A Final Word
Summary
This section explains that every minute, at least a hundred people in this world die. Where do they go—these hosts of people who leave the world every minute? They are brought before the Lord of Creation, to be judged according to their deeds on Earth.
Now is the time for man to take heed and contemplate on his life, for, when the Hour comes, it will be too late to repent. The path to the Lord is open before him, and he must free himself from the shackles of selfish desires in order to stride fearlessly along it. The Quran and the Hadith are there to guide his every footstep, and he can do no better than follow the pattern set by God’s prophets. If he is to prepare for the Last Day, now is the time. It is in this that man’s true success lies: in this lies the good life, the life that he seeks.
Just imagine that one day the Mount Palomar Observatory were to announce that the Earth‘s gravitational pull was gone. There would be worldwide panic. Imagine the implications of this news. It would mean that the earth would be catapulting towards the sun at a speed of 6000 miles per hour. Within a few weeks the earth would be consumed by the Sun. Not a single remnant of the Earth would remain. It would be as though there had never been a place called Earth, that no one had ever dwelled here, nor any civilizations thrived.
But there are events actually taking place in this world about which we should be in not just a state of anxiety, but of utter panic: every minute, at least one hundred deaths occur in this, our world. This means that, in one single day and night, no less than 150,000 people are leaving the world, never to return. Imagine – mortality rate of 150,000 per 24 hours! Yet no one seems stunned by this information, which becomes all the more disturbing when we consider that no one actually knows for certain who these one and a half million souls will be. No one can say with certainty that he or she will not be on that list of those who are destined to leave this world the very next day. There is no one on this earth who is not living under the shadow of death. At any moment, the Hand of Fate may light upon one and sweep one away, irrevocably, from this life.
And where do they go—all these hosts of people who leave the world? In the preceding pages, an attempt has been made to provide an answer to this question: they are brought before the Lord of Creation, to be judged according to their deeds on earth. Death brings an end to their life on earth in order that their eternal life may commence. Whether their life after death is good or bad will depend upon how they have conducted themselves in this life. It will be their lot either to dwell in a state of total felicity, or to be afflicted forever by unspeakable torments. That time must inevitably come. There is absolutely nothing we can do to avert it. The best we can do is strive to avoid bringing down upon ourselves untold and everlasting agony.
What, then, is mankind waiting for? Isn’t death’s inevitability enough to jolt people out of their moral lethargy and bring them finally to their senses? Do people need any further incentive to mend their ways? Does not the thought that if they do not do so, they will be condemned to burn in Hellfire forever, have any impact upon their depravity? Think of it. When you die, and your loved ones come to place flowers on your grave, you yourself may already be suffering the severest and most agonizing punishment for your contumacy. Ponder over this. Is not this something to be feared?
What a day the Day of Judgement will be! The heavens and the earth will be turned upside down, and a new world will be formed in which truth will appear as truth, and falsehood as falsehood. No one will be allowed to remain in a state of self-delusion, nor will it be possible to delude others. All will be brought low before God: no one besides Him will have any power whatsoever. All matters will be judged on the basis of truth and no intercession will enable people to escape the outcome of their actions. All the fine phrases devised by man to distort the truth will be scattered to the winds. All the philosophies contrived by him to bolster his falsehood will be shown as hollow and without foundation. All his specious hopes will be exposed as empty and illusory. The power he wielded on earth will not help him there. The idols he bowed down to, will fail to respond. How utterly bereft of support will man be on that day. How totally destitute will he be, just when he needs something or someone to hold on to more than ever.
Now is the time for man to take heed, for, when the Hour comes, it will be too late to repent. Now is the time for him to contemplate his life as it actually is, for, on the Day of Reckoning, it will be too late to make amends. The path to the Lord is open before him, and he must free himself from the shackles of selfish desire in order to stride fearlessly along it. The Quran and the Hadith are there to guide his every footstep and he can do no better than follow the pattern set by God’s Prophet.
If he is to prepare for the Last Day, now is the time. It is in this that his true success lies: in this lies the good life, the life that he seeks.
It is the force of gravity which keeps human beings standing upon the surface of the earth as opposed to flying up into outer space, likewise keeping our oceans in their massive troughs, keeping our life-sustaining atmosphere safely around us and, at the cosmic level, keeping such mighty objects as the earth and planets in their proper orbit around the sun. Yet, imagine what would happen if this force were to be shut off, just like a sudden power failure in a factory which brings all machinery to an unexpected halt. The earth would then be dragged through space towards the sun at a speed of 6,000 miles an hour. It would only be a matter of weeks before the earth would become a ball of all-consuming fire and not a trace of today’s beautiful world would be left. There would be not the smallest vestige of life to be seen—not even so much as a speck of ash from all the multifarious forms of civilization that have taken so many centuries to evolve on earth. There would be no sign that even a planet of the size and nature of Mother Earth had once existed in the solar system. Imagine how utterly panic-stricken the human race would be if it were known that any such cataclysm were about to take place!
But there are events actually taking place in this world about which we should be in not just a state of anxiety, but of utter panic: every minute, at least one hundred deaths occur in this, our world. This means that, in one single day and night, no less than 150,000 people are leaving the world, never to return. Imagine – mortality rate of 150,000 per 24 hours! Yet no one seems stunned by this information, which becomes all the more disturbing when we consider that no one actually knows for certain who these hundred and fifty thousand souls will be. No one can say with certainty that he or she will not be on that list of those who are destined to leave this world the very next day. There is no one on this earth who is not living under the shadow of death. At any moment, the Hand of Fate may light upon one and sweep one away, irrevocably, from this life.
And where do they go—all these hosts of people who leave the world? In the preceding pages, an attempt has been made to provide an answer to this question: they are brought before the Lord of Creation, to be judged according to their deeds on earth. Death brings an end to their life on earth in order that their eternal life may commence. Whether their life after death is good or bad will depend upon how they have conducted themselves in this life. It will be their lot either to dwell in a state of total felicity, or to be afflicted forever by unspeakable torments. That time must inevitably come. There is absolutely nothing we can do to avert it. The best we can do is strive to avoid bringing down upon ourselves untold and everlasting agony.
What, then, is mankind waiting for? Isn’t death’s inevitability enough to jolt people out of their moral lethargy and bring them finally to their senses? Do people need any further incentive to mend their ways? Does not the thought that if they do not do so, they will be condemned to burn in Hellfire forever, have any impact upon their depravity? Think of it. When you die, and your loved ones come to place flowers on your grave, you yourself may already be suffering the severest and most agonizing punishment for your contumacy. Ponder over this. Is not this something to be feared?
What a day the Day of Judgement will be! The heavens and the earth will be turned upside down, and a new world will be formed in which truth will appear as truth, and falsehood as falsehood. No one will be allowed to remain in a state of self-delusion, nor will it be possible to delude others. All will be brought low before God: no one besides Him will have any power whatsoever. All matters will be judged on the basis of truth and no intercession will enable people to escape the outcome of their actions. All the fine phrases devised by man to distort the truth will be scattered to the winds. All the philosophies contrived by him to bolster his falsehood will be shown as hollow and without foundation. All his specious hopes will be exposed as empty and illusory. The power he wielded on earth will not help him there. The idols he bowed down to, will fail to respond. How utterly bereft of support will man be on that day. How totally destitute will he be, just when he needs something or someone to hold on to more than ever.
Now is the time for man to take heed, for, when the Hour comes, it will be too late to repent. Now is the time for him to contemplate his life as it actually is, for, on the Day of Reckoning, it will be too late to make amends. The path to the Lord is open before him, and he must free himself from the shackles of selfish desire in order to stride fearlessly along it. The Quran and the Hadith are there to guide his every footstep and he can do no better than follow the pattern set by God’s Prophet.
If he is to prepare for the Last Day, now is the time. It is in this that his true success lies: in this lies the good life, the life that he seeks.
