The Final Journey

A Strange Deprivation strongest of incentives to lead an upright life, for he should then have to come to grips with the fact that, immediately after death, he would, in the words of the Prophet, either enter the garden of paradise or plunge into the pit of fire. Each step that man takes in this world leads him relentlessly towards one of the two extremes. But man has become so insensitive to this reality that he seldom sees fit to give it any serious consideration. People put their trust in false ideals, and worship them as if they were holy, but in the life hereafter, only the humble reverence that man has for God in this life can be of any avail in his final salvation. True worship means fearing God in such a manner that He comes to dominate one’s thoughts entirely. He becomes the supreme force in and monitor of all one’s affairs. Whatever is done then is for the sake of God, for the love of God, out of fear of God, and for no other. In short, man’s total concern becomes for life in the world to come. Given such concern, life’s mundane affairs should pale into insignificance. A Strange Deprivation I f you give a one rupee coin to someone and tell him that somewhere ahead there is a heap of ten million such coins and that if he runs quickly he can obtain all that money, what do you think he will do with the one rupee coin that you have given him? He will forget about it and run after the ten million rupees!