THE TRUE SPHERE OF LIFE: THE HEREAFTER

We have so far concentrated on the way that the world is a temporary
and deceptive place, full of seductive delusion and false baubles. It
has also been explained that it is the eternal life in the Hereafter
that will be the true abode. In this chapter, we shall be seeing how
the Hereafter, the true sphere of life which every human being will
come to after death and live for all eternity, will be a very
different thing for believers and unbelievers.
THE ORIGINALS OF ALL THINGS ARE IN THE HEREAFTER
The definition in the Qur'an of the Afterlife as the "true life" is
amatter which all people should consider, which all people should
reflect upon. This expression in the Qur'an reveals that everything we
imagine to be real in the life of this world is in fact very
different. This life welive, the values which people spend a lifetime
following, and all the beautiful things they seekto acquire are all
"false" in comparison to the Hereafter. In other words, this world is
full of false passions, false emotions, false successes, false loves
and false friendships for those who do not seek the approval of Allah.
Believers, on the other hand, willexperience in this world the
happiness of hoping for Paradise, joy in the Afterlife and the "true"
and "complete" versions of such emotions as joy and happiness. That
being the case, a person needs to ask him or herself this: "If
everything I experience in this world is false and I can only
encounter the originals of them in the Hereafter, why should I make
dowith what is transitory and deceptive and lose, because of them,
their eternal and original counterparts? Why should I not strive to
attain beauties which will never fade and which will exist for ever?"
If a person asks him or herself that question with all due sincerity
and answers it with thesame sincerity, then he or she will strive for
the truth and live ahappy life in this world and also in the next. The
answer to these questions that every rational person will give is, of
course, "My most important aim in this world is to abide by the
approvalof Allah and to strive for my truelife, which will last for
all eternity in the Hereafter." Another question which every person
capable of seeing this must ask him or herself with thesame logic is
that addressed by the person to his people, as revealed in the Qur'an:
"Why indeed should I not worship Him Who brought me into being, Him to
Whom you will be returned?" (Surah Ya Sin, 22)
Human beings will eventually be directed to Allah and will encounter
the original counterparts of all worldly things in the Hereafter. For
that reason, they must sincerely consider the Hereafter, revealed as
the "true life" in the Qur'an, and to live by the moral values of the
Qur'an by giving thanks toour Lord, Who gave human beings such a great
blessing with His infinite mercy and kindness.