The Life in the Hereafter # 1- The Quranic Perspective

This brief talk is based on the book titled ‘The Life in the Hereafter: What does the Quran say?’ The book is written by G. A. Parwez. Death is universal and a lot has been said about it. We see the death others and are not going to witness our own death. What lies beyond our physical death is a mystery. However in my own research on this topic which is based on the study of the Quran, this book by the author and then looking at the psyche of humans, I have come to the conclusion that the death and the what lies beyond our death is not at all a mystery and we can figure it out based on the evidence of our inner self-development. However, we need to tread on this path our selves as the changes which take place in our inner reality owe it to the acquisition of Eimaan and then doing righteous deeds as noted in the Quran. The understanding of the Law of Requital plays an important role in creating this self which leads to acquiring very high consciousness through which we are able to see the whole human world and its issue and solutions.
The concept of Allah put forward by the Quran is based on His Attributes and the permanent values. This concept serves as a model of a complete Self for the human self development as it is a higher model. Developing conviction in this model and also in the existence of the hereafter is part of the process of acquiring Eimaan. This is the first step in the creation of a new life within us and which then opens further route for self’s development. As we move ahead on this journey of self development we have to strengthen our new self through doing righteous deeds e.g. helping others, spending on others, communicating the Quranic message to others, improving our own understanding, taking decisions through mutual consultation, following the permanent values of the Quran, promoting good and forbidding wrong, etc. This helps us to widen our outlook and we become selfless and aware of the human suffering caused by not following these permanent values. The book titled ‘The Human Self and Allah’ explains the aspects of the concept of Allah.
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