بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

09/06/2026

Allah knows best, but we learn through research. We may be right or wrong, and we do our best. If we are wrong, we seek Allah’s forgiveness; if right, then Alhamdulilah (Praise be to Allah).

There are many studies on this particular topic, and It will be not correct to claim that I will be able to cover them all, as the Quran contains endless knowledge that transcends time and cultural boundaries. The depth and richness of its teachings provide invaluable insights into various aspects of life, human nature, and the universe. After we pass from this earthly existence, others will continue to discover, interpret, and teach these profound lessons to new generations. This ongoing journey of exploration and understanding is what makes the Quran truly a great miracle in its wisdom and relevance. Each verse invites further contemplation, encouraging believers and scholars alike to delve deeper into its meanings and applications in contemporary life. Allahu Akbar (God is Great).

The Relativity of Eternity: Bridging Physics and the Quranic Concept of Time.

The Quranic description of the Day of Judgment as a period of 50,000 years, contrasted with the experience of the righteous, provides a profound theological parallel to the concept of relative time.

While the verse in Sûrat Al-Maʿârij (70:4) is often cited for this duration, the context of the “waiting period” or the “Day of Resurrection” is indeed described as a time of varying perception based on one’s spiritual state.

PHYSICAL WORLD

Time dilation is a fascinating concept from Albert Einstein’s theories of relativity that essentially means time does not pass at the same rate for everyone. Instead, the speed at which time flows depends on how fast you are moving or how close you are to a massive object, like a planet or a star.

In our everyday lives, we think of time as a constant “tick-tock” that is the same for everyone, everywhere. However, physics tells us that time is actually flexible. There are two main ways this happens. First, there is velocity-based time dilation: the faster you move through space, the slower you move through time. If you were to travel in a spaceship at a speed close to the speed of light ($c$), your clock would tick much slower compared to a clock left back on Earth. To you, everything would feel normal, but when you returned home, you would find that much more time had passed for your friends than for you.

Second, there is gravitational time dilation. This occurs because gravity actually warps the fabric of space and time. The stronger the gravity you are near, the slower time passes for you. For example, a clock placed on the surface of the Earth ticks slightly slower than a clock placed high up in orbit, where gravity is weaker. This is not just a theory; it is a practical reality that engineers must account for. GPS satellites, which orbit high above the Earth, have to adjust their internal clocks to compensate for these time differences, or our navigation systems would become inaccurate by several kilometers every day.

The reason this happens is that the speed of light is constant for all observers. To keep the speed of light the same for everyone, space and time must “stretch” or “shrink” to compensate for different speeds and gravitational environments. While these effects are too small to notice in our daily routines, they are measurable with precise atomic clocks and are essential for understanding how our universe functions at high speeds and near massive object

In physics, time is not an absolute constant; it is a dimension that can be “stretched” or “compressed” depending on the observer’s frame of reference. This is mathematically expressed by the Lorentz transformation, where the observed time interval $\mathrm{\Delta }{t}^{\prime }$ is related to the proper time $\mathrm{\Delta }t$ by the factor $\gamma$:$$\mathrm{\Delta }{t}^{\prime }=\gamma \mathrm{\Delta }t=\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }t}{\sqrt{1-\frac{v^2}{c^2}}}$$As an object approaches the speed of light, the time interval appears to expand significantly to an outside observer.

THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT

QURAN:

Quran; 70:4

تَعۡرُجُ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕڪَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ إِلَيۡهِ فِى يَوۡمٍ۬ كَانَ مِقۡدَارُهُ ۥ خَمۡسِينَ أَلۡفَ سَنَةٍ۬ (٤)

Translation:

“The angels and the Spirit will ascend to Him during a Day (of Judgment) the extent of which is fifty thousand years.“

Quran; 83:6

يَوۡمَ يَقُومُ ٱلنَّاسُ لِرَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (٦)

Translation:

 When mankind will stand before the Lord of the Universe?

HADITH:

Baihaqi transmitted the two traditions in Kitab al-ba’th wan nushur.

وَعَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ أَنَّهُ أَتَى رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ: أَخْبِرْنِي مَنْ يَقْوَى عَلَى الْقِيَامِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ الَّذِي قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: (يَوْمَ يَقُومُ النَّاسُ لربِّ الْعَالمين)؟ فَقَالَ: «يُخَفَّفُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِ حَتَّى يَكُونَ عَلَيْهِ كَالصَّلَاةِ الْمَكْتُوبَة»
وَعَنْهُ قَالَ: سُئِلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ (يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُ خَمْسِينَ ألف سنةٍ) مَا طُولُ هَذَا الْيَوْمِ؟ فَقَالَ: «وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ إِنَّهُ لَيُخَفَّفُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِ حَتَّى يَكُونَ أَهْوَنَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ الْمَكْتُوبَةِ يُصَلِّيهَا فِي الدُّنْيَا» . رَوَاهُمَا الْبَيْهَقِيُّ فِي كِتَابِ «الْبَعْثِ وَالنُّشُورِ»

Translation:

Abu Sa’id al-Khudri told that he went to God’s messenger and asked him to tell him who would be strong enough to stand on the day of resurrection of which God who is great and glorious said, “A day when mankind will stand before the Lord of the universe.” He replied, “It will be made easy for the believer, so that it will be for him like the prescribed prayer.”

He told that God’s messenger was asked about “a day whose extent is fifty thousand years2,” how men could endure the length of this day, and replied, “By Him in whose hand my soul is, it will be made easy for the believer so that it will be easier for him than the prescribed prayer he observes in this world.”

Reference : Mishkat al-Masabih 5563, 5564

(The authenticity of the narrations are recorded by Imam al-Bayhaqi in his work al-Ba‘th wa al-Nushur, is a subject of discussion among Hadith scholars. In the science of Hadith criticism (Mustalah al-Hadith), these specific narrations are generally classified as Hasan (good/acceptable) or Sahih li-ghayrihi (authentic due to supporting evidence).The narration from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri regarding the lightening of the Day of Judgment is considered reliable by many scholars of Hadith. Imam al-Haythami, in his work Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, evaluated the narrators of the version found in Musnad Abu Ya‘la and noted that they are considered trustworthy (thiqat). While some chains of narration for these specific reports have been scrutinized for individual narrators, the collective weight of the evidence—including the Quranic verse (70:4) and various supporting chains—leads scholars to accept the meaning as established and authentic)

In the Islamic tradition, the “waiting” on the Day of Judgment is described as a period that feels like 50,000 years for those burdened by sins, as indicated in the Quranic warning regarding the severity of that day.

However, for the righteous, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ explicitly stated that this time will be made brief and easy, likened to the duration of a short prayer.

This suggests that in the hereafter, time is not merely a physical measurement but is intrinsically linked to the spiritual condition and deeds of the individual. Just as physical time dilation is a consequence of one’s position in a gravitational field or velocity in space, the “spiritual time dilation” in the afterlife is a consequence of one’s proximity to Divine Mercy. The righteous, through their deeds, experience a “compression” of time, whereas the sinful experience the full, agonizing extent of the duration.

This aligns with the broader Quranic theme that the perception of time is subjective and dependent on one’s state of being, as seen in other verses where people will look back at their lives on Earth and feel they only stayed for a day or part of a day