A Similar World
God created two similar worlds: one, the present world for trial, and the other, future world of Paradise for reward or punishment. If man strives for Paradise in this world, with God’s mercy he will gain entry into Paradise in the next eternal phase of life.
We learn about the believers from the Quran that “whenever they are given fruits to eat (in Paradise) they will say, ‘This is what we were provided with before,’ because they were given similar things.” (2:25)
The truth is that God created two worlds similar to one another: one, the present world, and the other, the world of Paradise. The present world is the world of trial and the future world is the world of reward. The present world is an imperfect world, while the world hereafter (paradise) is a perfect world. This world is far from ideal, whereas the next world will be ideal. This world is ephemeral, whereas the next world is eternal. In the present world, man repeatedly undergoes the experience that here he has, apparently everything he desires, yet for man those very things are not attainable. Man wants a healthy life, but illness, accidents and old age negate all his desires. Man wants pleasure, but, despite all his efforts, when he finds all the objects of pleasure, it dawns upon him that he cannot enjoy them. Man wants a life laden with happiness but, when he has entered the garden of happiness of this world, he discovers that here the garden of happiness is full of thorns.
This is because, here, man is introduced to Paradise from a distance. Here man is certainly shown only a glimpse of heaven, but along with that he is told (albeit in silent words) that you cannot achieve Paradise in this world. What is required of man in this world is to strive for Paradise here and to achieve Paradise in the next phase of life.
Alongside this, he is given an initial glimpse to show that if he comes up to the mark in his deeds, he will, as a result, be awarded the world of Paradise. Thus, the present world is the place of introduction to Paradise, while the next world is the place of attaining paradise.
