Page 77 - The Pains of the False World

C O N C L U S I O N

As has been described throughout the course of this book,
a person's life in this world will inevitably come to an end one
d a y. As Imam Ghazali recalls, the benefits of the life of this
world will be unable to make good the damages and troubles
which will be suffered by those who waste their time on the
sphere of this world.
It is revealed in the Qur'an that Allah will ask such people
how many years they lived on the Earth and their reply is re-

vealed thus:
He [Allah] will say: "How many years did you tarry on
the Earth?" They will say: "We tarried there for a day or
part of a day. Ask those able to count!" He will say: "You
only tarried there for a little while if you did but know!"
(Surat al- Muminun, 112-14)
These verses show that when a person goes to the Hereaf-
ter, a person will understand that he or she has spent far less
than a day in this world and even "just one hour of a single
d a y " (Surat al-Ahqaf, 35). All that will remain of his or her
long years of endeavor in the life of this world will be a few

brief memories in the mind, and everything belonging to this
world will vanish.
Despite this, unbelievers will proceed to the Hereafter un-
der a heavy load. In the verse "Those who deny the meeting
with Allah have lost, so that, when the Hour comes upon
them suddenly, they will say: 'Alas for what we neglected
there!' They will bear their burdens on their backs. How
evil is what they bear!" (Surat al-An'am, 31), Allah re v e a l s
that unbelievers carry the burden of their sins on their backs.

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