We must secure happiness in the afterlife because it is where we are going to spend the rest of our life.
Death, which is the end of this transient life, is not execution nor nothingness nor evanescence, nor extinction nor extinguishment – nor is it eternal separation, nor non-existence, nor a chance event, nor a disappearance – no, it is a release brought about by a Wise and Compassionate, and is a changing of location, and it is being driven towards our original homeland, and the door of arrival to the isthmus world which is the gathering place of our hundreds of beloved ones.
Thus, we should not be saddened by thinking about the transience of life. We do not have to manifest regret and sigh about our having come into this World.
We are sent to this world by our Creator to show Him our gratitude in return for His countless blessings on us. Forgetting our Creator and not recognizing Him – and worse, rebelling against Him – would result in a great loss for people.
So it is a question of winning or losing the eternal happiness in the afterlife. In other words, a case concerning each human being has been opened that involves, in return for faith, either the obtainment or the loss of an ever-abiding, endlessly eternal tillage and property, ornamented with gardens and palaces. It is such that “a thousand years of a happy life in this world neither equals nor resembles a single hour in Paradise, and a thousand years of the life of Paradise neither equals nor even resembles a single hour of the vision of His beauty.”
Now, how can we secure the happiness of the afterlife?
We are going and being driven to an eternal world. Since the first human being it has been consistently reported by the messengers of Allah that this world is not our real home; it is like a guest house after which we will move to our real homeland.
People who believe in the hereafter live their lives here in this world by considering the results they will get after death. People who do not believe do not want to consider what’ll happen after death, and they live a life lack of real happiness.
Carrying out the duty of servanthood in the very best way possible, which is the result of belief, is really precious and holds a lot of beautiful benefits. Practicing what the faith requires makes people happy and lets them enjoy their life, which is like you’ve already started to take a wage that will be given after this life – the paradise, that is. On the other hand, denial, ingratitude, heedlessness do not help us get the happiness of the afterlife. As a matter of fact, they even ruin the pleasures of this worldly life.
Here are some steps to secure eternal happiness:
First, we need to recognise the Creator and give credence to Him. This world is a place for remembrance of the Merciful. It is the arena in which people are tested.
Second, we should be obedient to Divine Law rather than to our egoistic caprice. We should travel on the road of Divine Law. No one falls into loss on this road of worship which means expressing your gratitude to Allah. Nine out of ten of those who travel along it find great profit and ease. We need to carry some responsibilities on our back, which have an apparent heaviness, yet our heart and spirit are saved from the weight of thousands of doubts and fears. There is a second road on the other hand: the road of egoistic caprice. When we travel along it, we feel an apparent lightness, and a deceptive ease which comes from “not performing worship”. But our heart collapses and is crushed under the burden of thousands doubts and our spirit under innumerable fears. Nine out of ten of those who travel along it find great loss and misery.
Third, we should perform the Five Daily Prayers. The Prayer (Salah) has great importance, and is very easy and undemanding to perform. One who does not perform the Prayer is in great loss and danger. Every day we have twenty-four hours which make up each day of our life. A single hour is sufficient to perform the Five Prayers, including their ablutions. If we spent twenty-three hours for this worldly life – which is extremely short – but did not spend just a single hour a day for the sake of the afterlife – which is endless – that would be such a serious mistake resulting in unrecoverable loss. A great comfort to the spirit, the heart, and the mind lies in the Prayer. It is, moreover, hardly heavy work for the body.
Fourth, we should avoid mortal sins. It is a mistake to put our lower self’s lusts before our duty of servanthood. We need to continually struggle against our own self and against Satan, in order to completely leave mortal sins, and to avoid committing misdeeds. We should be careful about not to be drowned in worries about making a livelihood – which causes a lot of people leave their religious obligations – and not to perpetrate any sin we happen to run into in our quest to get hold of our daily bread.
How many beautiful benefits does “the way of faith and worship” hold!
How Generous and Compassionate is the Owner of this world!
We must be happy and have gratitude for all the things He has given to us. We should keep in mind that whenever we uprightly carry out our duty, it is recorded in our books of deeds, and will realise an ever-enduring life for us, and will enliven us with eternal life, inshaallah.