In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful   Chapter six The Life Of The Hereafter   Before concluding our discussion about life and death, we have to talk about the hereafter in details. This is man’s real life. Worldly life is merely the abode of trial. No matter how long man stays in it, he will surely leave it at the end, and then will come man’s eternal life.   This worldly life is preceded by death and is followed by death, whereas the hereafter is preceded by death and is followed by immortality. This worldly life is a world of vicissitudes where man’s state is never the same. The strong therein becomes weak, the rich becomes poor and the powerful becomes helpless.   As for life in the hereafter, it is characterized by permanence in everything; in its pleasures, its torment, its delights, and all that it offers. Man before coming to this worldly life experienced a period of death in the immaterial existence. For man to reach the life of the hereafter, he has to experience a death period in the Barzakh [the grave as the barrier or the intermediate realm that separates between this world and the other world from the time of death till the time of Resurrection] world. The Barzakh is the barrier between death and resurrection, between life and afterlife. After it, there would be no return to worldly life.   We have to mind that everything about man, whether in the immaterial existence, the life of this world, the death world, or in the hereafter, is chronicled in accurate records with Allah, praise and glory be to Him. None among these phases goes haphazardly or elapses without an order or an accurate arrangement. Allah, praise and glory be to Him, possesses an utmost accurate record of everything He has created. No secret in this world is concealed from Him. Nothing is hidden from Him so much as the weight of an atom on the earth or in the heavens. Everything is in a Clear Book, which is the foundation of the Book, Al-Lauh Al-Mahfûz(The Preserved Tablet). Recite the noble Qur’anic verse in which Allah, praise be to Him, says (what means):   “Verily, We give life to the dead, and We record that which they send before (them), and their traces [their footsteps and walking on the earth with their legs to the mosques for the five compulsory congregational prayers, Jihâd (holy fighting in the Cause of Allah) and all other good and evil they did, and that which they leave behind], and all things We have recorded with numbers (as a record) in a Clear Book.” (Yâsîn, 36: 12)   For each one of us there is a preserved record kept with Allah. It encloses all the events of man’s life and it would be a witness against him on the Day of Resurrection, but how would it bear witness against him? A witness against him through vivid images, as he would certainly see and hear all the events of his life exactly as it happened to him, and observe it meticulously in a way that inhibits him from denying any of it. Allah thus makes man bear witness against himself on the Day of Resurrection. Recite the noble Qur’anic verse in which Allah, Whose Majesty reigns most high, says (what means):   “Read your book. You yourself are sufficient as a reckoner against you this Day.” (Al-Isrâ’, 17: 14)   This record and the registered life of each man are so accurate to extent that it resembles eyeing our selfsame worldly lives and be amazed from the accuracy of such recording, because we would find recorded in that book certain matters and details we have forgotten. Allah, praise and glory be to Him, says concerning the accuracy of recording (what means),   “Allah has kept account of it, while they have forgotten it.” (Al-Mujâdalah, 58:6)   We would also discern the seriousness of Judgment from the accuracy of recording. That Allah, praise and glory be to Him, misses nothing. Therefore, we have to carefully deliberate on the Qur’ânic verse in which Allah, praise be to Him, says (what means),   “They will say: ‘Woe to us! What sort of Book is this that leaves neither a small thing nor a big thing, but has recorded it with numbers!’ And they will find all that they did, placed before them, and your Lord treats no one with injustice.” (Al-Kahf, 18: 49)   Deep deliberation on this Qur’ânic verse makes us ashamed of committing any sin while knowing that it will be recorded against us and be exposed on the Day of the Great Scene in front of Allah, praise and glory be to Him, witnessed by all the creatures.   Beyond the capacity of mind…but true indeed when it comes to the Power of Allah   Those who disbelieve in the Unseen may stop and ask themselves: Is it possible? Is it possible that each one of us would be brought from among billions of persons that lived and would still live on earth since the beginning of creation till the establishment of the Last Hour? Is it possible that each one of us would be brought with our very selfsame being although the earth consumes our bodies and erases it leaving nothing whatsoever of man?   We reply by saying that when we talk about the Power of Allah, we never talk in terms of reason. That is because Allah, praise and glory be to Him, is beyond the capacity of mind. There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him. All His Divine Attributes and Power are likewise beyond man’s grasp of intellect. But surely every one of us is created with an accurate balance so exact that is never upset nor lost.   Allah, praise and glory be to Him, being merciful to our minds, revealed to us some of the secrets He has placed in this universe that may approximate to our minds the prodigious matters of the Unseen, in order not to go astray, nor fall into distress.   Originally, man is created from a sperm and all mankind were brought forth from the loin of Adam (peace be upon him). This sperm is so minute that it cannot be seen with the naked eye. To perceive how accurate the process of creation is, it suffices to imagine that all mankind – since the creation of Adam till the Day of Resurrection – existed in the loin of Adam, that was the beginning. Every sperm represents a human’s life, on which his entire life is written with a highly accurate code: his age, his lifetime, and all the events that will happen to him, whether a male or a female, whether miserable or happy and all other things.   If we were made to know this code, take it, and then input it in a computer to solve its riddles we would be faced in minuets with a human’s figure, his gender, and the story of his whole life. Although such a scientific fact has started to be known to us only recently, it existed since the creation of Adam. But Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has not willed to reveal some of its secrets except at the present time.   This sperm chosen with utmost accuracy is emitted, enters the womb, fertilizes the egg, and causes pregnancy. The code continues to output what has been recorded in it till the time of death is due then it stops.   The record is never lost   This is the only record that is never erased, lost, or obliterated. When Allah resurrects people on the Day of Resurrection, He will say to this sperm, “Be!” so the code is deciphered and all what is written on it is fulfilled and comes the very selfsame man.   Allah, praise and glory be to Him, draws our attention to the fact that Resurrection is the bringing back of creation, not a new creation. Allah, Whose Majesty reigns most high, says (what means),   “Then, they will say: ‘Who shall bring us back (to life)?’ Say: ‘He Who created you first!’ Then, they will shake their heads at you and say: ‘When will that be?’ Say: ‘Perhaps it is near!’” (Al-Isrâ’, 17: 51)   Allah, praise and glory be to Him, will order those sperms present on the earth to return creatures as before, and they will comply. The only difference will be the time, because in the hereafter there is no time. What takes place during worldly life in thirty, forty, fifty years, or more or less will happen in a second. This is the only difference. Other than that, Resurrection is a bringing back of a creation that already existed. Although mankind is alike in appearance, physical structure and characteristics, you will never find two typically identical persons. Two persons will never be totally identical in every thing from the time of Adam (peace be upon him) till the Last Hour is established, though we are almost repeated duplicates.   Allah, praise and glory be to Him, being merciful to our minds, gave us the clue to this in many things. Take for an instance the fingerprint; although our hands are similar, the fingerprint of each one of us is different from that of the other. It is also true between the fingers of the same hand. I believe that this is an undeniable fact and an acquired worldly knowledge whose miracles are unfolded with the passage of time. In every age the Noble Qur’ân offers special bestowments, which are not brought about by coincidence. Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, has called our attention to it in the Noble Qur’ân through the verse saying (what means):   “Does man (a disbeliever) think that We shall not assemble his bones? Yes, We are Able to put together in perfect order the tips of his fingers.” (Al-Qiyâmah, 75: 3-4)   This means that the Power of Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, does not lie only in assembling the bones, which had dissolved and turned into dust, but His Power is far beyond that. With His infinite Power The Almighty put together the fingertips and fingerprints, which distinguishes a human from another since the time of Adam (peace be upon him) till the Day of Resurrection.   Modern science has proven, as Allah has already revealed to us, that just as fingers have a unique print, the body has also its print, its scent that distinguishes a human from the rest of his race. It is identified by trained dogs that have a very sensitive sense of smell. Man has also a voiceprint, tooth print, and other distinctive features. In fact every body has its own code identified by all the members of the one body in a manner that never allows the mingling of a single body with another.   We come across this fact in organ and skin transplantations. Every body perfectly knows its organs and tissues. So if man is injured, you find the skin coalescing and weaving a new tissue to replace the cut and close it. Similarly, if any bodily organ is afflicted with a microbe, the whole body is united to fight this microbe till it destroys it. But what happens if we placed an organ or a tissue taken from another person? Immediately the body identifies it, knows that it is not its own and starts fighting this foreign intruder till it expels it, even if this organ is taken from the man’s brother, son, or daughter; in other words, is of the same origin. This proves to us that each body has its unique code.   Perhaps the surgeons who perform transplanting operations are the people most familiar with this fact. Each day they are faced with similar cases, a mother’s body rejecting the daughter’s kidney, a father’s body not accepting the son’s skin tissues. Then it is not a matter of kinship or origin, but every body has its own code that does not agree with that of another body. Verily, the Work of Allah, Who perfected all things.   Proving Resurrection with tangible evidences   Faced with all these evidences that approximate to the mind how each human being is a none recurrent image of the others, and how he is distinguished by special attributes that characterize him alone, inscribed with a special code on the sperm, which is the commencement of bringing man from the immaterial existence or the death world to the worldly life in order to perform his duty, we learn for sure that recreation is easier than starting it. Although there is nothing deemed easy or difficult on Almighty Allah, for He says to a thing: ‘Be!’ and it is. But we mention this because recreation of an existent, for us, is easier than bringing it into being. In order to clarify this meaning to us, Allah, praise and glory be to Him, says in the Noble Qur’an (what means):   “And He it is Who originates the creation, then will repeat it (after it has been perished), and this is easier for Him. His is the highest description (i.e. none has the right to be worshipped but He, and there is nothing comparable unto Him) in the heavens and in the earth. And He is the All­Mighty, the All­Wise.” (Ar-­Rûm, 30: 27)   Moving from one phase to the other in our journey towards eternal life does not occur except with the Power of Allah, praise and glory be to Him, alone. Rising from our graves does not signify the beginning of the afterlife, rather it is rising to face the Day of Judgment; the Day when all people would be resurrected from the graves they were buried inside. They would all come forth by the same word that was said to the sperm ‘Be’. For as the sperm was surrounded in the immaterial existence by the signs of death, till Allah permitted it to come to life by the word ‘Be,’ and life was breathed into it so as to perform what is fated for it, from conception, birth, childhood, till finally reaching the predestined age of death. The same applies to the Hour of Resurrection, when it would be said to the sperm ‘Be,’ and people would start rising from their graves, but the question is how they would come forth?   Would man keep on trying to get out, and keep removing the soil above him to get out? Never, for the land would split asunder for him by the Commandment of Allah, praise and glory be to Him. Recite the noble Qur’anic verse in which Allah, praise be to Him, says (what means):   “On the Day when the earth shall be cleft, from off them, (they will come out) hastening forth. That will be a gathering, quite easy for Us.”  (Qâf, 50: 44)   But why Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has called it Hashir â€˜crowding or gathering’? Because all who were engraved within the earth would come forth of it, although they were not buried all at the same time, but they were buried throughout many centuries and their parts were scattered in distant places after turning into dust. They would all come forth in the same breath, and the earth would be crammed with them. Therefore, Allah has called it the Day of Crowding, because the overcrowding would be so intense.   Imagine a land like Egypt for instance; many dead people were interred in it throughout so many centuries, and all of a sudden these dead people would come out in the same breath. Indeed, what a horrible great crowd and what a frightful day!   In America someone once asked me where does the soul go after death? I answered him saying, ‘To where it was before it came to life,’ and then another asked how all the events of the universe are recorded? I told him that it is not just recorded, but are predestined by Allah, praise and glory be to Him, before they occur. And this is a proof of the Divine Omnipotence and the Thoroughness of Allah’s Knowledge. Each deed and event happens according to the Decree of Allah. Recite the noble Qur’anic verse in which Allah, praise be to Him, says (what means):   “No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfûz), before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allah.”) Al-Hadîd, 57: 22)   Such recording is so accurate to the extent that the eyes of a murdered victim record in its iris the image of the killer, and if we succeeded to reach the iris of the murdered victim, we would be able to see the image of the killer. Indeed, everything is recorded and has its substantiating proof.   Before Allah, praise and glory be to Him, created life, He created death. When man is born the angel of death goes out in search for him. The age of man is the time it takes the angel of death to find him, and when they meet it is the moment of death.  

Paradise

  Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has created many things especially for the afterlife, even if they are invisible to us. If in paradise there is what an eye has never seen, nor an ear has ever heard of, nor ever crossed the mind of a human soul, it is thus difficult to express life in paradise by words, for the image must first exist in the human mind, and then one can choose the suitable words to express it. Before inventing the television for example, this word had no existence in any of the languages, but when it was invented and became a tangible reality, the linguistics chose for it this name   When Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, describes life in paradise for us, He says (what means), â€˜The likeness of (this) worldly life’, thus it is not life itself, but just a simile whereby He approximates it to the mind by something known. When someone wants to communicate to the mind an unknown thing, he likens it to something familiar so that the hearer can understand. As when trying to inform someone that the earth is round shaped, you bring him a map of the earth drawn on a ball, and tell him that the earth is similar to this ball.   When the inhabitants of paradise would enter it, things would seem similar to them; they would imagine that the fruits are akin to those with which they were provided before in worldly life, but in reality they are certainly different. Allah, The Most Exalted, would command them to eat them and they would find them totally different from what they had in worldly life. Thus, all the descriptions that Allah gives for life in paradise, is an attempt to approximate the meaning to the human mind, so that man can envisage how it would be. It is enough to know that in paradise, one obtains whatever it occurs to his mind by the mere thinking of it, which is something none can attain in worldly life.   Once I was visiting the United States, when they took me to a hotel where the kings usually stay; they wanted to fascinate me with the scientific progress, where everything in the room is prepared for accommodation. Just by pressing a button you get a cup of coffee, and by pressing another you get a cup of tea, food or the like. When they asked about my opinion, I told them that if such were manmade luxury, just imagine how much the more the Lord of mankind has prepared for us?   In paradise, when man dreams of something he finds it before him; all what man wishes for is fulfilled, and Allah has ever more than what any heart can crave for, therefore The Truth, praise be to Him, says (what means):   “There they will have all that they desire, and We have more (for them, i.e. a glance at the All-Mighty, All-Majestic swt).”(Qâf, 50: 35)   Meaning that Allah, praise and glory be to Him, grants man in paradise all what he wishes, and whatever the mind can dream of, and then there would be more and more. Yes indeed! The ultimate happiness and ecstasy will be seeing Allah on the Day of Resurrection. This is the greatest blessing, which any man can attain in this universe. When man sees Allah, he will wish for no other delights, nor desire anything more than enjoying the pleasure of looking at Allah, praise and glory be to Him. The Truth, whose Majesty reigns most high, says in the Noble Qur’an (what means):   “Some faces that Day shall be Nâdirah (shining and radiant). Looking at their Lord (Allah).”(Al-Qiyâmah, 75: 22-23)   The worst punishment that can befall a man on the Day of Resurrection is to be deprived from seeing Allah, neither will Allah look at him, nor speak to him. Indeed, an intolerable punishment afflicted on the dwellers of the hellfire. The Truth, be He highly blessed and exalted, says about the denizens of hellfire (what means):   “Neither will Allah speak to them, nor look at them on the Day of Resurrection.”(Âl-‘Imrân, 3: 77)   And Allah, Whose Majesty reigns most high, says (what means):   “Nay! Surely, they (evil-doers) will be veiled from seeing their Lord that Day.”(Al-Mutaffifîn, 83: 15)   We have to understand that in the life of paradise or hell, the structure of our bodies will change in a way that shifts them from mortality to immortality, and helps make the body cope with the new conditions of the life it shall live. Thus, the body structure of the inhabitants of paradise will change to suit life in paradise, enabling them to see Allah, talk to Him and listen to Him. As for the inhabitants of hellfire, we seek the Refuge of Allah from such an end, the time the skin of their bodies gets burned, it will be renewed and revived once more, so that they feel the pain and torment, for the sensory nerves exist directly beneath the skin, as science has discovered just recently. Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, says (what means):   “Surely! Those who disbelieved in Our Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) We shall burn them in Fire. As often as their skins are roasted through, We shall change them for other skins that they may taste the punishment. Truly, Allah is Ever Most Powerful, All­Wise.” (An-Nisâ’, 4:56)   Thus, we see that all of us will be endowed with a new creation, so that Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, may grant us the fruits of our deeds in worldly life, and grant us the eternal life that suits the human being whom Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has honored and created the whole universe for his sake. This is the true life that Allah, praise and glory be to Him, wants for us. As for the inhabitants of hellfire, we seek the Refuge of Allah from such an end, they only enjoyed themselves in this worldly life a little, and they incurred upon themselves an eternal torture in the hereafter. They have ruined themselves by disobeying Allah, praise and glory be to Him. They have wasted the real life that Allah, Whose Majesty reigns most high, has prepared for them.   Here we reach the end of this discussion, hoping that Allah, praise and glory be to Him, has guided me to what He loves and may earn His Good Pleasure, and I beg The Most Exalted, that this book serves as guidance to all those who reads it, and ushers them to the true life in paradise, verily He is the All-Hearer, the One Who answers the prayers.