Islam The Voice of Human Nature
4. THE HEREAFTER
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4. THE HEREAFTER
Those huge masses of ice, which we know as
icebergs, found floating in the seas of the North and
South poles, number amongst the most deceptive
and, therefore, the most dangerous phenomena to
be found in nature. Their deceptiveness lies in the
fact that no matter how huge, or wonderful in
configuration, what we see of them amounts to only
one tenth of their enormous bulk. What lies below
the surface of the ocean spreading far and beyond
the visible perimeter, poses tremendous hazards to
the unwary. In some ways, our lives are like those
floating mountains of ice. The part we spend in this
world – about a hundred years, or less – is like the
part of the iceberg, which is visible above the
surface. We can see it, touch it, feel it. We can take
its measure and deal with it effectively. But the part,
which comes after death, is like the submerged part
– vast, unfathomable and fraught with peril. It is
something which defies the imagination, but which
we must nevertheless try to comprehend, for that is
the part of human life which God has decreed
should be eternal and, as such, ineluctable
