Dear Khalil: Very nice article by you. i am taking the liberty of posting something which I recently wrote. It's in a narrative form. Hope you like. Glimpses - The passage to Afterlife: "Dedicated to A Friend"... November 1st 2015. (Revised). What Is Afterlife: In the strife and brilliance of our transient life in this world - our main focus should be to spend a great amount of time and energy preparing for a more enduring existence which we know as the "Afterlife" (29:64). And to ensure success with that, we should carefully read and follow the meticulously planned "travel manual" (2:2), a gift by our Most Gracious & Most Merciful Friend, transmitted to us through our ever well-wishing benefactor. We should try to concentrate on the simple, usual stuff that we are required to do and see "which of us is best in deeds" (67:2). It was God's wisdom to have created death before life (67:2) as a well-conceived plan, to ensure that we have a safe passage back - a passage that will lead the believing heart to true redemption, heightened consciousness, and a place of inconceivable joy (43:71). That is Afterlife. What Is Death: We know that there is not one single living thing in this universe that will not go through the process of death (29:57). And it can be the most beautiful journey that can lead us to our Greatest Friend. If God had not created death, then we would have had no chance of meeting Him again (29:5). What a misadventure that would have been. It would be like getting stuck on an Island forever, specially after having made a commitment of loyalty to our Creator in our initial stage of existence in a different dimension (7:172). But because of our worldly attachments, we are unable to recall that commitment and get so engrossed here, that we can not look past our own creation, ending up thinking "it is all about us". The matter of fact is, our creation is but a smaller miracle in God's cosmic scheme of things (40:57). It is actually about our Magnificent Friend's infinite "Signs" (31:27). So, in order to move forward with transcending our consciousness to be in the presence of our Creator, we must go through the process of liberating our soul from our physical body in this world, leaving the latter behind. That is death. Reflecting On Our Life Here: Well, moving on with our own matters here, the trick is to understand what it is that can lead us to success in Afterlife. We should be mindful of these simple steps (2:3-2:195-3:17-3:31-6:151/2-63:9).... of doing the right thing during the very brief period of our existence here. This period will actually feel like a "day or less" to us upon our resurrection (23:112/3). So, woven with the preceding tips, what we really need to immerse ourselves in completely, is to be kind to the entire creation (human beings, animals, earth, plants etc). Irrespective of different beliefs, class or creed people have - we should just reach out to the entire humanity with compassion, kindness, sympathy and love. This should be the guiding principle of one's life here. The rest, our Creator can handle for us. All He wants from us is to, Believe, be Grateful, Reflect on why we are sent here (38:29), and fix our missteps by asking Him to forego them (2:286). Planning For Afterlife: Now about our journey to Afterlife, we already recognize that all of us must to return to our Maker (6:60), after orbiting through so many realms (spirit world - mother's womb - current world - intercession - day of reckoning). And we know that nobody likes one-way-tickets and that everyone likes to come home from the journeys they take. So while we prepare to head back home, we should try to spend a worthy life in this world - full of virtue - shrouded in humanism, and try to do things which will please our Friend the most. Be it as it may, our Itinerary was already planned and written in a "preserved tablet" (22:70-43:4-54:49) much in advance. Though there is still some flexibility there for it to be altered (2:186-13:11-13:39). If we can be mindful of all that, then it would help us greatly in planning a successful transition to Afterlife. Preparing For Those Moments: Another big tip for this successful transition is to be fully prepared to recognize and welcome those visitors with sparkling auras, who will escort us to the next realm in our final hour (32:11). These fleeting moments can be the most decisive and defining moments in one's life. If we are steadfast at that time and are found yearning to meet our Majestic Friend on the other side, then we have it made (89:27/30). We will be treated as the most preferred guests. But if we feel sorry that we are leaving this glamorous world with all things precious, then we will find that moment difficult to grasp and will feel forced to leave (6:93). And we know that friends are generally not happy to see us when we visit them half-heartedly. So let's nurture and strengthen that bond with our Gracious Friend in this world, to ensure ease during those moments. What Should We Concern Ourselves With: It's not the death that we should really worry about – It’s what we will leave behind, and what we send ahead (82:5) – is what we should concern ourselves most. One of the most noted Sufi mystics of 7th century, known for her quick-wit and eloquent oratory, approached the phenomenon of Afterlife by stating "O God! If I worship You for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell and if I worship You in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise. But if I worship You for Your Own sake, grudge me not Your everlasting Beauty". So, any which way we see it, Afterlife can be the most beautiful experience of togetherness and eternal bliss - devoid of any space-time - completely enshrouded with our Friend's inexpressible "Light" (24:35). That is why we should anxiously try do "good" here that can be taken to the next world when we cross over. Our time here in this impermanent life provides us exactly with that - an opportunity to be able to do an endless number of things that can help us transcend our relationship with our Friend to the next level. The Judgment Day: Trumpet, Resurrection, Bridge - (39:68-75:1-19:71): These are the most inevitable & startling actualities that we will witness and go through, in order to enter the everlasting realm. And to reach there in good shape - near the "tree" (53:14/15), to our immortality - we need to make a concerted effort to choose wisely among the two paths (90:10) shown in the manual. The rest, we will have to trust and rely on our All Powerful Friend, who will set up the Scales for us (21:47). We should recognize the fact that this world is a place of "trial & work" and if we can be a little cautious in making some glaring errors here, then our smaller blunders will be erased from our book (4:31-29:7). Even if our weights do not tilt the Scales in our favour, we should hope that our ever Protecting Friend will come to our rescue (2:163-2:284-25:70). After all, if He can keep our universe in perfect balance by "unifying the opposites", it would not be difficult for Him to bring a balance with our scales, despite the so many contradictions that we would have lived with in this world. That day, we will be able to perceive & comprehend things that we found hard to believe in this world, and perhaps even denied them - the Signs, the Tips, as the veil from our sight will be lifted (50:22). We would feel sorry why we did not recognize and respond to the unrequited love of our Friend, who kept calling us to Him in this world. Well, the good news is that we can fix all that right here, by following the guidelines in the manual and seeing things from our "third eye" to believe in the unseen, rather than being caught off-guard later. Some Encouraging Points To Ponder: It's unfortunate that, in spite of so much compassion, forgiveness and hope promised to us by our Most Gracious Friend, some intolerant religious scholars and narrow-minded folks, with their rigid opinions and scathing criticism, make it sound all very difficult for people to make it there in one piece. They lay claim to the ownership of God, doing a great disservice both to our Creator and the humanity. Little do they realize that God doesn't play favourites and He belongs to His entire living creation, and that everyone has their own unique and special ways of recognizing Him - just as He recognizes them all. Purity of the heart of His believer overwhelms Him, it pleases Him to no extent. We also know that His characteristic of "love" reigns supreme in the affairs of the universe - and if we can appreciate and try to emulate it - then "indeed we can all make it there - looking good". Wishing everyone best of luck with their efforts for a one-on-one meeting with our Most Compassionate Friend in the Afterlife... Blessings on all. Murad Jamil Islamabad - Pakistan

Everyone can claim that he/she loves God but is only the sincerity which matters not the claim itself which may be false especially when it comes to a test from God which we don't ask for but pray for afiyah safety and success. The Prophet says near meaning one who wakes up in safety with good health and has a day's provision as if he has been given the whole world. So we should be making dua zikr and shukr all the time for the uncountable blessings Allah has bestowed on us which we don't even realise not to speak of acknowledging them which is very unfortunate. So this is why the Prophet advised the Companion Muaz (RA) not to forget to make this dua after every Salah "Alahmumma a'ainni ala zikirika wa shukrika wa husni ibadatika". Oh Allah help me to remember you and make shukr (thanks) to you and worship you in the best manner. So we have to pray to Allah to give us the ability to do it as we are all in need of it and its Gods decision to give (taufiq) that ability to do anything and everything. No body can do anything without the help and taufiq of Allah and His Infinite Mercy which He has been showering on us every day. Therefore Alhamdu Lillahi as we are like dead without His help. The highest spiritual attainment I think is the Remembrance of God as He said in His Holy Book Wa la Zikirillahi Akbar.May Allah give us taufiq to make effort to attain the pleasure of Allah through sincere devotion,dua worship and daawah and all other activities that can connect us and bring us closer to our Creator Amen.

I think Love word has meaning in human emotions only. How can a human
love someone when a human being has very limited knowledge and
comprehension of magnitude, nature and attributes of Allah, creator of
all. I think loving God creator is copy cat from Chritianity and idol
worshiper because only they have defined the creator, Chritians by
accepting Roman idea of Isa being a god deity and Idol worshippers has
defination of God in form of Idol

The Love for Allah (God) leads to Paradise (The eternal home for the Righteous).

Thank you for this article which I enjoyed reading. Love for Allah SWT transcends all
other love, once you ponder and comprehend His immense love for all His
creations. Glory be to Him for the love and mercy He has shown mankind, despite
all the indifferent behaviour, cruelty to one's own kind and other living things on
earth, greed to the extent of destroying, pillaging and ransacking the planet that
Allah SWT has stocked with all necessities in abundance. May Allah Lead us
through the right path, Ameen.

Islam is to submit to will of Allah (God). Are we copying Christians
that our God is lovable too?

Well thoughtful and inciteful article that leads the Mu'minun on the
path to the complete spiritual attainment; ultimately embracing Allah,
subhana wa ta allah, with supreme love.