What is the most distinctive difference between the world and the hereafter?

The Details of the Question
What is the most distinctive difference between the world and the hereafter?
The Answer

Dear Brother / Sister,

The Hereafter means: “the end, happening in the end”, and “the eternal realm after life”. There are two distinct ways in front of us on the way of our life, from the womb to childhood and puberty: Believing or Unbelieving. The continuation of this journey is death, the grave life, the last judgment and after that, we will find ourselves in the intersection of two eternities. One of them is the eternal Paradise and the other is the eternal Hell…

How can this weak man, who has been dragged along by the river of time, claim that he will not go to another realm after this world life? People who say that they do not believe in the hereafter are the ones that are unable to understand resurrection after death. It is the event of resurrection that they actually do not believe in. In fact, not believing in the hereafter is a kind of silliness like resisting the flow of time and not believing in tomorrow. All people leave this world with the event of death by stripping off his/her body. After dying, he finds himself in a new realm.

It is said that mawt (death) is the brother of nawm (sleep). These Arabic words resemble one another. Sleeping which is performed by everyone at night is called the little brother of death and it can be said that man is observes the signs of resurrection every day by awaking from sleep every morning.

For sure, however reasonable and necessary and certain the morning of this night is, the Morning of the Resurrection and the spring following the Intermediate Realm are that certain (Sözler: Words)

The rays of that life always beckon us. However, what matters is to be able to accept that place before going there and to be able to watch the sun in the first moments it rises. Does it have a value to accept the existence of the sun after it rises?

One light of the sun is present in our world: the desire to live eternally.

Badiuzzaman Said Nursi states concisely that this desire is an independent proof for the existence of the hereafter as follows: “If He did not want to give, He would not have given us the desire to want.”  

Yes, would our Creator have given us two eyes in the womb if He had not wanted us to watch this realm?

Would He have given us ears if he had not wanted us to hear these nice sounds? A great proof for the existence of the hereafter is the desire of “living eternally” placed in the human spirit. Some people ignore the first part of the verse, “But seek, with the (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on thee, the Home of the Hereafter, nor forget thy portion in this world” (al-Qasas, 77) and spend all of their energy for the world life.

Lexically, “world” means low, base, mean. A person who wants what is low and who pursues mean things will not desire the hereafter. High ideals, lofty attributes, high ethics gradually disappear from his spirit. The opposite is also possible. When a person develops in belief, he desires to meet his Lord more. As he sends more capital for the hereafter, he desires to go there more. A student who thinks about his future and career is not interested in the yard, canteen and desks of the school so much; similarly, the love of the world in his heart decreases gradually.

No sane mind can think that life starts in this world and ends here. No mind can accept that the billions of cells in the body, the millions of kinds of living things around and the endless stars that decorate the sky wait for only this short life of the world:  “Do they not reflect in their own minds? Not but for just ends and for a term appointed, did Allah create the heavens and the earth, and all between them: yet are there truly many among men who deny the meeting with their Lord (at the Resurrection)” (ar-Rum, 8)

After Miraj (the Ascension), the Prophet (pbuh) described the realm of the hereafter to his Companions as follows: “No eyes have seen it; no ears have heard about it; no minds or hearts have imagined it.”

Paradise cannot be described in a better way because it is the description of a person who saw it. Can we not understand the prayer of Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, “Show us the originals and the sources of the samples and shadows that you showed us” as follows?: The world is a realm of copies and shadows. 

Besides, the mind also says, “It has to be like that.” When man walks a few kilometers, he needs to rest for a few hours and talks to himself, “If I go to Paradise, I must not go there with these feet. I need feet that will not get tired in that eternal realm.

No matter how sweet a talk is, the mind starts to get tired and concentration is lost if it lasts a few hours. It means we must not go to Paradise with this mind. We need a mind that will not get tired or frustrated.
Buses, taxis and planes are vehicles that make us compete with time and help us reach our destinations. Since this world is like a shadow compared to the hereafter, the speed there must be something that cannot be compared to the speed in the world. Matter will be beyond time there. The ship will swallow the sea. There will be no difference between far and near. Man will be in any place he wants instantly. Man will be able to be in more than one place.

The hereafter is the realm of originals. There, we will observe the truths of belief that we believe in without seeing in this world. Now we can meet prophets only in imagination; it is no more than a shadow. There, we will be able to see all of those blessed people. The chain of honor that we will reach will be at its utmost point when we see Allah.

Those who are not deceived by this realm of copies, in which tiredness comes after walking, smiles are covered by hypocrisy, eating ends when one is full, sorrow and happiness follow each other like the day and night, will reach the originals. They will find the real happiness there. We constantly mentioned Paradise acting upon the hadith, “Thinking of good things about Allah is worship.” and trusting in the grace of Allah. The originals of pain, anguish, repentance, sorrow and regret are also there. The ones here are like shadows and pictures; they are so weak and insufficient. A person who will suffer such torture eternally there must have a body that is different from the one in the world. As a matter of fact, it will be so. The body of a rebellious person will burn away in the fire; then it will appear again; thus, the torture will continue without a break.     

The term “the realm of power” is used for the hereafter. Everything will happen instantly, beyond time there. However, the timeless acts of the power will take place based on reasons. Paradise and Hell will occur after Mizan (the Scale). Then, all of the activities in this realm will be based on certain criteria. In the Scale, the tiniest good deeds and bad deeds will be weighed; similarly, the torture in Hell will be distributed based on a very fine justice. Everybody will be rewarded and punished based on their good deeds and sins.

What happens slowly can happen fast, too. Something that occurs in phases can occur all at once, too. The one that imposes a law can annul or change it. Our imagination can reach the end of the world instantly but our feet move step by step. Who can prevent the law of imagination if it is applied for our feet in the hereafter? As a matter of fact, it will be like that. Besides, we walk fast or slowly based on the power of Allah. We have no role or part in it.

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