Islamic eschatology

Islamic eschatology is the aspect of Islamic beliefs, predictions and narratives dealing with end times. Not unlike some other Abrahamic religions, it includes both prophecies of the end of the natural world, of the dramatic events ("signs") signifying its approach; and the afterlife where the dead wait behind barzakh until they are resurrected to be judged by God (ḥisbā) for their conduct during their life on earth, and sent to their reward in either Jannah (also called heaven, paradise or the garden) or Jahannam (also called hell, the fire or hellfire).

An estimated one tenth of the Quran, the holy book of Islam, is devoted to "matters eschatological". Parts of hadīth literature and some of commentaries of various medieval Muslim scholars, including al-Ghazali, Ibn Kathir, and Muhammad al-Bukhari, among others, are devoted to the subject. Traditionally interest in "apocalyptic speculation" was strongest among mainstream Shia (Twelver Shia), Isma'ili Muslims, and Sunni Muslims on the "doctrinal and geographic margins", while weakest in the heartland of Sunni Islam. A 2012 poll of Muslims in several Muslim-majority countries (Lebanon, Turkey, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco) found that half or more respondents expected the Mahdi (the final redeemer according to Islam) to return during their lifetime.

Theological/doctrinal questions in Islamic eschatology include whether Quranic verses and hadith on eschatology be taken literally or figuratively; who will be sent to paradise or hell; whether consignment to hell is eternal, and if not who will be allowed to leave it; can justice be reconciled with predestination; whether heaven and hell currently exist or will be created at the end of the world; whether there is an "abode" in the afterlife other than paradise or hell, such as Al-A'raf.