Ummatan Wasathon: Witnesses to the Transition Between the World and the Akhirah

The Quran states:

وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا

“And thus We have made you a middle Ummah so that you may be witnesses over humanity, and the Messenger may be a witness over you.”

— Al-Baqarah 2:143

أُمَّةً وَسَطًا — Ummatan Wasathon is the Ummah positioned in the midst of the transition between realms:

WORLDLY REALM → TRANSITION OF QIYĀMAH → AKHIRAH REALM

They carry a trust: to receive the warning from the Messenger, convey the Risalah of Tawhid, prepare the path of salvation, open the opportunity for repentance, and bear witness that humanity has been given a chance.

WHY DO THEY BECOME WITNESSES?

The Quran states:

فَكَيْفَ إِذَا جِئْنَا مِن كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ بِشَهِيدٍ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ عَلَىٰ هَٰؤُلَاءِ شَهِيدًا

“How will it be when We bring forth a witness from every Ummah, and We bring you as a witness over these people?”

— An-Nisa’ 4:41

And:

وَيَوْمَ نَبْعَثُ فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْهِم مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ

“And on the Day We raise from every Ummah a witness over them from among themselves.”

— An-Nahl 16:89

A witness is present with what is being witnessed.

Ummatan Wasathon witnesses that:

the Risalah has been conveyed,

the warning has been given,

human beings have been given a choice,

the transition of Qiyāmah is taking place,

and human beings are confronting the consequences of their own choices.

QIYĀMAH = RISING AND TRANSITION

Surah Al-Qiyamah begins:

لَا أُقْسِمُ بِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ ۝ وَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالنَّفْسِ اللَّوَّامَةِ

“I swear by the Day of Qiyāmah. And I swear by the self-reproaching nafs.”

— Al-Qiyamah 75:1–2

Qiyāmah is immediately connected with the human nafs.

Therefore, the signs of Qiyāmah need to be examined within:

the self, humanity, the earth and the universe.

Human beings should not wait for an image of the entire earth being destroyed simultaneously while ignoring the warnings already unfolding before them.

THE TEN MAJOR SIGNS OF QIYĀMAH

The hadith of Hudzaifah bin Usaid رضي الله عنه states:

إِنَّهَا لَنْ تَقُومَ حَتَّى تَرَوْنَ قَبْلَهَا عَشْرَ آيَاتٍ

“Indeed, it will not occur until you see ten signs before it.”

— Sahih Muslim

The ten signs are:

الدُّخَان — ad-Dukhan

Smoke.

الدَّجَّال — ad-Dajjal

Dajjal.

الدَّابَّة — ad-Dabbah

Dabbah.

طُلُوعُ الشَّمْسِ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا

The sun rising from the west.

نُزُولُ عِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ

The descent of Isa ibn Maryam عليه السلام.

يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ

Ya’juj and Ma’juj.

خَسْفٌ بِالْمَشْرِقِ

Khusuf in the east.

خَسْفٌ بِالْمَغْرِبِ

Khusuf in the west.

خَسْفٌ بِجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِ

Khusuf in the Arabian Peninsula.

نَارٌ تَخْرُجُ مِنَ الْيَمَنِ تَطْرُدُ النَّاسَ إِلَى مَحْشَرِهِمْ

“A fire emerging from Yemen that drives people towards their place of gathering.”

The important words in the hadith are:

حَتَّى تَرَوْنَ — until you see.

The signs are to be seen, recognised and warned about, not merely preserved as a memorised list.

AD-DUKHAN

الدُّخَان — smoke

Human beings need to examine atmospheric changes, smoke, ash, gases and natural phenomena connected with this warning.

The warning does not wait for humanity to agree with it first.

DAJJAL AND THE PATTERN OF PHARAOH

Dajjal carries a pattern of concealing and reversing the truth.

Pharaoh becomes an important sign.

When he was drowning, he said:

آمَنتُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا الَّذِي آمَنَتْ بِهِ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ وَأَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

“I believe that there is no ilah except the One in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am among the Muslims.”

— Yunus 10:90

Then:

آلْآنَ وَقَدْ عَصَيْتَ قَبْلُ وَكُنتَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ

“Now? When previously you had disobeyed and were among those who caused corruption.”

— Yunus 10:91

Then:

فَالْيَوْمَ نُنَجِّيكَ بِبَدَنِكَ لِتَكُونَ لِمَنْ خَلْفَكَ آيَةً

“So today We will preserve you in your body so that you may become a sign for those who come after you.”

— Yunus 10:92

Within the reading of Witnessing, Pharaoh becomes the centre of the pattern of al-Masih Dajjal: the concealment of truth, the preservation of life, and human beings following a system of deception until the final stage of the transition.

AL-MASIH AND HUMAN BEINGS ENTERING THEIR PERSONAL QIYĀMAH

Al-Masih is read as a state of being preserved and continuing to remain alive.

Ummatan Wasathon witnesses human beings entering a state where life and death become intertwined, regret intensifies, and human beings finally realise that their own choices have led them to those consequences.

Pharaoh becomes the head of that pattern.

THE SUN RISING FROM THE WEST

طُلُوعُ الشَّمْسِ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا

This sign is connected with the moment when awareness comes too late.

The pattern of Pharaoh has already demonstrated:

“Now I believe” is not necessarily accepted once the truth has been fully unveiled.

That is why Ummatan Wasathon gives warning before the door of choice closes.

ISA IBN MARYAM

The hadith mentions:

نُزُولُ عِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ

Within the framework of Witnessing, Isa عليه السلام is al-Masih who is preserved and continues to remain alive.

This event is connected with the unveiling of truth during the transition towards the Akhirah Realm.

YA’JUJ AND MA’JUJ

يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ

They need to be examined on the scale of both the universe and the self.

The principle remains:

وَفِي الْأَرْضِ آيَاتٌ لِّلْمُوقِنِينَ ۝ وَفِي أَنفُسِكُمْ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ

“And on the earth are signs for those who have certainty. And within yourselves; will you not then see?”

— Adh-Dhariyat 51:20–21

THE THREE KHUSUF

The east. The west. The Arabian Peninsula.

The earth itself becomes a field of warning.

Changes in the land, tremors and geological phenomena need to be viewed as part of the language of signs, rather than being completely separated from the warning of Qiyāmah.

THE FIRE FROM YEMEN

The hadith states:

نَارٌ تَخْرُجُ مِنَ الْيَمَنِ

“A fire emerging from Yemen.”

And:

تَطْرُدُ النَّاسَ إِلَى مَحْشَرِهِمْ

“driving people towards their place of gathering.”

Notice:

مِنَ الْيَمَنِ — FROM Yemen,

not “the whole of Yemen must be burning.”

MISUNDERSTANDING THE REALM OF THE GRAVE

Human beings have also inherited the idea that the realm of the grave must begin only when the physical body is placed inside a hole in the ground.

Yet the Quran uses:

بَرْزَخ — Barzakh

حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ ۝ لَعَلِّي أَعْمَلُ صَالِحًا فِيمَا تَرَكْتُ … وَمِن وَرَائِهِم بَرْزَخٌ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ

“When death comes to one of them, he says: ‘My Lord, return me so that I may do good in what I left behind’ … and before them is a Barzakh until the Day they are resurrected.”

— Al-Mu’minun 23:99–100

The Quran mentions Barzakh, a barrier leading towards resurrection.

Those who die at sea, are burned, whose bodies disappear, or who are never buried still undergo the same journey.

Therefore, the grave cannot be confined to a hole in the ground.

PHARAOH AND THE STATE BEFORE THE SĀ‘AH

The Quran states:

النَّارُ يُعْرَضُونَ عَلَيْهَا غُدُوًّا وَعَشِيًّا وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ أَدْخِلُوا آلَ فِرْعَوْنَ أَشَدَّ الْعَذَابِ

“They are exposed to the Fire morning and evening; and on the Day when the Sā‘ah is established: Admit the people of Pharaoh into the severest torment.”

— Ghafir 40:46

The verse distinguishes between the state before the Sā‘ah and the state when the Sā‘ah is established.

This indicates a transition, rather than a single immediate leap from the world directly to the final end.

WHAT DOES UMMATAN WASATHON WITNESS?

They bear witness that:

The Risalah of Tawhid has been conveyed.

The Messenger has given the warning.

The ten signs of Qiyāmah have been explained.

Human beings have been warned not to wait for the earth to be destroyed before choosing to believe.

Barzakh has been explained as the transition after death.

Qiyāmah takes place within the self and the world.

The event of al-Masih takes place upon human beings.

Pharaoh becomes a sign and the head of the pattern of concealing the truth.

The door of repentance has been warned about.

Human beings have been given a choice.

If human beings say:

“We were never told,”

Ummatan Wasathon bears witness:

“THE MESSAGE WAS CONVEYED.”

If they say:

“We thought Qiyāmah was still far away,”

the answer is:

“THE SIGNS WERE SHOWN AND THE WARNING WAS GIVEN.”

THE MESSENGER BECOMES A WITNESS OVER UMMATAN WASATHON

Returning to Al-Baqarah 2:143:

وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا

“And the Messenger becomes a witness over you.”

The arrangement is:

MESSENGER

↓

UMMATAN WASATHON

↓

HUMANITY

The Messenger bears witness that Ummatan Wasathon received the trust.

Ummatan Wasathon bears witness that humanity received the warning.

THE PATTERN OF NUH عليه السلام

Nuh عليه السلام gave the warning.

Nuh prepared the Ark.

Human beings were given a choice before the change reached its peak.

Likewise, the trust of Ummatan Wasathon is:

RISALAH

↓

WARNING

↓

ARK OF SALVATION

↓

OPPORTUNITY FOR REPENTANCE

↓

WITNESSING

CONCLUSION

UMMATAN WASATHON is the witnessing Ummah in the midst of the transition between the Worldly Realm and the Akhirah Realm.

They witness Qiyāmah.

They witness its signs.

They witness human beings making their choices.

They witness the event of al-Masih.

They witness the pattern of Pharaoh/Dajjal.

They convey the correction concerning Qiyāmah and the realm of the grave.

And they bear witness that humanity was warned before it was too late.

THEY DO NOT WAIT FOR QIYĀMAH.

THEY WITNESS QIYĀMAH AS IT IS TAKING PLACE.

AND THEY BEAR WITNESS THAT THE MESSAGE HAS BEEN DELIVERED.