think of it as being fire and brimstone which you have been awarded.’ (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 26717) The piece of land might, in terms of this world, have been a prized possession, but in the perspective of the Hereafter it would assume the terrible properties of fire and brimstone. The Prophet said—with justice—‘Summer heat is a small part of the heat of Hell!’ (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No.
These two sides of human deeds have been beautifully described through allegories and symbols in the hadith of the mi’raj (The Prophets’ Journey to the Heavens). When the Prophet reached Sidrah al-Muntaha (the lote tree at the end of the Seventh Heaven), he saw four rivers: two flowing inwards and two flowing outwards. It was explained to him by the Angel Gabriel that the two inward-flowing were rivers of Paradise, and the outward-flowing were the Nile and the Euphrates.
By analogy, the present world and the Hereafter are two sides of the same event. The worldly side is trivial and temporary, while the Hereafter side is substantive and permanent. It is to the latter side that we must face up after death. Here one has complete freedom to live out one’s worldly existence as one wills; in the life-to-come, one will have no choice about the future course of one’s life. One will either be raised to eternal glory or cast down into the pit of everlasting Hell.
