The Eternal Journey

in mind that he is on the way to the hereafter, then he will consider everything that will become worthless there as worthless now, no matter how great a worldly price it may seem to command. he will give weight only to those things that will be of consequence in the next world, no matter how inconsequential they may seem now. in this world, a man may have command of impressive words that he uses to defy the truth; but in the next world, he will find himself lost for words. he may wield his power unjustly, content that his victims will never be able to avenge his wrongs, but in the next world, he will be divested of all power. Beguiled by wealth, he may become proud in this world, but in the next world, he will have nothing to be proud of; he will have left his wealth behind. it is the fundamental difference between a man of the true faith and a disbeliever. a disbeliever lives on earth as if he will stay here forever, while the hallmark of true faith is the belief that a man is on the way to the next world. of course, then, the distinction between belief and disbelief is a psychological one; but these two different attitudes to life make for vastly different practical lives—so different that one leads to hell, while the other paves the way to the gardens of Paradise.