Paradise and Hell

deep thinking. On the contrary one who leads a permissive life will apparently be living a happy life in this world; but he will be fated, finally, to reach a world where he will be eternally bereft of every kind of happiness. The Paradise of the Hereafter is for one who detaches himself from the innumerable pleasures of this world, and remains disinterested; whereas the Hell of the Hereafter is for one who remains immersed in the pleasures of this world until one dies. THE PRICE OF PARADISE Success in this world is possible only by taking planned action. Similarly, success in the Hereafter, finding a place in the neighbourhood of God—Paradise, will also be possible only if one undertakes Akhirat-oriented planning, while living in this world. Abu Hurairah narrates that the Prophet of Islam observed: “One who is concerned, starts his journey very early in the morning while it is dark and one who starts his journey early reaches his destination. Listen, the bargain of God is Paradise.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 2450) In ancient Arabia, it was customary for travellers to begin their journey at dawn while it was still dark, so that they could reach their destination before the sun rose and it became hot. This was the traditional way of travelling in the desert, because it was always feared that travellers would be adversely effected by the hot sun and would die along with their camels.