Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Role of Divine Cosmology in Human Life

The material conception looks at the world and man from material, natural and perceptive angles only.

It does not acknowledge the existence of any creator, organizer and manager besides cosmos.

It also confines the needs of society and the dimensions of human existence to the limits of their natural requirements.

As it considers the life of man to be limited within the framework of this worldly life, it does not recognize that the affairs of this world are controlled by any conscious command, nor does it admit that there is any need or attraction transcending material life or there is a world Hereafter.

Therefore, according to this conception, should there be an aim or program of human life, that should be within the framework of this worldly life only.

In contrast, -the divine cosmology acknowledges the existence of a Wise, Omnipotent and Omniscient Being controlling all natural factors and relationships, and believes that the entire world comes under His conscious and watchful command. At the same time it also acknowledges the validity of all natural laws governing the world.

Anyhow, it believes that the will of Allah is above all other factors and laws, and holds that old scientific laws and formulas are the creation and a part of the creative design of Allah, who is the source of favor, mercy, wisdom, compassion and justice.

Thus a man believing in Allah finds himself in a conscious and well-guided world based on justice, not in a dark and dingy world having no purpose.

As a result of his belief, he feels that Allah is always with him. What a natural support! What a source of power and push! What an inspiring and helpful proposition!.

The divine cosmology, side by side with recognizing the natural needs and admitting the necessity of meeting them, takes into consideration the spiritual dimension of man also.

It attends to the sublimation of soul, purity of heart, love for truth and devotion to purity, refinement, love, impar­tiality, forbearance and humanism. These are the qualities the lack of which is being acutely felt today. The industrial societies realize that they need them and are fully conscious of their absence. Occasionally they try to satisfy their thirst for them in a superficial way by adopting some western form of new-gnosticism.

It should not be forgotten that the divine cosmology does not mean merely spirituality, gnosticism and attending to ethical requirements. It actually signifies paying all round attention to man both from material and spiritual angles, in short, pushing him towards his all round perfection.

Two stage extensive life

From the religious point of view man's life is extensive and everlasting. It is not limited to the few years of this worldly existence. Man has been told positively that he is an everlasting being and that he is not annihilated with death. On the other hand, he will resume life anew in another world, where everything will present itself in a more intensive, more earnest and more extensive form. As the imperishable pleasures and successes will be at their height in that world, so will be the intensity of the sufferings and afflictions also.

Man has further been told that if he is keen to look after his own interests, wants to avoid sufferings and wishes to be happy and successful, then he should keep it in mind that success and happiness as well as suffering and affliction in a purer and more extensive form will follow in the wake of this worldly life.

All his future depends on his deeds of today and will only be the reaction of the efforts made in this world.

A judicious man who thinks of the outcome of his deeds and makes calculated efforts to gain his object, must be fully aware of the results of what he does. He must revise his conduct if he realizes that a certain action of his is harmful to him or is not to his advantage.

Conclusion

The outlook of a religious man is not confined to himself. He has a wider horizon and his aim is to please Allah and to serve His creatures. He does not think only of his material needs, but takes into consideration his spiritual needs also. He seeks the happiness of both this world and the Hereafter alike and shuns the ill fortune in both the worlds. He does not concentrate his attention only on those efforts whose positive or negative effect is confined to the present life only.

Spiritual and practical effects of religious belief

A man having the support of a firm religious belief, finds in himself a special strength. To whatever he puts his hand, he performs it with greater earnestness and purity. To gain his object he does not resort to beggarliness or flattery nor does he lower his position. Even if he undergoes some trouble or loss while striving for his object, he does not lose his heart.

He loves others as he loves himself, and wishes the good of all. He feels a reciprocal affection for those who think like himself. He finds pleasure in working for the better­ment of society and in rendering service to others.

He is deeply involved in furthering his divine aims and cannot bear the company of the selfish and the deceiving, nor can he divert his efforts to serve their interests. As a result he adds to his frankness, firmness and endurance.

A true religious man is indeed greatly concerned with the happiness and success of others, and for that purpose he does not hesitate to make a sacrifice, for he believes that he will find in another world a big and happy reaction of even his slightest good action. He acknowledges that all his efforts in this world are governed by a system of action and reaction.

Even if he loses his life for the sake of achieving his object, he does not consider himself to be a loser, for through his supreme sacrifice he achieves everything and becomes immortal. If he spends his money for the sake of improving the lot of society, he loses nothing and gains much, for though he takes this step for the sake of his faith and for his own satisfaction, he shall get a return for that. In addition, he shall be benefited by the prosperity of society as a whole obtained as the result of the services rendered by him.

Any positive and regular effort made for the cause of Allah and for the good of His creatures, whether it is intellectual, organizational, literary, physical or pecuniary, is construc­tive and rewarding in both the worlds.

If we compare such a man with a selfish person whose approach is only material and who is concerned merely with his personal gains, we can easily imagine what the result of such a comparison will be, for we know what kind of persons human society requires for its all round development and evolution. It requires those who seek the pleasure of Allah, not the self-seekers.

Guides of Humanity

Every man is bound by the valuable bond of eternity and every one having a sound taste can realize its existence through his natural insight. Anyhow, in human society there are some outstanding men who have a more clear consciousness of it. Their speech and behavior are a conspicuous example of man's bond with eternity and its creative role in human knowledge and practice. These men are the prophets.

The prophets are capable of receiving messages, viz. revelation, direct from the eternal world. These messages are so lucid and so enlightening that they illuminate their whole existence, and unravel to them the facts which are unknown to others. They see the truth so clearly as if they were the video receivers in human form. They learn the facts themselves and then transmit them to others by the order of Allah. That is what is called prophethood. The messages the prophets receive leave a deep and wonderful impression on their soul and personality. They virtually `resurrect' them, stimulate their inner powers and bring about inside them a revolution, a constructive and fruitful revolution unprecedented as far as other people are concerned.

Distinctive features of prophets

These model men who establish contact with the Source of Existence through revelation, have certain distinctive features and specialties. We propose to throw some light on these features.

(1) Miracles

Every prophet who is sent by Allah is endowed by Him with an extra-ordinary power by means of which he works one or more miracles which bear witness to the truth of his mission. The Qur'an calls these miracles, performed by the prophets with the permission of Allah, "Ayaat" or the signs of their prophethood. In view of the fact that the miracles are inimitable by people other than the prophets, the scholastic theologians call them mujizat.

According to the Qur'an the people in every age asked their respective prophets to work a miracle for them, and in case such a demand came from those who were sincere and really interested in ascertaining the truth and could not become sure of the prophethood of the prophet concerned without such a miracle, the prophet acceded to their reasonable request. But if such a demand was made with a motive other than that of seeking truth; for example, if it came in the form of a bargain and the people said that they would accept the message of the prophet if he produced a hill of gold for them so that they might become rich, the prophets rejected such a demand.

(2) Infallibility

Infallibility means immunity from sins and errors. The prophets neither commit sins nor are they liable to fall into any error with regard to their action and mission. It is because of this immunity that maximum confidence can be reposed in them.

Now let us see what is the nature of this infallibility. Does it mean that whenever they are inclined to commit a sin or an error, an invisible Divine messenger comes to them and stops them from doing so?

Or is their nature such that they are not capable of com­mitting a sin or an error, just as, .for example, an angel does not commit adultery because he has no sexual urge, or a calculating machine does not make a mistake because it has no brain or is the infallibility of the prophets due to their insight and the degree of their faith?

As we have already said, in our opinion the infallibility of the prophets is of the third type. Man has the power of choosing. He chooses his action on the basis of the advantages and the disadvantages and the gain and the loss involved in it. It is impossible that he would choose any­thing which has no advantage for him or involves some serious disadvantage. A sensible man interested in his life will never throw himself down off a hill or take any deadly poison.

The individuals vary in regard to the strength of their faith and the degree of their consciousness of the conse­quences of sins. The stronger their faith and the greater their consciousness of the disadvantages involved in the sins, the keener they are to avoid the sins. We personally know a number of persons who are highly pious and it is second nature with them to keep away from sins. Should anyone attribute a sin to them, we would automatically jump to contradict the imputation, for we are absolutely sure that the charge is false.

The higher the degree of faith and the greater the tendency of being morally good, the less is the possibility of committing a sin. If the faith is absolutely perfect, this possibility is zero. A man who attains this degree of faith feels that to commit a sin is as bad as taking a deadly poison or throwing oneself down off a hill. This is the state that we call infallibility.

Thus infallibility is the result of the perfection of faith and moral excellence. For being infallible no outside force is required nor is it necessary that by nature one should have no tendency to commit a sin. It is not creditable for anyone not to be capable of committing sin or being forcibly prevented from doing that. Such a person-is just like a prisoner who cannot steal because he is confined in a prison. Does he deserve any credit for his honesty and integrity?

As for the immunity from error, it is an outcome of the insight of the prophets. A man makes a mistake when he is unable to observe the truth direct and finds it out only through mental calculations. Such calculations may go wrong. But if he has the power of seeing the truth direct, there is no possibility of any mistake.

That is the case with the prophets. They have a direct contact with the reality. As the reality itself is well-defined, there can be no mistake in identifying it. Take an example. If we put 100 grains of wheat in a utensil and repeat the same action 100 times, we will have 10,000 grains in it. Neither more nor less. But at the time of counting we may go wrong. We may have a wrong impression that we have put the grains 99 times or 101 times. Consequently we may think that there are 9,900 or 10,100 grains in all. But this misunderstanding cannot change the reality. The number of grains will still be 10,000. Neither more nor less. One who knows the truth, will be sure of that number, and will find it exactly the same on counting.

Difference between a prophet and a genius

From the above the main difference between a prophet and a genius may be deduced. A genius is a person endowed with extraordinary intellectual and calculating power. He perceives things by means of his senses, works on his data perceives thing by means of his calculating power, and thus arrives at new and interesting results. He may occa­sionally make mistakes in his calculations. But a prophet, besides being endowed with intellect and thinking and calculating powers, is also equipped with an additional power called revelation which acquaints him with reality direct. Only the prophets have this power, and that is why the case of a prophet is quite different from that of a genius.

As the two .belong to two different categories, there can be no comparison between them. If we compare the power of seeing of one person with that of another, that is right. But if we compare the power of seeing of one person with the power of hearing of another, that is wrong. The eminence of a genius lies in his intellectual and thinking powers, whereas the superiority of a prophet is largely the result of his contact with the Source of Existence and having an entirely different power known as revelation. Hence the cases of the two are quite different.

(3) Dynamic leadership

Though a prophet begins his spiritual march towards Allah with escape from the people which means introver­sion, he eventually returns to the people with a view to reform them.

In Arabic language there are two words for a prophet: Nabi and Rasul. Literally Nabi means one who brings news and Rasul means one who is sent with a message. A prophet conveys Allah's message to the people and thereby awakens their dormant faculties. He calls them to Allah and urges them to seek His pleasure. In other words he calls them to reform, freedom, integrity, justice, love, peace struggle for the right cause and other virtues. He releases them from the bondage of their passion and that of other false gods. The essential task of a prophet is to guide the people, infuse them with a new spirit and organize them for the pleasure of Allah and for the good of humanity.

(4) Unrivalled earnestness and tremendous firmness in the struggle against polytheism, ignorance and corruption.

As the prophets enjoy Divine support, they are never oblivious of the mission entrusted to them by Allah. That is why they are extraordinarily sincere in their mission. They have no objective other than the guidance of the people. They never ask the people to pay for their services.

In the Surah ash-Shura the Qur'an has reproduced a summary of the dialogue between a number of the prophets and their people. Each prophet gave a sort of message with particular reference to the problem or problems faced by his respective followers. Anyhow, one point common in the messages of all the prophets is that: "I do not ask for any reward from you ".

The message of the prophets was always accompanied by an unrivalled firmness. As they entertained no doubt about their mission, they propagated and defended their message with such firmness as was incomparable.

When Musa ibn Imran (Moses) along with his brother Harun (Aaron) called on Pharaoh and invited him to believe in Allah, the entire equipment they had with them, consisted of the rough and tattered woolen clothes on their body and wooden sticks in their hands. Pharaoh was wonder-struck when they said firmly: "Your downfall is imminent if you reject our call, but if you accept it, we guarantee your honor".

The holy Prophet (peace be on him and his progeny) in the early days of Islam when there were very few Muslims, one day called the elders of Quraish and conveyed his message to them. He firmly declared that Islam was destined to become universal and that their well-being lay in embracing it. They were so surprised that they looked at one another and dispersed without saying a single word. It is because of this courage and extra­ordinary earnestness that the prophets never compromised on principles.

When Abu Talib, the uncle of the Prophet, conveyed to him the offer of Quraish that they were willing to select him to be their king, to give to him in marriage the most beautiful girls of theirs and to make him the richest man among them, provided he gave up his claim to be a prophet, he answered: "By Allah! even if they put the sun in one of my hands and the moon in the other, I will not give up my mission".

(5) General welfare

The prophets prompt individuals and society to move in the direction of self-making in order to ensure human welfare. They never do anything which may ruin an individual or the society.

(6) Normal personal life

Though the prophets have many extraordinary aspects such as working miracles, infallibility, dynamic leadership, unrivalled constructive achievements and incessant struggle against ignorance, polytheism and tyranny, they are, nevertheless, human beings and have all the human charac­teristics. Like others they eat, they sleep, they walk, they have wives and children and eventually they die. They are subject to all human needs and requirements. They have to perform all those duties which through them are enjoined upon others. The rules as to what is lawful and what is not, equally apply to them.

In certain cases they have more religious duties to perform. For instance in the case of the holy Prophet it was obligatory to keep vigil and offer prayers during the last hours of night. In any case the prophets do not absolve themselves from any obligatory act. Like others and even more than others they fear Allah. They perform more acts of worship than others. They offer prayers, observe fast, perform pilgrimage and take part in jihad. They pay zakat and work for the welfare of the other people. To earn their livelihood they work and do not like to be a burden on others. The only difference between the prophets and the other people is that the former receive revelation and have the qualifications necessary to receive and preach the message of Allah.

Anyhow, these qualifications do not exclude them from the category of human beings. Their personal and private life is not totally different from that of others. Had it been different, it could not have become a model for others. Everybody interested in his well-being is expected to mould his life according to that of the prophets. According to the Qur'an if Allah were to send an angel as a prophet, he would have appeared in human form and would have talked and lived like human beings. (Vide Surah al-An'am, verse 9).

Role of revelation in human life

As we have said earlier revelation plays a basic role in the life of the prophets. All or most of the distinctive features of their life such as infallibility, sincere leader­ship, unrivalled firmness and efforts for the well-being of all, are based on it.

We have seen how revelation brings about an effective and fruitful revolution in the life of the prophets. Now let us see what is its role in our own life.

Revelation cannot automatically have a direct role in our life, unless we acknowledge the prophets and get aware of this extraordinary source of knowledge and belief. If we do not believe in the prophets, the only source of our knowledge will be our own experience and our own ideals. But after we have recognized the prophets and are fully convinced that they have access to a new source of know­ledge and that the teachings they claim to have received through their direct contact with the Source of Existence, are not their personal ideas or the products of their personal experience, but are a clear message from the Creator, then the revelation automatically assumes a sensitive role in our life.

Through the prophets we get access to a new source of knowledge about the beginning and the end of this world and the way of leading an upright life. A man cut-off from the prophets has access to only one source of knowledge, viz. his own thinking and experience. But the man attached to the prophets has two sources: his own thinking and experience as well as revelation.

Relationship between knowledge, reason and revelation

The mutual relationship between knowledge, reason and revelation may easily be inferred from what we have said, for they all have the same goal, that is the discovery of the truth and its utilization in the life of man. But as regards their dependability, they are not in the same category. Revelation is one hundred per cent dependable and unambiguous. It is immune from every mistake. But the dependability of knowledge and reason is not one hundred per cent, for there is often a possibility of mistake.

A comparative study of the facts learnt through knowledge and reason and those learnt through revelation shows that not the least inconsistency exists between them. Wherever inconsistency appears to exist either the case is not based on authentic revelation or the verdict of knowledge and reason is a mere approximation and notwithstanding the fact that it has the form of a scientific law and has enough practical value, its significance is only relative.

That is why the Qur'an, the pure Divine revelation, in­cessantly encourages thinking, pondering and learning. It wants all to exercise their mental faculties fully and to try to learn more and more. At the same time we find that unbiased practical science and realistic reasoning. are not only not in conflict with the Qur'an and its system, but they advocate the necessity of man being devoted to Allah, the prophets and the system approved by them. They want man to work earnestly for improving himself and his environment, and to get benefited for this purpose by both the sources of knowledge which Allah has put at his disposal.

Islam Advocates Justice

According to the Islamic outlook, the whole world is a reality based on equity and justice. The heavens and the earth have been set up on this very basis. Everything in the world is calculated and planned.

"He has raised the heaven and has set up a standard for everything". (Surah al-Rahman, 55:7).

Everything in the cosmos is moving forward towards its goal. There is nothing disorderly and haphazard. From the order found in a living cell and the heart of an atom to the accurate system of the body of a living being, to the precise balance found between the planets of the solar system as well as the galaxies and to the marvelous laws governing the entire world, which are being discovered and put to use by science, everything indicates that there exists a calculated system and organization.

On the basis of what Imam Ali (P) has said, justice means putting everything in its place. In contrast, injustice means putting a thing out of its due place.

Any deviation from the general rules and relations governing the world, will cause confusion and disorder, and will disturb the balance maintained by the firm natural laws.

Everything has to move in its own orbit and advance towards its evolution.

Balance and order are the inevitable laws governing nature. The natural phenomena are not free to choose what kind of mutual relationship they should have or whether they should or should not maintain a balance. Even the reaction produced by some sort of disturbance in nature is meant to restore equilibrium and to remove the hurdles in the way of evolution. This reaction also follows an inevitable course already prescribed. In fact even any distur­bance in the natural order has its own special method and procedure when order in a wider sense is disturbed, nature itself produces some correctives from within or without.

The penetration of the germs or viruses of a disease into human body causes cramps and pain, but the reaction caused by white globules or outside medicines fights the germs and viruses and at last restores the health and general equilibrium of the body. This is an example of the compulsory law of the combat of evil.

Justice of will or willed justice

While excercising his will, man is particularly required to be just. As out of all -factors governing man's actions that of his will and his power of choice plays the basic role, its comparison with the role of other factors and compulsory norms, has given rise to one of the biggest philosophical questions which, it is not wrong to say, relates to one of the oldest and the most sensitive human ideas. What is interesting is that one's views in this respect have a direct effect on his efforts, on his actions and on his performance with regard to improving the lot of himself and of society.

The question of predestination and free will posed much controversy among the Muslims like other peoples, and gave rise to a great deal of philosophical and scholastic debate.

Some people in view of those verses which declare that honor and dishonor and guidance and misguidance are in the hand of Allah, have come to the conclusion that man has no volition, and is just a tool in the Hand of Allah having no will of his own at all. On this theory they have based another principle: They assert that their belief in the Oneness of Allah and His absolute authority, requires them to believe that all the phenomena of the world, including the deeds and conduct of man, come within the purview of Allah's will only and that there exists no will besides His will. The doing of anything by anyone else independently is inconsistent with the concentration of will in the person of Allah.

This view was encouraged by the opportunist governments of the time, for it stopped every criticism of their actions. The people could not raise their voice against their rulers even when they saw the abundance of wealth, pomp and show at the court and found themselves in utter poverty and misery, for they were made to believe that everything was in the Hand of Allah who gave honor and wealth to whomever He pleased and awarded misery and humiliation to whomever He willed. People had to bear with every injustice and inequity, because that was the will of Allah.

This position was similar to that which prevailed in the Sasanid empire where common people had to live with the privations of the class in which they were born, because it was not possible for them to shift from one class to another. Hence they had to bear the misery of their class while the upper classes lived a life of luxury.

Similarly among the Hindus, the untouchables suffered extreme legal and social handicaps. They could not even imagine to get rid of their despicable condition.

In Islam there is no question of classes, social groups or racial and tribal grades. All people have been created alike and irrespective of their parentage stand in one row.

But by raising the question that the fate of the people and their social conditions are predestined and giving a special interpretation to it, the rulers of those days could silence the people and suppress their voice. That is why the Ash'arite doctrine which tended towards predestination virtually became the official one. The Mu'tazilites who believed in a sort of free will lost favor with the court and were subjected to pressure and threats.

Another group of Muslims in view of those verses of the Qur'an, which indicate that man is a free agent, came to believe that man has complete volition and he himself decides his fate. These people cited the advent of the Prophets and their promises and warnings as well as the questions of legal responsibility, the future life and the existence of Paradise and Hell as a proof of the authenti­city of their doctrine.

They raised the question that in case the deeds of man were regarded as the works of Allah, then sins, atrocities and corruption would also have to be regarded as Divine acts, though we know that Allah is far above anything evil. To counter this argument the Ash'arites put forward their doctrine of tanzih meaning that Allah being free from all defects, no evil could be ascribed to Him.

Doctrine of Justice

This is the real Shi'ah doctrine based on the moderate views of Islam.

Imam Jafar al Sadiq (P) has said:

"There is no predestination nor absolute human discre­tion. The truth lies between the two extremes".

To understand this view fully, careful attention should be paid to the following points:

(1) We believe in the Unity of Allah in all its dimensions and acknowledge His absolute authority. Everything in the world is subject to His will. His dominion includes the entire heavens and the earth.

(2) His command in the form of established norms governs nature and man as well as all causes, factors and natural relationships in the world.

(3) The conduct of man is a phenomenon caused by many factors including man's will, which is also a norm established by Allah. In other words, it is the will of Allah that man should make his own decisions.

As man's free will is also an outcome of the command of Allah; therefore Allah alone is the Sovereign Lord of the whole universe including man.

(4) It is evident that man's free will does not amount to absolute freedom. It has many limitations; natural, environ­mental, hereditary, innate etc. Therefore man does not enjoy absolute discretion especially in view of the following:

(5) The existence of revelation and Divine message, the religious laws and commandments and lastly the belief in the Hereafter and practical recompense, place limitations on him. The legal and doctrinal restrictions affect the free choice of man.

(6) It is man himself who by the misuse of his choice brings about evils and vices. If there exists any unrighteousness and corruption in society, that is the result of man's own actions and is not the creation of Allah's will, for He is far above any vice and evil.

It may be asked why Allah created those people who make mischief? Was it not better that He would have created only those who could do no wrong and would have been all good and virtuous?

The answer is that had He created such people, they would have had no will or power. Man is a free being. He some­times does what is good and sometimes what is bad. Some individuals go to the right direction and some go astray. That is the characteristic of freedom. Hence the question should be put this way:

Was it better to create man as a being having no will and choice or to create him as a free being having the power to choose and decide, as he is?

The answer is obvious. A free and conscious being is better.

Now as you have chosen this answer, you will have to accept its consequences also, which area world mixed of virtue and vice, justice and injustice, truth and falsehood, freedom and subjugation, conflict and clashes, and a man ready to play a free and conscious role in it.

(7) But here a question arises: the Qur'an says: "

Say: O 'Allah Owner of Sovereignty! You bestow sovereigntyon whomever You will and You withdraw sovereignty from whomever You will. You exalt whomever You will and You abase whomever You will. In Your Hand is all that is good". (Surah Ale Imran, 3: 26).

Again the Qur'an says: "You who guide aright and it is You who lead astray ". There are many other similar verses mentioned in the Qur'an.

Now if people are free and masters of their own destiny, how is it that honor and dishonor is not in their own hands?

The answer is that all phenomena of the world follow certain norms and rules. These norms also have been framed and established by Allah.

Honor and dishonor, wealth and poverty, success and failure, guidance and misguidance, life and death, power and a lack of it and all other things are phenomena, and as such they cannot be haphazard and accidental. They are all governed by certain laws, rules and norms. No individual or nation is exalted without any reason. Economic progress does not come about without any cause. Defeat in a clash, or for that matter victory must have some reason. As we have said previously, these norms and rules should be discovered, and one should follow the right direction by properly using the knowledge of them.

No doubt it is Allah who exalts, but He exalts those who know how to better their position and strive for that. Allah enabled the Muslims to conquer Mecca and granted them victory. But that happened only in the eighth year after hegira after a long struggle of years of blood-shed, during which the Muslims underwent so many tribulation, had to employ all their forces and take all sorts of appro­priate measures. In other words they utilized all the natural laws and norms necessary to gain a victory till it was granted by Allah.

No doubt it is Allah who produces the ears of wheat. But still wheat grows only in the farm of an industrious cultivator, who takes all the steps necessary for its growth and protects it from the pests.

Justice and the Hereafter

Divine justice will particularly reveal itself in the Hereafter. Justice in retribution and in recompense, justice in the classification of the deeds, and the ranking and grading of men, the demonstration of their qualities and characters and all that is deduced from the Qur'an in respect of the Hereafter - all these things show that justice has a special connection with the Hereafter.

The deeds of man are the product of his own free-will, and he is held responsible for them and for his good or bad future. Through the preachings of the Prophets and his own intellectual faculty and intuition he is expected to know the value of his deeds and their positive or negative effects.

As such when a man performs a deed consciously and intentionally, makes efforts to give a right or wrong direction to his inner qualities or does anything to benefit or harm himself or society, full justice demands that: he should receive a precise and proportionate recompense for his deeds; he should be graded exactly according to his actions, so that he should not be wronged (Vide Surah, al-Ahqaf, 46:19), he should be repaid in full for whatever efforts he has made (Vide Surah Ale Imran, 3:25) and a complete record of all his actions and deeds be maintained so that even what he has forgotten should not be missed.

The Qur'an says:

"Allah will tell them of what they did. He has kept an account o f it, while they have forgotten it". (Surah al-Mujadilah, 58:6).

This record includes even the slightest thing performed in any form and under any circumstances.

The Qur'an, in the course of Luqman's exhortations to his son, says:

`My dear son! Even if your deeds be so small that it can be compared to a mustard seed, which is hidden in a rock or in the heavens or in the earth, Allah will bring it forth. Indeed Allah is Subtle, Aware". (Surah Luqman, 31:17).

There is such a proportion and harmony between a deed and its recompense that it may be said that the very deed will present itself in the Hereafter.

"On that Day everyone will find himself confronted with whatever good and evil he has done" : (SurahAle Imran, 3:30).

Everyone himself is responsible for his own deeds, not anyone else, who has played no role in their performance.

"No one shall bear the burden o f someone else". (Surah al-Fatir, 35:18). "Whoever does what is right, he does that to his own advantage and whoever does what is wrong, he does that to his own person ". (Surah Fussilat, 41:46).

In that Court of Justice family position, social influence, wealth or any party or group affiliation will avail nothing.

"The day when wealth and sons will be o f no use ". (Surah al-Shu'ara, 26:88). "The wrong-doers shall have no friend nor any intercessor who will be beard" (Surahal-Mu'min, 40:18).

"Believers spend (in charity) a part of what we have provided you with before that day comes when

there will be no bargaining, no friendship and no inter­ cession". (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:254).

"When the Trumpet is on that day there will be no kinship". (Surah al-Mu'minun, 3:101).

In fact in the Hereafter only his faith, good deeds and spirituality will benefit man, who will be called to a very detailed account and will be judged rightly and justly on the basis of his own dossier containing every detail of all that he did. The Judge will be Allah, who is just, All­ knowing, absolutely independent and far above any partiality or opportunism. He is not at all prone to any threat or temptation. (Vide Surah al-Nur, 24:24 and Surah Yasin, 36:65).

The Hereafter

The Hereafter is a world where one will enjoy the fruits of his efforts in this world on a very wide scale and where his qualities and his conduct will become absolutely clear.

In that world pleasures and success and similarly miseries and afflictions are pure and absolute. In contrast, in this world everything is relative and mixed.

Man's complete and pure success in all the dimensions of his life presents itself in Paradise where all his desires, hopes and aspirations are fulfilled and he prospers physically, spiritually, materially and mentally. Similarly his failure in all fields reveals itself in Hell.

The following few verses throw ample light on the vastness of enjoyment in Paradise:

"Hasten and seek the forgiveness o f your Lord and the Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth ". (Surah al-Hadid, 57:21).

"As for those who will be happy (that day) they will be in Paradise, -where they will abide so long as the heavens and the earth last unless your Lord pleases otherwise. This shall be an everlasting reward" (SurahHud, 11:108).

"There you shall have all you desire and there you shall have all for which you pray ". (Surah Fussilat, 41:31).

"Therein they shall find everything which may satisfy the hearts and delight the eyes ". (Surah al-Zukhruf, 43:71).

These verses show that Paradise is vast beyond imagina­tion. From the point of view of time, it is everlasting. Whatever one can desire is available there without any limitation or restriction. It is more than ideal.

Its blessings and pleasures axe both material and physical as well as spiritual and mental. In the Surah al-Saffat, verse 41 and thereinafter, a mention has been made of fruits, gardens, couches and delicious cups. In the verse 49 of the same Surah, in the Surah al-Rahman, verses 64 - 71 and in the Surah al-Waqi'ah, verse 36 the existence of houries, beauty, vivacity, freshness, cheerfulness and friendly atmosphere in Paradise have been described. In some other verses its pleasant climate, rivers, green and blooming trees, magnificent and lovely palaces, perfumed and sweet air etc. have been mentioned. On the whole, Paradise contains pleasures and material achievements at such a high level that it is beyond imagination.

On the other hand there are some other verses which emphasize spiritual and. sentimental dimensions and describe high human tendencies:

"Such are the people who will behbonoured in Paradise". (Surah al-Ma'arij, 70:35).

"They are guided to gentle speech ". (Surah al-Hajj, 22:24).

"There they shall dwell forever. What a wonderful abode and dwelling place". (Surah al-Furqan, 25:76).

"We shall remove whatever rancour there may be in their hearts and make them as brethren reclining on couches facing one another". (Surah al-Hijr, 15:47).

"Allah will receive them while they will be beaming with joy ". (Surah Dahr, 76:11).

Such verses show that in Paradise there exist joy and happi­ness, comfort and cheerfulness. Its dwellers are far away from any fear, restlessness, rancour and foul language and they never face any discomfort or anxiety.

It is evident that as in Paradise there is everlasting bliss, and every one can have all that he may desire, there can be no clash of interests and hence there can be no feeling of jealousy, no anticipation of danger and no desire to wreak vengeance.

In every case all needs are met and all desires are fulfilled. As a result a man who enjoys his life in all its dimensions, fully feels the truth of human life.

At the same time evolutionary progress and advancement towards perfection continue. Allah Himself says that He multiplies (things) for whomever He pleases. Especially those who have developed their thinking and their intellec­tual faculties in a fruitful manner, shall make further progress in their life of Paradise.

Above all what we have mentioned, the greatest achieve­ment of a dweller of Paradise is the attainment of Allah's pleasure, which is the supreme success for a sublime soul.

" What is more, Allah shall be pleased with them. That is the supreme triumph". (Surah al-Tawbah, 9:72).

A dweller of Paradise finds that Allah, the essence of every perfection and virtue and the absolute truth to whom the motion and evolution of the entire world ends, is well ­pleased with him. He feels that he has obtained all that he could aspire for, and finds that there is no distance between himself and Him, who is the source of all that is good and beneficial, in whom all hopes are centered and to seek whose pleasure every effort should be made. He has a feeling that he has succeeded in attaining proximity to Allah.

The effect of believing in the Hereafter on making the life balanced

Consequent upon what we have so far read about man, his future, the inevitable results of his deeds and efforts and his reappearance in the Hereafter in all dimensions of his existence, we come to the conclusion that a true belief in the Hereafter should make man more careful and vigilant about making himself and giving shape to his efforts.

When one is sure that any sort of perversion in meeting his desires and the commitment of any excess by him, will be detrimental to his interests and will cause only harm to him, and knows that his appearance in the Hereafter with an imbalanced and defective personality will culminate in nothing but his ruin and his going to Hell, he will make every effort to develop his existence in all dimensions.

We have seen that Paradise is the manifestation of a perfect and all-inclusive human life. Islam aims 2,t man's leading such an ideal life in this world also within its limitations.

It wants a healthy body as well as a healthy soul. It aims at the provision of food, clothing, shelter and other physical comforts as well as at the healthy spiritual development.

A man having belief in the Hereafter tries to improve this worldly life in every respect and pays attention to his education, research, health, work, industry and all round progress. At the same time he believes in justice, brother­hood, freedom, human rights, sincerity, law and order, clear thinking, reasonableness, philanthropy, good will and spirituality. The correct belief in the Hereafter makes a man balanced, versatile and industrious.