Page 104 - Islam and Buddhism

Islam and Buddhism

If only you could see the evildoers hanging their heads in shame
before their Lord: "Our Lord, we have seen and we have heard, so

send us back again and we will act rightly. Truly we now have cer-
tainty." (Qur'an, 32: 12)
However much they may beg and ask for forgiveness, they will
begin an afterlife full of agony from which there is no escape, much
less a return. Their repentance will not be accepted, and never will

their desire to return to the world be fulfilled. Though warned many
times, the godless who did not believe—and bowed themselves be-
fore statues of stone and wood that they associated with God; who es-
poused vain philosophies only as a show to attract the interest of
others; who did not fear God as they should have—will enter unend-
ing humiliation from the moment they meet the Angel of Death. Their
souls will be taken with blows to their back and sides, they will be

grabbed by the forelock and be thrown into Hell; this will be the be-
ginning of their afterlife.
God will not allow them to speak, and their voices will be no
louder than a whisper. (Qur'an, 20: 108) Hell will be the final place for
all those godless people who exalted themselves before God, did not

believe in the resurrection or the afterlife, were rebellious despite the
warnings and did not lead a moral life. The people of Hell, "shackled
together in chains" (Qur'an, 25: 13), will be jammed into "a sealed
vault of Fire" (Qur'an, 90: 20) and live in the murk of thick black
smoke. They will hear the fire gasping harshly as it seethes and find
people moaning in it. Their endless pain will never be relieved, de-

spite their entreaties, causing them indescribable anxiety.
Physically, the denizens of Hell will have a terrible appearance.
They will be bound with shackles and chains, and their eyes will be
downcast, darkened by debasement. A scorching wind will burn their

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