A person comes across hundreds of things to distract his attention in the course of the day. During the busy daily life, it is only possible to deepen one’s faith and reflect with more certainty on the existence of the Hereafter by way of true faith. In particular, thinking about death and realizing that that one’s existence in this world will come to an end at a time appointed by Allah (God) and that one can embark on one’s eternal life at any moment take on a very distinct form in the mind.
That is because with death, many worldly things that had been of such value up until then, that had seemed so important and had such time expended on them, will lose all significance. The proximity of Paradise and Hell can be better realized with this seriousness of faith that thinking about death brings with it. One obtains a deeper understanding of the proximity of the Hereafter and that the world is merely a place of testing. People who do not understand faith as it requires have a vague view of death and the Hereafter in the life of this world. But when faced with death, this vagueness will become a sharp accuracy, and all these people will grasp the reality of the Hereafter in full clarity. This clear understanding at the moment of death is revealed as follows in the Qur’an:
The throes of death come revealing the truth. That is what you were trying to evade! The Trumpet will be blown. That is the Day of the Threat. Every self will come together with a driver and a witness: “You were heedless of this so We have stripped you of your covering and today your sight is sharp.” (Surah Qaf, 19-22)
The words “… You were heedless of this so We have stripped you of your covering...” in the verse are to be interpreted in terms of people living heedless of the transitory nature of the life of this world, the existence of the Hereafter and the Day of Judgment. At the moment of death, however, even someone who has never thought about Paradise and Hell during his life acquires a far sharper perspective and clear understanding. But that person’s test is now over and the verdict has been given. There is no way back. There is no possibility of one’s wish that “I have understood the reality, so let me start my test all over again” becoming a reality.
Since believers have a great fear of encountering such a situation in the Hereafter they spend their lives looking for ways to draw closer to Allah and have a deeper faith. Believers look only to Allah’s good pleasure, mercy and Paradise. Everyone must achieve a serious comprehension of the proximity of Paradise and Hell before the moment of death arrives, and must turn to our Almighty Lord.
Harun Yahya
Showing posts with label believer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label believer. Show all posts
Friday, January 28, 2011
Being difficult to please is not a feature of a believer
Why does someone dislike an object and regard it as worthless? Someone living in a mansion, for instance, may not like an apartment and may criticize the décor. Yet an apartment block will seem like a palace for anyone who lives in a hovel, under much worse conditions.
Why does a person not admire someone else's intelligence? Because he believes himself to be far more intelligent. Why does a person not enjoy someone else's ideas? Because he has much better ones. Why does a person not value someone else's profession? Because he imagines that he possesses far greater abilities. Not liking things, therefore, generally means that one possesses a better version of them.
Therefore, those who wish to give the impression that they possess the best of everything never much care for anything. Even if they do like something, they never admit it and always try to find some fault to criticize. For example, someone who accompanies friends to a high-class restaurant will always look for something wrong with the food, or the décor, or the behavior of the waiters, even though he has never been to such a high-class restaurant all his life. He will imply that he's eaten in far superior places by offering such criticisms as "I didn't think the food was all that good. The view was very poor, and how did they do such decoration? It was distressing."
Whenever young girls see a more attractive rival, they always look for flaws to emphasize their own superiority. A girl who admires her own hair, if she sees someone with even prettier hair, will make criticisms like "Look at her hair, that style really doesn't suit her, and it looks a bit thin." When a tall girl sees another prettier, but slightly shorter girl, she will immediately seek to belittle her by saying how short she is.
Due to that mistaken mindset in ignorant societies, you'll never hear anyone praising anyone whom they perceive to be superior, more intelligent, attractive or talented. It is next to impossible to see a newspaper commentator praising other newsmen of roughly the same age, praising them as more intelligent, or saying that their analyses are more accurate than his own. It's equally rare for any artist to esteem another artist whom he regards as enjoying the same standing, or to admit that the other artist is more beautiful and talented. Rather, one generally sees fierce criticism raging between such people. For instance, one psychologist will not like the methods employed by another. A dietician will criticize the methods used by another dietician, and a television presenter will always find something to criticize in his rivals.
Harun Yahya
Why does a person not admire someone else's intelligence? Because he believes himself to be far more intelligent. Why does a person not enjoy someone else's ideas? Because he has much better ones. Why does a person not value someone else's profession? Because he imagines that he possesses far greater abilities. Not liking things, therefore, generally means that one possesses a better version of them.
Therefore, those who wish to give the impression that they possess the best of everything never much care for anything. Even if they do like something, they never admit it and always try to find some fault to criticize. For example, someone who accompanies friends to a high-class restaurant will always look for something wrong with the food, or the décor, or the behavior of the waiters, even though he has never been to such a high-class restaurant all his life. He will imply that he's eaten in far superior places by offering such criticisms as "I didn't think the food was all that good. The view was very poor, and how did they do such decoration? It was distressing."
Whenever young girls see a more attractive rival, they always look for flaws to emphasize their own superiority. A girl who admires her own hair, if she sees someone with even prettier hair, will make criticisms like "Look at her hair, that style really doesn't suit her, and it looks a bit thin." When a tall girl sees another prettier, but slightly shorter girl, she will immediately seek to belittle her by saying how short she is.
Due to that mistaken mindset in ignorant societies, you'll never hear anyone praising anyone whom they perceive to be superior, more intelligent, attractive or talented. It is next to impossible to see a newspaper commentator praising other newsmen of roughly the same age, praising them as more intelligent, or saying that their analyses are more accurate than his own. It's equally rare for any artist to esteem another artist whom he regards as enjoying the same standing, or to admit that the other artist is more beautiful and talented. Rather, one generally sees fierce criticism raging between such people. For instance, one psychologist will not like the methods employed by another. A dietician will criticize the methods used by another dietician, and a television presenter will always find something to criticize in his rivals.
Harun Yahya
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