SPIRIT OF ISLAM FEBRUARY 2018

11 Spirit of Islam Issue 62 February 2018 JUSTICE IN THE HEREAFTER Divine Retribution T HERE are many instances in the Quran and Hadith of the unerring justice of divine retribution, for in the life after death, a person will be rewarded or punished strictly in accordance with the virtues or vices of his deeds in this world. The Quran says, “The punishment of the life to come is much more severe, if only they knew it.” (68: 33) When the Prophet went on his Night Journey to the Heavens, amongst the things that he was shown was a world of allegory in which man’s worldly actions appeared in another-worldly form. He was shown not only the results of good deeds in the everlasting life after death, but was also given an insight into the forms which evil deeds would assume in the eternal world. Different types of punishments were shown which represented evils of corruption done on the earth: backbiting, slandering, usurping other people’s properties, oppressing, etc. Man’s response to the situations he faces in life can take one of two forms: the infernal or the heavenly. An infernal response is one which is categorically opposed to the will of God, while a heavenly response is one which humbly conforms to His will. Those who make the former response are Satanic in character and deserve punishment. The latter evince divine characteristics and will be admitted to the Garden of Bliss. How do we define ‘Satanic’ characteristics? They are those personality traits which cause an individual to embark on a retaliatory course, quite unmindful of the consequences, whenever he is confronted with circumstances which are not to his liking. Whether it be pain, sorrow or mere embarrassment which is inflicted upon him, he feels he must hit back, returning hate for hate, anger for anger. Divine characteristics, on the other hand, being deep rooted in the fear of God, cause a man to rise above fleeting emotions and prevent him from being swayed by passionate love or hate in his dealings. Such characteristics deserve the rewards of God. The Quran explains that the reward given in Heaven will be of the same hue as one’s actions Divine characteristics, being deep rooted in the fear of God, cause a man to rise above fleeting emotions and prevent him from being swayed by passionate love or hate in his dealings.