Man is born as an eternal
creature. When God created man as such, He divided his life span
into two periods, the pre-death period, which is a time of trial, and
the post-death period, which is the time for receiving the rewards
or punishment merited by one’s actions during one’s lifetime. These
take the form of eternal paradise or eternal hell. The purpose of the
Quran is to make man aware of this reality. This is the theme of this
divine Book, which serves to guide man through his entire journey
through life into the after-life.
It would be correct to say that man is a seeker by birth. These
questions lurk in everyone’s mind: Who am I? What is the purpose
of my life? What is the reality of life and death? What is the secret
of man’s success and failure? etc. According to the Quran, the
answer to these questions is that the present world is the testing
ground and whatever man has been endowed with in his pre-death
period is all a part of the test. The Hereafter is the place where the
result of the test will be taken into account by the Almighty and
whatever man receives in the life after death, by way of reward or
punishment, will be commensurate with his deeds in this world. The
secret of man’s success in this life is to understand God’s creation
plan and map out his life accordingly.
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