- Islamic creed
- /
- Belief in the Last Day
Definition of the Last Day:
Dear brother, I ask Allah to help me in delivering a series of lectures about the Last Day. Two days ago, one of the Ayat of the Noble Quran caught my attention, and I found it to be the answer to most of our problems. It's the one in which Allah the Almighty says:
((And verily, those who believe not in the Hereafter are indeed deviating far astray from the Path (true religion Islamic Monotheism).))
Pillars of faith:
The pillars of faith are:
1. Belief in Allah.
2. Belief in the Last Day.
3. Belief in Angels.
4. Belief in the Revealed Books.
5. Belief in Messengers, may Allah have peace upon them.
6. Belief in the predestination by Allah of all things, both the (seemingly) good and the (seemingly) bad.
Belief in Allah and belief in the Last Day are inseparable:
These are the six pillars of faith. The most amazing inseparable correlation is the one between believing in Allah and believing in the Last Day, because the mere belief in Allah does not oblige man to obey Him, while believing that Allah exists, that He knows everything and that He will call you to account for all your deeds, you will never make man think of disobeying Him.When Allah the Almighty, says:
((It is Allah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof (i.e. seven). His Command descends between them (heavens and earth), that you may know… ))
It means that the reason behind creating heavens and earth is that you may know
((…that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah surrounds (comprehends) all things in (His) Knowledge.))
The disparate connection between "The-Omniscient" and "The-Omnipotent":
Among all of His Beautiful Names, Allah has chosen two names; The-Omniscient and The-Omnipotent to be correlated. He knows whatever you do, and He is able to call you to accounts for your deeds. By Allah when you know that a person you disdain is more powerful than you, you will never disobey him. Also you will never dare to disobey whoever is able to punish you or put you in a difficult situation for any violation you may commit.
I can never forget the words of 'Imam Al-Ghazali' when he addressed his ownself saying: "O nafs (ownself)! If an experienced doctor warns you against eating a certain kind of food that you like, you will definitely follow his command. Is the doctor's command is more authentic that the one of Allah?..." If the doctor tells you that salt is bad for your health- you know that food is tasteless without adding salt to it- you will listen to his advice and avoid adding salt to your food.
I repeat the words of Imam Al-Ghazali:
"O nafs (my ownself)! If an experienced doctor warns you against eating a certain kind of food that you like, you will definitely follow his command. Is the doctor's command more authentic that the one of Allah? What a disbelieving nafs you are! Is the warning of the doctor is more fearful than the warning of Allah to you? How ignorant you are!"
Committing sins is the reason behind the Divine punishments:
Whoever disobeys Allah is affected by ignorance and Kufr. What confuses me, dear brother, is that Muslims from east to west and from north to south know through religious sessions, Friday sermons, Islamic education courses, which are taught at schools, and through human nature, that theft, lying, cheating and transgressing other's honor are Haram (unlawful). However, these unlawful acts are committed. All kinds of chastisement that we receive from Allah the Almighty such as rationing, overcoming and poverty chastisement, are the effects of the sins that we commit.Where does the defect lie?
The number of Masajid which have been constructed lately has been the largest for five hundred years. Nowadays you find beautiful editions of the Noble Quran, great Islamic libraries, sonic libraries, visual libraries, Islamic conferences and huge Masajid. Yet, people are severely deviated; they transgress and deceive each other.
The precise meaning of this Ayah made me ponder over it while I was performing Al-Fajr prayer yesterday:
((And verily, those who believe not in the Hereafter are indeed deviating far astray from the Path (true religion Islamic Monotheism).))
Therefore, I decided to deliver a series of sessions discussing the belief in the Last Day. May Allah help me do this.
Belief in the Last Day:
When you believe in the Last Day, you believe that it is the day when you stand before Allah to be asked by Him why you did those things and why you did not do the other ones. It is the day when Allah asks you why you divorced your wife arbitrarily, why you got married in a way that did not please Allah or why you had an illicit affair. On that day you will be asked about every giving, prohibition, satisfaction or anger that was not for the sake of Allah.
When you are aware of the fact that Allah will ask you about all your deeds, call you to account for whatever you do and punish you for your wrongdoings, you will absolutely become straight on Allah's path.
It seems that all our lessons revolve around belief in the Last Day.
The belief of infidels:
Dear brother, I would like to tell you about the belief of the infidels by referring to the Noble Ayah:
(("Does he promise you that when you have died and have become dust and bones, you shall come out alive (resurrected)?*"Far, very far is that which you are promised.*"There is nothing but our life of this world! We die and we live! And we are not going to be resurrected!))
This is what the infidels believe in whether they have stated that explicitly (through their words) or implicitly (through their actions). They believe that the worldly life is everything; the rich man is happy, while the poor man is miserable, and the powerful can put his hands on what is his and what is sh3er', while the weak is deprived of what is his. The Muslims never dare to say these words which were uttered by the infidels. However, such a belief is manifested by their actions and deeds. The worldly life, money and glory are the most important things for them. When a Muslim is invited by a poor weak person, he will ignore his invitation claiming that he is busy, but if he is invited by a rich powerful man, he will be the first one among the attendants.
Allah the Almighty clarifies the belief of infidels in His Noble Book by saying:
(("Does he promise you that when you have died and have become dust and bones, you shall come out alive (resurrected)?*"Far, very far is that which you are promised.*"There is nothing but our life of this world! We die and we live! And we are not going to be resurrected!))
If you make the worldly life your main concern, all what you seek and all what you hope for, and if you consider gaining money and reaching highness your main goals, you are considered one of those who adopt this belief, even if you do not announce that.
Meanings are more important than words:
Dear brother, every action should be done out of conviction and vision, and herein lies the moral lesson. Words have no value without their meanings, and nowadays, concepts have become in a mess; the most evil intentions can be expressed by the kindest words. Moreover, your hostility towards someone may be so deep, though, you smile to him and praise him. The nature of the age we live in is based on hypocrisy and dualism; there are an explicit intention and an implicit one, and there are an apparent position and a hidden one. Oddly enough, the behavior of some Muslims is stemmed from this belief; the one which considers the worldly life everything. Allah, replies to this belief by saying:((Does man think that he will be left Suda [neglected without being punished or rewarded for the obligatory duties enjoined by his Lord (Allah) on him]? ))
Examples to clarify the meaning:
Let me clarify this point: When a university is built, it costs millions of liras which are spent on constructing laboratories, classrooms, student unions, parks, playgrounds, lecture halls and a huge library. Thus, can any student study at this university without having exams? Is it possible for students who come to this university only for fun to have their bachelor's degree? Allah the Almighty says:
((Does man think that he will be left Suda [neglected without being punished or rewarded for the obligatory duties enjoined by his Lord (Allah) on him]? ))
Allah reminds man of his origin in order to get him back to sanity:The above mentioned Ayah goes on as follows:
((Was he not a Nutfah (mixed male and female discharge of semen) poured forth? ))
Five hundred million spermatozoons are ejected by the male, but only one spermatozoon enters the ovule and pollinates it. After that, the ovule splits, and then it becomes a human being after nine months and ten days. Man is created from a humble spermatozoon, which you are ashamed of if it appears on your clothes.
Man comes out of a pudendum (the spermatozoon), enters into other pudendum (during pollination) and comes out of a third pudendum (when he is given birth). The most immoral man is ashamed to show his pudendum. This is the meaning of the Ayah in which Allah the Exalted says:
((Does man think that he will be left Suda [neglected without being punished or rewarded for the obligatory duties enjoined by his Lord (Allah) on him]? * Was he not a Nutfah (mixed male and female discharge of semen) poured forth? * Then he became an 'Alaqa (a clot); then (Allah) shaped and fashioned (him) in due proportion. * And made him in two sexes, male and female. * Is not He (Allah Who does that), Able to give life to the dead? (Yes! He is Able to do all things).))
Yes Allah is Able to do everything. The greatest and the most wonderful source, on which our belief should be based is the Quran, the Book of Allah. All our thoughts should be derived from It.
Some evidences from Quran about the arrogance of infidels:
In the following Ayah, the infidels believe that
((There is nothing but our life of this world! We die and we live! And we are not going to be resurrected!))
Allah replies to them:
((Does man think that he will be left Suda [neglected without being punished or rewarded for the obligatory duties enjoined by his Lord (Allah) on him]? * Was he not a Nutfah (mixed male and female discharge of semen) poured forth? * Then he became an 'Alaqa (a clot); then (Allah) shaped and fashioned (him) in due proportion * And made him in two sexes, male and female * Is not He (Allah Who does that), Able to give life to the dead? (Yes! He is Able to do all things).))
Also, they say:
((And they say: "When we are bones and fragments (destroyed), should we really be resurrected (to be) a new creation?" * Say (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) "Be you stones or iron,"))
The infidels think that it is impossible for bones which become dust as years pass by to be resurrected, but Allah replies by saying:
((Say (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) "Be you stones or iron," * "Or some created thing that is yet greater (or harder) in your breasts (thoughts to be resurrected, even then you shall be resurrected)" 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!" ))
Death is inevitable, not accidental:
Dear brother, death is an inevitable event which no one knows when it ends someone's life. A few weeks ago, one of our brother, who used to care a lot about his health died. This man used to walk an hour every day, swim an hour everyday and whenever he met someone he used to tell him about the importance of eating little, eating vegetables and fruit, eating bran bread, running, walking and sports in general. In brief, he was a man who enjoyed a very high physical fitness, and he used to care about his health to a great extent. Nevertheless, he died in minutes. This means that none of us knows when he leaves this worldly life. Man may die out of sudden; he suffers from no health problems that may cause his death.
I know two men who died young although they had no health problems. We are all going to die, but no one knows when death will put an end to his life. Therefore, each one of us should know that when he wakes up, Allah allows him to live for another new day. Whenever the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, woke up in the morning, he used to say:
((All praise is due to Allah, Who returned to me my soul, healed me in my body and permitted me to remember Him.))
Allah the Almighty, replies to those who have this stupid and naïve belief:
((Does not man remember that We created him before, while he was nothing? ))
((And he puts forth for Us a parable, and forgets his own creation. He says: "Who will give life to these bones when they have rotted away and became dust?" * Say: (O Muhammad, peace be upon him) "He will give life to them Who created them for the first time!))
We should act upon what we understand from Quran and Sunnah:
If you do not believe in the fact that Allah will resurrect you on the Day of Judgment, and that He will call you to account for even the deed which you consider unimportant, you are not a believer. A simple Bedouin, who had no high degree, big library nor sonic library, and who attended no religious lectures nor Islamic conference, came to the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, and said, "Advise me briefly."
The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
(( So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it. *And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it.))
The Bedouin said, "This is enough for me." The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, replied, "He has become knowledgeable!" Notice how only one Ayah was sufficient for that Bedouin to make him act upon Allah's Order, while we read six thousands Ayat listen to their recitation and interpretation, yet we find that most Muslims are not religiously disciplined.
((And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His Mercy (rain). Till when they have carried a heavy-laden cloud, We drive it to a land that is dead, then We cause water (rain) to descend thereon. Then We produce every kind of fruit therewith. Similarly, We shall raise up the dead, so that you may remember or take heed. ))
Allah the Almighty is Able with His Great Ability to raise up the dead bodies the same way He does with the dead land when He causes rain to descend thereon.
Dear brother, our Lord swears by saying:
((By the Mount * And by the Book Inscribed.* In parchment unrolled. * And by the Bait-ul-Ma'mur (the house over the heavens parable to the Ka'bah at Makkah, continuously visited by the angels); * And by the roof raised high (i.e. the heaven). * And by the sea kept filled (or it will be fire kindled on the Day of Resurrection). * Verily, the Torment of your Lord will surely come to pass, * There is none that can avert it; *))
Ibn Al-Qayyim's opinion about proving the existence of the Last Day:
Now I would like to refer to the most significant point. Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allah's Mercy be upon him, was the only one among scholars who said the existence of the Last Day is proved by reasoning, while most scholars believe that it is proved by the Divine reporting ( the Noble Quran and Sunnah). The scholars say that Allah the Almighty has told us that there is another life after the one that we live, and that in it man will be held accountable for all his deeds. Unlike those scholars, Ibn Al-Qayyim, whom I agree with, believes that the perfection of creation proves the perfection of actions, so how could the sound mind accept the fact that death is the only end to the tyranny of the powerful man, the weakness of the oppressed one and to everything? Is it reasonable that the powerful man can go on with mistreating other people, being arrogant and oppressing and taking what is not his and escape the punishment? Is it reasonable that the weak person is always deprived of whatever is his, and then life ends everything so that his oppressor will not be accounted for his bad deeds?
The perfection of creation proves the perfection of actions, so the mind never accepts that the life of the wealthy man who is used to fill his belly (at the expense of sh3er), of the impoverished man who is starving, of the handsome who attracts everyone and of the ugly whom people avoid to look at ends without calling people to account for all their deeds. Life cannot end like that, so there should be a day when all people are called to account for all their deeds.
Muslims keep solid because of believing in the Last Day:
Dear brother, had not man believed in the Last Day, he would have been on the verge of collapse. People are considered rich, poor, honored, humiliated, superior and inferior after their deeds are exposed before Allah. The worldly life is the abode of trials, so:
((By the Mount. And by the Book Inscribed. In parchment unrolled. And by the Bait-ul-Ma'mur (the house over the heavens parable to the Ka'bah at Makkah, continuously visited by the angels), And by the roof raised high (i.e. the heaven). And by the sea kept filled (or it will be fire kindled on the Day of Resurrection).))
It is impossible that Allah Who created universes, will not punish or reward man for the obligatory duties He enjoined on him:
(("Did you think that We had created you in play (without any purpose), and that you would not be brought back to Us?" * So Exalted be Allah, the True King, La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Lord of the Supreme Throne!))
Exalted be Allah! He had never created people in play:
((Verily, the Torment of your Lord will surely come to pass. There is none that can avert it.))
There are deterrents in the worldly life and the Hereafter:
Dear brother, the only way to be straight on Allah's Path is to follow His Noble Book and the guide of His Messenger, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him. Thus, listening to your conscience, putting yourself under, self-control, depending on your highly moral home education will not help you to be upright on Allah's Path as long as you do not believe in the Last Day when you will be held accountable for all your deeds.
Imagine that the traffic code, for example, has been enacted without any penalties for the offenders. According to the traffic code in our country, you have to take the right side on streets while you are driving, you should have a driver's license, …etc. People will never abide by these codes if there is no penalty for those who violate them. Paying a fine of 5000 liras, retrieving license, vehicle seizing, putting into jail, …etc are all penalties imposed if certain driving violations occur. Hence, it's impossible for any law to be enforced if it is not accompanied with deterrents against whoever violates it. Similarly is believing in Allah; believing in Allah is the Creed, and believing in the Last Day is the deterrent against the unbelievers.
We should verify everything we hear:
You should believe the realistic words only, so do not pay attention to words which are far from reality. It is unrealistic to make man have a sense of responsibility for his deeds if the way he is raised up is not Islamic. Unless man believes in the Last Day and believes that Allah watches him, and He will reward and punish him for his deeds, he will never be upright on Allah's Order. These are facts, so the knowledge you seek should be a mirror which reflects reality. Knowledge is the corresponding description of reality supported with evidence.
Islamic education is the means to control one's desires:
When you believe that Allah watches you, and that He will reward you for your good deeds and punish you for the bad ones, you will be straight on His Path. Almighty Allah says: "That you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah surrounds (comprehends) all things in (His) Knowledge." In some cases you have to be very disciplined with someone whose position is lower than yours, but whose knowledge is greater than yours and whose ability is better than yours, so you are obliged to obey his orders. This is what happens when someone like a traffic policeman is granted power over you by Allah; he has the right to punish you if you commit a traffic violation, such as overriding the traffic light when it is red. Can you override the traffic light if it is red? Absolutely not. Sometimes you are forced to obey certain kinds of people (like policemen) even if you do not like them, so how will your reaction be if you are ordered to obey Allah, The Creator of universes and Who has given life to man and all creations?
Believing in the Last Day is the base of our Creed. The two inseparable pillars among faith pillars are belief in Allah and belief in the Last Day. Whatever you do should be done after you ask yourself, "What will I answer Allah when He asks me about it on the Day of Resurrection?
Once, catering supervisor asked me to give him a piece of advice concerning his job as many supply violations were recorded, and traders were suffering severely. I gave him an unexpected piece of advice saying, "Record as many violation tickets as you can and send to prison as many people as you can." He was astonished upon hearing these words. Then he said, "Is this your advice?!" I said, "Yes, but be careful; your heroism is to prepare a convincing answer to Allah when he asks you about each violation you recorded and every harm you did to people, because Allah loves all His creations. Your heroism is to get yourself prepared when you stand before Allah the Almighty."
Instances of the Companions and followers' fear of the Last Day:
The wife of the Khaliphah Umar bin Abdul Aziz, the fifth one of the rightly guided Khulapha', once entered his place of prayer and saw him crying, so she asked him, "Why are you crying?" He said, "Leave me alone." Then, she repeated the same question and his answer was the same. When she repeat the same question more than three times and insisted on knowing the reason, he replied saying, "I am thinking about the patient, the poor man, the widow, the miserable person, the elderly man, and the person who has many children and he is unable to satisfy their needs." He mentioned more than thirty types of people who suffered from miserable situations. He added, "It came to my mind that Allah will ask me about all of them, and that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, will be on their side. I am afraid that my argument will not be strong enough, that is why I am crying."Sayyidona Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, ((By Allah! If a mule trips in Iraq, I will be held accountable for it. Allah will ask me, 'Why did not you repair the road for it, O Umar?')) He feared this moment, because he believed in the Last Day.
Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, once asked Abdul Rahman bin Auf to help him guarding a caravan although he was the Khaliphah, because he knew that doing so was a righteous deed, and Allah the Almighty would reward them for it. Among the people of the caravan, there was a child crying, so Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, went to his mother and said, "Breastfeed him." She did, but then he heard the child crying, so again he went to his mother and said, "Breastfeed him", and the mother did. After a while, the child cried, so Umar got angry, went to his mother and said, "You bad woman, breastfeed him." The woman said, "This is not your business! (she did not know that she was addressing the Khalifah)I'm trying to wean him." He said, "Why are you trying to do this.?" The woman replied, "Because Umar ordered that msh3er will become eligible for child allowance only after their children are weaned." It was narrated that upon hearing this Umar hit his forehead, and said, "Woe to you, O Umar, Allah knows how many children suffered because of my orders." Children suffered because he had ordered that the msh3er got allowances as soon as their babies were weaned, not born. He was greatly moved by that incident, so when he led Muslims in Al-Fajr prayer, they couldn't understand his reciting clearly because he was crying severely. He used to say after every prayer: "O Allah! Did You accept my repentance so I congratulate myself? Or You did not so I condole it?" He behaved like that, because he strongly believed in the Last Day.
Believing in the Last Day puts man's efforts at the service of sh3er:
When you strongly believe in the Last Day, the way of your thinking will extremely change. When you believe in the Last Day, your happiness will be in giving, not in taking, because by giving you seek Allah's satisfaction and becoming elevated in a Paradise as wide as the earth and the heavens. Also, when you believe in the Last Day, you will count to one billion before doing harm even to a cat. Moreover, believing in the Last day makes you seek righteous deeds, look for a job by which you serve people and do whatever pleases Allah the Almighty. Believing in the Last Day, makes you dedicate your time, money, effort, break, naptime, thoughts, sayings and deeds to Allah's sake. On the other hand, when you do not believe in the Last Day, you use other's effort to your advantage, destroy them to make a living and wish to live, eat and enjoy your life alone.
The effects of believing in the Last Day:
1. All concepts and standards will change when you believe in the Last Day:
When you believe in the Last Day, the way of your thinking changes for the better, and your happiness will be achieved by giving, not taking. Nowadays, most people seek happiness by taking, not giving, by destroying sh3er to make a living, by eating delicious food alone, by living in a prestigious house, by having an expensive car, by having affairs with women and by being careless to people, to the difficult situation of young people and to the poverty of the poor. Believing in the Last Day changes all these concepts and makes things different; when you believe in the Last Day, you seek a righteous deed from the very beginning of your day in order to please Allah. You wake up in the morning and say, "O Allah, grant us a good deed which draws us closer to You." This is how believing in the Last Day changes many things, because it is part of Muslim's Creed.
2. Preparing for that day:
When you believe in the Last Day, you get yourself prepared for it. Similarly, when you believe that there is a final exam at the end of the year which makes one either honored or humiliated, and when you believe that if you pass this exam, you'll get a high degree, occupy a distinguished position, have high income and get married, you'll study hard. When you know for sure that this exam is inevitable and that your good job, high income and marriage are dependent on passing it, you do your best to pass it.
Why should we believe in the Last Day? In order to work for that day.
Explanatory examples:
Once, I read an interview reported in a daily newspaper with the student who got the highest degree in the secondary school. He was asked: "How did you get this degree?" He said: " I kept thinking about the final exam throughout the year. The final exam was always in my mind."
Do you know why the believer is a psychologically balanced person? Because he performs the deeds which please Allah, avoids the ones which displease Him, spends his money on Sadaqah, keeps away from whatever is Haram no matter how tempting it is and gets angry with whatever displeases Allah. In brief, he gets himself prepared for death thirty years before it puts an end to his life, so he will be ready when the Angel of death comes to take his soul. The believer lives in harmony since he keeps thinking about the Last Day throughout his life.
I would like to give you an example in order to clarify this point. If a very poor man is told, "Go to a western country and get a Ph.D, so when you come back, you will occupy the highest position at the Ministry of Health, you will be given the most beautiful house in a prestigious neighborhood in Damascus, you will marry a beautiful woman, you'll own a very expensive car and you will have a huge income! I am just giving you an example. What do you think this poor man will do? He will travel to a western country, work in washing dishes in a restaurant during the day, work as a watchman in the evening and study hard to get a high degree. Once he gets the degree, he will go to the university to have the certificate verified. Then he will go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy to have the certificate verified too. As soon as he finishes with this, he will buy the ticket, go to the airport and get in the plane. The moment he puts his foot on the first step of the plane ladder, he will be the happiest person at all. This moment means the end of guarding, working in the restaurant and studying until midnight. All the difficulties he faces abroad will be over. Like this poor man, the true believer will be the happiest person at the moment of his death. It was said: "The moment of death is the best one to the believer." The believer spends his life (thirty years, for example) lowering his gaze, watching his language, spending money in Sadaqah, serving people and seeking the Mercy of Allah, so when death comes to him, he will be relieved.
3. How to fulfill the purpose of your existence:
Dear brother, believing in the Last Day makes you get yourself prepared to it. It makes you feel that there is a goal in your life which you should achieve. As long as you believe in the Last Day, your main concern will be doing good deeds starting from the beginning of your day till its end in order to please Allah the Almighty, and so achieving the purpose of your existence.
Believing in the Last Day is relieving for your heart and soul, while those who do not believe in it will suffer from melancholy, because they feel that their affairs are in the hand of someone whom they do not like. Whoever does not believe in the Last Day, feels that his life is unbalanced, his heart is full of grudge and that the pressure he is put under is unbearable.
As a believer, your mission is seeking Allah's satisfaction and believing that all you affairs are in His Hand. Hence, doing righteous deeds makes you happy forever and relieved greatly. The believer is a balanced man who knows that what counts is working for what comes after death.
The believer is under Allah's care:
Once a person, who was not that religiously committed, wanted to kid me by having an intellectual discussion with me. He said, "You said that the believer is happy, but I disagree with you. He is not, because he is not favored over other people. Like them, he suffers when prices rise and he is affected when the weather is very hot." This man noticed that the believer is not privileged, but I proved him wrong as Allah inspired me to give him an example to clarify my point. I said,
"Let us assume that the income of a poor man is only four thousand liras, and he has eight children, so this income is not enough to meet the needs of his big family. Let alone that the house he lives in is not his, so he has to pay money for the lessor and see what to do with the eviction suit which was filed against him. Besides, his children are ill, and he faces many problems. However, an uncle of his owns five hundred million liras, but one day he died in an accident. The uncle has no children, and his poor nephew is the only heir to his deceased uncle. He cannot take the money right now, because the financial procedures needs two years to be finished. Why do you think this man is the happiest among people? He cannot take anything of the money he is promised to hire, so his food is still the same, he still lives in the same house and his clothes are still the same, yet he is happy, because he is pretty sure that once the inheritance provisions are finished, the money will be his."
Allah the Almighty says:
((Is he whom We have promised an excellent promise (Paradise), which he will find true, like him whom We have made to enjoy the luxuries of the life of (this) world, then on the Day of Resurrection, he will be among those brought up (to be punished in the Hell-fire)?))
Since Allah has promised Paradise to His believers, His promise will definitely be fulfilled. Allah the Exalted says:
((The Event (the Hour or the punishment of disbelievers and polytheists or the Islamic laws or commandments), ordained by Allah will come to pass, so seek not to hasten it. Glorified…))
Allah says in the previous Ayah: " … Will come to pass", so the Event hasn't come yet, and the proof is " … So seek not to hasten it", but it will definitely come, because Allah has promised that. Likewise, Allah has promised Paradise to believers, so if you are a true, upright and honest believer, you will most likely be among those who will enter Paradise. Being promised by Allah that you will enter Paradise, makes you forget all about your worldly concerns.
Believing in the Last Day fills your heart with tranquility, happiness, and stability, and you will not bear grudge towards people, be hypocrite to them, fear of sh3er or feel any pain. You know very well that all your affairs and fate are in the Hand of Allah, to Whom is the End.
(( And that to your Lord (Allah) is the End (Return of everything). ))
Next lectures, insha' Allah, we will discuss more detailed points about the Last Day. and my starting point in this series is the following Ayah in which Allah the Almighty says:
((And verily, those who believe not in the Hereafter are indeed deviating far astray from the Path (true religion Islamic Monotheism).))
You will never be able to be upright on the Path of Allah unless you strongly believe in the Last Day.
(( Alif-Lam-Mim.* This is the Book (the Qur'an), whereof there is no doubt, a guidance to those who are Al-Muttaqun [the pious and righteous persons who fear Allah much, and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)]. * Who believe in the Ghaib…))
The fruitful results which have been reaped by Muslims:
The reason behind the great deeds of Muslims is believing in the Last Day. Also, it was the very reason which encouraged the well known scholars to pay whatever precious they had, and to sacrifice themselves for the sake of Allah. Unlike those great people, what did people who do not believe in Allah nor in the Last Day achieve? All what they did was enjoying their life and indulging in vices, sensual pleasures and sins. All their money was spent on their own pleasures.
If you draw a comparison between the Companions of the Allah's Messenger, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, who spread Islam in east and west, and those who turned against the Truth and lived selfishly, you will find a lot of differences. There is a big difference between people who spend their life serving sh3er and those who make people at their service. You will be elevated high if you spend your life serving other people, but you will be in a big trouble if you make other people at your service.
I ask Allah the Almighty to help me continue discussing this topic in the coming sessions, so that the belief becomes more established.
Benefits of the belief in the Last Day:
When you believe in the Last Day, you will spend money, time, experience, knowledge and everything you have in order to please Allah. The belief in the Last Day is a certainty, and has a sweetness which is reflected in the words of the poet addressing his Lord:
As long as you are pleased with me,
I do not care if life is tough
As long as you are satisfied with me
I do not care if people get angry
As long as the paths to you are open, I do not care about the closed ones
that lead me to people.
As long as I am close to you, everything will be easy
And everything on the soil is nothing, but a soil
Allah, The Creator of the universe will be with you if you are a true believer.
As long as You're with me in all my situations
I will dispense with even caring much about my provision
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If you draws closer to Allah, you will own everything, but if you turn away from Him, you will lose everything. When you believe in the Last Day, whatever you do will be for the Hereafter. You think about it when you make your living, when you study, when you get married and when you have children, because your main goal is pleasing Allah and whatever you do is means to help you achieve this goal. On the other hand, the main concern of whoever disbelieves in the Last Day is the worldly life. All what he cares about is enjoying the cheap pleasures and indulging in the luxuries of the worldly life.. There is a great disparity between the believer and the disbeliever; the believer is honored, because he cares about people's worries and seeks Allah's satisfaction which is the best deed one aspires for.
((Verily, those who believe [in the Oneness of Allah and in His Messenger (Muhammad, peace be upon him)] and work deeds of righteousness, the Most Beneficent (Allah) will bestow love for them (in the hearts of the believers).))
Do you think it is easy that Allah, The Creator of the universe, bestows love for you? The means to make Allah bestow love for you and be pleased with you are at your hands. All creations are His servants, so do your best to serve them and be honest, chaste and faithful when you deal with them. You can advice other people and offer them help, so that Allah will be pleased with you. Allah the Almighty is Loyal, Most Forbearing and Most Thankful, therefore, if you spend your time in helping His servants, He will grant you a great reward and bounty, which will continue after death.
