Part 5

PROPHECY AND MISSION
The verification of prophecy and the missions of the Prophets (May God's blessings be upon them) is one of the concerns of the Muslim theologians or the teachers of Islam, since this is one of the principles of the Islamic religion. It is essential to believe in their possible occurrence, for all the sound international religions we know of are due to the revelation of the will of The Most High God to those of His servants He chose to be His Messengers to the people.
 
 We will first discuss the verification of prophecy and the divine missions in general, and show the need for them; then we will discuss the need for the mission of the Apostle of Islam, and verify it in such a way that leaves no doubt in the minds of those who are willing to be convinced by the truth when it is clearly shown to them.
 
MISSIONS IN GENERAL
       Some, or many, people may come to know of the existence of God by reasoning, i.e., by inference, from the existence of the wonders of creation, that there must be an Almighty God, All powerful, a Creator, All-knowing and Wise; that He must have made them and created them in such a wonderful system with no precedent example.

        Many people may come to distinguish between good and evil, virtue and vice through reasoning and conscience, and thus save their conscience from deviation or going astray in judgment, so that conscience may be a good guide and leader when consulted as to what to take or leave.

       A nation or a people may enact for themselves laws which they follow in their dealings and in settling the differences that arise between them, including in such laws a penal code that keeps individuals from violating or deviating from them.

      Some may perhaps come to realize the necessity of an other life after this worldly one, so that the good and virtuous may be rewarded for the good they have done but which has passed unrewarded in this worldly life, and that the evil may be punished for the sins and wrongs they have committed but which have passed unpunished.

       Some or all of these conclusions may be attained by some people in certain epochs and circumstances, yet they cannot possibly be attained by all people at all times under all circumstances. For people differ considerably in their aptitudes and mental capacities as well as in their environments; and, besides, life is intricately woven of various circumstances and needs.

        All this does not make it possible to know always and for sure what is good and what is evil, and what causes happiness or unhappiness and perdition. Besides, it does enable us to know the nature of happiness and unhappiness, especially in the other life, and what kind of life it will be. No human mind can possibly know, without help or guidance, anything about it.

        It is quite evident, then, that man cannot depend solely on his mental power and conscience in acquiring all that he ought to know in respect of God or His attributes, life and the statutes which govern it and which are indispensable for ensuring a good life and the good of all people, and the day of judgement and what it includes of reward in paradise or severe punishment.

        In proof of this is the erring prevalent before the time of the Divine Missions, or, even after the messages of the apostles had become blurred in human memory before the appearance of the Prophet Muhammad. At that time many people were still pagans.

      In spite of the scientific genius of the Ancient Egyptians, some of them defied the phraohs and others worshipped the calf. Such were the mass of ancient Greeks, who, in spite of their genius in philosophy and knowledge, were pagans. So also were the ancient Romans, despite their great achievements in philosophy, ethics and law. What, then, could be expected from nations other than those well-established in thinking, i.e., nations that were deprived of intellectual abilities and profound thinking?

      Notwithstanding all this, there were peoples who denied prophecy and divine missions, such as the Indian Brahmans who claimed that if what the apostle communicated could be attained through reasoning, it would be futile to send an apostle to teach it; and what was void of a sound aim was vain and foolish; and if what the apostle communicated was beyond the power of reasoning, it could not be accepted; for what could be accepted must be within the reasoning power of minds.

        Such an opinion was adopted by some of those who said they had professed Islam but faith had not entered their hearts.

One of those was Abul Hussein Al Rawandy 1 who related the Brahman's opinion in the following way:
      "Brahmans say that they as well as their opponents have been convinced that the mind is the greatest of God's graces to His creatures, that it is through the mind that one gets to know God and His graces, and that, because of this grace, command, prohibition, persuasion and threatening are justifiable.

       If the apostle's preaching is a confirmation of what the mind judges to be good, bad, acceptable or prohibited ,Brahmans are not bound to consider his call or respond to it, for what the mind can find out makes his call superfluous and thus sending apostles to preach such things is wrong. If he preaches differently from what the mind sees good, bad, tolerable or prohibited then they are free from acknowledging and prophecy."

      It is self-evident that this argument is false and good- for-nothing, for the mind cannot get to know everything, as is well known; besides it is a good thing to send apostles to preach what is acceptable to the mind, for this will serve as an explanation and a confirmation of it. The divine mission then serves to assure man that what he has attained or come near to through reasoning is valid.

       Yet it is obvious that not every man can attain through his own reasoning alone that God sends an apostle to teach, and that if a person attains some of it, people do not usually follow him, nor yield and comply completely with what he has realized, for he has no proof from God as to the truth of his finding. Whereas an apostle is backed by God with miracles that prove the truth of what he has communicated to the people from God, Lord of the Creation.

         Prophecy and divine missions are then a favour and grace of God to all people, different as they are in minds and abilities. But for them, mankind would have gone astray, except those whom God protected. With them, God has the right of reckoning over his creatures. This is the reason why The Almighty and Wise God says in the Sura or Chapter entitled Women ", verses No. 163-165
 
          " We have revealed Our will to you as Ws revealed it to Noah and to the prophets who came after him; as We revealed it to Ibrahim, Ismael, Isaac, Jacob, The Asbaat, Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon. We gave the Psalms to David. Of some apostles We have already told you (how God spoke directly to Moses); but there are others of whom We have not yet spoken: apostles who brought good news to mankind and admonished them, so that they might have no plea against God after their coming. God is Mighty and Wise."

          If prophecy and divine missions in general were in need of a proof after that, the teachers of Islam and the Muslim theologians gave that proof and undertook to explain it most efficiently. They say that it is not of impossible occurrence that God sends human apostles to His human creatures, it is not at all similar to the meeting of opposites or the change of one element to another (as the change of stone to gold for example). It is not unreasonable that God may command one of His servants to legislate laws for the people and show them how to discriminate right from wrong and good from evil.

          It is indeed a grace to the people that The Most High God sends these apostles to them, so that there may be a strong urge for them to have faith in what their minds have attained and the divine mission has confirmed, and to know the other facts that the human mind alone cannot attain.

       God is All-knowing, the Speaker and has power over everything. There is nothing to prevent His communicating His will to the people through any of the known means of revelation. Besides, it is natural that the master sends a messenger to his servants. Therefore, this must be possible in connection with God and people, as God owns all human creatures and has the power to communicate to them what He wants to.

       It is useful to state here the opinion of the Imam Sheikh Muhammad Abduh, for it is a clear proof in various respects of the possible occurrence of prophecy and divine missions for the whole world and humanity at large. It is even a proof of its actual occurrence, and that they were indispensable for the guidance and good of humanity at large. It is even a proof of its actual occurrence and that they were indispensable for the guidance and good of humanity.

He says in his "Thesis on Monotheism":
      "Was it not due to the wisdom of the Wise Maker Who directed man the right way on bases of guidance and education and Who created man and taught him self-expression:  taught him articulate speech for mutual understanding and taught him how to write for corresponding, to specialize certain human rank to which He prepares by His grace some of His chosen servants? Indeed He knows whom to entrust with His mission.

       He privileges them with sound nature and aids their souls to attain the perfection that renders them fit for radiating with the light of His knowledge, and worthy of the trust of His hidden secret, which if revealed to others as is revealed to them, they would give up the ghost, or lose their minds at its majesty and greatness.

      They are allowed to behold the unknown by His permission, and know what will happen to the people. In their sublime ranks they are in relation to the two worlds the end of the visible and the beginning of the unknown. They seem not to belong to this worldly life; they are the delegates of the other world but in an attire different from that of its inhabitants.

        Then they are ordered to speak about God's majesty, and about what is hidden from human minds of His Most High State, according to what He wishes His servants to believe in Him, and what He has doomed to concern their happiness in the other world. They should also clarify to the people what they must know of the state of things in the other world, expressing it in a way that is not beyond their mental capacity nor beyond their understanding.

       They should communicate to the people God's general laws which decide the path they should take in setting right their own selves and checking their passions, and teach them the things that lead to their own happiness and unhappiness, in this universe of which the details are hidden from their consciousness but which their inner conscience is well aware of in general, including all the laws concerning the totality of things whether visible or hidden.

      Then He supports them by signs that are beyond the reach of the human power, so that people may be convinced of the truthfulness of their missions. Thus there will be evidence that they are God's messengers to His creation bringing good news and forewarning.

      No doubt He who created everything in the best form, granted every being its own characteristics, bestowed every living creature with what it is in need of, and extended His mercy to all His creation- greatly or lowly-  no doubt it is a sign of His kindness to the species He created in the best form, and endowed with receptability of  knowledge in contrast with the gifts. He granted the other species, that He saves man from bewilderment, from wandering astray in the more important of his two lives, and from deviation from the right course in his better state.

       Therefore He chose from among the people individuals to lead to the right choice and show the right way, and privileged them with characteristics in their own selves unshared by others. He also provided them to be more convincing with dazzling signs which proved the falsity of what people had premeditated. Then the pretentious felt ashamed, and the unruly was humbled. The unreasonable person's mind was shocked and restored to reason, and the ignorants sight was dazzled and they averted their eyes from error.

       They moved hearts by God's orders, and astonished minds by the splendour of His signs, thus besieging mentalities by what inevitably led them to yield. In this all people were the same: owner and owned, sultan and rascal, wise and ignorant, meritorious and undeserving; yielding to them was a sort of obligation rather than meditative option. They taught them what God willed to set right their ways of living and their destinies, and what He willed to be taught about Himself and His perfect qualities. These were the prophets and the apostles.
 
        Therefore sending of the prophets, may God's blessings be upon them, is necessary to man's very existence, and essential to his very living. It is to man similar to a guiding mentality; it is a favour granted by God's Grace; so that people may have no plea against God after His sending the apostles."

II. THE MISSION OF MUHAMMAD
MAY THE BLSSSING OF GOD BE UPON HIM
As it has been proved that God may send to His Creation messengers to bring good news and forewarn, and that He actually did when nations and peoples were in need of them, it is necessarily a proof as well of the mission of the seal of prophets and apostles to the whole humanity. His mission is proved by evidences given in support of the missions in general evidences that cannot be denied except by a pertinacious antagonistic arguer -and also by the urgent need for his mission which was evident after the previous missions had faded, and the world was lost in bewilderment, out of which it could be saved only by a new comprehensive divine mission.

         The Most High God, praise be to Him, provided His previous apostles with miracles, which supported their claim to he messengers sent by the Lord of the Creation, such as the change of the staff into a serpent in the case of Moses, may God's blessing be upon him, and healing the blind man and the leper and restoring the dead to life in the case of Jesus, may God's blessing be upon him. But all these miracles were of a different nature from the divine missions with which all the previous apostles were entrusted.

        Whereas the miracle of Muhammad and his proof with which he challenged the deniers of the truthfulness of his mission who were eventually the losers, was of the nature of his claim and closely connected with his mission which God ordered him to communicate to all people.

        This miracle is the Quran alone, the Glorious Book that is entirely void of falsehood, for it is not the words of humans, but a revelation from the Lord of the Creation. That is why all the Arabs, eloquent and rhetorical as they were, were unable to compose a chapter similar to the chapters of the Quran when they were challenged by Muhammad, may the blessing of God be upon him.

        Indeed, Muhammad, may God's blessing be upon him, did not set his mission aside challenging his opposers with extraordinary things like those which were brought by his fellow aspostles who came before him, and which were not of the nature of the divine missions. Therefore, when he was asked by his opposers to show them something extraordinary, his only reply was as follows: ''Glory to my Lord ! Surely I am no more than a human apostle".

In this connection the following verses from the Sura or Chapter entitled The Night Journey" may be stated:
      "They say: We will not believe in you until you make a spring gush from the earth before our very eyes, or cause rivers to flow in a grove of palms and vines; until you cause the sky to fall upon us in pieces, as you have threatened to do or bring down God and tile angels in our midst; until you build a house of gold or ascend to heaven: nor will we believe in your ascension until you have sent down for as a book which we can read. Say: Glory to ALLAH Surely I am no more than a human apostle."

        Though Muhammad, God's blessing be upon him, did not depend on such miraculous things in evidence of the truthfulness of his mission, yet he depended on the Greatest Miracle : The Great Quran. Indeed it is miraculous enough and a proof definite enough to prove that he is the messenger of the lord of the Greation.

       The inimitability of this "Book", which proves beyond doubt that it is a revelation of God's will, revealed to the last of his prophets and apostles, is clearly seen when we read it, study it scrutinizingly and understand it fully. For then we find in it predictions of unknown things that Muhammad knew nothing about before the revelation such as the history of bygone nations and times and the events that took place in those olden times. We should here be reminded that he whom God chose to reveal the Quran to was illiterate.

          In this connection The Most High God says in the Chapter entitled "The Spider":
      "Never have you read a book before this, nor have you ever transcribed one with your right hand. Had you done either of these, the unbelievers might have justly doubted. But to those who are endowed with knowledge it is an undoubted sign. None deny our signs except the wrong- doers."

        In the Chapter entitled " The Narrative ", The Most Sublime God says in proof that the history of the earlier generations stated in the Quran is revealed by God, and that Muhammed is His apostle:
        "You were not present on the western side of the Mountain when We charged Moses with his commission, nor did you witness the event. We raised many generations after him whose lives We prolonged. You did not dwell among the people of Madian, nor did you recite to them our revelations; for We sent forth to them other apostles."

       "You were  not present on the Mountain-side when We called out to Moses. Yet We have sent you forth as a blessing from your Master to forewarn a nation to whom no apostle has been sent before, so that they may take heed."

        Another proof of the inimitability of the Quran and its evidence of the truthfulness of the apostle's prophecy and his mission being revealed by God, is that in it are united eloquence, superb versification and a unique style: a style different from all the styles of all the Arabs.

      Therefore, on hearing a little of Quran, the listener's attention was naturally drawn to the fact that he listened to speech unlike that of humans, and that if he gave up obstinacy he would believe in it, prostate himself to it in adoration, and profess it to be the revelation of the will of the Lord of the Creation to the individual He chose to communicate His mission to all peoples.

        The people of the Quraish were lost in bewilderment about Muhammad and what he brought. They conferred and consulted what to do; and they eventually decided to send to him one of their noblemen, Utbah Ibn Rabi'ah, hoping he might get from him an explanation which would relieve them of the bewilderment they suffered and the distress that perplexed them.

      Utbah told Muhammad what he wished to say; and when he finished talking, the Apostle recited to him some verses from the beginning of the Chapter entitled " Revelations Well Expounded ". He returned to his people who asked him What news have you got, Abul Waleed ? He replied:  I swear by God I listened to speech that I had never heard anything like before. By God it is not poetry it is not witchery; it is not divination! … etc.

      It is for a certain purpose that God says to His Apostle in the Chapter entitled " Repentance":
       "If an idolator seeks asylum with you, give him protection so that he may hear the Word of God, and then convey him to safety. " This, in our opinion, signifies that the versification and the style of the Quran are such that when a little of it is recited the listener feels that it is actually different from the speech of humans and that it is the Word of the Lord of Creation.

        Besides these two points, namely the news of the unknown and the story of bygone nations, and its versification and style, which are evidence that the Quran is undoubtedly inimitable by any people, or even by humans and Jinns collaborating, and that this is a definite proof of the truthfulness of the Apostle, the verification of his prophethood and the truthfulness of his mission - besides all this we may mention that the philosopher and great judge "Ibn Rushd" adds one more point which was thought of solely by the Teachers of Islam or Muslim Theologians.

      Ibn Rushd surpassed them all by what he explained in his "Methods of Evidence " He states that in order that a miracle may be definitely indicative of the truthfulness of prophethood, it must he compatible with the prophet's mission which is guiding mankind to the truth and justice through the laws he brings forth. This is exactly the same as when recovery from illness is indicative of the knowledge of medicine by him who claims it.

       In this respect, the Quran is considered the greatest miracle of the Apostle, God's blessing be upon him. For the laws it includes concerning knowledge and work cannot be acquired through learning; they are the revelations of the will of the All- Knowing and Most Wise God.

      These laws which aim at bringing happiness to mankind, cannot be known except after knowing, and getting in contact with God, realizing the nature of happiness and unhappiness, and the means that lead to the former and away from the latter, and similar matters. All these matters either can only be comprehended, or are better grasped, through the revelation of God's will.

       It has been proved that the Quran is inimitable in all these respects: its relating much of the unknown and the history of the bygone generations, its versification and style, and its compatibility with the Apostle's mission that was revealed by The Most High God so as to teach the people the laws which, when they follow them and act accordingly, lead to their happiness. As this has been proved, it naturally serves as an evidence of the truthfulness of The Illiterate Prophet in claiming to be the Messenger of the Lord of the Creation.

        It is useful to state here another quotation form Professor Sheikh Muhammad Abduh. He concluded his discussion of the mission of Muhammad (God's blessing be upon him), its principles, its contribution to the reformation of nations and creeds, his single shouldering of its responsibility, by saying:
      "Could there be a more convincing proof of his prophethood than this one? An illiterate undertook to call those who knew how to write to understand what they wrote or read; having received no schooling, he urged the learned to look critically into what they knew; from an environment void of the springs of knowledge, he commenced to guide the knowers; brought up among people shrouded with illusion he rose to rectify the crookedness of the wise.

    Stranger as he was in the nearest of peoples to naiveness and the farthest from understanding the systems of the creation and meditating its admirable laws, he undertook to decide for the whole world the principal law, and plan the roads to happiness, by taking which one would never be in danger and by leaving which one would never be saved."

       He was but a human being to whom God revealed His will, the last to the series of prophets; but in convincing people of the truthfulness of his mission, he did not produce anything that dazzled the eyes or embarrassed the senses or bewildered the feelings.

         But he urged that every power should work in the line assigned to it. He addressed the mind, and resorted to it for judging things to be right or wrong. He made of the power of speech, the force of eloquence and the validity of the evidence the convincing proof and the sign of the truth that could in no way be doubted, and that was the revelation of the will of the Wise and the Praised One.

       Moreover, having faith in prophecy, divine mission in general and the mission of Muhammad Ibn Abd Allah (God's blessing be upon him) in particular has effects of value beyond estimation.

      It gives man certain knowledge of what philosophers and thinkers have been of contradictory opinions about since the early epochs of history up to the present day, regarding the existence of God, His relation to man in what he does and His guiding him to the good. It fills man's heart and mind with confidence in what The Apostle communicated of facts concerning both the visible and the unseen. These are facts that the human mind alone could not have attained, however sharp and talented it might have been.

       It suffices here just to mention the vast differences, in regard to beliefs, principles of good manners and laws, that are between the believers and the other nations and peoples who have remained up to the present day deniers of the prophets' missions and what they communicated of veritable signs, guidance and distinction between false and true.

       There is indeed a world of difference between leading one's life guided by the human mind which often goes astray and basing one's beliefs, legislation, manners and behaviour on the divine guidance which was communicated by prophets, and which is absolutely infallible ! No wonder ! For divine revelations and missions are common blessings for all people in every respect of life, and in both this mundane life and the other life.

RESURRECTION AND THE NEXT LIFF
1- RESURRECTION
       He who believes in the Quran and that it is the revelation of the will of The All-Knowing and Wise God to His chosen Apostle who does not speak out of his own fancy, no doubt believes that after this mundane life there is another eternal life, when every man will be judged according to his deeds, whether good or evil.

     This is plain from God's Book which is abundant in verses indicative of resurrection and judgement.

The following are some of these verses:
     In the Chapter entitled "Pilgrimage"

The Most High God says:
    "That is because God is Truth: He gives life to the dead and has power over all things. The Hour of Doom is sure to come__ in this there is no doubt. Those who are in the grave God will raise to life."

    In the Chapter entitled "The Believers" He says:
"You shall surely die hereafter, and be restored to life on the Day of Resurrection."

   In the Chapter entitled " Yasin " He says:
     "He answers back with arguments, and forget His own creation. He asks: `Who will give life to rotten bones ? Say `He who created them at first will give them life again He has knowledge of every creature."

   In the Chapter entitled "AI-Ahqaf" He says:
      "Do they not see that God Who created the heavens and the earth and was not wearied by their creation, can raise the dead to life? Yes. He has power over all things."

      In the Chapter entitled "The Cow " He says:
    " Fear the day when you shall all return to God; when every soul shall be requited according to its deserts. None shall be wronged."

      He says in the Chapter entitled " Aal - Imran":
       "Lord, You will surely gather all man kind before you upon a day that will indubitably come. God will not break His promise.

        And He says in the same Chapter:
       "The day will surely come when each soul will be confronted with whatever good it has done. As for its evil deeds, it will wish that these were a long way off."

      In these verses, to which we could if we wished quote many similar ones from God's Book that is entirely of falsehood, there is a definite proof that our life will not come to an end by death. There is another life where there will be reckoning ,rewarding and punishment.

       Although Resurrection is one of the facts that religion bas brought forth, yet it is also a fact that is realized by sound minds and sound logic.

       For mind and logic necessitate that there should be between virtue and good, and vice and evil, the relation of cause and effect, i.e., the virtuous person should be rewarded with good for his good deeds, and the sinner should be punished by evil for his evil deeds.

        Yet this may not be found in this life which we live on the earth: many are the virtuous who lead unhappy lives, and many are the evil who enjoy the wealth and the pleasures of this mundane life .This applies both to individuals and communities.

       Therefore there must be another life, where the virtuous are requited for the good deeds they have done, and the evil are punished for the evils and sins they have cormmitted : this is necessitated by the laws of ethics.

      This was rightly observed by one of the masters of human thinking; he is Germany's famous philosopher Immanuel Kant who died in 1804. He is one of the most prominent advocates of the doctrine of "Obligation" in ethic, in modern times.

      He believes that the combination of virtuousness and happiness does not occur in this life; it is even improbable. It is indeed a problem that has to be solved.

       In order to solve this problem rationally, he says that we must take for granted the existence of God and the eternity of the soul, and he considers this self-evident and axiomatic in ethics. It must be taken for granted also that God's knowledge is perfect, so that He may know precisely the value of every man and his deeds and what he deserves of happiness. God's ability must also be perfect so that He may transcend the laws of nature - which do not unite virtue to happiness by the unity of cause and effect - and reward the virtuous, He believes as well that all this cannot be realized to its perfection except in the other world where good will be the reward of virtue and evil the reward of vice. Acceptance of these matters is essential in ethics.

      We see, therefore, that resurrection or moving from this mundane life to the other eternal life is a matter on which intellect and religion agree; or, as the philosopher Ibn Rushd says, it is a matter on which the divine laws agree and is proved by the learned men.

     For man has not been created in this mundane life in vain. God has created him for a noble aim, the realization of which, through his deeds, is the fruit of his existence in this mundane life. It is inevitable then that he should be raised to life after death to be judged for what he has done towards furthering this aim.

      In this connection The All-Knowing and Wise God says in the Chapter entitled "The Believers":
     "Did you think that We had created you in vain and that you would never be recalled to Us?"

2. THE NEXT LIFE
      This mundane abode is a place of tasking and work; the other abode is a place of reckoning and rewarding. This is what religion teaches, what justice, reason and logic profess, and what believers have faith in. But deniers of God and His missions believe that there is no life after this worldly one, that death leads to void and non-existence, and that there is no other life at all. As for those deniers, the reasonable should disregard them and their opinions; they will realize after death the falsehood of what they have believed in.

     Those disbelievers who deny that God exists and that He restores to life and causes death, say:" There is no other life but this; nor shall we ever be raised to life again." They also say: "Nothing but Time destroys us. Surely their guessing is evil!"

    It is strange that they swear by God, in Whom they do not profess to believe, or in Whom they have a distorted belief, that the dead are gone for ever no one will be restored to life anew!

In this connection The Most High God says:
        "They solemnly swear by God that He will never raise the dead to life. But God's promise shall surely be fulfilled, though most men may not know it. He will manifest to them that which they dispute, and the unbelievers shall know that they were lying. When We decree a thing, We need only say; 'Be,' and it is."

        Would that they took towards this problem an attitude of hesitation and doubt; then it would be possible for them to return to faith. For it is said that doubt is a means that leads to conviction, provided the doubtful use their brains and do not take the attitude of obstinacy and pertinacity.

        Besides, where could the virtuous hope for reward, being deprived of the pleasures of this mundane life which the vicious and evil enjoy, were they not certain that there would be another eternal life where they would be fully require for the good they did in their mundane life?!

        However, what harm is there in having faith in resurrection, reckoning and eternity? And what risk is there in believing that what the apostles communicated about these matters is absolute truth ? There is no harm in that, nor is there any risk. Indeed faith in these things is at all events a sign of discretion and reasonableness. Long ago Abu Al-Alaa Al-Ma'arrri said

The astrologer and the doctor both said:
"Bodies will not be ressurected."

"Away", said I.
"If your claim be true, I won't be harmed; But if mine be true, The losers you will be."
 
        In the pre-Islamic state of paganism, God removed the veil from over the hearts and mind of some Arabs who then saw that there would be another life after this mundane one. But the vast majority of them were not of this doctrine, for they believed that it was impossible that he who died and became dust would be restored to life. They said disapprovingly: What! When we are turned to bones and dust, shall we be restored to life?"
 
      The Most High God answered them saying "Say: 'You shall; whether you turn to stone or iron, or any other substance which you may think unlikely to be given life.'They will ask: ` Who will restore us?`

Say: `He that created you at first.`They will shake their heads and ask: `When will this be?`' Say: `It may be near at hand."

       One of those disbelievers and deniers of resurrection and the life to come went to the Prophet, God's blessing be upon him, with decaying and rotten bones in his hand, and said "O Muhammad Do you think that God restores these to life after their rotting?! " The Apostle, God's blessing be upon him, answered: " Yes, and God will raise you to life and cast you into Hell-fire." 1

       In this connection The Most High God says in the Chapter entitled "Yasin":
      "He answers back in arguments, and forgets His own creation. He asks: " Who will give life to rotten bones?"

     Say: "He who created them at first will give them life again: " " He has knowledge of every creature."

     The answer to this arrogant disbelievers' question lay within his very being. He forgot that he had been created out of the void, or rather from a little germ void of life. God's will and ability gave it life, and he became a full grown man. He Who did this is able to raise the dead to life again after death.

       Similar to these verses, that are indicative of resurrection, is what The Most High God says in the Chapter entitled " Mary "

         "What' says man. When l am once dead, shall I be raised to life?"

        "Does man forget We created him out of the void?" This is certainly- a self-evident reply, that is confirmed by one's sense and observation of man, animal and plant." But it is their hearts, and not their eyes, that are blind !"

      Now, what are the signs indicative of this life to come? What will this life be like? Will it be an eternal life? What avail is there of belief in it to man in this mundane life?

    The Most High God says in the Chapter entitled "The Heights"

    "They ask you about the Hour of Doom and when it is to come. Say:"None knows except my Lord. He alone will reveal it at the appointed time. A fateful hour it shall be, both in the heavens and on the earth. It will come without warning. They will put questions to you as though you had full knowledge of it. Say: None knows about it save though most men are unaware of this."

      God has then kept for Himself alone the knowledge of the time of the Hour of Doom and the Day of Judgement, Reckoning and Reward. This Day will come unexpectedly and will take us by surprise. Nevertheless, there will be signs which will be suggestive to those who are living at that time that it is near at hand and about to come. These signs are called "the portents of the Hour of Doom" in the language of the Quran. 2

       Many commentaries were written on these portents and signs. The Quran mentions some of them. Some authors talked very much about them but without verification and accuracy. All this need not be detailed here.

     Therefore it suffices to mention here that the advent of the Hour of Doom signifies the corruption of the earth and all sorts of life on it. Corruption will prevail to the extent that it becomes almost predominant over the whole world. Islam will grow so weak that it will seem as strange as when it started according to the true or authoritative tradition.

     At that time it will be better that the Day of Reckoning and Reward comes, as the world will be abundant in impiety affliction, tyranny and sins . Many will go back to the worship of idols as was the case in the pre-Islamic state of paganism .

     The prophet , God's blessing be upon him, says:
     "The Hour of Doom will not come until the buttocks of the women of Doss tremble round Thil- kholsa",v iz , the posterior of the women of this tribe shake as they go round this idol; this tribe worshipped it in the pre-Islamic times. It means return to disbelief in God.

      He says also: "The Hour of Doom will not come until the time comes when man, passing by another 's grave says: ` l wish I were in his place, " viz, because of the  prevailing affliction.

     In another tradition - the three traditions are agreed upon by the two Imams Al-Bukhari and Muslim - he, God's blessings he upon him, says:" The Hour of Doom will not come until there arise imposters and liars, nearing thirty in number, each claiming to be God's apostle."

     Yet death is the real threshold to the Doomsday for him whose hour has come. It is for him to transfer from this world to the other world: Death is, so to speak, the key to the other world, and the road that leads to it. Through it man knows his destiny, whether Paradise or Hell-fire.

     According to Abdullah Ibn Omar, may God be gracious to them both, The Apostle, God's blessing be upon him said:

       " When one of you dies, his abode is shown to him morning and evening. If he is one of the heirs of Paradise, then it is an abode in Paradise; if of the heirs of Hell, then it is in Hell-Fire. He is told: Behold your abode until God raises you to life on the Day of Resurrection."

      In this connection The Most High God says in the Chapter entitled "The Forgiving One " with regard to Pharoah and his people:
      "They shall be brought before the Fire, morning and evening, and when Last Day comes, a voice will cry: `Let the people of Pharaoh be sternly punished!"

      When the Doomsday comes, the earth shall he gone with all that is on it, the heavens shall perish, and Sovereignty shall be the exclusive right of God alone, the Almighty and the All-powerful One. Then there shall be resurrection for reckoning and rewarding.

      According to Omar's Son, may God be gracious to them both, the Apostle, God's blessings be upon him, said: " On the Day of resurrection God will hold the earth in His grasp, the heavens in His right hand and say: `I am the King." Another version was related by Abu Hurayrah, may God be gracious to him, that the Prophet, God's blessings be upon him, said: "God will hold the earth in His grasp, fold up the heaven in His right hand and say `I am the King; where are the kings of the earth?"

      In the following verses from the Chapter entitled "The Hordes", we find this severe period of time depicted most admirably, clearly and accurately in inimitable brevity "They underrate the might of God. But on the Day of Resurrection He will hold the entire earth in His grasp and fold up the heavens in His right hand. Glory be to Him ! Exalted be He above their idols!"

      "The Trumpet shall be sounded and all who are in heaven and earth shall fall down fainting, except those that shall be spared by God. Then Trumpet will sound again and they shall rise and gaze around them. The earth will shine with the light of her Master and the Book will be laid open. The prophets and witnesses shall be brought in and all shall be judged with fairness: none shall be wronged. Every soul shall be paid back according to its deeds for God knows of all their actions."

      When the Day of Reckoning comes, every one will be led to his abode either in Paradise or in Hell -fire: The All-knowing and Wise God knows who goes to which. Thus to Paradise and its bliss shall go its heirs, and to Hell-fire and its torment the heirs of Hell.

       Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported, according to Harithah's narrative quoted from Wahb Al-huza'i, that the latter heard The Prophet, God's blessings be upon him, say: "Shall I tell you who the heirs of Paradise are?  The humble weak whom God will favour it they appeal to Him. Shall I tell who the heirs of Hell are? The hard-hearted, stubborn, presumptuous and arrogant."

      We have no means of knowing of the Day of "Resurrection and Reckoning", what will occur in it, how life will be in Paradise and its eternal bliss and in Hell and its misery that lasts as long as God wills, and the discussions or the arguments that may run between the heirs of Paradise and those of Hell - we have no means of knowledge of any of these and similar matters, except from the Book of God and the traditions of His Apostle. For it is on these two holy sources only that depends our knowledge of the state of things in the other world and the sort of life in it.

     God says in the Chapter entitled "The Cave":
     "Tell of the day when We shall blot out the mountains and make the earth a barren waste; where, We shall gather all mankind together, leaving not a soul behind."

      "They shall be ranged before your Lord, who will say to them `You have returned to Us as We created you at first. Yet you thought Our promise was not to be fulfilled."

    "Their book will be set down before them, and you shall see the sinners dismayed at that which is inscribed in it. They shall say `Woe to us! What can this book mean ? It omits nothing small or great :all are noted down! ` and they shall find their deeds recorded there. Your Lord will wrong none."

      He, Exalted is His Name, says in the Chapter entitled "The Prophets":
      "We shall set up just scales on the Day of Resurrection, so that no man shall in the least be wronged. Actions as light as a grain of mustard seed shall be weighed out. Our reckoning shall suffice."
 
      He says in the Chapter entitled "The Believers":
     "And when the Trumpet is sounded, on that day their ties of kindred shall be no more, nor shall they ask help of one another.

     "Those whose scales are heavy shall triumph, but those whose scales are light shall forfeit their souls and abide in Hell for ever."
 
     These are just a few of the many verses in the Quran about the Day of Resurrection and Reckoning, what it will be like and how man gets to know what has been prepared for it of reward for his deeds in his mundane life. Man will also realize that he will receive complete justice, that God wrongs none but that it is people who wrong themselves.

      Let us listen to the following verses from the Chapter entitled "The Hordes". In them we will see how the heirs of Hell will be led into Hell-fire, how the heirs of Paradise will be admitted to it and the conditions of each party at that time.

      " In hordes the unbelievers shall be led to Hell. When they draw near, its gates will be opened and its keepers will say to them : 'Did there not come to you apostles of your own who proclaimed to you the revelations of your Master and forewarned you of this day ?'

      "`Yes', they shall answer. And thus the punishment which the unbelievers have been promised shall be fulfilled. A voice will say to them: `Enter the gates of Hell and stay therein forever.' Evil is the dwelling-place of the arrogant."

        "But those who fear their Lord shall be led in bands to Paradise. When they draw near, its gates will be opened, and its keepers will say to them: `Peace be to you you have been good men. Enter Paradise and dwell in it for ever."

     "They will say:'Praise be to God who has mad good to us His promise and given us the earth to inherit, that we may dwell in Paradise wherever we please.' Blessed is the reward of the righteous."

      When the heirs of Paradise have settled in Paradise and those of Hell in Hell-fire, the former will enjoy bliss that is beyond the imagination of any human mind; the latter will experience such severe torment as none but God knows of. We need not elaborate this or that point, for there is in the Quran much about it that helps us to understand some of its aspects.

     It suffices to state here about the bliss of the heirs of Paradise - may God include us in them- the following tradition of The Apostle, God's blessings be upon him, reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim:

     Abu Hurayra, may God be gracious to him, reported that The Prophet, God's blessings be upon him, said:

"God said:' I have prepared for My good servants things that no human eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard of, and no heart has ever contemplated.' Read if you wish: 'No mortal knows what bliss is in store for them.' " 3

       The following is another tradition of The Apostle, God's blessings be upon him, reported by the Imam Muslim according to AL- Mughirah Ibn Shu'bah's narrative:
      " Moses, God's blessings be upon him, asked his Lord ' Which of the heirs of Paradise are the lowest in rank?' He answered: 'A man who comes after the heirs of Paradise have been admitted to Paradise; a voice says to him :'Enter Paradise! He says: "But Lord how, after people have taken their places and settled in it?

      "The voice says to him: ' Would you be satisfied to have the like of the kingdom of one of the kings of the earth?' He says: 'Lord I would .'The voice says: 'You shall have it, twice it, three times it, four times it, five times it.' On hearing the fifth he says: God: I accept.' The voice says: "You shall have it and ten times it, all that you crave to have and all that pleases your eyes.' He says: Lord I accept."

 Moses, God's blessings be upon him, says: ' God ! Which are the highest in rank? God says: 'Those whom I willed to be and whose honour and dignity I implanted in them with My Own Hand and sealed upon, to those I give what no human eye has witnessed, no ear has heard of and no heart has ever contemplated.'

       Thus it is reported: As the heirs of Paradise are in Paradise enjoying this bliss, for God has favoured and preferred them above all His creation, God looks upon them and says:" O heirs of Paradise!' They answer: 'We are at Your service, our Lord; glory to You!' He says: 'Are you contented?' They reply: Why should we not be? You have given us what You have not given to any of Your creation !"

        He says: 'I shall give you better than this. ' They ask: ' O God! What is there better than this?' He says: 'Confer upon you My Grace and never My wrath.' 4 God, Exalted in His name, spoke the truth when He said: " In it they shall have all they wished, We will still have more."

       Undoubtedly the life to come is an eternal life; this we find in the Quran and the traditions of the Apostle, God's blessings be upon him. The Great Quran often mentions that in its verses, whether with regard to the heirs of Paradise, the unbelievers or the transgressors and sinners of the believers.

     In the Chapter entitled: "Luqman":
      "Those that have faith and do good works shall enter the gardens of delight, where they shall dwell for ever. God's promise shall be fulfillad: He is the Mighty, the Wise One."

     In the Chapter entitled "The Confederate Tribes":
      "God has laid His curse upon the unbelievers and prepared for them a blazing fire. Abiding there for ever, they shall find none to protect or help them."

   The same we find in the Chapter entitled "Revelations Well Expounnded:
      "Thus shall the enemies of God be rewarded. They shall abide in Hell for ever, because they have denied Our revelations."

       In the Chapter entitled "Ornaments of Gold"
      "The evildoers shall endure for ever the torment of hell. Their punishment will never be lightened and they shall be speechless with despair. We do not wrong them, but they wrong themselves."

       "With regard to the transgressors of the believers too, torment may be everlasting.

For instance, The Most High God says in the Chapter entitled "Women":
      "He that kills a believer by design shall burn in Hell ever. He shall incur the wrath of God, who will lay His curse on him and prepare for him a woeful scourge."

      Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported that The Apostle, God's blessings be upon him said " When the heirs of Paradise have settled in Paradise and those of Hell in Hell- Fire, a voice calls: 'O heirs of Paradise no death. O heirs of Hell ! no death.' Then the heirs of Paradise become more joyful and those of Hell more grieved."

     With regard to the heirs of Paradise, 'eternity ' is undoubtedly used in its absolute sense, i.e., 'without end'; but it should mean' a long stay' with regard to some of the heirs of Hell : the transgressors of the believers in God, His prophets, His apostles and the Last Day.

       For The Merciful God may forgive them; or He may punish whom He will according to what He sees just, them admit them to Paradise after their receiving due punishment. God says in the Chapter entitled " Mary" :

     "There is none of you who shall not pass through the confines of Hell : such is the absolute decree of your Master .We will deliver those who fear Us, but the wrongdoers shall be left to endure its torments on their knees."

      And in the Chapter entitled "Women " He, Exalted is His Name, says:
      "God will not forgive those who serve other gods Besides Him; but He will forgive whom He will for other sins."

     In the Chapter entitled " The Hordes " He says:
"Say: `Servants of God, you that have sinned against your souls, do not despair of God's mercy, for He forgives all sins. He is the Forgiving One, the Merciful."

       Anyhow, there are conversations that run between the heirs of Paradise and those of Hell. The Quran recounts to us some of those conversations as an admonition and warning for those who know.

    There in Paradise are its heirs delighted with what the Gracious God has given them; He has fulfilled His promise to them of everlasting bliss.

They ask the heirs of Hell whether God has fulfilled His promise to them. the Most  High God recounts that in the Chapter entitled "The Heights"; He says:
    "Then the blessed will cry out to the damned: What our Master promised we have found to be true .Have you, too,found the promise if your Lord to be true?"

     "Yes,  they shall answer and a herald will cry out among them: 'Cursed are the evil-doers.' "

    There in Hell-Fire the damned receive severe torment; they beg the blessed to grant them some water or some of what God has given them.

     And between them runs the following conversation as recounted by God in the same Chapter:

      "The damned will cry out to the blessed: 'Give us some water, or some of that which God has given you.' But the blessed shall reply: 'God has forbidden both to the unbelievers who made their religion a pastime and an idle sport, and who were seduced by their earthly life.' "

    In their earthly life, a group of the humble followed their masters and elders, who led them the wrong way. They became like their masters in disbelief in God and His mission.

When both are gathered together in Hell-fire in the life to come, there will be between them the argument which we find and read in the Chapter entitled "The Forgiving One":

      "And when they argue in Hell, the humble will say to the haughty: 'We have been your followers: will you now ward off from us a part of our punishment? But those who were haughty will reply: 'All of us are now in Hell God has judged His servants.' "

      As the Chapter proceeds, it describes a situation in which the heirs of Hell show Submission and supplication and the angels in charge of them reject their appeals and argue back convincingly. The Most High God says:

     "And the dwellers of Hell will say to its' keepers: 'Implore your Master to relieve our torment for one day!"

     " 'But did your apostles not come to you with undoubted signs?' they will ask.

       " 'Yes,' they will answer. And their keepers will say: 'Then cry for help.' But the cries of the unbelievers shall not be heard."

      Then an interesting conversation will run between the heirs of Paradise themselves, as they enjoy a continuous flow of the graces and favours of the Most High God. They will remember their first life on the earth and the temptation in it that persuaded people to disbelieve in God and deny Resurrection. The following scene depicts them and the following conversation between them is recounted by God in the following verses from the Chapter entitled "The Ranks":

       " One of them will say: 'I had friend who used to ask: "Do you really believe in the Resurrection? When we are dead and turned to dust and bones, shall we be brought to judgement?"

       The speaker will then look in the direction of the Fire;he will see his friend in the middle. He will say to his comrades in Paradise

    " 'Come, let us look down. ' He will look down and see his friend in the midst of Hell."

        He will then say to him:
       " By Allah you almost ruined me ! But for the grace of God I should have surely been driven into Hell."
 

         The verses proceed to relate in this wonderful style and inimitable versification what these companions, of the heirs of Paradise, will feel of joy and contentment for what they have attained:
"Shall we not die a second time, or be punished at all? Surely that is the supreme triumph. Let every man labour to achieve it."
 
      Now, at the end of our talk about the Islamic doctrine in general, and the doctrine of Resurrection and the life to come in particular, do we need emphasize the avail of this doctrine - which is the last of the Islamic doctrines - to man in this earthly life?

      We do not believe that the answer to this question needs elaboration, for it suffices to mention the fact that but for this doctrine the world would be more miserable than it is now. Hope for eternal reward is a drive to do good deeds, and fear of severe torment prevents many from doing evil deeds : in both cases lies the good of the individual, the community and the whole of humanity.
 
       Faith in this doctrine prevents man from clinging cravingly to this world, and indulging in its pleasures illegitimately, as he believes that the other world is the real, true life, compared to which the pleasures of this world seem so scanty, and that rivalry and quarrel in hoarding the vanities of this world eventually bring about pains and evil.

      Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported that Amr Ibn Awf Al-Ansari said:
"The Apostle of God, God's blessings be upon him, sent Abu Ubaydah Ibn Al-Garrah to Bahrein to bring its tribute. God's Apostle, God's blessings be upon him, had reconciled himself with the people of Bahrein and appointed as their ruler AI-Alaa' Ibn Al-Hadrami. Abu Ubaydah returned with money from Bahrein; the Helpers heard of Abu Ubaydah's arrival and went to perform the dawn prayers with The Prophet, God's blessings he upon him.

       When the dawn prayers was over, he left, but they stood in his way. He smiled when he saw them and said: ` I think you have heard that Abu Ubaydah has brought something?

        Yes, God's Apostle. " He said: " Then rejoice and hope for what will please you. By God, I am not afraid you will become poor, but I am afraid this mundane word may give you much money as it did to those who lived before, and then you will fall into rivalry with it as they did, and eventually it will destroy you as it did them.

       I do not mean by that that we should under-estimate earthly life to the extent of hating and renouncing it. What I aim at is that it should be the proper rid to the life to come and that we should not over-estimate it. We should bear in mind the simile that God coined for us about this life and the comparison that He made between its pleasures and ornaments on the one hand and deeds of lasting merit on the other hand .He says in the Chapter entitled" The Cave":
      "Coin for them a simile about this life. It is like green herbs that flourish when watered by the rain, soon turning into stubble which the wind scatters abroad. God has power over all things."

    " Wealth and children are the ornament of this life. But deeds of lasting merit are better rewarded by your Master and hold for you a greater hope of salvation."  

      When man has faith in all this, and bears in mind what God has prepared of reward for the righteous and punishment for the evil-doers, he will find it better to avoid evils and sins, to do good deeds and to obey God's orders, out of the fear of Him and out of the desire to enjoy what God has in store of everlasting bliss in the other world.

       He will also find useful the following wise saying of The Prophet. Ibn Abbas reported that The Prophet, God's blessings be upon him, preaching to a man, said:
        "Take advantage of five things before five others your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your wealth before your poverty, your leisure before your work and your life before your death."

       It is God who gives guidance and guides whom He will to the straight path.