent darkness, the questioning by the angels, and the realities of punishment and bliss in the intermediate life.
Part Two: The Signs of the Hour (Ashrat al-Sa'ah)
The second division establishes the necessity of belief in the approaching Hour and categorizes its signs based on textual evidence:
- Minor Signs (al-Ashrat al-Sughra): Categorized into events that occurred and ended, recurring or continuous phenomena, and signs that have not yet manifested.
- Major Signs (al-Ashrat al-Kubra): Extraordinary, sequential portents signaling the end of the world, including the emergence of the Antichrist (al-Dajjal), the descent of Isa ibn Maryam, the release of Gog and Magog (Ya'juj wa-Ma'juj), three major landslides or eclipses, the smoke (al-dukhan), the rising of the sun from the west, the emergence of the Beast of the Earth (dabbat al-ard), and the fire that herds humanity to the gathering grounds.
Methodology
Al-Ashqar grounds his eschatological analysis in textual evidence from the Quran and verified prophetic hadith, adhering to the traditional Sunni creedal methodology. He frequently references classical scholars and works, including Ibn Kathir, Ibn al-Qayyim, and al-Qurtubi's al-Tadhkirah, refuting philosophical and materialist interpretations that deny the afterlife or the physical reality of eschatological events. The work serves as the direct prelude to his companion volume, al-Qiyamah al-Kubra (The Major Resurrection), which continues the sequence of eschatological events with the resurrection, the divine reckoning, the Balance, the Bridge, and the eternal abodes.
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