Page 175 - Seekers Guide Book

The Seeker’s Guide
constitute a training ground that gives us a chance to
cope with adversity, thus preparing us for eternal entry
into Paradise. The Quran introduces Paradise thus:

God calls man to the home of peace. (Quran
10:25)

According to Islam, the present world is a place of work,
while the world Hereafter is a place of reward. When
one dies, life does not come to an end. One simply enters
the second phase of life, that is, the world Hereafter. It
is only in the present world that one can prove that one
is deserving of Paradise in the world Hereafter. This
opportunity ends at the time of death; after death, there
is no opportunity to prepare oneself. Success and failure
are both determined by one’s deeds in this world, in the
pre-death period.

The basic theme of the Quran is to make the reader
aware of the creation plan of God, according to which
the present world has been created for a limited period
of time. When this time is over and this world shall be
brought to an end, the Day of Judgement shall take place.
According to Islamic belief, it would be a Day of Justice
where the deeds of every individual – good or bad – shall
be laid bare and according to the deeds in the pre-death
period, their final destination shall be decreed.

Entry into Paradise is not based on any kind of
recommendation, and it is not anyone’s birthright. It
depends totally on one’s deeds and how one uses one’s
God-given freedom. The Quran is very clear on this
point:

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