THE HEREAFTER
Life After Death
THOSE huge masses of ice, which we know as icebergs, found floating in the seas of the North and South poles are amongst the most deceptive and, therefore, most dangerous phenomena of nature. Their deceptiveness lies in the fact that no matter how huge, or wonderful in configuration, what we see of them amounts to only one tenth of their enormous bulk. What lies below the surface of the ocean, spreading far and beyond the visible perimeter, poses tremendous hazards to the unwary. In some ways, our lives are similar to those floating mountains of ice. The part we spend in this world— about a hundred years or less—is like the part of the iceberg which is visible above the surface. We can see it, touch it and feel it. We can take its measure and deal with it effectively. But the part which comes after death is like the submerged one—vast, unfathomable and fraught with peril. It defies the imagination but must nevertheless be understood, for that is the part of human life which God has decreed should be eternal and, as such, ineluctable.
We are familiar with the facts of our origin and the course which life takes from womb until death. But at the end of our lifespan, whether it terminates in youth or in old age, our familiarity with the nature of things comes to an end. It has been surmised that death means total and final annihilation. But this is not so. Death is simply a means of consigning us to a new womb, to the womb of the universe itself. From that point, we are ushered into another world: the Hereafter.
Nothing that we can experience in this world will ever match the extremes of agony and bliss of life after death.
While the present, physical world as we know it has a finite time-frame, the Hereafter stretches into infinity. We fondly imagine that there is some parallel between the pleasures and pains of this world and those of the next, but, in truth, nothing that we experience in this world will ever match the extremes of agony and bliss of life after death. Those who merit punishment in the Hereafter will be condemned to suffer the most horrific pain for all time to come. But those who merit God’s blessings in the Hereafter shall know the most wonderful joy and contentment.
It is because life in this world is intended to be a testing-ground that the world of the Hereafter remains beyond our reach. But all around us, we have innumerable signs which can help us by analogy, to understand and appreciate the nature of the world to come. Imagine a room which ostensibly consists of four walls, furniture, a few material objects and some human occupants. To all outward appearances, that is what the room adds up to. But the moment we switch on the TV set, we are introduced to a hitherto unsuspected world of colour, movement, and highly vocal human activity. This bustling and lively world has existed all along. It needed the flip of a switch to make us aware of it.
Similarly, our terrestrial existence is made up of a world within a world. The world we know is concrete, visible, audible and tangible. The ‘other’ world, the world within it, or rather, beyond it, cannot be apprehended through any of the normal human senses; no switch can be turned on to make us understand what it is really like. Only death can do this for us. And when we reopen our eyes after death we find that what had formerly been impalpable and quite beyond human comprehension is now a stark, overwhelming reality. It is then that we grasp what had hitherto existed, but remained invisible.
Once we are clear in our minds that the after-life truly exists, we realize that the sole aim of our earthly existence should be to strive for success in the life to come. Unlike the present ephemeral world, the Hereafter is eternal and real. What we understand by suffering and solace in this world cannot be compared with the suffering and solace of the Hereafter.
Many individuals lead immoral, even criminal existences because they feel that we are free to do as we please in this world. Freedom we do have, but it exists only so that God may distinguish between the good and the evil, and determine who deserves a place of honour and dignity in the Hereafter and who should be condemned to eternal disgrace.
The sole aim of our earthly existence should be to strive for success in the life to come.
While there is nothing to prevent the good and the evil from living cheek by jowl in this world, they will be separated in the Hereafter like the wheat from the chaff and will be judged according to their record in this life. Some will be condemned to an eternal Hell of pain and distress, while others will be blessed with eternal bliss and pleasure. Each will get his deserts.
Now let us look at the Hereafter from another angle. During a visit to a senior official’s house while seated on the lawns of his palatial bunglow the following lament from him set me thinking. The official exclaimed “Maulana Sahib, you don’t know how bad our life is! Tomorrow I have to be at the airport before sunrise to welcome a foreign dignitary. Not only shall I have to deprive myself of sleep, but I shall have to welcome him with smiles—and that in spite of the fact that he is somebody I despise!”
This simple anecdote shows there are two sides to the lives of those in high office. They enjoy power, prestige and the many perquisites that go with them but there is also an unenviable side to their lives. If you look deep into some of these ‘great’ men, you will discover that they achieve their high positions because they persuade themselves to be content with triviality. If outwardly they lead glamorous existences, it is because, privately, they stoop to hypocrisy, sycophancy, opportunism and unscrupulousness. This double life is the price they pay to bolster their self-interest. Most people unthinkingly follow the trends of the time. Every ‘great’ person has two sides to one's life—one of brilliance and glitter, the other dark and soulless. The power and glamour which one achieves has something animal-like about it when one agrees to kill what is human in oneself.
Just as there are two sides to every life in this world, there is a similar duality to every act in relation to this world and the Hereafter. One aspect of each act is our acceptance of it as what it is seen to be in this world. The other aspect is what results from this act in terms of the Hereafter. Imam Ahmad narrates that the Caliph Umar once said: ‘No drink of milk or honey is better than swallowing one’s anger.’ Overcoming one’s anger is an extremely bitter experience, but in the Hereafter the result of doing so is sweeter by far than milk and honey. Today we reap the worldly fruits of our actions! Tomorrow in the Hereafter, we shall have to face the results of our deeds and misdeeds. Today, we can see only one aspect of our actions— that of immediate pleasure or gain—but the Day of Resurrection will place us in a position to see much more. Just as a person standing on top of a wall can look down on both sides, so shall we be able to see both aspects of the truth. We will get to watch our entire history unreel before us like a film and witness the consequences of our own worldly actions. ‘Then,’ as the Quran says, ‘shall each soul know what it has sent forward (to the Hereafter) and what it has kept back (in the world behind)’ (82: 5). Whatever was done for worldly reasons will be left behind, unconsidered. Only those actions which were carried out with the Hereafter in mind will benefit us in the life to come.
It is because life in this world is intended to be a testing-ground that the world of the Hereafter remains beyond our reach.
Two men once brought a case before the Prophet for judgement. One had misappropriated the other’s land, but because of certain legal quirks, it was difficult to pass a verdict against him. After due consideration, the Prophet warned him: If the court gives a verdict in your favour, think of it as being fire and brimstone which you have been awarded’. The piece of land might be a prized possession, but in the Hereafter it would assume the terrible properties of fire and brimstone.
Freedom exists only so that God may distinguish between the good and the evil, and determine who deserves a place of honour and dignity in the Hereafter.
By analogy, the present world and the Hereafter are two sides of the same event. The worldly side is trivial and temporary, while the Hereafter is substantive and permanent. It is the latter side we will face after death. Here we have complete freedom to live our worldly existence as we will; in the life-to-come, we will have no choice about the future course of our life. One will either be raised to eternal glory, or cast down into the pit of everlasting Hell.
Be Mindful Of God
If one is unmindful of God, one will
react in whatever manner one's
desires and interests demand. If
however one's faith in God is strong,
every event throughout one's life
will remind one of God; the entire
range of one's emotions is then not
concentrated on oneself, but on God.