Concept of Life After Death and Its Impacts On Human Life
English Essay on "Concept of Life After Death and Its Impacts On Human Life"
This much is known to everyone that whoever is born into the world has got to die one day or the other. But nobody knows what happens or will happen after death. This is known only to Allah. Allah vouchsafes the knowledge of it to His Prophets and through the Prophets men also come to know about it. Every prophet of Allah, in his time, hid revealed clearly to his people though what stages they would have to pass after death and how at each stage they would be recompensed for their deeds — good as well as bad -- during the earthly sojourn. Since the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) is the last of the Divine Apostles aid Messengers, and no prophet is going to be raised up after him, the different stages through which a man has to pass after death have been explained by him in greatest detail and with utmost clarity. There are to follow three stages after death.
Resurrection
The First Stage runs from death to Resurrection. It is called barzakh (the interval between death and Resurrection). Whether a person is buried when he dies or he is cremated or cast into the river his soul does not perish with him it is immortal; it lives. It only migrates from the material world of ours to anot0her world. In the other world the angels question him about his spiritual state. If he is a truthful Believer, he gives the correct answers whereupon the angels impart to him the glad tidings that he is going to live in peace and happiness till the last Day.4essays.blogspot.com And, if it is otherwise, that is, he turns out to be an Unbeliever, an infidel or a sham or hypocritical Muslim, he is, at once, placed under dreadful punishment which is not to cease before the Day of Reckoning.
Meaning of Resurrection
The next stage comprises the Last Day and the Resurrection.
The Last Day means that there will come a time when the entire material world will be destroyed by the command of Allah. Annihilation will descend suddenly on everything that exists around us. The whole world be thrown topsy-turvy. Then, after a long time, when God will wish, all men will be raised up again. Every person born into the world will be recast. and called upon to render a full account of his doings on earth. In the Great Reckoning those who will be found worthy .of deliverance will be awarded a place out to be guilty and deserving of Divine chastisement will be consigned to Hell.
After this, there will commence the last stage. The dwellers of Paradise will live in a state of eternal bliss, supremely Immune from every land of pain, anxiety and suffering, and exulting in the bounties of their Lord the like of which they would not have dreamt of in the world, while those that will be condemned to Hell will have to live permanently in a condition of unmitigated misery and distress. There will be for them nothing but horrible agony and fearful castigation. This will be the ultimate stage after death.
The above was the sun and substance of what the Prophets, specially the last of them, the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), have taught mankind about the Hereafter and what is indicated about it in t1he Holy Quran and the Traditions. We will now examine some of the relevant verses of the Holy Quran:
Every soul shall have a taste of death: in the end to Us (‘Allah) shall ye be brought back. (29: 57)
Every soul shall have a taste of death: and only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. (3: 185)
The Last Day will be a frightful, horrible day.
0 mankind! fear your Lord! for the convulsion of the Hour (of Judgement) will be a, thing terrible! the Day ye shall see it: every mother giving suck shall forget her suckling babe, and every pregnant female shall drop her load unformed! thou shall see mankind as in a drunken riot, yet drunk! but dreadful shall be the wrath of Allah. (22: 1-2)
One day the earth and the mountain will be ii violent commotion and the mountains will be as a heap of sand poured out and flowing down. (73: 14)
A day that will make children hoary-headed. (73: 17)
At length, when there comes the deafening noise, -- that Day shall a man free from own brothers, and from his mother and his father, and from his wife and children. Each one of them, that Day, will have enough concern (of his own) to make him indifferent to others. Some faces that Day will be meaning, laughing, rejoicing. And other faces that Day will be dust-stained; blackness will cover them. (‘8.0: 33-41)
On The Day of Recompense:
That Day shall ye be brought to Judgement! not an act of yours that ye hide will be hidden. (69: 18)
‘One day we shall remove the mountains, and thou will see the earth as a level stretch, and We shall gather them, altogether) nor shall leave, out any of them. And they will be marshaled before the Lord in ranks, with the announcement, “Now have ye come to Us (bare) as We created ye firsts! Aye, ye thought We shall not fulfill the appointment made to you to meet Us?” And the Book (of Deeds) will be placed before you; and thou will see the sinful in great terror because of what, is recorded therein; they will say “Ah! Woe to us! What a Book is this! It leaves nothing small or great, but takes account thereof!” They will find all that they did place before them; and not one will thy Lord treat with injustice. (18:47-49)
A man’s own limbs will depose against him before Allah on the Day of Reckoning.
That day shall be set a seal on their mouths. But their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will bear witness t all that they did. (‘36: 65)
The Quran, in fine, has portrayed most graphically and vividly the happenings of, the Last Day: the terrific explosions and the dreadful tremors, the total annihilatin of the world even the mountains will be wiped out of existence -- the rising again of men, their get-together for the judgement, the presentation of the Book of Deeds, he. deposing of one’s own limbs against oneself, the Judgement, and, finally, the execution of the Divine Verdict and the allotment of Heaven and hell. All these events have been described so candidly in some of the chapters of the Quran that one can obtain in full picture of the happenings of the Last Day by reading them. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have observed:
Any one who wishes to know about the Last Day as if the scene of it was drawn before his eyes should read these chapters of he Quran: Takvir, Infitar ‘and Inshiqaq.
There are many traditions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) pertaining to Barzakh and the Last Day. Says he:
When the Trumpet will first be sounded on the Las Day by the command of Allah everyone will faint and drop dead on the ground. When it will be sounded next all men will rise again. They will then be commanded to proceed and make their presence before the Lord. The angels, thereafter, will be told to collect them together and here the investigation into their conduct on earth will begin.
It is related that a Companion once enquired from the Holy Prophet (PBUH):
O Messenger of Allah, how will raise up His creatures from the dead? Is there anything like it here in this world which may be cited as an example? The Holy Prophet (PBUH) replied: Has it never occurred to you that you passed by a stretch of land in your country and found it dry and bereft of all vegetation, and then, coming upon it again, after some time, discovered lavishly with fresh, green grass? The Companion replied: Yes, my master. It has. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) remarked: This typifies Resurrection. Allah will raise from the dead in the same manner.
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have asked, after reciting the Quranic verse:
On the Day of (The Earth) will declare her tidings. (99: 4)
Can one know what it means? The Companions are said to have replied:
Allah and his Apostle know best.
The Holy Prophet (PBUH), the Tradition goes on to tell, then said:
On the Day of Judgement the earth Will bear witness to all the deeds performed by men on it (i.e, at the bidding of Allah the earth will tell that such-and-such a person had done such-and-such a thing on it an such-and-such a day).
Speaking of the Day of Recompense the Holy Prophet (PBUH), further, is reported to have said:
On that Day Allah will call upon everyone to come forward and be his own witness. He will say to him: Today you are your own witness: Our recording angels are present; this much of evidence is enough.
Then by command of Allah the lips of the person will become sealed and he will not be able to utter a word. His limbs (arms, legs, etc.) will then be commanded to speak and they will relate the whole story of his doings in the world.
It is reported that once a person went to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and said:
O Messenger of Allah, I have some slaves who, sometimes, disobey me, or they steal or tell me a lie. I sometimes, scold them, and sometimes, I also punish them. How is it going to turn out for me on the Day of Requital?
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) observed:
Allah will dispense justice correctly on the Day of judgement. If the punishment you mete out to them is proportionate to their faults you will neither get nor have to give anything; you will be quitted. If the punishment turns out to be of a lesser degree than what they merited you will be recompensed for it. If the punishment proves to be excessive you will have to recompense the slaves.
On bearing the Holy Prophet (PBUH) reply the enquirer began to cry. He said:
Then O the Holy Prophet (PBUH) of Allah, the best thing for me is to send them away. I declare before you that I have set them free.
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) is also reported to have recited the following verse from the Holy Quran:
We shall set up scales of justice for the Day of Judgement so not a soul will be dealt with unjustly in the least. And if there be (no more than) the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it (to account)! And enough are We to take account. (2: 47)
Universe Is A Wise Scheme:
Is this universe an act of a wise engineer or has it come into existence by itself, is a question to be first understood.
If a child on seeing a machine thinks that it has come into existence of its own accord, and in its construction there is neither plan nor any art employed, no one will consider the child right. How then the same theory could apply to the universe, every atom of which demonstrates a mighty will and an un-erring wisdom and plan, and an all-comprehensive knowledge of its Maker. The Holy Quran bases all its arguments on the theory that the Creator of this universe is a Wise Being and every act of His has a purpose. It says:
And we did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them in sport. We did not create them both except according to a certain design and wisdom; but most of them do not know. Surely, for them all is an appointed term until the Day of Judgement. (44:3840) Do they not reflect within themselves; Allah did not create the heavens, and the deed or. a bad deed may not fetch similar immediate results. This state of affairs compels one, to conclude that this system also is defective and requires a further evolution where material as well as moral deed can bear results.
Termination of Universe:
Keeping these points in view let us see what the Holy Quran has to say about the end of this cosmology: We did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them to save with a purpose and design and for an appointed term. (46: 3)
When the heavens become cleft asunder and when the stars become dispersed and when the seas are made to flow forth and when the graves are laid open. (82: 1-4j
When the shift becomes confounded and ‘the moon turned dark and the sun and the moon are brought together. (75: 7-9)
When—the earth shall be shaken with a severe shaking and the mountains shall be made to crumble with an awful crumbling so that they shall be as scattered dust. (56: 4.6)
On the day when the earth shall be changed into a different earth and the heavens as well, and they shall come forth before Allah, the One, the Supreme.(14: 48
Such is the picture drawn by the Holy Quran to show that the present system on which this universe is being run will undergo a change and a different earth and different heavens will come forth.
What System After Change?
This change will usher in a new epoch of evolution which could not be brought in, in the former system. This system evil and good, faith and disbelief, morals and good conduet, shall be measured and their values assessed and moral laws will govern this system.
The Holy Quran draws its picture in the following manner:
Surely the hearing and the sight and the heart, all of them shall be questioned. (17: 36)
And We will set up just balance on the days of Resurrection, so that no soul should be dealt with unjustly in the least, and though there, be the weight of a grain of mustard seed,. yet will We bring it and sufficient are We to take account. (21: 47)
On that day men shall come forth in sundry bodies that they may be shown their works, so, he who has done an atom’s weight of good shall see it and he who has done an atom’s weight of evil shall see it. (99: 6-8,1
All those things which could not be seen with the physical eye in the universe shall become manifest in this new system.
And now we have removed from you your veil; so your sight today is sharp. (50: 22)
On that day you shall be exposed to view. No secret of yours shall remain hidden. (69: 18)
Then shall every soul become acquainted with what it had sent before. (10: 30)
Every soul shall be fully paid what it has earned and they shall not be dealt with unjustly:(3: 24)
On that day every soul shall find present what it has done of good and what it has done of evil. (3:29)
And be on your guard against the clay when one soul shall not avail another in the least, neither intercession on its behalf be accepted, nor shall any compensation be taken from it, nor shall they be helped. 2: 48)
The day on which property shall not avail, nor Sons, except whom who comes to Allah with a heart free from evil. (6: 82-89).
Your relationship shall not profit you, nor your children on the day of Resurrection, He shall decide between you, and Allah sees what you do. (60: 3)
The day on which a man shall fly from his brother and his mother and his father and his spouse and his sons. Everyone of them shall on that day have an affair which will occupy him. (80: 34-3 7)
Here in this world a wicked man can enjoy all his life in spite of oppressing others and leading a licentious and selfish life, and a man of virtue and piety, in spite of doing good all his life, can remain a victim of calamities and lead a life of misery. This is a defect of the present system which requires further evolution, and justice demands that every action should get its just compensation. The Holy Quran says that life of the Hereafter will be regulated by laws that will fetch such results.
Shall We treat those who believe and do good like the mischief-makers in the earth? Or shall We make those who guard against evil and follow the law like the wicked? (38:28
Nay! Do those who have wrought evil think that We will make them like those who believe and do good that there life and their death shall be equal? Evil it is that they judge! ‘45: 21)
And all will have degrees according to what they did. (6: 133)
And Paradise shall be brought near for those who guard against evil and Hell shall be made nearest to the erring ones. 26: 90-9 1)
From the foregoing account it must have become clear that what the Holy Quran wants us to believe about life after death is perfectly reasonable and in harmony with the demands of knowledge and wisdom and no amount of rational evolution and scientific advancement can uproot this belief.
Need For Belief:,
What is the need and necessity of this conception of life after death, and why has so much stress been laid on this doctrine? It is because the practical life of a man in this world and his conduct depend entirely on this belief. In the absence of this belief, man will become autocratic and irresponsible and will be deceived by, the apparent results or absence of results of his actions, and hence all moral values of his deeds shall be governed by his own selfishness. The Holy Quran points them out in the following words:
What! Do you think we have created you in vain and that you shall not be returned to us?(23: 115)
Nay! You prefer the life of this world while the Here after is better and more lasting. (87: .16-17)
Shall we inform you of the greatest losers in their deeds? These are they whose labours are lost in world’s life, while they have been thinking that they are well-versed in the skills of their hands. These are they who disbelieved in the communications of their Lord, and the prospect of His meeting: so their deeds become null and void. (18: 105)
Those who do not believe in the Hereafter, their hearts refuse to accept the truth and they grow rebellious. (16:22)
Have you considered him who calls the Judgement Day a lie? That is the, one who treats the orphans with harshness and dos not urge others to feed the poor. So, woe to the worshippers who are neglectful in their prayers and who do good for a show withhold small household necessaries. (107: 1-7)
In contrast to this, the man who believes in the fact of a life after death is bound to strive towards righteousness. He will devote himself to the service of Allah and his creatures, and setting aside selfishness and temporary gains and pleasures, endeavour to attain self-purification and even be ready to sacrifice his life for the right cause in order to obtain higher spirit ual blessings, without external influences.
Resurrection
The First Stage runs from death to Resurrection. It is called barzakh (the interval between death and Resurrection). Whether a person is buried when he dies or he is cremated or cast into the river his soul does not perish with him it is immortal; it lives. It only migrates from the material world of ours to anot0her world. In the other world the angels question him about his spiritual state. If he is a truthful Believer, he gives the correct answers whereupon the angels impart to him the glad tidings that he is going to live in peace and happiness till the last Day.4essays.blogspot.com And, if it is otherwise, that is, he turns out to be an Unbeliever, an infidel or a sham or hypocritical Muslim, he is, at once, placed under dreadful punishment which is not to cease before the Day of Reckoning.
Meaning of Resurrection
The next stage comprises the Last Day and the Resurrection.
The Last Day means that there will come a time when the entire material world will be destroyed by the command of Allah. Annihilation will descend suddenly on everything that exists around us. The whole world be thrown topsy-turvy. Then, after a long time, when God will wish, all men will be raised up again. Every person born into the world will be recast. and called upon to render a full account of his doings on earth. In the Great Reckoning those who will be found worthy .of deliverance will be awarded a place out to be guilty and deserving of Divine chastisement will be consigned to Hell.
After this, there will commence the last stage. The dwellers of Paradise will live in a state of eternal bliss, supremely Immune from every land of pain, anxiety and suffering, and exulting in the bounties of their Lord the like of which they would not have dreamt of in the world, while those that will be condemned to Hell will have to live permanently in a condition of unmitigated misery and distress. There will be for them nothing but horrible agony and fearful castigation. This will be the ultimate stage after death.
The above was the sun and substance of what the Prophets, specially the last of them, the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), have taught mankind about the Hereafter and what is indicated about it in t1he Holy Quran and the Traditions. We will now examine some of the relevant verses of the Holy Quran:
Every soul shall have a taste of death: in the end to Us (‘Allah) shall ye be brought back. (29: 57)
Every soul shall have a taste of death: and only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. (3: 185)
The Last Day will be a frightful, horrible day.
0 mankind! fear your Lord! for the convulsion of the Hour (of Judgement) will be a, thing terrible! the Day ye shall see it: every mother giving suck shall forget her suckling babe, and every pregnant female shall drop her load unformed! thou shall see mankind as in a drunken riot, yet drunk! but dreadful shall be the wrath of Allah. (22: 1-2)
One day the earth and the mountain will be ii violent commotion and the mountains will be as a heap of sand poured out and flowing down. (73: 14)
A day that will make children hoary-headed. (73: 17)
At length, when there comes the deafening noise, -- that Day shall a man free from own brothers, and from his mother and his father, and from his wife and children. Each one of them, that Day, will have enough concern (of his own) to make him indifferent to others. Some faces that Day will be meaning, laughing, rejoicing. And other faces that Day will be dust-stained; blackness will cover them. (‘8.0: 33-41)
On The Day of Recompense:
That Day shall ye be brought to Judgement! not an act of yours that ye hide will be hidden. (69: 18)
‘One day we shall remove the mountains, and thou will see the earth as a level stretch, and We shall gather them, altogether) nor shall leave, out any of them. And they will be marshaled before the Lord in ranks, with the announcement, “Now have ye come to Us (bare) as We created ye firsts! Aye, ye thought We shall not fulfill the appointment made to you to meet Us?” And the Book (of Deeds) will be placed before you; and thou will see the sinful in great terror because of what, is recorded therein; they will say “Ah! Woe to us! What a Book is this! It leaves nothing small or great, but takes account thereof!” They will find all that they did place before them; and not one will thy Lord treat with injustice. (18:47-49)
A man’s own limbs will depose against him before Allah on the Day of Reckoning.
That day shall be set a seal on their mouths. But their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will bear witness t all that they did. (‘36: 65)
The Quran, in fine, has portrayed most graphically and vividly the happenings of, the Last Day: the terrific explosions and the dreadful tremors, the total annihilatin of the world even the mountains will be wiped out of existence -- the rising again of men, their get-together for the judgement, the presentation of the Book of Deeds, he. deposing of one’s own limbs against oneself, the Judgement, and, finally, the execution of the Divine Verdict and the allotment of Heaven and hell. All these events have been described so candidly in some of the chapters of the Quran that one can obtain in full picture of the happenings of the Last Day by reading them. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have observed:
Any one who wishes to know about the Last Day as if the scene of it was drawn before his eyes should read these chapters of he Quran: Takvir, Infitar ‘and Inshiqaq.
There are many traditions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) pertaining to Barzakh and the Last Day. Says he:
When the Trumpet will first be sounded on the Las Day by the command of Allah everyone will faint and drop dead on the ground. When it will be sounded next all men will rise again. They will then be commanded to proceed and make their presence before the Lord. The angels, thereafter, will be told to collect them together and here the investigation into their conduct on earth will begin.
It is related that a Companion once enquired from the Holy Prophet (PBUH):
O Messenger of Allah, how will raise up His creatures from the dead? Is there anything like it here in this world which may be cited as an example? The Holy Prophet (PBUH) replied: Has it never occurred to you that you passed by a stretch of land in your country and found it dry and bereft of all vegetation, and then, coming upon it again, after some time, discovered lavishly with fresh, green grass? The Companion replied: Yes, my master. It has. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) remarked: This typifies Resurrection. Allah will raise from the dead in the same manner.
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have asked, after reciting the Quranic verse:
On the Day of (The Earth) will declare her tidings. (99: 4)
Can one know what it means? The Companions are said to have replied:
Allah and his Apostle know best.
The Holy Prophet (PBUH), the Tradition goes on to tell, then said:
On the Day of Judgement the earth Will bear witness to all the deeds performed by men on it (i.e, at the bidding of Allah the earth will tell that such-and-such a person had done such-and-such a thing on it an such-and-such a day).
Speaking of the Day of Recompense the Holy Prophet (PBUH), further, is reported to have said:
On that Day Allah will call upon everyone to come forward and be his own witness. He will say to him: Today you are your own witness: Our recording angels are present; this much of evidence is enough.
Then by command of Allah the lips of the person will become sealed and he will not be able to utter a word. His limbs (arms, legs, etc.) will then be commanded to speak and they will relate the whole story of his doings in the world.
It is reported that once a person went to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and said:
O Messenger of Allah, I have some slaves who, sometimes, disobey me, or they steal or tell me a lie. I sometimes, scold them, and sometimes, I also punish them. How is it going to turn out for me on the Day of Requital?
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) observed:
Allah will dispense justice correctly on the Day of judgement. If the punishment you mete out to them is proportionate to their faults you will neither get nor have to give anything; you will be quitted. If the punishment turns out to be of a lesser degree than what they merited you will be recompensed for it. If the punishment proves to be excessive you will have to recompense the slaves.
On bearing the Holy Prophet (PBUH) reply the enquirer began to cry. He said:
Then O the Holy Prophet (PBUH) of Allah, the best thing for me is to send them away. I declare before you that I have set them free.
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) is also reported to have recited the following verse from the Holy Quran:
We shall set up scales of justice for the Day of Judgement so not a soul will be dealt with unjustly in the least. And if there be (no more than) the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it (to account)! And enough are We to take account. (2: 47)
Universe Is A Wise Scheme:
Is this universe an act of a wise engineer or has it come into existence by itself, is a question to be first understood.
If a child on seeing a machine thinks that it has come into existence of its own accord, and in its construction there is neither plan nor any art employed, no one will consider the child right. How then the same theory could apply to the universe, every atom of which demonstrates a mighty will and an un-erring wisdom and plan, and an all-comprehensive knowledge of its Maker. The Holy Quran bases all its arguments on the theory that the Creator of this universe is a Wise Being and every act of His has a purpose. It says:
And we did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them in sport. We did not create them both except according to a certain design and wisdom; but most of them do not know. Surely, for them all is an appointed term until the Day of Judgement. (44:3840) Do they not reflect within themselves; Allah did not create the heavens, and the deed or. a bad deed may not fetch similar immediate results. This state of affairs compels one, to conclude that this system also is defective and requires a further evolution where material as well as moral deed can bear results.
Termination of Universe:
Keeping these points in view let us see what the Holy Quran has to say about the end of this cosmology: We did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them to save with a purpose and design and for an appointed term. (46: 3)
When the heavens become cleft asunder and when the stars become dispersed and when the seas are made to flow forth and when the graves are laid open. (82: 1-4j
When the shift becomes confounded and ‘the moon turned dark and the sun and the moon are brought together. (75: 7-9)
When—the earth shall be shaken with a severe shaking and the mountains shall be made to crumble with an awful crumbling so that they shall be as scattered dust. (56: 4.6)
On the day when the earth shall be changed into a different earth and the heavens as well, and they shall come forth before Allah, the One, the Supreme.(14: 48
Such is the picture drawn by the Holy Quran to show that the present system on which this universe is being run will undergo a change and a different earth and different heavens will come forth.
What System After Change?
This change will usher in a new epoch of evolution which could not be brought in, in the former system. This system evil and good, faith and disbelief, morals and good conduet, shall be measured and their values assessed and moral laws will govern this system.
The Holy Quran draws its picture in the following manner:
Surely the hearing and the sight and the heart, all of them shall be questioned. (17: 36)
And We will set up just balance on the days of Resurrection, so that no soul should be dealt with unjustly in the least, and though there, be the weight of a grain of mustard seed,. yet will We bring it and sufficient are We to take account. (21: 47)
On that day men shall come forth in sundry bodies that they may be shown their works, so, he who has done an atom’s weight of good shall see it and he who has done an atom’s weight of evil shall see it. (99: 6-8,1
All those things which could not be seen with the physical eye in the universe shall become manifest in this new system.
And now we have removed from you your veil; so your sight today is sharp. (50: 22)
On that day you shall be exposed to view. No secret of yours shall remain hidden. (69: 18)
Then shall every soul become acquainted with what it had sent before. (10: 30)
Every soul shall be fully paid what it has earned and they shall not be dealt with unjustly:(3: 24)
On that day every soul shall find present what it has done of good and what it has done of evil. (3:29)
And be on your guard against the clay when one soul shall not avail another in the least, neither intercession on its behalf be accepted, nor shall any compensation be taken from it, nor shall they be helped. 2: 48)
The day on which property shall not avail, nor Sons, except whom who comes to Allah with a heart free from evil. (6: 82-89).
Your relationship shall not profit you, nor your children on the day of Resurrection, He shall decide between you, and Allah sees what you do. (60: 3)
The day on which a man shall fly from his brother and his mother and his father and his spouse and his sons. Everyone of them shall on that day have an affair which will occupy him. (80: 34-3 7)
Here in this world a wicked man can enjoy all his life in spite of oppressing others and leading a licentious and selfish life, and a man of virtue and piety, in spite of doing good all his life, can remain a victim of calamities and lead a life of misery. This is a defect of the present system which requires further evolution, and justice demands that every action should get its just compensation. The Holy Quran says that life of the Hereafter will be regulated by laws that will fetch such results.
Shall We treat those who believe and do good like the mischief-makers in the earth? Or shall We make those who guard against evil and follow the law like the wicked? (38:28
Nay! Do those who have wrought evil think that We will make them like those who believe and do good that there life and their death shall be equal? Evil it is that they judge! ‘45: 21)
And all will have degrees according to what they did. (6: 133)
And Paradise shall be brought near for those who guard against evil and Hell shall be made nearest to the erring ones. 26: 90-9 1)
From the foregoing account it must have become clear that what the Holy Quran wants us to believe about life after death is perfectly reasonable and in harmony with the demands of knowledge and wisdom and no amount of rational evolution and scientific advancement can uproot this belief.
Need For Belief:,
What is the need and necessity of this conception of life after death, and why has so much stress been laid on this doctrine? It is because the practical life of a man in this world and his conduct depend entirely on this belief. In the absence of this belief, man will become autocratic and irresponsible and will be deceived by, the apparent results or absence of results of his actions, and hence all moral values of his deeds shall be governed by his own selfishness. The Holy Quran points them out in the following words:
What! Do you think we have created you in vain and that you shall not be returned to us?(23: 115)
Nay! You prefer the life of this world while the Here after is better and more lasting. (87: .16-17)
Shall we inform you of the greatest losers in their deeds? These are they whose labours are lost in world’s life, while they have been thinking that they are well-versed in the skills of their hands. These are they who disbelieved in the communications of their Lord, and the prospect of His meeting: so their deeds become null and void. (18: 105)
Those who do not believe in the Hereafter, their hearts refuse to accept the truth and they grow rebellious. (16:22)
Have you considered him who calls the Judgement Day a lie? That is the, one who treats the orphans with harshness and dos not urge others to feed the poor. So, woe to the worshippers who are neglectful in their prayers and who do good for a show withhold small household necessaries. (107: 1-7)
In contrast to this, the man who believes in the fact of a life after death is bound to strive towards righteousness. He will devote himself to the service of Allah and his creatures, and setting aside selfishness and temporary gains and pleasures, endeavour to attain self-purification and even be ready to sacrifice his life for the right cause in order to obtain higher spirit ual blessings, without external influences.
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