MISCONCEPTION : THERE IS NO LIFE AFTER DEATH

Dr Noorul Hussain K, M.D. (A.M.)

 

 

When no reasonable man can do anything without any purpose, how can we expect that without any purpose, the All-Wise, All-knowing Creator has created us and provided us with all those things that are necessary for our survival and  growth?  ALlah (swt) says:

1)  "Did you then think that We have created you in vain and that you would not be brought back to Us (for account)?"  [Surah Al-Mu'minun: 115]

 

2)  "We have not created heaven and earth and all that lies between them in vain. That is the fancy of the  unbelievers. Woe to the unbelievers by the fire." [Surah Sad: 27]

 

If ALlah (swt) has not created anything in vain, why has He then created all things?  The Holy Qur'aan says:

 

1)  "He has created all things that are on earth for you (i.e. for man).

[Surah Al-Baqarah:  29] 

2)  "I have created jinns and men, so that they might worship Me."

[Surah Adh-Dhariyat: 56]

 

ALlah has created  all things that are on earth for our benefit, and created us for His worship. So, to inform man the purpose of his life and to teach the modes and types of worship, ALlah (swt) sent His Messengers and conveyed  His Religion Islam to mankind. Now the following questions arise:

 

1)  What will man get if he worships ALlah (swt) as per His Guidance?

2)  What will man lose if he does not worship ALlah (swt)?

 

 

 

These questions themselves demand the Day of Judgment. ALlah (swt) created man and provided all that man needs to survive and grow. So He is our Master and we are His slaves. And he , the Master, asked His slaves to worship Him alone. It is ridiculous to tthink that the Master will not ask His slave anything about the work given and about the things  He has provided for His slave for accomplishing the work. Moreover, it is against wisdom and justice that if the Master does not give any reward to the slave who completes the work given. It is also against wisdom and justice if the Master does not punish the slave who does not care for the work given by his Master. So, wisdom and justice demand the Day of reward for the obedient slaves and the Day of punishment for the disobedient and wicked slaves. So, to reward His obedient slaves and to punish His disobedient and  wicked slaves, ALlah (swt) has appointed a Day that is known as the Day of Recompense (Yaumudeen).  ALlah (swt) says:

 

1)  "The blind and the one who sees (clearly), are not equal, nor are those who believe and work righteous   deeds and those who do evil equal. You learn a little by admonition! The Hour will certainly come therein  is no doubt. Yet most people do not believe." [Surah Ghafir: 58-59]

 

2)  "What! Do those who do evil deeds think  that We will make them as equal with those who believe and    do righteous deed... The judgment that they make is ill. ALlah (swt) created the heavens and the earth on     (the basis of) Truth, and in order that each soul may find the recompense of what it has earned, and none     of them shall be wronged." [Surah Al-Jathiyah: 21-22]

 

3)  "If anyone does a righteous deed, it is for his own benefit; if he does evil, it works against (his own soul).   In the end you (all) will be brought back to your Lord (for account)." [Surah Al-Jathiyah: 15]

 

4)  "Is then the man who has Faith like the man who is rebellious and wicked?  They are not equal. For      those who have Faith and do righteous deeds are gardens as hospitable homes for their (good) deeds. As to those who are rebellious and wicked, their abode will be the fire. Every time they wish to get away, they will be forced back, and it will be said to them: 'Taste you the chastisement of the fire, which you were wont to reject as false," [Surah As-Sajdah: 18-20]

 

5)  "The sinners will be in the punishment of the hell, to dwell therein (for aye). It (the punishment) will not be  lightened for them, and they will be overwhelmed in that. We will not be unjust to them. But it is they who have been unjust to themselves." [Surah Az-Zukhruf: 74-76]

Abdullah Yusuf 'Ali says in the commentary of these Verses: "The wrong-doers suffer not because     ALlah (swt) is unjust and cruel, nor as a deterrent to others, for the probationary period will then have     passed, because their evil deeds must bear their inevitable fruit. ALlah's Grace was ever ready to offer     opportunities for repentance and forgiveness. But they rejected them. They were unjust to themselves."

 

6)  "And indeed We will make them taste of the lighter chastisement (in  this world) before the greater chastisement (in Hereafter) in order that they may (repent and) return." [Surah As-Sajdah: 21]

 

7)   "If any does good, the reward to him is better than his deed; but if any does evil, the doers of evil are only punished (to the extent) of their deeds," [Surah Al-Qasas: 84]

 

8)  "Truly he succeeds that purifies it (his soul), and he fails that corrupts it." [Surah Ash-Shams: 9-10]

 

 

Therefore, every person has to lead this life, keeping Hereafter in consideration. Death is the reality of life. So man should always remember the death and the Hereafter. This makes him a responsible, realistic and practical person, and enables him to discharge the responsibilities towards the God, and towards the parents, the family, the relatives , the  neighbours, the society etc.