Introducing Islam a Simple Introduction to Islam
People of Paradise
~ 287 ~
PEOPLE OF PARADISE
Those who live by the Book of God receive God’s
special favours in this world, and are promised
heaven in the next world. But they will be granted
them solely on the basis of their own actions. People
of the Book tend to forget this proviso: they take it
for granted that, whether they follow God’s
commandments or not, God’s promise to them will
be fulfilled, and they will surely enter the kingdom
of heaven.
True religious spirit makes one realistic. As long as
the followers of revealed religions possess this
spirit, they will realize that God is just, and will
reward people according to their actions alone.
On the other hand, when people lose the true
religious spirit, they take to wishful thinking. Real
actions give way to false hopes. They think that
they will be admitted into paradise because they
belong to a certain community, whether they do
good deeds or not.
Success in the hereafter is for those who conform to
divine justice on earth; who live according to the
