JUSTICE IN THE HEREAFTER
Divine Retribution
THERE are many instances in the Quran and Hadith of the unerring justice of divine retribution, for in the life after death, a person will be rewarded or punished strictly in accordance with the virtues or vices of his deeds in this world.
The Quran says, “The punishment of the life to come is much more severe, if only they knew it.” (68: 33)
When the Prophet went on his Night Journey to the Heavens, amongst the things that he was shown was a world of allegory in which man’s worldly actions appeared in another-worldly form. He was shown not only the results of good deeds in the everlasting life after death, but was also given an insight into the forms which evil deeds would assume in the eternal world. Different types of punishments were shown which represented evils of corruption done on the earth: backbiting, slandering, usurping other people’s properties, oppressing, etc. Man’s response to the situations he faces in life can take one of two forms: the infernal or the heavenly. An infernal response is one which is categorically opposed to the will of God, while a heavenly response is one which humbly conforms to His will. Those who make the former response are Satanic in character and deserve punishment. The latter evince divine characteristics and will be admitted to the Garden of Bliss.
Divine characteristics, being deep rooted in the fear of God, cause a man to rise above fleeting emotions and prevent him from being swayed by passionate love or hate in his dealings.
How do we define ‘Satanic’ characteristics? They are those personality traits which cause an individual to embark on a retaliatory course, quite unmindful of the consequences, whenever he is confronted with circumstances which are not to his liking. Whether it be pain, sorrow or mere embarrassment which is inflicted upon him, he feels he must hit back, returning hate for hate, anger for anger.
Divine characteristics, on the other hand, being deep rooted in the fear of God, cause a man to rise above fleeting emotions and prevent him from being swayed by passionate love or hate in his dealings. Such characteristics deserve the rewards of God. The Quran explains that the reward given in Heaven will be of the same hue as one’s actions in this world. “Proclaim good tidings to those who have faith and do good works. They shall dwell in gardens watered by running streams. Whenever they are given fruit to eat, they will say: ‘This is what we used to eat before’, for they shall be given the like.” (2: 25) This means the rewards of the Hereafter will be in exact accordance with one’s actions in this world. The form of this reward will be exactly suited to our deeds.
One can understand the need for a place of compensation and reward from the following example. In the science of light, there is a law of nature called refraction. Today this is known as Snell’s law, having been discovered initially by Willebrord Van Roijen Snellius. He made his discovery in 1617, but this discovery remained unknown to people, lying unpublished, until a Dutch scientist, Christian Huygens, came to know of it and mentioned it in his research paper in 1703. Only then did the world come to know of Snell’s discovery.
That is, Snell’s scientific discovery remained hidden from the eyes of the world for a period of 86 years. It was only after this long period, when Christian Huygens highlighted it, that the world came to know of its importance.
The Garden of Paradise is an exquisite and unblemished haven, which God has specifically created for the truly righteous among His servants.
The matter of the Hereafter too is somewhat similar. How many of God’s servants are there who are sincerely engaged in virtuous activities away from the limelight, unknown to people, unheralded in the media? How many God-fearing people are there whose inner selves are shaken with the fear of God, but whose undemonstrative expressions fail to show this inner tempest.
These are God-fearing people who keep their mouths closed for fear of God, yet no other human being is aware of the virtuous acts of the true believer. How many pious souls are there who have had every opportunity to display their ego and torment others, but who have been halted in their tracks by the fear of God’s chastisement.
There are many true believers whose good actions have been lost in the wilderness, recognized neither by near ones nor by more distant people. But this state of affairs will not last forever. In the Hereafter, God will unravel all veils. Then all things hidden from view will appear as clear as daylight. It will be the place where no action done in the world will remain hidden. Even a tiny good deed in the world will appear as plain as daylight, and all virtuous people will be rewarded for their good deeds.
The Garden of Paradise is an exquisite and unblemished haven, which God has specifically created for the truly righteous among His servants. Every situation which confronts a man in this world invites one of two kinds of responses. It is on the basis of this response that one will be pronounced fit for Heaven or for Hell. Man is an aware, sensate being, who is stirred by the situations he faces in life, and who reacts to them mentally and physically, in word and deed. God has given man this freedom to see how he uses it—whether, for example, he returns abuse for abuse, malice for malice, or whether he suffers these things, yet offering only prayers and goodwill in return.
In this world there is no escaping adverse sets of circumstances in which unpleasantness occurs over and over again, thus arousing strong antipathies. But believers are exhorted, by divine commandments, to rise above the treatment meted out to them and to confront negative treatment with positive behaviour.
When a true word is spoken, one acknowledges it, another denies it. An issue arises, eliciting justice and mercy on the one hand, and cruelty and oppression on the other. Adverse circumstances come into being, arousing feelings of humility in one and contumacy in another.
Attitudes of goodwill and regard for others are faced off by the urge to hate and avenge. These opposing reactions are what determine our fate in the Hereafter; the positive taking us to Heaven and the negative to Hell. We should never lose sight of the fact that it is by them that we stand, or fall.
Only those who stand firm in
the face of adversity, are finally
able to advance towards a new &
successful life.