Human beings, by their nature, do not live forever on this earth. One hundred years from now every person who is reading this sentence right now (including me!) will have experienced physical death. Billions of people now alive: the rich businessman, the famous athlete, the popular entertainer, the drunkard husband, the unfaithful wife- all of these and many more types of individuals will have died. Although memories of them- either good or bad- will fade over time, how they acted towards Allah will have a permanent affect on their eternity as spirit-types of beings. When a man or woman dies their soul lives on. They will eventually go to a final resting place that is commonly referred to in the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam as heaven and hell. Whether heaven is viewed as a large city with streets of gold or a lush garden with abundant pleasures, what makes heaven a paradise is that it is the place where Allah will be present. On the other hand, the burning flames, pain and endless misery associated with those souls in hell are simply manifestations of a place where Allah’s presence will not exist.
HEAVEN CONTINUES THE WORSHIP OF ALLAH
The question that has been discussed and debated for thousands of years is how can an individual be sure that s/he will go to heaven after s/he dies? It is not by calling yourself a member of a certain religion. It is not by saying the right kinds of things. It is not by simply being a nice person. Heaven is a place where Allah can be worshipped by those individuals who worshipped Him on this earth. In other words, our current life is simply a test from Allah to determine who will spend eternity with Him and other believers in paradise. Those men and women who care nothing about the Supreme Being; who do not want to give praise and glory to the One who created them; who do not want to live holy lives that please Allah; who desire to live only for themselves by indulging in sinful and self-fulfilling pleasures, these multitudes will spend a lifetime in hell. By not caring about Allah on this earth, they will be sentenced to spend an eternity in a place where Allah’s presence will be missing.
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