Big Ship that Landed on an Island: Life of this World and Hereafter in Islam

There was once a big ship that landed on an Island. The Captain said
to the people: "Dear passengers, we will anchor here for you to gather
provision and admire the nature and we shall move on with our journey
in a few hours time".
All passengers got off androamed around the island in groups.
Some 'Wise' gentlemen and ladies walked peacefully, collected some
souvenirs and food for the journey and returned quickly to the ship.
Since they were the first ones back, they got the best and comfortable
places on the ship.
The second group of 'Forgetful' people walked, played and enjoyed
their time. They admired the island and explored its nature. But soon
they remembered the ship, so they ran back, without any food and
souvenirs. Coming onboard, they were tired, but alas the best seats
were taken, so they had to do with the less comfortable ones.
The third group of ' Greedyand Lustful' people got amazed by the
wonders of this island and they began to collect its plants and
precious stones. After a while, having heard the call of their
captain, they started to head back to the ship, carrying plants,
stones and jewelry of all colors and value. However, the heaviness of
the treasure they eagerly wanted to bring back slowed their return,and
by the time they reached the shore, the boat had already left.
And finally, some 'Aimlessand Narrow-Minded' people, convinced
themselves that the island was all there is andthe ship was just
something they had imagined. They thus explored the island and built
for themselves houses. The boat, of course left them to perishon the
island and to be forgotten by everyone.
Similarly, on our journey to Allah (SWT), The Creator, we have landed
on this island, called the World (Dunya).
Some 'Wise' gentlemen and ladies will walk around and collect good
deeds, love and knowledge of Allah (SWT)and quickly return to
TheCreator. They of course will be handed paradise, the best of it!
The second group of 'Forgetful' people will getdistracted by the world
(Dunya) until their last moment. They will then repent at the last
minute.Perhaps they will make it and get the lowest levels of paradise
(Jannah).
The third group of 'Greedy and Lustful' people will be amazed bythe
world, and get attracted by its temporary and fake beauty. They will
indulge in desire and food and be illusion by it. Perhaps, a call will
bring them back to realization, but alas, the attraction will be too
much to leave behind and they will missthe ship of salvation.
And finally, some 'Aimlessand Narrow-Minded' people will just ignore
the journey to Allah (SWT) and pretend that this world is all there
is. They will take their houses as their homes and their desires as
god. Indeed history as seen many people as such, but no one remembers
them. They have been left in hell.
So, my friend... The ship is waiting, please jump on board! Your
Creator Allah (SWT) is calling you: Oh man! Surely you must strive to
your Lord, a hard striving, until you meet Him. Noble Qur'an (84:6)
Imam Ali Naqi (as)said: The world is a market in which one group makes
profit and another groupincurs loss.
Imam Mohammad Bagher(as) said: The one that sincerity of truth and
faith took place in his heart, will turn his face from decorations and
ornaments of the world.
Moral of the Story: Those who spend their lives devoted blindly to
worldly goods will realizethat they consumed all their lives chasing
illusions. They will realizetheir ridiculous situation after they die.
Only then will the ultimate purpose of life, to be a sincere servant
of Allah (SWT), beclear to them.

No Escape From Death: A Real Life Story of ProphetSolomon / Sulaiman (as)

Almighty Allah (SWT) made Prophet Solomon / Sulaiman (as)King of a
vast kingdom, which included His entire creation. The Jinn and men
obeyed his will and even the birds adhered to his commands, to the
extent of using their wings to provide shelter for him. He was also
given many other powerssuch as being able to talkto animals and
control the wind so that it could carry him wherever he wished to go.
Prophet Solomon (as) was blessedwith an extraordinary power of
perception and intelligence.
It is narrated that one day, a man entered the court of Prophet
Solomon (as), looked around at all the people and went out again. When
the court adjourned, one of the people present approached Prophet
Sulaiman (as) and asked him whether he knew this strange man.
"The person you saw wasthe angel of death (Izrael)" replied Prophet
Solomon (as). The man was taken aback and looked worried.
"Why was he staring at me as though he wanted to take my soul?" he asked.
"What do you want me todo?" enquired Prophet Sulaiman (as).
"O Solomon!" exclaimed the man. "You have power over the wind. Command
it to transport me to the land of Hind (India)."
As the man was a believer, Prophet Solomon (as) agreed and granted his wish.
A few days later, Prophet Solomon (as) saw the angel of death again.
He asked him why he had been staring at the man so intently on that
particular day.
"O Solomon!" replied the angel of death. "Allah (SWT) commanded me to
take the soul of that man on the soil of Hind. When I saw him sitting
in your court, I could not understand how I could carry out Allah's
order. Nevertheless, as it was a divine command, I left for Hind and
fortunately found the man there. I took his soul as Allah (SWT) had
commanded."
There is nothing more certain than death. It is a reality, which
nobody can escape from. Allah (SWT), the Almighty says:"Wherever you
may be, death shall overtake you, even if you were in fortified
towers". Noble Qur'an (4:78)
Imam Ali (as)said: Any breath that a man breathes is a step towards death.
Imam Ali (as) said: You are the game that death hunts. If you stand
still it will seize (catch) you. If you ran (flee) away it
willovertake you.

Why an authoritarian rule is against Islam

Forcing people to believe in a religion or to adopt its forms of
belief is completely contrary to the essence and spirit of Islam. That
is because according to Islam, true faith is only possible with free
will and freedom of conscience.
In the contemporary world, there are people who envisage or
supportauthoritarianism in the name of Islam. However this is a great
misconception. Islam is areligion which provides and guarantees
freedomof ideas, thought and life. It has issued commands to prevent
and forbid tension, disputes, slander and even negative thinking among
people. In the same way that it is determinedly opposed to terrorism
and all acts of violence, it has also forbidden even the slightest
ideological pressure to be put on them:
There is no compulsion in religion. True guidance has become clearly
distinct from error.(Surat al-Baqara: 256)
So remind them! You areonly a reminder. You arenot in control of
them.(Surat al -Ghashiyya: 21-22)
Forcing people to believe in a religion or to adopt its forms of
belief is completely contrary to the essence and spirit of Islam. That
is because according to Islam, true faith is only possible with free
will and freedom of conscience. Of course, Muslims can advise and
encourage each other about the features of Qur'anic morality. All
believers are charged with explaining Qur'anicmorality to people in
thenicest manner possible. They will explain the beauties of religion
in the light of the verse,"Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom
and fair admonition..."(Suratan-Nahl: 125), however, they must also
bear in mind the verse,"You are not responsible for their guidance,
but God guides whoever He wills."(Surat al-Baqara: 272)
Thus true Muslims will never resort to compulsion, nor any kind of
physical or psychological pressure. Neither will they use anyworldly
privilege to turn someone towards religion. When they receive a
negative response to what they say, Muslims will reply along the lines
of:"To you your religion, and tome, mine"(Surat al- Al-Kafirun: 6)
The world we live in contains societies with all kinds of beliefs:
Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, deist and even pagan.
Muslims living in such a world must be tolerant of all beliefs they
come up against, no matter what they may be, and behave forgivingly,
justly and humanely. This responsibility placed on believers invites
people to the beauty of the religion of God by means of peace and
tolerance. The decision whether or not to implement these truths,
whether or not tobelieve, lies with the other party. Forcing that
person to believe, or trying to impose anything on him, is a violation
of Qur'anic morality. In fact, God issues a reminder to believers in
the Qur'an:
If your Lord had willed, all the people on the earth would have
believed. Do you think you can force people to be believers?(Surat
Yunus: 99)
We know best what theysay and you [O Muhammad] are not a compeller
over them. But warn by the Qur'an whoever fears My warning.(Surat Qaf:
45)
A model of society in which people are forced to worship is a complete
contradiction to Islam. Belief and worship are only of any value when
they are directed to God by the free will of the individual. If a
system imposes belief and worship on people, thenthey will become
religious out of fear of that system. From the religious point of
view, what really counts is thatreligion should be lived for God's
good pleasure in an environment where peoples' consciences are totally
free.
When we look at the history of Islam, the way that Muslims have
translated this importantfeature of Qur'anic morality into the life of
society can be seen quiteclearly. Since the Prophet Muhammed, true
Muslims have always brought with them an atmosphere of freedom and
tolerance wherever they have gone. They have enabledpeople whose
religions, languages and cultures are completely different from one
another to live together in peace and harmony under one roof, and
provided peace and harmony for its own members. One ofthe most
important reasons for the centuries-long existence of the Ottoman
Empire, which spread over an enormous region, was the atmosphere of
tolerance and understanding that Islam brought with it. Within this
multi-national structure, all ethnic and religious groups have been
free to live according to theirown religions, and their own rules.
Barbarism in the name of religion, that is so preoccupying the world
at present, is the work ofignorant and fanatical people, completely
estranged from Qur'anic morality, and who have absolutely nothing to
dowith religion. The solution to these people and groups who try to
carry out their savagery under the mask of religion is the teaching of
true Qur'anic morality.
Islam and Qur'anic morality are solutions to the scourge of bigotry,
barbarism and terrorism,not supporters of it.

The pleasant conversations of believers

The believers don't seek such goals of their lower selves as to put
themselves in the forefront or have the final say. Therefore they
have a reasonable, calm manner. Out of their understanding of
courtesy based on their commitment to the Quran's moral values,
they always allow others to be in the forefront, try to benefit from
what others say and refrain from acting in an ignorant fashion.
Their conversations are sincere and honest. Since believers consult
each other in everything they do, everyone's opinions count. The
believers stay away from proud and stubborn actions such as 'my ideas
are better'. A believer is always aware of the fact that someone
else might know better. For these reasons, these good conversations
help believers gain a stronger faith, think deeper, comprehend
things better and ponder more on the signs leading to faith.
Conversations are actually very good opportunities to get to know
the people, benefit from their ideas and thoughts. The emotions,
thoughts, desires as well as their mistakes reflect on their talks.
The tone is an important indicator to tell a deep believer apart
from a person with low moral qualities. Because a believer, out of
his firm fear of Allah, never makes the person he is talking to
uncomfortable. His speech is sincere, wise, inspires confidence,
courteous, reasonable, humble and positive. He carefully avoids void
and unnecessary conversations that could lead people to pessimism,
despair and conflicts.
What is "Wisdom"?
The word 'wisdom' has a wide meaning which can be summarized as
'putting things in the perfect way possible both in speech and
manners, concisely speaking, yet with immense meaning, and the deep
understanding capacity that Allah bestowed on His Prophets and holy
servants'. Islamic scholars defined wisdom in many ways, but the
majority agrees on the following:
"Wisdom is beneficial knowledge and sincere actions." (Elmalili M.
Hamdi Yazir, True Religion, Language of the Quran I, 915)
So, talking wisely should be understood as beneficial, concise, true,
essential talks done at the right time and at the right place.
The conversations of Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) are the best examples
of conversations
A believer, even if he has knowledge of the subject discussed, thinks
of the possibility that other person might know that subject as
well, and therefore listens to his brothers and sisters with
interest and courtesy. This superior moral value of believers comes
from the fact that they follow Quran's verses, and look up to the
Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) in everything they do. Imam Gazali,
describes the conversations of the Prophet Mohammad as follows,
based on the hadiths:
"...He would pay compliment to everyone present at his sight.
Therefore, everyone would get the idea that they were the most
merited there. The way he sat, listened, his words, beautiful
compliments were only for the people that sat at his presence. But
his gatherings were places of respect, humility and safety… He
would call his companions with their appellation to compliment them
and if any of them didn't have appellation, they would find
appellation for them and address them so…" ( Hujjat-ul-Islam, Imam
Ghazzali, , Ihya Ulum-id-din ,, 2. cilt, Çeviri: Dr. Sıtkı Gülle,
Huzur Yayın Evi, 1998, s.798)
Aisha (ra) explains the words of the Prophet Muhammad (saas) on how
a Muslim should talk:
" When he talked, his words didn't come in a rapid succession like
yours do, he would talk little but in a concise way. But you keep on
adding new sentences." ( Al Fawaid, Hujjat- ul-Islam, Imam Ghazzali,
Ihya Ulum-id-din, vol.2, Translation: Dr. Sıtkı Gülle, Huzur
Publishing House, Istanbul 1998, s. 800)
"The Messenger of Allah, the Prophet Mohammad (saas) talked very
concisely (with short, concise words, which convey lots of meanings.
His short sentences would give the message he intended, he never
said less or more than exactly what is needed. His words followed
each other in a harmonic way, he would pause between sentences,
making sure that his listeners understood and memorized what he
said. He had a strong and pleasant voice. He talked when necessary
and always told the truth." (Abu Dawud, , Hujjat-ul-Islam, Imam
Ghazzali, Ihya Ulum-id- din, 2. cilt, Çeviri: Dr. Sıtkı Gülle, Huzur
Yayınevi, İstanbul 1998, s. 800)
"When he paused, the people in his presence started talking. No one
would argue in his presence." (Tirmidhi; Hujjat-ul-Islam, Imam
Ghazzali, , Ihya Ulum-id-din , vol.2, Translation: Dr. Sıtkı Gülle,
Huzur Publishing House, Istanbul 1998, s. 800)
"He was very genial, he always smiled at the Companions, liked what
they said, listened to them very carefully and considered himself to
be one of them as well." (a.g.e.)
"He gives wisdom to whoever He wills and he who has been given
wisdom has been given great good. But no one pays heed but people of
intelligence ..." (Surat al-Baqara, 269)
As the verse states, not only Prophets but ordinary people can be
wise as well. All believers- women and men- can ask our Lord to
grant them such a blessing.
The believers are aware of the huge blessing in wisdom, and ask
Allah to grant them 'wisdom, eloquence and articulateness. Allah
gives the Prophet Abraham's (pbuh) prayer as an example to believers
in the Quran:
" My Lord, give me right judgement and unite me with the righteous;
and make me highly esteemed among the later peoples; ." (Surat
ash-Shu'ara, 83-84)