THE HEREAFTER

truth. Not only shall we watch our entire history unreel before us like a film, but also witness the consequences of our own worldly actions. As the Quran says: Then shall each soul know what it has sent forward (to the Hereafter) and what it has kept back (in the world behind). THE QURAN 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. The present world and the Hereafter are two sides of the same event. The worldly side is trivial and temporary, while the Hereafter side is substantive and permanent. It is to the latter side that we must face up to after death. Here, one has complete freedom to live out one’s worldly existence as one wills; in the life-to-come, one will have no choice about the future course of one’s life. One will either be raised to eternal glory, or cast down into the pit of eternal suffering. Bearing Losses Anyone who has divided his time and his energy in many activities cannot achieve a great goal. A great goal necessarily requires total dedication, that is, working for a specific target by making concerted effort. One incurs losses at various fronts due to this concentration on one goal, but the secret of any great success lies in bearing these losses.