The Vision of Islam

CHAPTER FIVE Calling People to Tread the Path of God § Who speaks better than one who calls to God and does good works and says, ‘I am surely of those who submit’? —The Quran, 41:33 The Significance of Calling People to Tread the Path of God No calamity or affliction, howsoever serious, can wipe out the Muslim community, for their continuing existence is part of the divine promise enshrined in the Quran (15:9). Just as the final Book of God must remain in existence till the last day, so also will the preservers of that Book continue to exist until the last star is snuffed out, and the scales of Divine Justice are put in place. But it should be borne in mind that this promise, made by the Lord of the universe, relates only to the existence of the followers of Muhammad on earth, and not to their salvation in the Hereafter. Man’s salvation in the Hereafter depends entirely upon his own actions in this life. God’s law in this regard is so inflexible that,