address mankind. If You command, the earth and the heavens will say what man should have spoken. But, O God, because of the law of test You will never do this. Therefore, now You have no other choice but to

before. O God, in the name of all Your good names, I pray to You to become a playback speaker for me. You speak and I will repeat. Speak in a silent language, and I will repeat Your words. O God, if I do

announcement (of calling people to God) will not be made in a way that is most desirable for You. O God, it is a moment when neither do I have a choice nor do You. O God, this is the moment when the total

address mankind. If You command, the earth and the heavens will say what man should have spoken. But, O God, because of the law of test You will never do this. Therefore, now You have no other choice but to

before. O God, in the name of all Your good names, I pray to You to become a playback speaker for me. You speak and I will repeat. Speak in a silent language, and I will repeat Your words. O God, if I do

announcement (of calling people to God) will not be made in a way that is most desirable for You. O God, it is a moment when neither do I have a choice nor do You. O God, this is the moment when the total

CHAPTER THREE GOD AND THE LIFE HEREAFTERCHAPTER THREE GOD AND THE LIFE HEREAFTER

are under the watchful eye of God who will hold them accountable for their deeds. There are no exemptions to this rule. All are equally responsible before God. The above Quranic principle not only addresses

fact is that God created man with a well thought out plan, the gist of which was to give man complete freedom, not simply as a gift, but as a test. The result of this test would enable God to know who misused

the sake of testing mankind. It is for a high purpose. Before creating man, God created an ideal world, that is, Paradise. Now God wanted ideal men and women who would merit settling in this Paradise for

and His servant. When a human soul undergoes this experience of contact with God, then it is reflected in the form of tears. This same reality has been expressed thus in chapter 19 of the Quran: “For when

and come closer to God.” (96:19) A true act of self-prostration is a moment of nearness between God and man. At that moment a spiritual contact is formed at an invisible level between God and man. This experience

tears fall from the eyes of the servant. In the life of this world this experience of nearness to God is the greatest spiritual experience a man can have. This state of nearness is not between two equals

fellow men. Offering prayers is in one respect the worship of God. It is an acknowledgement of God and God’s godhead. It means surrendering before God, acknowledging Him as the one for whom all greatness is

dealing with others his attitude is then one of modesty and sympathy – enhances one’s connection with God as well as with other human beings.

he likes in the world, but, in reality, everything belongs to God. Whatever anybody has is His gift. Nobody, save God, has any power. God is always in a position to seize and punish man. Islam is acknowledgement

and who acknowledges it and submits to God. If one accepts God’s divinity and bases one’s life on reality, then one has truly embraced Islam and can enjoy God’s everlasting blessings. If one denies this

this reality and refuses to accept God as Master, and be His servant, then one’s action amounts to unbelief and one will be exposed to dreadful punishment on the Day of Judgement. To accept the Islamic

only to attract the mercy of God. That is why, the greatest of human actions is the realization of God. One who fulfils the criterion of the realization of God will find that God will turn to him and, by His

grace, He will decide about his entry into Paradise. One can enter into Paradise only by the grace of God. Paradise is not a reward for one’s actions. The truth is that human deeds over a few years can never

the Creator through His creation. Gratefulness means acknowledgement of God’s blessing. Whatever man has in this world is all God’s blessing. To deserve Paradise one has to acknowledge the Giver from his

The Importance of GratitudeThe very first verse of the Quran reads: “All praise is due to God, the Lord of the Universe.” (1:2) This verse shows the importance of gratitude. The truth is that of all the

perform it in its ideal form. In gratitude, he can offer all his best feelings, all his best thoughts to God. Such perfection can be expressed solely as a matter of gratitude. What is gratitude? Gratitude is

gratefulness in the matter of God. It is essential for every person to awaken his or her consciousness to such a high level that everything he or she possesses should be seen as God’s gift in the full sense.

testifying that there is no god but God, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God; saying prayers; paying the prescribed charity (zakat); making the pilgrimage to the House of God in Makkah and fasting in

are to support its structure. Man’s life is like a piece of land on which he must build a house to God’s liking. His first step must be to set up these five sturdy pillars, without which