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THE
PILLARS OF BELIEF
CORROBORATE ONE ANOTHER;
THE OTHER
FIVE
PILLARS REQUIRE THE
RESURRECTION AND
AFTERLIFE
All
the arguments to
establish the truth of
the Quran and
Prophethood point to the
Hereafter
All
the arguments and
evidences that establish
the truth of the Quran,
and indeed of all the
Divine Books, as well as
the miracles and proofs
that establish the
Prophethood of the
beloved of God-the
Prophet Muhammad, upon
him be peace and
blessings-and indeed of
all the Prophets, point
to the reality of the
Hereafter, which is the
greatest part of what
the Books and the
Messengers affirm.
Similarly, the majority
of the arguments and
evidences for the
existence and Unity of
the Necessarily Existent
Being also implicitly
affirm the existence and
opening out of the Abode
of Felicity, the realm
of eternity that is the
high turning-point and
manifestation of
Lordship and Divinity.
For, as will be set out
and expounded below, the
existence of the
Necessarily Existent
Being, all of His
attributes, most of His
Names, and His
qualities, such as
Lordship, Divinity,
Grace, Wisdom, Justice,
necessitate the
existence of the
Hereafter. They require
an eternal realm as an
imperative, since the
Resurrection is required
for the most necessary
purpose of punishment
and reward. Since there
is God, existent
eternally, there must
also be the Hereafter
that is the everlasting
pivot of His Divine
Sovereignty. As there
is, visible in the
universe and in the
whole of animate
creation a most
magnificent, purposively
wise and caring absolute
Lordship, there must
also be an eternal realm
of happiness to which
admission is granted, so
as to preserve His
Magnificence from
extinction, His Wisdom
from pointlessness, and
His Caring from
betrayal.
The
existence of the
All-Merciful demands the
eternal life
Now
all these infinite
bounties, blessings,
kindnesses, and
instances of generosity
and mercy that we see
with our eyes,
demonstrate to every
intellect that has not
been extinguished, and
every heart that has not
died, that a Merciful
and Compassionate Being
exists beyond the veil
of the Unseen. There
must, then, be-as indeed
there is-an eternal life
in an eternal world
which will demonstrate
that Divine bounties are
not for mockery, His
blessings are not to
deceive, His favoring is
not for enmity, His
mercy is not a torment,
and His generosity is
not a betrayal, and
which will make bounty a
true, perfect bounty,
and blessings, true and
perfect blessings,
through eternity and
ceaselessness.
Every
springtime a Pen of
Power is tirelessly at
work in front of our
eyes, inscribing on the
narrow page of the
earth, myriads of
interleaved books, each
and all without the
least error. The Owner
of that Pen has
repeatedly promised: ‘I
shall write, and have
you read, a beautiful,
imperishable book, in a
place far more spacious
than this, in a fashion
far easier than this
cramped and intermingled
book of springtime,
written on so narrow a
page.’ He mentions
this book in all of His
decrees. The first draft
of it has without doubt
already been written; it
will be set down in
writing with all its
marginalia on the Day of
the Resurrection. The
record of deeds of the
whole creation will then
be incorporated into it.
The
earth as the “core”
of creation which
manifest the Divine
Names must be changed
into another, eternal
earth
The
earth has a special
importance as the heart
of the universe; its ‘center’,
its choice, its core,
its ultimate end and
very reason for its
creation. This is
because of the
multiplicity of the
beings found in it, and
because it is the abode,
the origin, the
workshop, and the place
of display and
resurrection of hundreds
of thousands of
different kinds of
constantly changing
forms. For all the
smallness of its size,
it is nonetheless
described as equivalent
to the vast heavens.
Thus we always read in
the heavenly books, ‘the
Lord of the Heavens and
the Earth.’
Humanity
is created for eternity,
not for eternal
extinction
The
human race also has
supreme importance.
Human beings dominate in
every part of the earth
we have just described.
They have dominion over
most of earth’s
creatures; and they
subordinate to
themselves and gather
around themselves almost
all animate beings.
Human beings order,
display and ornament
created objects
according to their needs
and desires. They
catalogue and classify
everything in all its
wonderful variety, each
species in its own
place, and they do so in
such a fashion that it
draws not only the gaze
of men and of jinn, but
also the appreciative
regard of the dwellers
of the heavens and of
the whole universe, even
the admiring glance of
the Lord of the
universe. Human beings
possess a very high
value, therefore, and
importance in the
creation. Then, by means
of their arts and
sciences, they display
the fact that they are
the purpose for the
creation of the
universe. They show that
they are the great
consequence and supreme
fruit of creation, that
they are acting upon the
earth in the capacity of
vicegerents of God.
Since they demonstrate
and arrange in this
world the miraculous
works of the Maker, they
are permitted a respite
in it and their
punishment put off
despite their rebellion
and disbelief. Because
of the services they
perform, human beings
are granted stay for a
time and the assistance
of the Almighty.
Human
beings, endowed with a
quality of nature as we
have described, are
nevertheless weak and
impotent in the extreme
with respect to
fulfilling the demands
of that nature and
disposition. Yet, as
against their impotence
and poverty, as against
the endless needs and
hardships to which they
are subject, a most
powerful, wise and
caring Ruler, in a way
altogether beyond their
own power and will,
provides for them. He
makes of the whole wide
globe a storehouse
stocked with every kind
of mineral and food they
need, and with all the
merchandise they desire.
Thus does the Ruler take
care of and nurture
mankind, granting them
their wishes.
God’s
eternal Attributes
require the eternal life
The
Lord then possesses
these qualities. He
loves man, and makes
Himself beloved of man.
He is Eternal, and has
eternal worlds. He does
all things with justice
and wisdom. But the
magnificent splendor and
eternality of that
Exalted Ruler cannot by
any means be encompassed
within the transient
life of the earth, this
fleeting, temporary
world. Further, the
sheer enormity of the
injustices and the
rebellion that take
place among mankind in
enmity and contradiction
to the just balance and
harmonious beauty of the
universe, their
betrayal, denial, and
unbelief toward their
Benefactor and
Provider-all these go
unpunished in this
world. The cruel and the
treacherous spend their
lives in ease, while the
oppressed and downcast
spend theirs in
wretchedness. But the
whole nature and being
of Absolute Justice,
signs of which are to be
seen throughout the
universe, is totally at
odds and irreconcilable
with the idea that the
cruel and
treacherous-who perish
from this world just as
do the oppressed and the
desperate-should never
be resurrected [to give
account of their
cruelties in a supreme
tribunal.]
The
Master of all that is
has, out of the whole
cosmos, chosen this
world in particular and
given to it high rank
and significance, and
out of all the creatures
in this world, He has
given rank and
significance to mankind.
So too, and in the same
way, He has chosen from
among mankind, as His
friends and the objects
of His address, the
Prophets and saints and
the purified scholars,
who are truly human in
that they fully conform
to the purposes of the
Lord of creation. They
make themselves beloved
of their Maker through
belief and submission.
He ennobles them with
miracles and Divine
support, and chastises
their opponents with
blows from heaven.
The
Prophets, including
especially Prophet
Muhammad, cannot have
been condemned to
eternal extinction
He
chooses from among His
chosen, beloved friends
their leader and
fulcrum, Muhammad, upon
him be peace and
blessings. He enlightens
him and by his light has
illumined for centuries
one half of the exalted
globe and one-fifth of
exalted mankind. It is
as if the creation had
been created for his
sake; all of its high
purposes become manifest
through him, his
religion, and the Qur’an
he brought. Although he
deserved and was worthy
to receive an infinite
reward for the infinite
value of the services he
rendered-services that
usually would take
thousands of years to
perform-he was granted a
brief life of no more
than sixty-three years,
which was spent in
hardship and struggle.
Is it at all imaginable
or conceivable that that
being should not be
resurrected, together
with all of his
peers-the other
Prophets-and Companions?
That he should not be,
even now, alive in the
spirit? That they should
perish and disappear
into eternal extinction?
No! a thousand times,
no!
Divine
Perfections will wholly
be manifested and
comprehended only in the
eternal world
The
whole universe and the
being of the world
demand his being again,
demand his life from the
Owner of all that is.
The universe is the
handicraft of a Single
Being. We have also
established the Oneness
and Unity of that Being,
which give rise to all
His perfections. It is
by virtue of His Oneness
and Unity that the whole
creation absolutely
obeys Him and does
whatever He orders it.
By means of a new life,
the life of the
Hereafter, [where the
Divine perfections will
be manifested without
veil], those perfections
remain free from any
defects [which some may
conceive of in respect
of the injustices,
hardships, cruelties and
disparities that
mankind, having free
will, suffer and cause
others to suffer].
Again, it is by means of
the Afterlife that His
Absolute Justice is not
deformed into an
absolute treachery; His
universal Wisdom is not
deformed into a foolish
pointlessness; His
all-inclusive Mercy is
not deformed into
frivolous tormenting;
nor His exalted Power
confounded with
impotence.
The
Resurrection will be;
that is absolutely
certain by reason of the
points set out above,
points out of hundreds
derived from belief in
God. The Resurrection
will be; the abodes of
reward and punishment
will open their gates.
Then only will the
significance and
centrality of the earth,
and the true
significance and value
of man be truly
accomplished. Then will
the Justice, Wisdom,
Mercy and Sovereignty of
the Wise Ruler, Who is
the Creator and Lord of
earth and man, be
eternally manifested
with all their
perfection. Then the
true friends and ardent
lovers of the Eternal
Lord will be delivered
from eternal
annihilation, and the
nearest and dearest of
those friends receive
the reward for the
sacred services with
which He gratified the
whole world. Then will
the perfections of the
Eternal Sovereign affirm
themselves to be
absolutely free from
defects, and His Power,
free from all
incompetency, and His
Justice, from all
oppression.
In
sum: Since there is God,
certainly there is the
Hereafter.
The
three articles of faith
explained above bear
witness, therefore, to
the Resurrection,
together with all the
evidences that testify
to the truth of those
articles. So too the
remaining two articles
of faith expressed in
the words-‘and belief
in His angels and in
Destiny, whatever good
or evil happens to man
being included in it and
created by God Almighty’-require
the Resurrection and
bear witness to the
world of eternity,
indicating it most
compellingly.
Arguments
for the existence of the
metaphysical realm also
establish the Hereafter
All
of the arguments and
testimonies and the
conversations held with
them, which prove the
existence of the angels
and their function of
servanthood to God, also
attest indirectly to the
existence of the world
of spirits, to the
Unseen, to the
Hereafter, to the Abode
of Bliss that, in the
future, is to be peopled
by both men and jinn,
and to Paradise and
Hell. For the angels
perceive and enter those
worlds, by God’s
leave, and all the
angels nearest to the
Divine Throne, such as
Gabriel, who communicate
with mankind, report the
existence of those
worlds and unanimously
describe their traveling
there. Just as we
unquestioningly accept
the existence of the
American continent (that
we ourselves have never
seen) on the basis of
the reports of returning
travelers, so too we
must believe-and most
firmly, as indeed we
do-in the existence of
the realm of eternity,
of the Hereafter, of
Paradise and Hell, on
the basis of the reports
given by the angels,
reports that have the
authority of numerous
undisputed narrations.
Again, all the arguments
for Divine Decree and
Destiny, which establish
that article of faith,
attest indirectly to the
Resurrection, to the
publishing in another
world of the records of
the deeds (we do in this
world), and the weighing
of those deeds in the
Supreme Balance. For the
events in the existence
of all things are
impressed before our
eyes and recorded: the
biography of every
animate being is
inscribed in its memory,
in its seed, and other
tablet-like forms; the
deeds of every being
endowed with spirit, and
especially man, are
registered on preserved
tablets. So
all-embracing a Decree,
so wise, purposive an
ordaining, such detailed
and minutely exact
recording and
inscribing, can only be
to enable the
administration of a
permanent reward and
punishment at the
Supreme Judgment after a
universal tribunal.
Otherwise, that
comprehensive,
meticulous recording and
registering would be
totally pointless and
without meaning. It
would be contrary to
sense and reality.
Moreover, if there were
not the Resurrection,
then all the exactly
established meanings
inscribed in the Book of
the Universe by the Pen
of Divine Destiny would
be annihilated. That is
something totally
impossible, as absurd
and silly as to deny the
existence of the
universe.
To
conclude:
The
five articles of faith,
together with all of
their proofs, point to
and require that the
Resurrection will take
place, that the realm of
the Hereafter to be
opened out. They bear
witness to it and
necessitate it. It is
because of such imposing
foundations and
unshakeable arguments
for the truth of the
Resurrection, which are
worthy of the sublimity
of that truth, that so
much of the Quran (about
one-third) is devoted to
the Resurrection. The
Quran makes of it the
bedrock of all of its
truths, and constructs
everything on its basis.
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