THE SECOND AGE IS COMING
Be Prepared
BRITISH astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has made a new documentary, ‘Expedition New Earth’, as part of the BBC’s new science season Tomorrow’s World. In the documentary, he claims that time is running out for Earth and if humanity is to survive climate change, asteroid strikes, epidemics and overpopulation we will need to leave our planet and venture further afield. In the landmark series, Prof. Hawking and his former student Christophe Galfard will travel the world to find out how humans could live in outer space.
Humans, according to him, will need to colonize another planet within one hundred years to ensure their survival. (“Tomorrow’s World returns to BBC with startling warning from Stephen Hawking—we must leave Earth,” The Telegraph, 2 May 2017).
Stephen Hawking is considered a legendary physicist of the modern age. He gained worldwide fame after publication of his book A Brief History of Time in 1988. The above declaration by Prof. Hawking is a scientific warning for all human beings. As far as colonizing other planets is concerned, it seems to be science fiction in the light of current knowledge. However, the end of the present world has now become a scientific reality which will surely come to pass.
The present world is a world of trial, and for a certain period God has kept the realities hidden in the realms of the unseen. On the Day of Judgement, this curtain would be torn asunder.
It is strange that this fact is present in the Quran in the form of a religious warning. According to religious history, the monarchs of ancient Egypt were called Pharaohs. Historical evidence shows that the Pharaoh Thutmose II ruled Egypt about 15th century BC. It was in this period that the Prophet Moses was born. At that time, Memphis was the capital of Egypt. The Prophet Moses went to Pharaoh’s court and conveyed to him the divine message which God Almighty had sent him with. This story of Moses and Pharaoh appears in detail in both the Bible and the Quran.
According to the Quran, part of the message given to Moses to deliver to Pharaoh was: “The Hour is coming. But I choose to keep it hidden, so that every human being may be recompensed in accordance with his labours.” (20: 15)
Prof. Hawking and other scientists have earlier also made such remarks. If the world we live in is reaching its end, then this is not great news. The greater news is that when this world comes to an end, another ideal world is going to come into existence. The Maker of the next world will not be a human being, but God the Creator Himself. In the world to come, only those persons will find entry who qualified themselves for it in the first world. People will be selected from entire human history and settled in the world hereafter, which in religious literature is called Paradise. Now, the time has come for every person to prepare himself and develop his personality so that he can be held a deserving candidate for Paradise.
All evidence points to the fact that the age of the present world is nearing the end and the age of the second world will begin very soon.
According to the creation plan of God, the present earth is like a nursery where human beings are meant to be tested. The person who gives proof of noble conduct and sublime character—which is appropriate for the society of Paradise—will be chosen to settle in the eternal world of the Hereafter. This eternal world is a person’s true abode.
All evidence points to the fact that the age of the first world is nearing the end and the age of the second world will begin very soon. At this juncture, the Quran is calling all mankind in these words: “And vie with one another for your Lord’s forgiveness and for a Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, which has been prepared for the Godfearing.” (3: 133)
The present world is a world of trial, and for a certain period God has kept the realities hidden in the realms of the unseen. On the Day of Judgement, this curtain would be torn asunder. Thereafter, the second phase of man’s life would start, when everybody would be judged according to their deeds in the present world.
Prayer is not simply a set of rituals;
it is rather a way of acknowledging
God's greatness.