Islam The Voice of Human Nature
4. THE HEREAFTER
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distress, while others will be blessed with eternal
bliss and pleasure. Each will ineluctably get his
deserts.
Now let us look at the Hereafter from another point
of view. I once had occasion to visit a senior official,
and as we sat on the lawns of his palatial bungalow,
he suddenly exclaimed, ‘Maulana Sahib, you don’t
know how bad our life is! Tomorrow I have to be at
the airport before sunrise to welcome a foreign
dignitary, and not only shall I have to deprive
myself of sleep, but I shall have to welcome him
with smiles – and that in spite of the fact that he is
somebody I despise!’ This simple anecdote shows
that there are two sides to the lives of those in high
office. On the one hand, they enjoy power and
prestige and the many perquisites that go with
them, while, on the other hand, there is a side to
their lives, which is far from being enviable. If you
look deep into some of these ‘great’ men, you will
discover that they achieve their high positions
because they persuade themselves to be content
with triviality. If outwardly, they lead glamorous
existences, it is because, privately, they stoop to
hypocrisy,
sycophancy,
opportunism
and
