1) Young Muslims - The Message

the unseen. Not an atoms weight, or less than that or greater,escapes Him in the heavens or in the earth, but it is in a clearRecord. That He may reward those who believe and do good work.For them are pardon and a rich provision. But those who striveagainst our revelations, challenging (Us), theirs will be a painfuldoom of wrath. [Sura Saba 34: 3-5]The need to believe in the life after deathBelief in the life after death has always been part of the teachings ofthe Prophets and is an essential condition of being a Muslim.Whenever we are asked to do something, it is our very nature tothink about its costs and benefits. We regard a useless action asunnecessary and are not prepared to waste our time doing it. Thedeeper our conviction about the usefulness of something, thefirmer our response to it will be. The more doubtful we are about itsusefulness, the more wavering and shaky would be our attitude.After all, why does a child put his hand in fire? Because he does notknow that fire burns. Why does he evade studying? Because hedoes not fully grasp the importance and benefits of education.The belief about hereafter divides people into threecategoriesFirst, there are those who do not believe in the Hereafter andregard life on this earth as the only life and nothing destroys themexcept time. Naturally, they judge something to be good if itproduces desirable results and evil if it brings about undesirableresults.Second, there are those who do not deny the Hereafter, but theydepend on the intercession or atonement of someone to absolvethem of their sins. Among them are some who regard themselves asGods chosen people, who will receive only nominal punishment,however grave their sins may be. This deprives them of the moralYoung Muslims, What they should know about Islam Page - 51