Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

God has designed de soul to be happy

GodBlessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." (5)

The purpose of human life is an ideal which transcends the mundane goals of human existence, for it is based upon the vision of God.

The highest and best of human values, truth, love, joy and happiness are aspirations grounded in the original human nature. The word for "humankind", Adam, comes from the same root as does "earth" and is a generic term for the human species; humans, man and female, resemble the Creator. Humankind was created to share a unique relationship with God.

"God saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was very good." (6)

Adam and Eve, our first parents, were created in the state of innocence, grace and happiness. They were adorned with the grace of God, which God communicated to their souls, making them beautiful and truly holy before him.

"Put on the new man, who according to God, is created in justice and holiness of truth." (7)

The benefit they received it sanctified them, made them truly holy before God, it subjected all their senses, appetites, and passions to reason; it rendered their reason and their whole soul subject to the will ofGod.This original righteousness was a free gift of God.

"For God created us for incorruption and made us in the image of his own eternity." (8)

Being free from all state of sin, and adorned with the original justice, they were on that account free from all sufferings, and enjoyed a perfect happiness both in soul and body, suitable to their nature, and the state they were in. They were endowed with great knowledge of everything relating to their state and thereset of the creatures; they were created free from all passions and irregular desires and appetites, which so violently torment our souls. They enjoyed a perpetual peace and serenity of mind.

Their hearts were inclined to all good, and their will united to God by holy love. Their bodies were free of sickness and pain, and enjoyed a perpetual health, and they were not subject to death.

God has appointed rewards for good and virtuous acts and punishment for vice acts.

"The believers will then pass over like the twinkling of an eye, like lightning, like wind, like a bird, like the finest horses and camels. Some will escape and be kept safe, some will be lacerated." (9)

Man, however, persuaded by the Fiend, has abused his freedom since the dawn of the ages, rising up against God and trying to attain his own purpose without God. While knowing God, he did not glorify Him as God, but rather, his heart dimmed, and he served the creature instead of the Creator.

Refusing to acknowledge God as his beginning, he broke the rightful order with respect to his ultimatepurpose, and with it the entire hierarchy in relation to himself, to other men and to all created things. Thus is man divided in hisinterior. Due to this division in man - whether individual or collective - a dramatic struggle between good and evil, between light and darkness, appears in the world.

"but through the devils envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his company experience it." (10)

At the same time, man finds himself helpless and destitute in his struggle against the attacks of the Fiend; he feels chained to evil. But God, in His infinite mercy, without abandoning us, sent and continues to send, beings that come to this world with the purpose of teaching us the way to our liberation, strengthening us with His presence and imparting His teachings amongst us for our inner renovation, and helping us cast out the prince of this world who held man in the slavery of sin.

"Now is thejudgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out." (11)

Sin diminishes man, impeding him from reaching his fullness, the divine fullness for which he was created.

Human progress, which is man's great treasure, brings with it the temptation for individuals and human groups to look out only for their own interests and not for the interests of others, lacking a coherent hierarchy of values and mixinggood with evil. This is propitiated by the disease and the consumerism that the highly-industrialized societies suffer to a greater extent, which promote values that are directly contradictory to true human fraternity.

"what does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?" (12)

Power resides in having more, in consuming more, in an unbridled madness that will inevitably lead to the destruction of human beings themselves, if God does not put a remedy to this before. A hard battle against the powers of darkness runs throughout the entire history of man, which - already begun since the origins of the world - will continue until the last day, as the Lord says.

"But the one who endure to the end will be saved" (13)

Arrogance and an unbridled love of self endanger the activities of man. Man must - with austerity and freedom of spirit - come into possession of the things of this earth, like unto one who has nothing and who yet possesses everything.

Some conception of heaven and hell.

Among the religious of the world is found universally conceptions of heaven and hell. Are these realms objectively real? The Scriptures are unanimous in affirming they are.

Heaven and hell in the scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam can be interpreted either to describe the state of the soul upon death or what will be after the future resurrection. SomeKoranic passages describe the opening of Paradise andhell, others refer to de LastJudgement . Mostmuslims regard the dead to be sleeping in the grave awaiting that momentous event.

Do not say, "They are dead" about anyone who is killed for God´s sake. Rather they living, even though you do not notice it" (14)

The biblicalvision of heaven from the book of Revelation are visions of a future recompense after the tribulations of the LastJudgement . Thosechristians who hold a literal interpretation of these verses concur with theirmuslim brothers and sisters that the souls of the dead are asleep in the grave, awaiting the future opening of heaven and hell.

Another theory of thechristian tradition, supported by biblical descriptions of theSheol (Job 3,17 -19); the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12,22-24; and the story of Lazarus and the rich man in (Luke 16,19-31), teaches us that each person immediately after death enter his appointed place in heaven or hell. The visions in Revelation are often interpreted in this way.

II.- The believers attributes at "The Time ofAppearance".o Prudence

People! God´s promise is true, so do not let the present life deceive you. Do not let the Deceiver deceive you about God: "Satan is your enemy -treat him as an enemy-and invites his followers only to enter the blazing fire." (15)

During the days of our youth we do not often remember God, nor do we think of the days to come when we will have to reflect upon our acts. The strength of youth makes us believe that that vitality will be with us for always, but this is not the case. Man needs to live prudently, giving priority to those higher values that bring him closer to God.

Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? He said," The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." (16)

Being prudent means walking surely on the straight path, knowing that if we take the winding one, we will get lost; it means not enjoying trickery played upon others, but living in the exercise of good there wherever we get the chance to do so. "Honor your father and mother; also,You shall love yourneighbour as yourself." (17)

Being prudent means working honestly to gain our sustenance without exploiting anyone, without manipulating and using other people for our profit, because all that we earn at the expense of others will lead us inevitably to failure anddishonour .

In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets. (18)

Being prudent means not judging others. If your mind is busy seeing the faults of others, it will by itself fall into the same errors that it sees in others. We see the mote in others' eyes and are incapable of seeing the beam in ours. Whoever listens to slander ishimself a slanderer. "No one can withhold the blessing God opens up for people, nor can anyone but Him release whatever He withholds: He is the Almighty, the All Wise." (19)

Renunciation and Detachment

Plenty has been written about renunciation, not so much because it is hard to understand, but because its practice is truly difficult. The most important thing about renunciation is that nothing real is lost. Every renunciation of material things, of indiscriminate consumption, is an appropriation of that which is renounced on a higher level. It is a paradox, but the more a person can do without the world, the less the world can do without that person.

When desires dominate us, we are trapped in illusion and the only way out is through discernment or reflection. Try to see ourselves as automatons controlled and manipulated within a prison of unsatisfied desires. Because in effect, these are not our own desires, but rather, we are victims of a society that knows our dissatisfactions and manipulates them, creating one desire after another in a chain of desires that will produce great economic profits for a few, while it engulfs us in our own terrible personal and spiritual dissatisfaction.

Whoever loves God does not worry about the vanities of the world, because he respects himself above all else and respect for oneself implies scorn for the vanities of the world.

"No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." (20)

The surfeit of desires and cravings is a source of spiritual disease. It overloads the soul. There are persons who renounce themselves and their uncontrolled cravings, albeit with reservations, since they do not place all their confidence in God. In the beginning they offer him everything, but afterwards, on being besieged by temptation, they return to their old ways, and this stops them from advancing on the road of virtue.

There are people who think that God should be given everything He is owed, provided that He lets them enjoy what is theirs without being bothered.

Their desire is to maintain their own privileges and imagine themselves free without having to obey any kind of divine mandate, given over to their own passions and desires.

"So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (21)

These are the lukewarm about whom the apostle John spoke in his Revelations. On one hand, they adore the world and its pleasures, and on the other they want to live in peace withthemselves and with God, fulfilling one precept or another that adapts to their own needs and passions.

They practice a social kind of religiosity; they do not know what charity means and they comply with the minimum religious precepts, those that are socially well-regarded. Their piety plays to an audience.

Trust in God

God is the supreme goodness. He never abandons whoever trusts Him. Although the modern world, with its almost uncontrolled hyperactivity, puts obstacles and difficulties in our way to living and orienting our lives and aspirations to confidence in God, we should know that if we trust Him, everything is possible because it is not the external conditions that impede us from finding God in our lives, but our own mental state of absence of God.

"God will find a way out for those who are mindful of Him, and will provide for them from an unexpected source; God will be enough for those who put their trust in Him. God achieves his purposes; God has set a due measure for everything."(22)

If we do not let God into our lives, if we close our mind to the experience of God, external difficulties will grow, putting ever-increasing obstacles every day to our possible spiritual self-realization and our confidence in God, although we call ourselves believers and count ourselves among those who "officially" comply with their faith in God, but do not really trust Him.

"Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. (23)

On the other hand, a person who desires the fullness of God in his life above all will find his obstacles propitiating that divine fullness in his life, and these will be transformed into help received. God Himself sustains and comforts whoever accepts Him in his life with His infinite Love. "Whoever relieves in his Lord need fearno loss nor injustice." (24)

Strength in the face of suffering

Suffering is a feeling of deprivation, and, as such, may become a stimulus that helps us advance in self-knowledge. It helps us by showing our limitations, our misery and our deficiencies which, up to that time, have remained hidden amongst our illusions and pleasures.

RenéGuènon , associates the concept of suffering with asceticism. He speaks of the asceticism that goes by the Sanskrit name of "tapas", meaning "heat". This heat is an inner fire that must burn and destroy everything that constitutes an obstacle to man's spiritual self-realization. "Asceticism" in its deepest sense is the sacrifice of the "ego" carried out for the attainment of superior consciousness.

The Prophet Isaiah also speaks to us of this fire when he says:

"But all of you are kindlers of fire, lighters of firebrands. Walk in the flame of your fire, and among the brands that you have kindled!" (25) Isaiah tells us that each one of us lights the flames of our own fire when we turn our back on God: when we sin. It is our own sins that stir up the inner fire that burns us and makes us suffer.

Saint Augustine tells us that any man who wants to enter Paradise must pass through fire and water, "whether he is Peter, to whom the keys of heaven were entrusted, or Paul, the chosen vessel of God, or John, to whom the secrets of God were revealed".

If we want to know with certainty whether our sufferings are noble and come from God, we only have to see whether this suffering is an unbearable burden for us. When we suffer knowing that we are suffering for God, that suffering comes from Him for our own good, we feel relief in pain, because we feel that God shares this pain with us and comforts us with his infinite Love.

"God does not burden any soul with more that it can bear: each gains whatever good it has done, and suffer its bad" (26)

Humble of Heart

The humble man who loves God above all else knows the reality that surrounds him and accepts it without being deceived by false appearances because herecognises them; he assigns each thing a place and a priority in his heart. He has the virtue of discernment and knows full well what can separate him from God. He yearns above all else for his purification in order to achieve full closeness to Him. He knows that God is his strength and his consolation, in joy as well as in adversity.

For Saint Augustine, the summit of greatest knowledge for manis knowing that, by himself, he is nothing, and that anything whatsoever belongs to God and is for God. He tells us that it is not enough that we acknowledge that what we know and understand comes from God. In addition, we must avoid extolling ourselves above those who still do not have this knowledge, since they may yet leave us behind once they have received it.

"The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted." (27) The moral pride that leads us to consider ourselves better than the rest and that constitutes a serious obstacle to spiritual self-realization must be extirpated completely from our hearts and minds.

This moral or spiritual pride is more difficult to detect in ourselves. It is only through prayer that the soul may arrive at this perception. The prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h .) said on a certain occasion, "whoever has pride in his heart, though itbe only equivalent to a grain of rice, cannot enter Paradise."

"Give good news to the humble whose hearts fill with awe whenever God ismentioned. " (28)

When man invokes the name of God in prayer, his heart trembles with emotion and, if before he felt sad, he is filled with joy; if before he was ill, he is cured; for sincere prayer makes man humble and brings him closer to the contemplation of God.

Illumination

"God guides whoever He will to his Light". (29)

Illumination means dispelling the darkness of ignorance. The true self obscured by false habits of thinking and desires, is suddenly revealed. Nothing in the life of this person can be the same anymore. The illuminated person begins to live by the knowledge he acquires. "The wind blows where itchoose , and you hear the sound of it, but you don't know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (30)

Illumination comes fromGod, it is a gift of God. It never has a human motive. Illumination, as St. John tells us, is like the wind that blows and goes where it pleases. Thus is divine light.

The Sufi masters tell us that the disciple, although an initiate, cannot do anything without the light that comes from God Himself, and that the spiritual states of illumination can never be the product of any human technique of meditation, concentration or the like.

"The Spirit is part of my Lord´sdomaine . You have only been given a little knowledge." (31)

This does not mean that man does not play an important part in the process of illumination. Of course he does, and that is, to eliminate all the obstacles that he finds in his life that are impeding him from desiring and achieving that divine illumination.

Those obstacles are, on one hand, his personal ego, which includes ambition for power, social recognition, the love of money and the luxury that money provides, living in a constant bid for social climbing, even at the expense of others; and, on another hand, indifference to the needs of those who are dependent upon him, whether economically, personally or emotionally, owing to the drive tofulfil himself professionally and socially.

Indifference for the problems of one's community, one's local social surroundings, and - of course - indifference for the problems of the world. These are the obstacles that impede the attainment of God in one's life, the obstacles to illumination.

"Believers, turn to God in sincere repentance. Your Lord my well cancel your bad deeds for you and admit you into Gardens graced with flowing streams," (32)

God nourishes the desire to communicate with Him in the human heart and opens the doors to reflection and repentance through His call, so as to change and open the heart to divine illumination. Nonetheless, it is man himself who will respond to that call through the use of his free will. He will make the decision to live as he has been doing up to that moment, or listen to the call of God and turn to Him.

"Listen! I am standing at the door knocking; if you hear my voice and open thedoor, I will come in to you." (33) III. The convergence of world religions towards "The Time of Appearance", will require:

The elimination of all kind of religious intolerance or belief worldwide.

The implementation of the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religions or Belief is far from being a reality.

"Governments should redouble their efforts to uphold the provisions in their everydaywork".The United Nations Special Representative considers that the principles contained in the 1981 Declaration need to be further disseminated among lawmakers, judges and civil servants. It is of the utmost importance to promote ideal of tolerance and understanding through education.

There is an urgent need to eliminate the roots causes of intolerance and discrimination and to remain vigilant with regard to freedom of religion or belief worldwide. Most of the situations of religious intolerance stemeither from ignorance and from misleading information. Education, then, is a crucial issue for promoting religious harmony in the world.

Religious controversies are historical. They will continue to demand the international community attention and challenge societies to find creative ways of dealing with it. There are no classic or tested recipes for resolving such sensitive issues. In this regard, a continuing dialogue at all level is oTo work for peace and reconciliation between all nations of the world.

Work hard to prepare the ground for a just lasting peace all over the world based on mutual respect and understanding through dialogue. Dedicate our efforts to solveour of disputes by peaceful means and in conformity with the highest spiritual principles of love and justice. To ensure that globalization, as a real challenge of today´s society, becomes a positive force for all the world´s people. At present its benefits and very unevenly shared.

To create a shared future, a peaceful future, based upon our common humanity in all its diversity.This shared future principles are:

Freedom: Man and women have the right to live their lives and raise their children in dignity, free from hunger, free from fear of violence, oppression or injustice.

Equality: Every person and nation has the right to have the opportunity to benefit from development. Solidarity: Global changes must be managed in a way that its benefits should be distributed according with basic principles of equity and social justice.

Tolerance: Human beings must respect one other, in all their diversity, religion or belief, culture, race, and knowledge. Respect for nature: Prudence in the management of all living species and natural resources.

Shared responsibility: For managing worldwide economic and social development. All threats to international peace andsecurity, must be shared among the nations of the world and should be exercised multilaterally.

To educate the human communities in every part of the world with values of tolerance and mutual understanding.

"The World Conference on Human Rights considers human rights education, training and public information essential for the promotion and achievement of stable and harmonious relations among communities and for fostering mutual understanding, tolerance and peace.

Education, as agreed by the international community, can be defined as training and information aimed at building a universal culture through the sharing of knowledge directed to:

-The full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity.

-The promotion of understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations.

-The building and maintenance of peace

-The promotion of people-centred sustainable development social justice all over the world.

A comprehensive education provides knowledge about the mechanisms that protect daily life and at the same time fosters the attitudes andbehaviours needed to uphold rights for all members of society.

A strong compromise from our States, national Governments and international Institutions towards justice and peace.

The world has become more globalize and the interaction between international actors is more rapid, so there are new challenges to be faced. The benefits and burdens of this globalization are not evenly distributed. The world needs a fairer distribution of the benefits. The duty of solidarity is an imperative prerequisite of globalization.

International solidarity need to be more developed in international relations for the sake of humanity

Global responses to natural disasters, pandemic disease, such as avian influenza and agricultural pest, with the intention of supporting efforts on poverty eradication and fighting hunger, are tangible issues, which profoundly affect human life and need more "Surely Allah will raise for this community at the beginning of every century onewho shall revive for it its faith." (34)

IV.- Final Comments

Humanity today is currently in a period of its history in which profound changes are occurring and these are extending progressively throughout the universe.These changes, provoked by human intelligence,incide on its way of thinking and acting with respect to things and other persons. We stand before a true social and cultural transformation that also redounds to the spiritual and religious lives of people.

Mankind has never had such an abundance of riches, possibilities and economic power, and yet a great part of the world population experiences hunger and misery. Men have never had a more acute sense of freedom as they do today, yet new types of social and psychological slavery, such as consumerism and drugs - to cite only two of them - are appearing in society.

The world feels itself as interdependent: a necessary solidarity appears that is divided by the antagonistic forces dividing society into the political, the social, the economic, the racial and the ideological, without forgetting the danger of a war capable of destroying everything.

Man seeks to create a perfect order in this world using his own means, without worrying about progressing in the same way with his spiritual development. Spirits are perturbed: man fails to find himself, and it is beginning to dawn on him that he is incapable of seeing his own history through, and that this is overwhelming him.

These conditions are especially felt in the religious lives of people. Increasingly more persons are moving away from religion. They deny the existence of God or simply dispense with Him, particularly the youth, some of them in response to a new humanism, or due to the demands of the modern scientific world in which they put their blind faith.

The conviction is growing that man not only can and should increasingly strengthen his dominion over creation, but also that it exclusively falls upon him to establish Paradise on earth. The full and true liberation of humanity is expected solely through human effort, and it is believed that the future reign of man over the world willfulfil his heart's desires.

Say Prophet Muhammad,( p.b.u ..h ), "I cannot control any harm or benefit that come to me, except as God wills. There is an appointed term for every community, and when it is reached they can neither delay nor hasten it, even for a moment." (35)

May Almighty Allah IncreaseThe Followers Of His True Path

V.- Bibliography

o Carment , David and Schnabel, Albrecht, Conflict Prevention, 2003, United Nations University, New York, USA..

Gonz?lez B?rnez ,Ra?l , ElCor?n , 2006,Miraguano , S.A.Ediciones , Madrid,Espa?a .

Gurméndez , Carlos, Elsecreto de laalienaci?n y ladesalienaci?n humana , 1989, EditorialAnthropos , Barcelona,Espa?a .

Gurméndez , Carlos,Estudios sobre el amor,1985 , EditorialAnthropos , Barcelona,Espa?a .

Imam Ali,Nahjol-Balagha , Compiled by:Sayyid Shareef Ar -Razi , 2003,Ansariyan Publication, Qum, Islamic Republic ofIr?n .

Küng , Hans, Elcristianismo ylas grandes religiones , 1993,C?rculo deLectores , Barcelona,Espaa .

LaBiblia , 2003, Herder Editorial, S.L., Barcelona,Espa?a .

Magris , Claudio,Utop?a ydesencanto , 2001, EditorialAnagrama , Barcelona,Espa?a .

Ortberg , John,The Spiritual Formation Bible, 2006, HarperCollins Publishers, GreatBretain .

TheQur´ân,a new translation, M.A.S. AbdelHaleem , Oxford University Press, Inc., New York, USA

VI.- Notes

(1) Imam Alibn Abi-Talib´s , Sermons,Nahjol-Balagha .

(2) Matthew 10, 26-27

(3)Sura 32, 7-9

(4) Corinthians 5,6

(5) Genesis 1, 27-28

(6) Genesis 1,31

(7) Ephesians 4,24

(8) Wisdom of Solomon 2,23

(9)Hadith ofBukhari and Muslim

(10) Wisdom of Solomon 2,24

(11) John 12,31

(12) Luke 9, 25

(13) Matthew 24,13

(14)Qur´ân Hadith 2154

(15)Qur´ân 35, 5-6

(16) Luke 10,36

(17) Matthew 19,19

(18) Matthew 7,12

(19)Qur´ân 35,2

(20) Matthew 6,24

(21) Revelation 3,16

(22)Qur´ân 65, 2-3

(23) John 11, 25-26

(24)Qur´ân 72,13

(25) Isaiah 50,11

(26)Qur´ân 2, 286

(27) Matthew 23, 11-12

(28)Qur´ân 22, 34-35

(29)Qur´ân 24,35

(30) John 3,8

(31)Qur´ân 17,85

(32)Qur´ân 66,8

(33) John 3,20

(34)Hadith of AbuDawud

(35)Qur´ân 10

Title of the article:Mahdism andMessianism utopia: believers attributes at "The Time of Appearance".

"Do not make haste for a matter which is to happen and is awaited, and do not wish for delay in what tomorrow is to bring for you." (1) There is an increasing interest in our society today concerning the appearance of the Messiah for Christians and theMahdi (a.s . ) for Muslims that will bring God kingdom to earth. Many religions and schools of thoughts have prophesized and predicted it.

TheMahdi (a.s .) is the main eschatological messianic figure in Islam that will bring peace and reconciliation to our suffering world before the "End of Time". His appearance will bring spiritual harmony and order and He will encourage people to live for the needs of "others".

The strongbelieve of theShi´a religious community in the appearance of theMahdi (a.s .) has propitiated hope and inspiration to them to accept the responsibility of taking the necessary steps to accomplish all changes needed before his appearance.

"So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops." (2)

The appearance of theMahdi (a.s .) or Messiah is inevitable and sure, but those that believe in His appearance will have to be aware of the transcendental changes that will occur in their life at a personal and professional level. Is no doubt that this is the greatest task that a human being could ever had in his/her life, but, still is a long journey to go and a lot of work to do before His appearance, but a bright future is awaiting us at the end of the "Journey".