Page 74 - The Pains of the False World

THE PAINS OF THE FALSE WORLD

re will be differences in the rewards and punishments people will
-
receive for their deeds in this world. If you wish to attain the hig
hest degrees in Paradise then try to ensure none exceed you in
worship of and obedience to Allah." (Imam Ghazali, Kalplerin
Kesfi [The Discovery of Hearts], pp. 534, 535, 539)
As we have seen, a person has two alternatives for the Af-
terlife: He or she will choose either Hell, with nothing but
eternal and indescribable suffering, or Paradise, with the gre-

atest happiness and beauty. All rational people will of course
choose Paradise, "a place full of happiness and infinite bles-
sings." That is because nobody wishes to spend all eternity
without the possibility of salvation except by the will of
Allah, in a place devoid of all physical and spiritual beauty, in
a state of constant suffering, sorrow and re g ret. Any normal
individual will prefer to live in happiness for all eternity with
those he or she loves, in a place consisting solely of blessings
and happiness, and where no diff i c u l t y, trouble, evil or im-
perfection is created.
The Hereafter is an absolute reality revealed by our Lord.
In order to be saved from terrible suffering in the Here a f t e r
and to attain a happy and pro s p e rous end, people need to
a p p rehend this truth. They must spend the time allotted to

them in the life of this world in doing good deeds to gain the
approval of Allah and trying to attain the moral values belo-
ved of Him.
Let us also note that nobody must rest content with what
he or she has already performed. Nobody can be certain that
his or her past deeds will be sufficient for salvation. From that

72