All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
One of the fundamental principles of the Day of Judgment is that Allah, the Exalted, will establish justice among all creation, and no wronged soul will lose its rights. Allah says:
“We shall set up the scales of justice on the Day of Resurrection, so that no soul will be wronged in the least.” [Al-Anbiya 21:47]
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Creatures will receive justice from one another, even the hornless sheep from the horned sheep, and even one tiny creature from another.” This hadith has been authenticated by scholars.
A wronged believer will receive justice against the one who wronged them, whether the oppressor is a Muslim or a non-Muslim. It is authentically reported that when believers are saved from the Fire, they will be held at a bridge between Paradise and Hell, where they will settle the injustices committed against one another in this world. After they have been purified, they will enter Paradise.
If a Muslim wrongs a non-Muslim whose life and rights are protected under Islamic law, such as a person with a treaty, a non-Muslim resident under Muslim protection, or someone granted safe conduct, this is forbidden oppression, and the wronged person has a claim on the Day of Judgment.
Islam strongly condemns wronging a person who has a treaty. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever wrongs a person under a treaty, deprives them of their rights, burdens them beyond their capacity, or takes anything from them without their willing consent, I will be his adversary on the Day of Judgment.”
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
“Whoever kills a person under a treaty will not smell the fragrance of Paradise.”
As for a hostile disbeliever who is actively fighting and committing aggression, merely fighting such a person is not considered oppression, because Islamic law distinguishes between combatants and others.
It is authentically reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Rights will certainly be restored to their owners on the Day of Judgment, even to the extent that justice will be exacted for the hornless sheep against the horned sheep.”
Animals will be gathered on the Day of Judgment, and justice will be established among them. This is not a form of accountability based on religious obligations, since animals are not morally accountable in the same way as humans. Rather, it is a restoration of rights that demonstrates the perfection of Allah’s justice.
Scholars have explained that if someone wrongs an animal without justification—for example, by torturing it, starving it, depriving it of water, or burdening it beyond its capacity—the animal has a right that will be restored on the Day of Judgment.
One of the clearest proofs is the account of a woman who was punished because she confined a cat until it died of hunger, as authentically reported.
Therefore, the rights of creation will not be lost on the Day of Judgment. This includes Muslims and non-Muslims whose rights are protected by Islamic law, and even animals will receive justice against those who wronged them.
This demonstrates the perfection of Allah’s justice: He does not leave any injustice without reckoning.
And Allah knows best.