THE HEREAFTER
THOSE huge masses of ice, which we know as icebergs, found floating in the seas of the North and South poles, number amongst the most deceptive and, therefore, most dangerous phenomena to be found in 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 like 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 part— vast, unfathomable and fraught with peril. It is something which defies the imagination, but which we must nevertheless try to comprehend, for that is the part of human life which God has decreed should be eternal and, as such, ineluctable.
Nothing that we can experience in this world will ever match the extremes of agony and the bliss of life after death.
We are all familiar with the facts of our origin and the course which life takes from the 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. While the present, physical world as we know it has a finite time-frame, the Hereafter stretches away from us 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 can 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.
Can we perceive the Hereafter?
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.
The sole aim of our earthly existence should be to strive for success in the life to come.
This world, with its scenery and very alive human beings had existed all along. It only 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, is not however, one which can 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.
Are we Accountable?
Once we have become 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; for, 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.
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 just desserts. This World and the Hereafter
Just as there are two sides to every life in this world, there are two aspects of 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.
It is because life in this world is intended to be a testing-ground that the world of the Hereafter remains beyond our reach.
Imam Ahmad narrates that the Caliph Umar once said: “No drink of milk or honey is better than swallowing one’s anger.” In actuality, to swallow, or overcome 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 up to 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. Not only shall we watch our entire history unreel before us like a film, but also witness the consequences of our own worldly actions.
As the Quran says:
Then shall each soul know what it has sent forward (to the Hereafter)
and what it has kept back (in the world behind).
THE QURAN 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.
The present world and the Hereafter are two sides of the same event. The worldly side is trivial and temporary, while the Hereafter side is substantive and permanent. It is to the latter side that we must face up to after death. Here, one has complete freedom to live out one’s worldly existence as one wills; in the life-to-come, one will have no choice about the future course of one’s life. One will either be raised to eternal glory, or cast down into the pit of eternal suffering.
Anyone who has divided his time
and his energy in many activities
cannot achieve a great goal.
A great goal necessarily
requires total dedication,
that is, working for a specific target
by making concerted effort.
One incurs losses at various fronts
due to this concentration on one goal,
but the secret of any great success
lies in bearing these losses.