JOURNEY TOWARDS FINAL DESTINATION

'It appears that man has strayed into a world that was not made for him'. According to the Quran, the present earth is not a habitat for man forever. Man’s eternal habitat lies in the world Hereafter. In accordance with this divine plan, man must develop his personality in the pre-death period, so that he is selected as a deserving candidate for this habitat, or Paradise in the post-death period. How can one gain entry into Paradise? Man is born with total freedom. The only requirement for finding entry into Paradise is that he should use his freedom responsibly and avoid any kind of misuse of this freedom. It is the divine criterion that will decide whose case was one of proper use of freedom and whose was that of misuse. As the Quran tells us: We have indeed created man in the best of mould, then We cast him down as the lowest of the low, except for those who believe and do good deeds—theirs shall be an unending reward! What then after this, can make you deny the Last Judgement? Is not God the greatest of the judges? (THE QURAN 95:4-8) It means that while man is born as a complete personality, his present abode, planet Earth is incomplete. Because of this disparity, man’s condition on Earth becomes like that of a fish out of water. The disparity between man’s nature and the inability of the present-world to fulfil all his desires arouses the need in man for a real habitat. This habitat is Paradise. Only those men and women will find entry into Paradise who qualify as deserving candidates for it. Planet Earth is a selection-ground for this purpose. The Quran tells us about Paradise in these words: Therein you shall have all that your souls desire, and therein you shall have all that you ask for. (THE QURAN 41:31) The Quran mentions all aspects of Paradise in detail and then guides man in these words For the like of this, that all should strive. (THE QURAN 37:61)