Page 78 - Paradise: The Believers' Real Home

76 PARADISE

So he will look down and see him in the midst of
the Blazing Fire and say: "By Allah, you almost ru-
ined me! If it were not for the blessing of my Lord,
I would surely be [now] among those who are
given over [to suffering]. But then [O my friends
in Paradise,] is it [really] so that we are not to die
[again,] beyond our previous death and we shall
never [again] be made to suffer? Truly this is the
Great Victory!" (Surat as-Saffat, 50-60)

As we see from these verses, believers are aware that
they have arrived at this final happy end only by Allah's merci-
ful will. Their consciences are keen, and they remember the
past. Perhaps their whole lives are shown to them in detail,
where they see the members of their intimate circle trying to
make them deviate from the right path. And they understand
that if Allah had not protected them with His endless grace,
they could have followed the wrong path. Believers who come
to this awareness give thanks to Allah in Paradise, just as they
did in the world.
The verses below tell about the words spoken between
the people of Paradise and those in Hell, and give expression
to the latter group's sorrow:
In Gardens they will ask the evildoers: "What
caused you to enter Saqar [Hell]?"
They will say: "We were not among the prayerful,
and we did not feed the poor. We plunged with
those who plunged, and denied the Day of