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“You never get a
second chance to make a good first impression”
--old proverb
 True
belief has a reward in the hereafter. Disbelief does too, buuuut … you don’t
want it. Such has been the message of all the prophets—each and every one of
them.
How can we justify an afterlife? Well, where else can
the injustices of this life be rectified, if not in an afterlife? What we
perceive to be injustices in this worldly life would be a poor reflection upon
God’s sense of fairness, if these “injustices” aren’t offset by appropriate
rewards and punishments in the hereafter. Some of the worst of the worst enjoy
some of the most luxurious lives. Meanwhile, some of the best of the best
suffer terribly. For example, which prophet had an easy time of it? Which
prophets lived pampered lives of splendor to match that of a mafia boss, drug
lord or tyrannical ruler, either of our time or of theirs? If we are to trust
in the mercy and justice of our Creator we cannot believe He restricts the
rewards of piety and the punishments of transgression to this worldly life, for
the inequities of life are clear.
So there will be a Day of Judgement, we’ll all be there,
and it will be a bad time to start thinking about changing our lives for the
better. Because … now stay with me here … because our lives will be, in a
word, over. It’ll be too late. The record of our deeds will be done. And
there’s no going back.
Mankind will be sorted according to beliefs and deeds. The
faithful will be vindicated, the disbelievers condemned, the transgressors (if
not forgiven) punished according to the severity of their sins.
Jews declare paradise to be a birthright of the “chosen
people,” Christians claim “not to be perfect, just forgiven,” and Muslims
believe that all who die in submission to the Creator are eligible for
redemption. Those who followed the revelation and prophet of their time will
be successful, whereas those who forsook the revelation and prophet of their
day did so to the compromise of their souls.
According to Islam, the believing Jews were upon the
truth right up until they rejected the prophets who followed (i.e., John the
Baptist and Jesus Christ), their teachings and, in the case of Jesus, the
revelation he conveyed. In this manner, the Jews lived in submission to God
not on His terms, but on their terms. When God sent prophets or
revelation they didn’t like, they chose to remain upon the religion of their
forefathers rather than upon the religion of God. In this manner, they fell
into disobedience and disbelief.
Similarly, Jesus’ followers were upon the truth, right
up until they rejected the final prophet (i.e., Muhammad). Again, Jesus’
followers submitted to God, but only on their terms. And that’s not good
enough. When called upon to honor the final revelation (i.e., the Holy Quran)
and the prophet who conveyed it (i.e., Muhammad), they rejected and fell into
the same disobedience and disbelief as their Jewish cousins.
According to Muslims, the religion of truth has always
been Islam (i.e., submission to the will of God), for that is what all prophets
taught. However, the refinement of Islam is to be found in the final
revelation and in the teachings of the final prophet. In revealing the final
revelation, God abrogated all preceding religions and revelation. Hence, the
only group that submits to God’s religion in the present day is the Muslims. Those
who know of Islam, and reject, will be condemned. Those who know of Islam and
willfully duck the responsibility of studying the religion will likewise be
condemned. However, those who die neither knowing of Islam nor willfully
avoiding investigation thereof will be tested on the Day of Judgement, to prove
what they would have done, had they known. And on that basis, God will judge
them.
In this manner, if it can be imagined that there are
Jews who died without having known of the prophets who followed, and Christians
who died ignorant of Muhammad and the Holy Quran, they are not to be condemned.
Rather, God will judge them according to their submission to the revelation to
which they had been exposed during their lifetimes, and test their faith and
obedience. So, too, with those who die ignorant of revelation as a whole. Hence,
the ignorant who die sincerely seeking the religion of truth have hope for
salvation, whereas the insincere have no such hope, even if educated.
Copyright © 2007
Dr. Laurence B. Brown; used by permission.
Dr.
Brown is the author of The Eighth Scroll, described by North Carolina State Senator
Larry Shaw as, "Indiana Jones
meets The Da Vinci Code. The Eighth Scroll is
a breath-holding, white-knuckled, can't-put-down thriller that
challenges Western views of humanity, history and religion. Bar none,
the best book in its class!" Dr. Brown is also the author of three
scholastic books of comparative religion, MisGod'ed, God'ed, and Bearing True Witness (Dar-us-Salam).
His books and articles can be found on his websites, www.EighthScroll.com
and www.LevelTruth.com, and are
available for purchase through amazon.com.
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