SPIRIT OF ISLAM FEBRUARY 2018

12 Spirit of Islam Issue 62 February 2018 in this world. “Proclaim good tidings to those who have faith and do good works. They shall dwell in gardens watered by running streams. Whenever they are given fruit to eat, they will say: ‘This is what we used to eat before’, for they shall be given the like.” (2: 25) This means the rewards of the Hereafter will be in exact accordance with one’s actions in this world. The form of this reward will be exactly suited to our deeds. One can understand the need for a place of compensation and reward from the following example. In the science of light, there is a law of nature called refraction. Today this is known as Snell’s law, having been discovered initially by Willebrord Van Roijen Snellius. He made his discovery in 1617, but this discovery remained unknown to people, lying unpublished, until a Dutch scientist, Christian Huygens, came to know of it and mentioned it in his research paper in 1703. Only then did the world come to know of Snell’s discovery. That is, Snell’s scientific discovery remained hidden from the eyes of the world for a period of 86 years. It was only after this long period, when Christian Huygens highlighted it, that the world came to know of its importance. The matter of the Hereafter too is somewhat similar. How many of God’s servants are there who are sincerely engaged in virtuous activities away from the limelight, unknown to people, unheralded in the media? How many God-fearing people are there whose inner selves are shaken with the fear of God, but whose undemonstrative expressions fail to show this inner tempest. These are God-fearing people who keep their mouths closed for fear of God, yet no other human being is aware of the virtuous acts of the true believer. How many pious souls are there who have had every opportunity to display their ego and torment others, but who have been halted in their tracks by the fear of God’s chastisement. There are many true believers whose good actions have been lost in the wilderness, recognized neither by near ones nor by more distant people. But this state of affairs will not last forever. In the Hereafter, God will unravel all veils. Then all things hidden from view will appear as clear as daylight. It will be the place where no action done in the world will remain hidden. Even a tiny good deed in the world will appear as plain as daylight, and all virtuous people will be rewarded for their good deeds. The Garden of Paradise is an exquisite and unblemished haven, which God has specifically created for the truly righteous among His servants.