4. THE HEREAFTER

4. THE HEREAFTER ~ 85 ~ Resurrection will place us in a position to see much more. Just as a person standing on top of a wall can look down on both sides, so shall we be able to see both aspects of the truth. Not only shall we watch our entire history unroll before us like a film, but we shall witness the consequences of our own worldly actions. ‘Then,’ as the Qur’an says, ‘shall each soul know what it has sent forward (to the Hereafter) and what it has kept back (in the world behind)’ (82:5). Whatever was done for worldly reasons will be left behind, unconsidered. Only those actions which were carried out with the Hereafter in mind will benefit us in the life to come. Two men once brought a case before the Prophet for judgement. One had misappropriated the other’s land, but because of certain legal quirks, it was difficult to pass a verdict against him. After due consideration, the Prophet warned him: ‘If the court gives a verdict in your favour, think of it as being fire and brimstone which you have been awarded.’ The piece of land might, in terms of this world, have been a prized possession, but in the perspective of the Hereafter it would assume the terrible properties of fire and brimstone. The