Imagine that you are traveling alone on a road which eventually divides into two: one track is bumpy and difficult, while the other is a smooth and comfortable path, sloping down to a plain.
The first road is uneven, rocky and full of thorny bushes and hidden dangers. It is also steep and hard going. However, the authorities have put up a notice at the beginning of the track which reads: EVEN THOUGH THIS ROAD MAY INITIALLY SEEM DIFFICULT, IT WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD YOU TO YOUR DESTINATION.
As for the second road, it is well-paved and both sides are lined with fruit trees and flowers, and there are plenty of cafes and places of entertainment. The traveler on this road will find everything he needs to satisfy his senses. But the notice at the beginning of this road warns: THIS IS A DANGEROUS AND DESTRUCTIVE ROAD. IT LEADS TO A CHASM AND CERTAIN DEATH.
Which of the two paths would you choose to take?
More often than not, human nature opts for the easy way because it seems effortless, enjoyable and does not involve any suffering. It prefers logo its own way and to free itself of all commitments and responsibility. God has created this human instinct, and everyone, if left to himself, would follow the second path. However, the human mind intervenes at the junction of these two roads and applies the brakes. It urges Man to reflect and weigh up his options. Will he choose to enjoy short-lived pleasure followed by unremitting pain, or a brief and temporary period of pain, followed by eternal bliss and joy?
Eventually he will choose to take the first road. These examples illustrate the comparison between heaven and hell.
The way to hell is full of pleasures enjoyed by the human heart: temptations such as seductive beauty, sensuous pleasure and wealth, derived no matter from what source, and the kind of material pleasure sought after by so many. Besides this, unlimited freedom of action and renouncement of all forms of control are also experienced on this path, as human beings tend to crave this kind of freedom from all forms of restraint.
The path to paradise is certainly no bed of roses. One has to face untold hardships and suffering and to abide by many restrictions and the desire to resist the cravings of the heart. However, whereas the consequence of indulging in what are the temporary pleasures of life lead to constant suffering in hell, the reward for following the more difficult path is eternal joy and pleasure in the life hereafter.
It's rather like a student on the eve of his exams. He is reluctant to leave his family who are watching television, but Introduction he has to get on with his revision. However, after this temporary displeasure, he will enjoy the fruits of his success.
God has set the two paths before us and He has created the -faculty within us to enable us to distinguish between the two so 'that everyone, regardless of his or her educational background, has the ability to discriminate between good and evil.
This means that in the same way as when we do something good we feel a sense of relief as we have a clear conscience, we equally feel upset when we do something wrong.
Holy Quran says:
“Have We not shown him the two paths (of good and evil)?” (Qur’an 90: 80).
God has appointed certain men to preach to and guide mankind on the path of paradise. They are the prophets. The path to hell also has those who lure men to it. They are God's adversaries.
For many generations, prophets and men of true knowledge have urged us to follow the right path, while the corrupt and virtueless have tried to mislead us. And in fact, we have the faculty within us to go either way. There is a part of our inner selves that accepts the teachings of the prophets, and another part that is influenced by those who have been misled. The human intellect is the side that understands truth and the way of the prophets; and there is another side that provokes us into wrong doing.
What consequences await us at the hour of death from all the pleasures we enjoyed and the sufferings we underwent? Deep down in our hearts we always want to repent and return to the path of God, but we put it off and play a waiting game.
We all forget death. Even seeing funerals go by isn't enough to remind us that we will die one day. Even during prayers at funerals our minds may wander onto worldly matters. We think that everyone else is going to die except us, and yet, deep down, we know we shall depart from this world one day.
What is death exactly? What is the truth about it?
Human life is divided into stages: the first stage is the embryo in a mother's womb; then comes life in this world followed by the stage of barzakh (the interim period between death and resurrection). Finally, there is the eternal stage of the life hereafter. Each successive stage has the same degree of relativity to the one next to it.
The vastness of this world when compared to the narrow space in the mother's womb is like the vastness of the barzakh when compared to life in the world; the same goes for the vastness of the life hereafter when compared to the barzakh When a child is in the embryonic form he thinks his entire world is his mother's womb. If the embryo were to be asked about the meaning of his exit from the womb, he might say that it would mean death. If the embryo consisted of twins and one was born before the other, the one who was born late might say] that his twin brother had died and been buried in an unknown world. He would weep if he had seen his twin's placenta discarded and thrown away in just the same way a mother would grieve over her son's dead body. A mother who has tried to keep her child clean and sees him being buried in the earth of his grave breaks down. What she doesn't realize is that this is like the placenta: it is like a dirty shirt that needs to be ''thrown away. It is a garment whose life is over and is no longer needed. This is what death is. In fact it is a 'new birth'. It is an exit into another dimension which is longer and wider in terms of time and space.
The world we live in is only a place of transit. Our life in it is similar to the life of a migrant going to the United States by ship. He pays for a pleasant cabin and makes provisions to ensure he has a comfortable trip. But do you think he would bother to spend all his money renovating the amenities in his cabin and arrive in the United States penniless as a consequence? Or would he say to himself: ‘’I’LL only be staying in this cabin for a week, so I might as well enjoy what's provided for and save my money for my home in the States as 'that is where I'll be taking up permanent residence."
Anyone wishing to embrace Islam has to accept its intellectual principles with total conviction right from the start. This means he will have developed the faith within himself. The principles he has to accept are outlined briefly as follows:
- This material world is not the be-all and end-all of existence, and life in this world is only a part of the eternal life;
- man existed even before he was born and will continue . to exist after death; he did not create himself but had been created before he was conscious of his human existence;
- the inanimate objects around him couldn’t have created him, as he is a rational being and they are not;
- everything in this universe has been created from nothingness by the one God, God the Almighty;
- God is the only one who grants life and causes death. It is He who created everything, and if He wishes. He will destroy and obliterate it;
- Almighty God does not resemble His creation in any way. He existed before this creation and He is eternal and has unlimited knowledge;
- He is completely just in a way that cannot be assessed in human terms;
- it is He who has laid down what we call the laws of nature,
- He has created everything according to a well-defined measure before all creation, thus all the phenomena of activity, inactivity, consistency and inconsistency that we can observe in both animate and inanimate beings have been clearly defined and distinct boundaries have been set,
- man has been bestowed with the power of intellect to deal with whatever matters he is presented with and he has been given the power of reasoning with which he can make his own choice and will power to enable him to achieve what he wants;
- God has created an eternal life beyond this temporary life, where the doer of good will be rewarded with a life in paradise and the wrong doer will be punished and exist in hell.
This God is One. No one else may be worshipped but Him; no one can take us nearer to Him to plead on our behalf without His permission. Thus we should worship God alone, in all sincerity and purity. All the material beings that we can see and feel, have been created by Him. He has also created unseen beings, some animate and others inanimate, which we cannot see. Among the unseen beings are the angels, who have been created for absolute good; and then there are the satans, who have been created as dark and negative forces.
God selects certain people to whom the shariah (Divine Law) is revealed, so that they can guide humanity towards it. These people are the prophets.
This divine law is contained in all the books revealed from The heavens. God takes us through progressive “steps” in each book until the final book, the Holy Quran. Books that preceded it were either distorted or got lost and forgotten. The Holy Quran, however, has remained intact.
In brief, the intellectual principles of Islam are:
- belief in the angels;
- belief in destiny;
- expression of the statements of faith;
- performance of the obligatory prayers;
- fasting in the month of Ramadan;
- payment of zakat (alms);
- performance of Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca once in a lifetime, if this is possible;
- Abstention from everything that is forbidden by Muslim consensus.
Generally speaking, adhering to the Imaan(faith) is more beneficial to us - we feel better and enjoy tremendous rewards. This is why, even though it may be hard to stick to these laws 100%, we feel better in ourselves if we follow them. Our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) summed up the characteristics of a true Muslim in an eloquent sentence which states the essence of faith and action in a nutshell: "You should worship God as if you can see him." This means we must strive to be in total awareness of God's presence all the time. This is the very essence of Islam - to be God-conscious in all our actions, whether or not they are serious. God is watching us constantly and is aware of our every move. This is why anyone who is truly God-conscious will obey His laws, and he will not despair either, knowing that God is with him all the time. A person who is strengthened in this way will not need to ask for help from anyone because he can always ask God to fulfill his needs. And, if anyone disobeys God's laws, as it is in his nature to sin, provided he asks for forgiveness, God will forgive him.
God willing!
Ref: ‘General Introduction to Islam’ by Sheikh Ali Al-Tantawi
"There is no compulsion in religion (Islam). Verily, the right path (Islam-Monotheism) has become distinct from the wrong path (Polytheism), whoever disbelieves in "Taguth" (all false Gods) and believes in Allah (only God), and then he has grasped the most trustworthy-handhold that will never break. And Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower." (Qur'an, 2:256)
