Islam As It Is
Islamic Character
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HOPING FOR A REWARD FROM GOD.
It is in becoming acquainted with God that one
knows what characteristics one should, as a
Muslim, cultivate in oneself. Along with the
discovery of God, there comes the realization that
one is not free to do as one pleases in this world.
God’s special reason for setting us down in this
world for the few years that we are to live out our
lives is that He wishes to put us to the test. Then,
after death, we will return to Him, and, depending
upon how we have behaved while on this earth, we
shall either find our eternal abode in Gardens of
Delight or else we shall be consigned forever to the
raging fires of Hell.
When this reality of life dawns on an individual, his
prime concern is then to save himself from God’s
eternal punishment, and to make himself deserving
of His mercy and forgiveness. This concern for his
own salvation in the life after death has a direct
bearing on his worldly demeanor towards his
fellows. He becomes compassionate and forgiving
towards others, in the hope that God will in turn
shower mercy and forgiveness upon him. He also
