Most Read in the Category of Belief in the Hereafter

The Proof of Promising

Is it at all possible that the Lord of this realm, who has endless knowledge and limitless power, should promise Paradise to His servants who obey His orders and should frighten and warn those who disobey Him against Hell and should inform us about this promise and frightening through all of His prophets and books but then should not keep his promise and show His ignorance and weakness – God forbid. Is it at all possible?

However, what He promises is never difficult for His power. On the contrary, it is very easy for Him. It is as easy as to revive the numerous beings of the previous spring again in the next spring.

What He promised are such things that all of the prophets reported them unanimously and all of the saints unanimously witnessed that they took place.

It is contrary to the dignity of God to break his promise; and it does not fit Him!

Is it at all possible that God Almighty should not bring the things that he repeatedly promised and frightened people with, should show His ignorance and weakness – God forbid –  and should refute His prophets and saints? No, never!

Now, let us try to find an answer to this question: What might be the reasons for not fulfilling the things that people have been promised or that they have been warned against?

We can list those reasons as follows:

1- Ignorance: If a person who promises to do something does not know how to do it, that is, if he is ignorant about the thing he promises, what he promises will not be fulfilled. That is, ignorance is a reason that prevents what is promised from being fulfilled.

2- Weakness: If a person who promises to do something is too weak or poor to do it what he promises will not be fulfilled. That is, weakness is also a reason that prevents what is promised from being fulfilled.

3- Telling lies: If a person who promises to do something is a liar and breaks his promise easily, what he promises will not be fulfilled. That is, lying is another reason that prevents what is promised from being fulfilled.
Then, let us give an example:

If someone said to you, “I will set up a magnificent farm and prepare feasts that you have never seen for you.”

One of the following would be necessary in order to doubt that statement:

1. If the person who makes that promise is an ignorant person, that is, if he does not know how to set up a farm, you can doubt his promise. However, if he is competent about the issue, the second alternative is taken into consideration:

2. If the person is weak and poor, that is, if he cannot afford to set up a farm, you can doubt his promise. However, if he is very influential and rich, and if he has hundreds of farms like the one that he promises, you cannot doubt him in terms of this aspect. Then, it is necessary to check the third alternative:

3. Is this person honest? Does he tell lies? Does he break his promise? If no one has ever heard him tell lies and he never resorts to lying, you cannot doubt him in terms of this aspect, either.

Then, we can say: If the person who promises us to set up the farm and the feasts in it is well-informed, powerful and rich, if he always tells the truth and if he values us and makes us feel that he values us, can we doubt his promise?

To doubt his promise after that would mean to accuse him of ignorance, weakness, poverty, breaking his promise and telling lies.

Similarly, God Almighty promised Paradise to believers and Hell to unbelievers. It is impossible to think that God cannot keep His promise. As we have mentioned above, not keeping one’s promise originates from ignorance, weakness or telling lies. All of them are contrary to the dignity, knowledge and honesty of God Almighty.

O unbeliever! Do you know how foolish a crime you are committing with your unbelief and denial? Paying heed to your own lying fancy, your delirious intellect, your deceptive soul, you reject the One whose glory and stature can in no way admit the breaking of His word. As a matter of fact, his truthfulness and veracity are attested by everything in this realm.

The reason why Hell is so terrifying is the magnitude of man’s crime because man commits such big crimes despite his infinite pettiness. By denying the hereafter, he accuses God of ignorance, weakness and telling lies. He deserves eternal and great punishment due to this crime of his.

Now, let us summarize this important and strong proof in items:

1. God Almighty promised Paradise to believers and Hell to unbelievers.

2. God Almighty informed us about this promise through His prophets and books.

3. That is, not to bring the hereafter means to refute all of the prophets and the books. God is free and away from refuting His loyal servants and His own books.

4. Breaking one’s promise originates from ignorance, weakness or telling lies. Since it is impossible to think that God is ignorant, weak and dishonest, it is impossible to deny the existence of the hereafter.

5. That is, those who deny the existence of the hereafter accuse God Almighty of ignorance, weakness and lying; the punishment for this big crime is definitely Hell.

The Proof of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) and the Qur’an

Is it at all possible that the news given by Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him), whose word is confirmed by all of the prophets based on their miracles, whose cause is approved by all of the saints based on their extraordinary states and whose prophethood is witnessed by all of the scholars based on their studies, should be a lie and he should give false news? He made his one thousand miracles that were realized and the Quran, which is a miracle itself in all aspects, evidence for his word. Is it at all possible that errant doubts, no stronger than the wing of a fly, could invalidate his words and make people doubt the existence of the hereafter that he informed us about?

Yes, this fourteenth proof consists of the witnessing of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and the Quran. We can express this proof in items as follows:

1- Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) informed us about the existence of the hereafter and regarded belief in the hereafter as one of the pillars of belief. Then, we can say that in order to be able to deny the hereafter, it is necessary to deny the prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad first. A person who cannot deny the prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) cannot deny the hereafter.

We can present the following as evidence for the existence of the hereafter: the fact Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) fed an army with a handful of food proves that the hereafter exists.

That is, if we regard one of the miracles of the Prophet as evidence for the existence of the hereafter, it will be true because:

Since he fed an army with a handful of food, it is a miracle;
Since he showed a miracle, he is definitely a prophet;

Since he is a prophet, he never tells lies and never resorts to lying;
Since he never tells lies and never resorts to lying, all of the news that he informs us about is true and right;

Then, the existence of the hereafter is true because he informed us about it!

We can say the following: “Each one of the one thousand miracles of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is evidence for the existence of the hereafter.”

That is, if we use each miracle as evidence for the existence of the hereafter it will be true and right because each miracle proves his prophethood.

Since he is a prophet, he never tells a lie and anything contrary to the truth.

Since he never tells a lie and anything contrary to the truth, what he says and informs us about is true.

Since he informed us about the existence of the hereafter, it is true, too.
In conclusion, we say: The evidence for the existence of the hereafter is as much as the evidence for the prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him). The evidence that proves his prophethood also proves the existence of the hereafter.

The issue that is presented by a person who is mentioned by all of the prophets, who is approved by all of the saints and righteous people and who presented thousands of miracles is definitely true and right. How could delusions make people doubt about an issue that he informs us about?

2- All of the other prophets informed people about the hereafter just like the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). That is, it is not enough to deny the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad only but also the other prophets in order to able to deny the existence of the hereafter. A person who cannot deny them cannot deny the hereafter, either, because they informed people about the hereafter, too.

Then, we can say that the number of the evidence of the hereafter is as many as the number of the prophets and their miracles. Each prophet and their miracles are witnesses and evidence for the existence of the hereafter. What word could invalidate the words of all of the prophets and make people doubt their word?

3- The Quran is evidence for the existence of the hereafter just like the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and all of the other prophets. The Quran informs us about the existence and many affairs of the hereafter.

Then, we can say: “The fact that the like of the Quran cannot be produced proves the existence of the hereafter.” It will be right to use the fact that the like of the Quran cannot be produced, which is a miracle of the Quran, as proof for the existence of the hereafter because:

Since the like of it cannot be produced, it is the word of God;
Since, it is the word of God, there will be no lies or wrong information in it;

Since there are no lies or wrong information in it, everything in it is true and right;

Since everything in it is true and right, the hereafter is also true and right because the existence of the hereafter is mentioned clearly in the Quran.

That is, the evidence proving that the Quran is the book of God proves the existence of the hereafter, too. Then, the number of the proof of the existence of the hereafter is as many as the number of the proof that proves that the Quran is the word of God.

What word could invalidate the words of the Quran and could make man doubt about an issue that the Quran informs us?

4- All of the other heavenly books inform people about the hereafter and mention Paradise and Hell like the Quran. Then, it is not enough to deny the Quran in order to deny the hereafter; it is also necessary to deny all of the other heavenly books, too.

We are asking again: What word could refute an issue that is stated by all of the heavenly books unanimously and confute them?

5- Another proof for the existence of the hereafter is all of the saints and righteous people. Saints declare the existence of the hereafter based on their extraordinary deeds, and righteous people and scholars based on their evidence.

What word of an irreligious person could refute and what word of an unbeliever could invalidate an issue declared and agreed unanimously by the saints and righteous people?

Besides, they have the right and authority to speak regarding the issue. In a discussion about science and art, the words of the experts of science and art are valid; the words of other people are not taken into consideration. For instance, for the diagnosis of an illness, the word of an ordinary doctor is preferred to the word of a very successful architect because the issue is medicine and the doctor has the right and authority to speak regarding the issue.

Similarly, as regards the issue of the hereafter, the word of a philosopher who believes only what he sees and who is against immaterial things is not valid and is not taken into consideration. The right to speak regarding the issue belongs to the prophets, saints and righteous people.

Which philosopher’s word can be preferred to the word of one hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets and hundreds of thousands of saints and righteous people? Are the people who prefer to do so regarded as sane?

It is understood from the fourteen pieces of proof mentioned so far in our work that the issue of resurrection and gathering is such a constant truth that a power as strong as to lift the world cannot affect this fact because:

All of the names and attributes of God Almighty necessitate the hereafter.
All of the miracles of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) approve it.
All of the verses of the Quran and the evidence of its truth prove it.

All of the other prophets and the heavenly books brought by them declare it.

The universe with all of its laws and all of the wise deeds in this realm witness it.

Is it at all possible that doubts feebler than a whisker and satanic insinuations should shake and uproot that exalted and firmly-rooted truth which resembles a mountain regarding the issue of resurrection? Definitely not!

It should not be thought that the evidence proving the existence of the hereafter consists of what we have mentioned only. Definitely not! The names of God like al-Hakim, (the Perfectly Wise), al-Karim (the Generous), ar-Rahim (the All Compassionate), al-Adil (the Just), al-Hafiz (the Preserver) that we mentioned while proving the existence of the hereafter, all of the divine names that are manifest in the administration of the world necessitate and prove the hereafter. That is, no matter which one we refer to, they will all prove the hereafter.

That is, everything says, “I believed in God and the Day of Judgment” with their tongue of disposition.

The Proof of Answering Prayers

Is it at all possible for a Being,who sees the smallest need of His smallest creature and who meets its need unexpectedly, who hears the most secret voice of His most secret creature and helps it, who answers the prayers uttered by the tongue and by the tongue of disposition, and who is the owner of endless compassion and mercy, not to know the need of His greatest slave and beloved creature, not to fulfill his desire and not hear the loudest prayer and not to answer it? Definitely not!

We will explain this proof under two headings:

1st STEP: WHO IS AL-MUJIB,WHO ANSWERS PRAYERS?

A person who looks at this realm carefullywill see that the prayers of all of the beings are answered and all of the voices are heard and answered. For instance, the sustenance of the animals and plants are given perfectly and none of them are left hungry.

The sustenance of the weak onesand the young ones is sent perfectly. This is answering their prayers uttered by the tongue of need.

Who is the One that answers their prayers with compassionand mercy and that feeds them gently?

A bird wants wingsand they are given to it. A fly wants eyes with five thousand lenses and they are given to it.

An antwants a telephone in order to be able to communicate with its friends and it is given antennae. Man wants eyes, ears, tongue, and endless materials and spiritual organs and feelings; and they are given to him.

Man wants endless thingslike all other creatures and he is given all that he wants. All of these desires are prayers uttered by the tongue of need and they are answered. Who is the one behind the curtain that hears those prayers and answers them?

A seedwants to be a flower. Another seedwants to rip and grow under the ground and become a large tree. A drop of liquidwants to be a human being.An eggwants to transform intoa colorful peacock…

They are all prayersuttered by the tongue of abilityand they are answered based onsome wisdom. Who is the onethat hears those prayers and trains them with his mercy?

Sometimes a plantis about to fadedue to the lack of water;armies of clouds are sent to it.Sometimesan animalis in great troubledue to endless needs;it is sent special help.

Sometimesa person feels likethe whole world is against him;everything seems to squeeze him;he is sent helpfrom an unexpected place.

Sometimesall of the causes become invalid;even if all of the people and jinn come together,they cannot do anything;just then, help is sent.

Sometimesall of the doctors lose hopebut suddenly a cure is sent.

In short:Sometimes all of the causes become invalid; all of the helpers disappear and all hopes are lost; just then, an unexpected help from nowhere is sent.

It is the answerto the prayers uttered by the tongue of being in desperate need. Who is the one that hears those prayers and helps the creatures who are in difficulty?

Who is the one that knows and hears everyone who is in difficulty?

Who helps them with mercy?

Sometimesman opens his hands and prays.He says what he wants and asks it fromhis All-Compassionate Lord.

He throwsall of the causes away andturns to Him only,bows down before Him andwhat he asksis given to him at once.

Is there anyone who can say, “I asked from Him but I was not given anything”?

Definitely not.All of the prayers that are utteredare answeredbased on some wisdom.

Those prayers that are regarded not to have been answeredare either left to the hereafteror are given to themin a better form than they want.

For example, someone asks for a son,and Almighty God gives a daughter like Mary. We should not say, “His supplication was not accepted,” but say, “It was accepted in a better form.” Sometimes a person wants something that will harm him. For instance, he wants to be rich but he does not know that when he becomes rich, he will go beyond the limits. However, God, who knows the end of everything best, knows that His slave will go beyond the limits and He does not give him richness by showing mercy to him;

He leaves that prayer to the hereafterand enriches his hereafter. Sometimes a person utters prayers for his own happiness in this world, and it is accepted for the hereafter. We should not say, “His prayer was rejected,” but say, “It was accepted in a more beneficial form.” Since Almighty God is All-Wise, we ask from Him and He responds to us. However, He deals with us according to His wisdom.

A sick personshould not cast aspersions on the wisdom of his doctor. If he asks for honey and the expert doctor gives him medicine that is appropriate for his malaria, he cannot say: “The doctor did not listen to me.” Rather, the doctor listened to his sighs and moans; he heard them and responded to them. He provided better than what was asked for. It is understood from the explanations we have made so far that there is a Being behind the curtain; He hears every voice and answers every prayer; He hears even the smallest need from a small creature and answers that prayer.

The proof for itis that all of the prayers uttered by the tongue and by the tongue of disposition are answered based on some wisdom. Now let us move to the fact that this truth and the name al-Mujib necessitate the hereafter:

2nd STEP: THE NAME AL-MUJIB NECESSITATES THE HEREAFTER

The owner of this realm is al-Mujib;that is, He answers every prayer; He hears every voice and helps the owner of that voice.

Is it at all possible that God,who most compassionately fulfils the smallest need of His lowliest creatures in the most unexpected fashion, who heeds the muffled plea for help of His most obscure creature, and who responds to all the petitions He hears, whether vocal or mute – is it at all possible that He should not pay heed to the greatest petition of the foremost among His servants, the most beloved among his creatures, human beings, that He should not hear and grant his most exalted prayer?

Is it at all possible thatHe should not know, hear and fulfill what Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him), who is the greatest slave and creature among human beings, wants and accept the highest prayer among the prayers that he utters for endless bliss?

Definitely not.

A person who listens to his heart andspirit will hear the voice and prayer of “eternity, eternity, eternity”.

The prayer of the stomachuttered by the tongue of hunger caused the creation of endless food; and the prayer of the stomach uttered by the tongue of need was answered by making the earth a dinner table; similarly, the heart, spirit, mind and all of the other faculties pray for the eternity and ask for the eternity.

Is it at all possible thatGod Almighty, who hears the most secret voice of the fly, which is a small creature, and answers its prayer by giving it wings, should not hear and accept the prayer uttered by human beings by the tongue and by the tongue of disposition for endless bliss and Paradise?

Is it at all possible thatHe should hear the buzz of a fly and not hear the roar of the thunder?

It is definitely not possible;then, He will answer andanswered their prayers andcreated the hereafter and Paradise,which is as easy as creating a flower for Him,to answer their prayers. Among those who pray for the endless bliss are His friends, who are prophets and saints.

Among those prophets and saints,there is such a person that he is the reason why this realm was created and he is the most beloved slave of the Owner of this realm.

He is Muhammad (pbuh). Is it at all possible that God Almighty should not accept the prayer of this person, whom He addresses as “my beloved”, for eternity and should not create Paradise due to his prayer?

If there were not endlessreasons for the existence of the hereafter, only a single prayer of this person would be enough for the creation of the hereafter and it would be enough to prove the existence of the hereafter. He asks from such a Being for whom to create Paradise is as easy as to create the spring.

How can creating Paradisebe difficult for the Absolute Powerful One, who turns the season of spring into a gathering place, who creates hundreds of thousands of creatures out of nothing and who shows us hundreds of thousands of examples of resurrection?

The prophethoodof the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) caused the area of testing to be launched; similarly, his worshipping and prayer cause the launch of the hereafter. Now, let us strengthen this proof in items:

1. The prayers of humans,animals and plants uttered by the tongue and by the tongue of disposition are answered based on some wisdom.

2. That answeringmakes us know the Being behind the curtain with His name al-Mujib (the Responder to Prayer).

3. Since He is al-Mujib andsince He answers every prayer fulfilling even the simplest requests, He will definitely respond to prayers regarding the hereafter.

4. Among those who pray for the hereafterand endless bliss is Muhammad (pbuh), His most beloved slave and creature; this person prays on behalf of all prophets and his ummah; and he makes those prophets say ‘amen’ for his prayer and uses the most beautiful names of God as an intercessor for the acceptance of his prayer.

It is definitely not possiblefor this prayer not to be accepted and for the hereafter not to be created.

The Proof of Beauty and Perfection

Is it at all possible that such endless beauty and flawless perfection does not want an eternal land to see and show his beauty and perfection and eternal spectators that will see the beauty and perfection that will be manifest in that realm? Since this world is unable to show that beauty and perfection fully, and the spectators of this realm leave without watching that beauty and perfection fully, there must be an eternal realm and eternal spectators of that realm so that the eternal beauty and perfection will be seen there fully and the spectators will watch that beauty and perfection fully.

We will deal with this proof under two headings:

1st STEP: WHO IS THE OWNER OF THE BEAUTY ANDPERFECTION IN THE UNIVERSE?

Jamal means beauty and kamal means beautiful attributes.

God Almighty has beauty; He is beautiful. That is, He has endless beauty. He owns perfection. That is, he owns attributes of perfection like knowledge, power, will, hearing and sight.

He has endless names and attributes. A person who looks at this realm carefully will see that there exists endless beauty and perfection in this realm.

Do you want proof for it? Then, look at the seas, mountains, trees, flowers, birds and fish…

Examine all of them one by one. Can you find anything other than beauty and perfection?

Who is the owner of this beauty and perfection?

It is definitely God Almighty because beauty comes from a beautiful being and perfection comes from a perfect being; grant comes from generosity and wealth comes from a wealthy being. With all of its beauty, this realm indicates the beauty of God Almighty and with all of its flawlessness His eternal perfection.

Now, look at this realm, which is the exhibition of the divine works of art!

They altogether show, declare and attract attention to the flawless perfection and endless beauty of God Almighty with the exhibition of wonderful works of art.

All of those beautiful, artistic, bright and ornamented creatures that are on the face of the earth show the beauty of a matchless spiritual beauty, indicate the subtleties of a matchless secret perfection just like the light indicates the sun; they also show that there are top secret treasures in each one of the names of that exclusive smartness and holy beauty.

In short: This realm with all of its beauty indicates the beauty of God Almighty and with all of its perfection indicates His perfection; and it proves the unmatched and eternal beauty and perfection of that being.

2nd STEP: BEAUTY AND PERFECTION NECESSITATE THE HEREAFTER

It means the artist of this realmhas a very importantand amazing perfection; He wants to show that perfection throughthose wonderful arts.He also has unmatched beauty;He wants to make people watch His unmatched beautythrough His ornamentedand embroidered creatures.

Doubtlessly, such eternal beauty and perfection want to be observed by appreciative, praising and admiring people because it is a general rule that every owner of beauty and perfection wants to see and show his own beauty and perfection.

If the perfection is permanent, he wants to be manifest and be observed permanently. Permanent manifestation wants the permanence of the existence of the appreciative and admiring people. The value of beauty and perfection decreases in the eyes of an appreciative person who is not eternal and who is bound to die.

It is a very well-known story that a very beautiful girl repulses an ordinary man who falls in love with her. In order to console himself, the man says, “she is an ugly girl”, denying her beauty.

Just like in this example, if the hereafter does not occur and if death becomes an end for man, the beauty and perfection of God Almighty that are visible in this realm will be reduced to nothing and lose their value and beauty.

Let us explain the issue by stating the reason of the creation of this world as follows:

As the owner of every beauty and perfection wants to see and show his beauty and perfection, God, who is the owner of endless beauty and perfection, wanted to see and show His beauty and perfection; so, He created this realm. He decorated every creature with embroideries; He showed all kinds of manifestations of His beauty and perfection in this realm; He gave man the duty and honor of watching them.

This is the duty of the creation of man:To watch that beauty and perfection.

However, if the hereafter does not occur andif the death becomes an end for man,he will despise this world and denythe beauty andperfectionbefore our eyes.Only by doing so can he put up with the pain and anguishcaused by the separationfrom this world.However, it is contrary to thepurpose of the creation of man.

Man, who has been created in the nature of a loving spectator, will transforminto an enemyif the hereafter does not occur;he will go down to the rank of despising from the rank of observingin order to alleviate the pain of separation.Doubtlessly, the wise artist of this worldwill not allow it andwill not make him deny His beauty and perfection. The only way to do it is to bring the hereafter.

Another reason why endless beauty and perfection necessitate the hereafter is this: As the owner of every beauty and perfection wants to see and show his beauty and perfection, God, who is the owner of endless beauty and perfection, will definitely want to see and show His beauty and perfection. If beauty and perfection are ephemeral, He will consent to ephemeral manifestations. However, if beauty and perfection are eternal, then He will not consent to ephemeral manifestations and want to seem and be manifest eternal.

Two things are necessary for Him to seem eternal:

1-The country in which His beautyand perfectionwill seem must be eternal.However, this universeis not eternal but temporary.As scientists unanimously agree,one day, the Doomsday will strike and the world will be eliminated.

2- He will want a permanent country andpermanent spectators.If there are no spectators,the manifestation of the beauty and perfectionwill be meaningless.However, the spectators in this world are ephemeral, too. In this short life,they cannot observe that beauty and perfection fully,and they leave the world without being satisfied fully.Therefore, the spectators have to be permanent.And it necessitates the hereafter.

Now let us see what we have learnedabout this proof in items.Thus, it will be understoodbetter:

1. We see with our eyes thatthere is endless beauty andperfection in this realm.

2. Since beauty comes from a beautiful personand perfection comes from a perfect person,the beauty and perfectionbefore our eyesindicate an eternal Beautyand Perfectionbehind the curtain andprove His existence.

3. Since that Being,who has beauty and perfection,created this realm to have His beauty andperfection observed,He must have created the hereafterfor man.Man can carry out the duty of observingonly throughbelief in the hereafter.An observerwho does not believe in the hereafterwill deny the beauty and perfectionbefore our eyesin order to alleviate the pain of separation from this worldjust like the cat that called the meatthat it could not reach ‘dirty’.It is contraryto the purpose of creation.Doubtlessly, God Almightywill not letsuch absurdity.The only way to do it is to bring the hereafter.

4.The owner of every beauty and perfectionwants to show his own beautyand perfection.If the beauty and perfection are eternal,they will want to seem eternal.Since the beauty and perfection of God Almighty are eternal and permanent,He will want to seemeternal.An eternal and permanent land is necessaryin order to be seem eternal.And that land is the hereafter.

5. An eternal beauty and perfectionwill want the continuation,that is, the permanence,of the existenceof the spectators.An eternal beautydoes not consent to ephemeral spectators.The necessity of eternal spectatorsnecessitates the hereafter.

6. The owner of every beauty and perfectionwants to showhis own beauty and perfectionand he himself wants to see it.That is why,a scholar reads his own book andan artist observeshis own work of art.Then, God Almighty will want to seeHis own beauty and perfection. Since His beauty and perfection are eternal,He will certainly want to see themas eternal. Therefore, an eternal countryis necessary.And that country can only be the hereafter.

In short:All of the beings with all of their beauty and perfection indicate the beauty and perfection of God Almightybehind the curtain. Similarly, they also indicate the existence of the hereafter. As the owner of beauty and perfection wants to see and to be seen. To see and to be seenwant the existence of enthusiastic spectatorsand loving admirers. Since beauty and perfection is eternal and permanent, He wants the continuationof the existence of the spectators because an eternal beauty and perfectionwill not consent to an ephemeral lover.

Eternity of God's Power

We will present the last evidence regarding the existence of the hereafter. Unlike other evidences, we will mention the eternity of God’s power. To deny the hereafter originates from not being able to understand the nature of God’s power. When the nature of the divine power is understood, doubts originating from this aspect will disappear. Now, we will deal with only one of the tens of evidences regarding the eternity of God's Power.We will deal with the following rule:   

“If something is essential (inherent), its opposite cannot have access to it because it will be the union of opposites. It is impossible.”  

First let us have a look at the meanings of the words in the rule:

Essential (Inherent): Something that exists naturally in that thing; something that cannot be affixed to that thing later.

Affixed: Added or happening later.

Union of opposites: Two opposites coming together; juxtaposition of opposites.

Impossible: That cannot happen

In this realm, no attribute of any creature is inherent. That is, they do not belong to those creatures; they are the grants and gifts of God Almighty. The inherent attributes belong to God because the universe was created later and the creatures in it were created later, too. The universe is not pre-eternal; it was created later. If something is not pre-eternal, its attributes cannot be pre-eternal and inherent, either. However, we will assume some things to be inherent so that the sentence belonging to the Islamic scholar Badiuzzaman Said Nursi will be understood. Those attributes were created later but they can be regarded to be inherent to some extent because they were affixed to those things when they were created.

For instance, the light of the sun is inherent to some extent because the sun was given its light when it was created. Therefore, darkness, which is the opposite of light, cannot have access to it; that is, darkness cannot approach the sun. It is a rule that “when something is inherent, its opposite cannot have access to it”.
 
However, the light of the lamp is not inherent; it was affixed to it later; therefore, darkness, which is the opposite of light, can have access to the lamp because it does not belong to the lamp. 

2^nd Example: The heat of the sun is inherent to some extent because the sun was given this attribute when it was created. Therefore, cold, which is the opposite of heat, cannot approach the sun because when something is inherent, its opposite cannot have access to it.

As for the heat of the stove, its heat is not inherent; that is, the stove owns the attribute of heat after something is burnt in it later. Therefore, cold, which is the opposite of heat, can have access to the stove. When the wood inside a stove ends, the stove cools after a while.

3^rd Example:  The brightness of some substances like gold and diamond are inherent to some extent; fading and tarnishing cannot have access to them because when something is inherent, its opposite cannot have access to it.

The brightness of a varnished object is something affixed to it; so it is bound to fade and tarnish. Dimness, which is the opposite of brightness, approaches that object and makes it fade.

4^th Example: The movement and rotation of the world is inherent to some extent; therefore, stillness, which is the opposite of movement cannot have access to the world. The world rotates continuously. 

However, the movement of a peg top or a bicycle tire is affixed to them later; that is, to rotate is not an inherent attribute of them; so, they can be still.

RESULT: If something is inherent, its opposite cannot have access to it.

The power of God Almighty is inherent. It exists with God’s existence. It is not something that was received or obtained later. God is pre-eternal; his attributes are also pre-eternal, endless and absolute (they cannot be limited).

We can list the result of the idea mentioned above as follows:

Since the attribute of power is an inherent attribute of God, weakness, which is the opposite of it, cannot be affixed to God.

Since weakness cannot have access to God, there are not and there cannot be any degrees in the power of God.

Since there are not and there cannot be any degrees in the power of God, He can create thousands of universes any moment if His wisdom finds it necessary. There is no difference between a drop and an ocean or a flower and stars for the sun’s act of giving light; similarly, there is no difference between a little and a lot, big and small, partial and total for the power of God. Atoms and stars are equal in terms of creating and controlling them. It is the same for God to create a fly and to revive all of the dead people. He creates a spring as easily as he creates a flower; He creates Paradise as easily.

We can deduce the following results from that rule:

Life is an inherent attribute of God. Therefore, death, which is the opposite of this attribute, cannot approach God; so, God is eternal.

Sight is an inherent attribute of God. Therefore, blindness, which is the opposite of this attribute, cannot have access to God. God sees everything at the same time; nothing can hide itself from the sight of God.

Hearing is an inherent attribute of God. Therefore, deafness, which is the opposite of this attribute, cannot have access to God. God hears all sounds and even what the heart thinks of at the same time.  

The beauty of God is inherent. Ugliness, which is the opposite of beauty, cannot have access to God by any means.

God’s attribute of knowledge is inherent. Ignorance, which is the opposite of this attribute, cannot have access to God by any means. Since it cannot have access to Him, the following results will be obvious:

God knows a fish swimming at a depth of thousands of meters under the sea. He knows an ant walking in the darkness at night. No leaf falls without His knowledge. He knows what all hearts think of... They originate from the fact that the attribute of knowledge is an inherent attribute of God. Not to know even one of them is ignorance. Since the attribute of knowledge is inherent, ignorance, which is its opposite, cannot have access to him; thus, God knows everything.

We can regard the other attributes of God Almighty based on the same rule.

It will be useful to consider that rule with the following rule: “the existence of degrees within a thing comes about through the intervention in it of its opposite.” We can understand this rule through following examples:

The degrees of light are caused by the intervention of darkness, which is its opposite.

The degrees of heat are caused by the intervention of cold, which is its opposite The degrees of beauty are caused by the intervention of ugliness, which is its opposite.

The degrees of fullness are caused by the intervention of hunger, which is its opposite.

The degrees of strength are caused by the intervention of weakness, which is its opposite…

So, this is our rule:

If the opposite of something cannot intervene in it, there will be no degrees in it. God has no opposites. Since God has no opposites, there is no intervention in God’s acts. Since there is no intervention, there cannot be degrees in the power of God. His power becomes endless.

Since His power is endless, it is the same for that power to create a flower and to create a spring, to create a fly and to revive all of the creatures after their death. One of His acts will not prevent His other acts.

The work “Belief in the Hereafter” is completed here. As we have mentioned at the beginning of this work, the work of Badiuzzaman Said Nursi known as “10th Word” was used as a reference book in this work. We have mentioned only some of the evidences mentioned in his book. We refer those who wonder about the other evidences to the above-mentioned book of Badiuzzaman Said Nursi and we finish this work with the following verses of the Quran:

The Unbelievers will be led to Hell in crowds; until, when they arrive there, its gates will be opened and its Keepers will say:

 "Did not messengers come to you from among yourselves rehearsing to you the Signs of your Lord, and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?"

The answer will be: "True: but the Decree of Punishment has been proved true against the Unbelievers!" (Surah az-Zumar: 71)

 (To them) will be said: "Enter ye the gates of Hell, to dwell therein: and evil is (this) abode of the arrogant!" (Surah az-Zumar: 72)

And those who feared their Lord will be led to the Garden in crowds: until behold, they arrive there; its gates will be opened: and its Keepers will say: "Peace be upon you! Well have ye done! Enter ye here, to dwell therein." (Surah az-Zumar: 73)

They will say: "Praise be to God, Who has truly fulfilled His promise to us, and has given us (this) land in heritage: we can dwell in the Garden as we will: how excellent a reward for those who work (righteousness)!" (Surah az-Zumar: 74)

And thou wilt see the angels surrounding the Throne (Divine) on all sides, singing Glory and Praise of their Lord. The Decision between them (at Judgment) will be in (perfect) justice. And the cry (on all sides) will be "Praise be to God the Lord of the Worlds!" (Surah az-Zumar: 75)

The Proof of Wisdom

Is it at all possible that the Lord of Majesty, who does everything with endless wisdom, would not bring the hereafter, would not bestow favors on believers who take refuge in Him and would make His endless wisdom be denied and would reduce that endless wisdom to nothing? Definitely not!

We will examine this proof under two headings:

1st STEP: WHO IS THE OWNER OF THE VISIBLE WISDOM IN THE UNIVERSE?

Wisdom means to take care of the benefits while doing something, not to do anything absurd, to make everything carry out some duties. The opposite of wisdom is waste and absurdity.

There is no waste and absurdity in any place of this universe; endless wisdom is seen everywhere. Let us meditate on the wisdom in the universe a bit and see the doer of that wisdom:

If this realm is observed carefully, it will be seen that the One who rules this realm does everything with endless wisdom. Do you want proof of it?

It is to take interests and benefits into consideration in everything. For example there are benefits and wisdom in all of the organs, bones and blood vessels and even in the cells of man, everywhere and in every part? Some organs have as many uses and benefits as the fruits of a tree. This situation proves that endless wisdom carries out these things.

The fact that there exists an endless regularity in the making of everything proves that these things are carried out by endless wisdom. To record the fine program of a nice flower in its tiny seed, to record the pages, life story and parts of a tree in the tiny seed with a spiritual pen prove that endless wisdom carries out these things.

The existence of a very nice art in the creation of everything shows the existence of the embroidery of a fully wise artist. To put the index of the universe, the keys of all of the treasures of mercy, the mirrors of all beautiful names in the small human body definitely shows the endless wisdom.

It is probably unnecessary to try to prove the wisdom in this realm. Each branch of science mentions this wisdom through its own tongue and the topic of each science is the wisdom itself. Therefore, we do not want to say anything else in order to explain the wisdom in the universe and move to the answer to this question: Who is the Wise Being that owns this wisdom? Who included so many useful properties in things? Who does not let any absurdity in any place of this realm? Who ensured the uses and benefits in everything, from the human organs to the stars in the sky? Who is the Wise Being that does not waste anything in this realm? Who equipped everything with wisdom in the form of embroideries?

Is the only answer to be given to those questions not “God”?

Let alone explaining the wisdom in the universe with coincidences, can only the wisdom in the body of a fly be explained by coincidence?

Yes, there is a purpose, aim, benefit and result in every being that has been created in this realm peculiar to itself that is maintained. Nothing that can be regarded as absurdity, purposelessness, meaninglessness and waste is observed in any of the beings. It is impossible for senseless and unconscious causes to take care of those purposes and aims on their own and to create things with wisdom like that. Then, this situation proves that there is a Wise Being behind the curtain who creates things with wisdom.

2nd STEP:  THE NAMES AL-HAKIM (PERFECTLY WISE) NECESSITATES THE HEREAFTER

Suppose that you have a big sugar factory. You bring the sugar beets you collect from the field to the factory, process them and produce sugar in the end. Then, you work hard and load the sugar on trucks. Would you throw the sugar into the sea after so much hard work and so many wise processes?

Definitely not! If you wanted to throw it into the sea, you would not construct a factory, would not collect sugar beets from the field, would not process them and would not load the sugar on trucks. Your above-mentioned deeds prove that you will not throw the sugar into the sea.

Similarly, God Almighty created the factory of the world by making a lot of expenses. He created thousands of wisdom in each stone of the world. If the hereafter does not occur and if the fruits of this factory do not appear in the market of the hereafter, there will be endless waste.

Is it possible for God, who equipped the wing of a fly with tens of wisdom, to let such waste and absurdity by not bringing the hereafter? Definitely not! If he wanted to let it, he would not have created this realm with wisdom and would not give importance to it. That is, to claim that the hereafter will not occur is like to deny the wisdom that our eyes see because not to bring the hereafter is complete absurdity and it means to let this realm be transformed into absurdity and waste. The Lord of Majesty, who is the owner of endless wisdom with the witnessing of the wisdom in front of our eyes, is free and away from such absurdity.

Is it at all possible for God to show that He owns wisdom by equipping every living being with wisdom and benefits that are as many as the fruits of a tree and then to reduce everything to absurdity by not introducing the eternity and the endless bliss, which is the greatest wisdom, the most important benefit, the most essential result, and which makes wisdom the real wisdom, bounties the real bounties and mercy the real mercy, and which is the source of all wisdom, bounties, mercy and benefits? Is it possible for Him to build palaces with stones of thousands of embroideries, and to put thousands of valuable devices and materials in each room and not to cover that palace with a roof and to let everything rust and decay? Definitely not!

If the hereafter does not occur, it means this world has no roof and the wise productions and activities in it have no value at all.

Is it reasonable or God to give man and his feelings as many duties and wisdom as the number of hairs on his head and then give him a small worldly wage like a single hair and do something that is contrary to His wisdom and something that is meaningless?

A generous person grants people things; a nice person does nice things; similarly, a wise person does wise things. A person who has wisdom will not do absurd things. God has endless wisdom. If He does not bring the hereafter, all of His deeds will be transformed into absurdity; it is impossible to think of something like that for God.

The non-existence of the hereafter is like equipping a small stone with wisdom and purposes like a huge mountain and equipping a huge mountain with a small, temporary purpose; no mind and wisdom will accept it.

Let us see the proof of wisdom from the point of view of our feelings:

Each one of the apparent and internal feelings in man is more valuable than this world. Man will not exchange his hearing, sight, mind, memory, love or any other feeling with the sultanate in the world or even with Paradise.

Suppose that someone said to us, “Give your mind to us; we will give you Paradise” or “Give me your memory and enter Paradise.”

Would we sell our mind and memory in return for Paradise? Definitely not! If a person did not have his mind or memory, it would be impossible for him to enjoy Paradise. Then, we can say that some organs of us are more valuable and more expensive than Paradise.

This situation proves that the organs and feelings of man were not created only for the tiny issues of this world. Those organs equipped with endless wisdom cannot have been given for this short life only. So many expenses are not for this short life. To claim that those expensive devices were given to man only for this short life can only be possible through denying the wisdom in this realm and denying the Being who is the owner of this wisdom.

In this case, every creature, which has been created with wisdom, will point at the eye of that person with its finger and say, “The artist of this realm, who has endless wisdom, will not make so many expenses and waste only for a short life. You commit a great murder through you unbelief and virtually say with your denial, ‘Everything is meaningless and absurd in this world.’  Look how you attack the wisdom of that Being and accuse that Being of wasting. That Being is free and away from your accusation. He is al-Hakim (the All-Wise) with the witnessing of the wisdom in us and He will create the hereafter due to His wisdom.”

If you made a tree with leaves, each of which is worth fifty thousand lira, would you let sheep eat those leaves? You certainly would not. You would not work so hard and meticulously for that tree if you were going to let them. The reason why you made that tree was to prove your keenness on art. Letting the sheep eat those leaves is absurdity and artlessness. The attributes of wisdom and keenness on art in you will definitely not let something absurd.

Similarly, man is like a tree with leaves, each of which is worth fifty thousand lira. As we have explained, the organs of man that are like the leaves of that tree are more valuable than fifty thousand lira and even than Paradise. God Almighty, who has endless wisdom, will not let the tree of man be food for the worms, lie in the grave, decay and not resurrect.

We can also look at the proof of wisdom through this window of the feelings:

Suppose that you saw a very big fish in a pool. You would realize that it did not belong to that pool but to a sea much bigger than the pool.

Similarly, the talents and feelings of man do not fit into this world; the pool of this world does not satisfy man. Then the fish of man is a candidate for another sea; and that sea is the hereafter.

If we compare the scales like the mind, memory, tongue, ear in man with the things that they weigh, we will see that the scales are more valuable. That is, those scales were not given to us just to earn things in this ephemeral world. To claim the opposite is only possible through denying the wisdom that is in front of us. No sane person will do it.

Another aspect of the wisdom that necessitates the hereafter is as follows: :

The wisdom that is absolutely wise in His Lordship and administration would definitely want to bestow favors on those who take refuge in His wing of Lordship, believe in Him and obey Him. The wisdom of endless sovereignty wants to protect and bestow favors on those who take refuge in Him. The wisdom of endless sovereignty can only be maintained like that.

However, not one in a thousand or even one in a million of those bestowals is seen in this world. That is, there is another realm and the grants and bestowals are left to that realm. It is not possible to deny it; it is not possible to deny the visible wisdom that is dominant, either.

Let us meditate the proof of wisdom again in the form of items:

1. There is a purpose, aim, benefit and result in every being that has been created in this realm peculiar to itself that is maintained. Nothing that can be regarded as absurdity, purposelessness, meaninglessness and waste is observed in any of the beings. That is, there exists endless wisdom in the universe, and every branch of science is a witness for that wisdom.

2. Doubtlessly, it is impossible for senseless and unconscious causes to take care of those purposes and aims on their own and to create things with wisdom like that. Then, this situation proves that there is a Wise Being behind the curtain who creates things with wisdom.

3. Wisdom can be real wisdom and it will not be transformed into waste and absurdity only if the hereafter occurs. If the hereafter does not occur, the wisdom will be transformed into waste and absurdity.

4. The wisdom that is absolutely wise in His Lordship and administration would definitely want to bestow favors on those who take refuge in His wing of Lordship, believe in Him and obey Him. The wisdom that is absolutely wise wants to protect and bestow favors on those who take refuge in Him. However, there are no bestowals and grants like that in this world; it means they are left to another realm.

5. Therefore, to deny the hereafter is only possible through denying the name al-Hakim of God Almighty. To deny the name al-Hakim can only be possible through denying the wisdom that is seen everywhere in the universe and that encompasses everything. It is not possible for sane people. Besides, we do not address those who remove and discard their minds.

In short: That the hereafter will occur is as obvious and clear as the wisdom that we see in front of our eyes. The only thing that will make wisdom the real wisdom and that will prevent it from being transformed into waste is the occurrence of the hereafter.

The Proof of Sovereignty

Is it at all possible that the Monarch of this universe, the All-Glorious One, should create the universe with quite elevated aims in order to show His perfection, on the other hand, should not give rewards to those who, in return, are faithful and worshipping; and should not punish those who insult and deny them? The reward and the punishment is hardly felt in this world. So there is, and should be, a place of reward and punishment somewhere else.

We will examine this proof under two headings. First of all, let us take a short journey and see the sovereignty ruling over this world. And then let us know who the possessor of this sovereignty is:

About 300 billion galaxies that are known and about 300 billion stars therein continue their existence in a perfect fashion. All galaxies, stars, planets, and satellites revolve around boththemselves and certain orbits along with the systems they belong to.

Furthermore, the concept of speed in the universe is at mind-boggling dimensions compared to the worldly measures. of stars, planets, galaxies, galaxy clusters that weigh millions of tons move in the space at a terrifying speed.

The world rotates around its axis at of 1670 km/hr and around the sun at a speed of 108.000 km/hr. While the solar system rotates around the center of the galaxy at a speed of 720.000 km/hr, the Milky Way moves in the space at a speed of 950.000 km/hr. These movements are so intense that each year the world and the solar system go 500 million kilometer further than the previous year’s position.

Is it at all possible that such an orderly movement be coincidental? How can a man who has to explain the movement of a car on a smooth surface with the skill of the driver attribute the orderliness in this universe to chance?

Yes, the universe is such a palace that stars are the candles of that palace. The world is just a very small room in that palace. The sun is the lamp and the stove, and the moon is the night lamp of that room. The sun, the lamp of our world, is 1.300.000 times greater than our world.

In our own galaxy, the Milky Way, there are 200 billion to 300 billion stars. Can you imagine a place in which there are 300 billion stars, each of which is as big as the sun? Who can make all those stars travel without colliding with each other?

The central heat of the sun is 20.000.000 degrees centigrade. (It is a known fact that water boils at 100 degrees centigrade.) If we were able to bring a substance as tiny as the head of a needle to the world from the sun, it could burn something which is 160 km far away. If the whole world were woods and coal, it would not meet the sun’s need of fuel even for one day. Who burns the stove of the sun without a pause?

The distance of the sun to the world is 150.000.000 km. The diameter of our Milky Way is 100.000 light years. (The speed of light per second is 300.000 km.) If we were to get on a rocket going at a speed of 10.000 km in a second, we would need 15.800.000.000 years to go from one end of our galaxy to the other end.

We have learnt that the sun is 1.300.000 times greater than the world. Now please be careful! We are going to talk about a star which our imagination cannot grasp: The star of Canis Majoris! This star, whose radius is 2100 times as big as the radius of the sun, is known as the biggest star. This star is so big that more than seven quadrillion worlds are necessary to fill inside it.

Let us take a look at our world this time: There are 1.000.000 different species in the world. If we suppose each species is a regiment, there are 1.000.000 regiments in the army of the world, and each regiment has numerous members. In the regiment of flies, there are more flies created in one spring than human beings to be created till the end of the world.

Yes, this world is such an army that the soldiers in this army have different nationalities, different weapons, different clothes, different orders, different appearances and different food. Neither time nor words would be enough to describe the sovereignty ruling over the world…

Now we ask you: We know that a village must have a headman, a city must have a governor, and a country must have a president; is it at all possible that this magnificent sovereignty seen in this universe be without a governor?

When we see a marvelous palace, we understand that the palace must have an owner. Even if we do not see its owner, the palace, with its existence and beauty, points to its owner and his glory.

If such a simple palace cannot be without an owner, is it at all possible that this palace which we call the universe can be without an owner?

If we see a great army moving in an orderly fashion, but if we do not see its commander, is it ever likely that this army is without a commander and an owner? Definitely not! Some situations such as soldiers’ proper manners, having weapons, having their clothes changed, having their needs met point out that this army belongs to a commander and a governor and that it acts in accordance with his orders.

If even such a small army cannot be disciplined, fed and if their needs cannot be met without a commander and cannot be referred to chance, is it ever possible that thousands of different armies of animals and plants be without a commander and owner?

As we have said, it is such an army that there are different nations, different weapons, different clothes, different orders, different appearances, different food etc in it.

Is it at all possible that such an army be without a commander? This army has such a Commander that He forgets none of them and does not confuse anything while doing something.

This army is much greater than our imaginary army and it makes us know its Commander, God with His names the Absolute Ruler and Monarch, as greatly and perfectly.

Denying Almighty God, who is the Sustainer of this army, is only possible through denying this apparent sovereignty. The one who cannot deny this apparent sovereignty cannot deny the Almighty God, the Monarch of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity, either. That is to say, the existence of Almighty God is as clear and precise as the existence of this universe.

STEP 2: THE NAME OF MONARCH (SULTAN) NECESSITATING THE HEREAFTER

In the 1st step, we saw the sovereignty in the universe and through the rule “Acts cannot be without one who performs them”, we reached the existence and the name of God, the Monarch, Who is the possessor of the sovereignty. In this step, we are going to prove that the name of Monarch (Sultan) necessitates the Hereafter.

As is known, even the minor sultans give rewards to those who serve them well and punish those who rise in a rebellion against them. Reward and punishment are crucial for sovereignty.

If a rebel revolts against the sultan and says: “The Sultan cannot get hold of me, he cannot punish me, he does not have power, etc.” The sultan should have him caught and put him in prison in order to protect the glory of his sovereignty. Even if there is no prison in his country, in order to preserve the glory of his sovereignty, he should make a prison for that rebel and catch him and put him in the prison so that the glory his sovereignty may be protected and humiliation will not replace dignity.

Since the sultan has to award those in service of Him and punish the rebels in order to protect the glory of His sovereignty, we ask:

Does God, the Monarch of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity, whose existence we proved in the 1^st step, truly award those who serve Him in this world? And in this world, does He truly punish those who revolt against Him?

No He does not! Neither those who serve are awarded nor those who revolt are rightfully punished in this world.

Then we ask again: What should God Almighty, the Monarch of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity, do to protect the dignity and glory of His sovereignty?

Surely, He is supposed to prepare places for both reward and punishment, and award those serving Him and punish those revolting against Him. Otherwise, He is regarded not to have protected the glory of His sovereignty.

A disbeliever indirectly comes to say: “O God, who declares to be Sultan. You cannot catch me, punish me, put me in prison, and you cannot create Hell, either, you do not have enough power to create the Hereafter…”

Yes, all those words are the ones resulting from disbelief which a disbeliever indirectly comes to say. Even if God did not have any reasons to create Hell, he would create it just because of those words of the disbeliever and put him in there and thus, protect the glory of His sovereignty.

Now, let us sum up the first proof in items and understand the issue better:

1. From particles to stars and from atoms to galaxies, there is a magnificent sovereignty visible in this universe and this sovereignty is ruling over everywhere.

2. A village must have headman, a city must have a governor, and this country must have a president; similarly, this sovereignty going on in this universe cannot be carried out without the Sultan. To deny this Sultan is only possible by denying the whole universe; and to deny the visible sovereignty is not possible for anybody who is not out of his mind.

3. The Sultans award those who serve them. It is to protect the dignity of the sovereignty. However, those who serve the Sultan of this universe are not deservedly awarded in this world. Then, there should be somewhere else to give the reward so that the dignity of the sovereignty should be protected.

4. The sultans punish those who revolt against them; thus, they protect the magnificence and glory of their sovereignty. Yet, on the other hand, those who revolt against God Almighty, the Sultan of this universe, are not deservedly punished. So, there should be somewhere else for punishment so that the dignity of the sovereignty should be protected.

5. In order to deny the Hereafter, one should firstly deny the name of Sultan of God Almighty. In order to deny the name of Sultan, one should deny the glorious sovereignty apparent in the universe. So, if one cannot deny the glorious sovereignty, he cannot deny the One Who is the Sultan of this sovereignty, either. And the one who cannot deny the Sultan cannot deny the Hereafter, either, since the glory of the sovereignty is only protected by the arrival of the Hereafter.

As we said in the beginning, the existence of the Hereafter is proven through three steps. Each step is like a chain. These chains are interlaced, and one cannot do any harm to any single chain without completely destroying the whole. If one cannot break all of the chains, he cannot break a single chain of it, either.

So, the one who cannot deny the sovereignty in the universe cannot deny the One Who is the Sultan of this sovereignty, either; because sovereignty cannot be without a sultan. If you cannot deny the Sultan, you cannot deny the Hereafter, either. Because by the arrival of the Hereafter, the glory of the Sultan gets protected.

Therefore, we can say this: Surely, the Sultan, Who has power over everything and rotates the huge stars easily, is going to bring the Hereafter and give reward to those who truly serve Him. He is also going to throw some people who come to say in rebellion, “You cannot get hold of me, you have no power on me” into His eternal Hell, by imposing them the punishment they deserve.  It is as clear and precise as this visible sovereignty.

The Proof of Justice

Is it at all possible for a Just and Wise Being, who does everything with absolute wisdom, not to maintain the rights of His creatures, not to obtain the right of the oppressed from the oppressor andto reduce justice to nothing?  This justice exists virtually here; so, it means there is a great court somewhere else and there is a land of justice and there must be.

We will examine this proof under two headings:

1st STEP: WHO IS THE OWNER OF THE JUSTICE VISIBLE IN THIS UNIVERSE?

Justice meansto give every owner their right and to put everything in its place in accordance with wisdom and benefit. Justice is the opposite of oppression and cruelty.

In this sense of justice, God Almighty is absolutely just. Let us prove it:

Justice means to give every owner their right. When we look at this realm, we see that the sustenance and equipment of all of the creatures are given to them in the best way. Not even one creature is forgotten. A fly is not given the wing of an eagle and an eagle is not given the wing of a fly. Each creature is equipped with the devices that it needs. Even the rights of the creatures that we despise are preserved like that. You will confirm us when you examine the body of a fly or an insect.

The fact that everything is created, given shape andput in their appropriate places in accordance with precise equilibrium and in appropriate measures to equip them with the most appropriate devices and that they are given their rights in accordance with their disposition shows that all matters are done in accordance with infinite justice.

The fact that the fly is given an eye with 5.000 lenses, that the fish is given a fin, that a bird is given a wing,that the elephant is given a trunk and that the camel is given a hump is also an indication of this justice. In short, that each creature is given the organs that are necessary for their survival is an outcome of this justice.

Now we are asking:

Who equips even a fly with organs to enable it to maintainits life by preserving its right to live?

Who equips all creatures with wise organs and preserves their right to live?

Who puts those organs in the most appropriate places?

Who gives them the bodies full of wisdom and the forms full of benefits?

Who maintainsthe equilibrium in this realm?

In short:Who is the Just Owner of the justice that takes place before our eyes? It is definitely God and it is the manifestation of His justice.

Now, let us have a look at another aspect of justice: One aspect of justice is to take the revenge of the oppressed from the oppressors.

The pages of history are full of the grievous ends of the oppressors in this sense. The Pharaohs, Nimrods, Croesuses, and many more oppressors were hit by the divine blows of the name al-Adil (the Just) and the rights of the oppressed were taken from them.

However, as it will be explained under the second heading, this world cannot be a place for the full manifestation of justice; it is left to another realm. Besides, when a gate is opened in the hereafter with the name al-Adil,the fact that the full manifestation of this aspect of justice is not visible in this world will be presented as proof.

However, we can say this: phrases like “it serves him right”, “you sow what you reap” frequently used for the oppressors prove that the oppressors always suffer divine blows. Even one blow received by an oppressor shows that there exists an Absolute Just Being behind the curtain. The existence of thousands of blows like that shows the existence of that Being like the sun and does not let any opening for denial.

Another aspect of justice is this:It is to protect the rights of other living beings by preserving the equilibrium in the realm. For instance, microorganisms reproduce very fast when they have appropriate conditions. If these microorganisms could reproduce as they wished, they would invade this world.

However, they were not allowed to reproduce as they wished in order to protect the rights of living of the other beings; they were forced to struggle various enemies and thus they were prevented from invading the world.

Let us ask again:

Is it possible for such fine equilibrium to take place coincidentally and such a coincidence to continue for thousands of years?

If it is not possible, who established this amazing equilibrium in the universe?

Who is the Just Being thatprevents living beings from the tendency of invading the realm?

It is definitely God. The flawless equilibrium seen in this realm proves the existence of God Almighty, who established this equilibrium, and His justice like the sun.

2nd STEP: THE NAME JUST NECESSITATES THE HEREAFTER

Is it at all possible for justice that preserves the right of a small creature and helps it not to preserve the rights of man, who is a great creature, and to reduce itselfto nothing? Is it possible? It is definitely impossible!

Then, a big court must be establishedand a place of justice must be prepared since the rights of man will be preserved and justice will not be reduced to nothing. Man, who lives a short life in this ephemeral world, cannot realize and experience the truth of that big justice here. This ephemeral and temporary world is away from being a place of justice for man, who has been created for eternity. In this world, the oppressors live in dignity and the oppressed live in contempt.

However, real justice demands thatthe right of the oppressed be taken from the oppressor and this small man be rewarded or punished not in accordance with his small size but in accordance with the greatness of his murder, the importance of his nature and the greatness of his duty. They can only be possible in the hereafter.

Since the world exists and there exists mercy and justice in the world, there definitely exists the hereafter too just like the world, and we are going toward the hereafter. To deny the hereafter means to deny the world and what is in the world.

That is, the time of death and the grave are waiting for man; similarly, Hell and Paradise are waiting for and watching man, too.

Now, let us summarize what we have learned about this proof in items:

1. There exists endless justice in this realm. The fact that everything is created,   given shape and put in their appropriate place in accordance with precise equilibrium and in appropriate measure to equip them with the most appropriate devices and that they are given their rights in accordance with their disposition and to hit the oppressors with divine blows  shows that all matters are done in accordance with infinite justice.

2. Since deeds cannot be without doers, the justice that is visible must have a doer called “al-Adil”, true to His name. That doer  can only be God Almighty.

3.There must be a big court and a place of justicesince God has endless justice and does everything with justice. This ephemeral world is away from being a place of justice. How can the rights of thousands of people that have been killed by one person be taken from the murderer in this world? You can kill him only once and it can be the retaliation for one person only. How about the rights of other oppressed people? If the hereafter does not occur, the rights of man will not have been preserved; God, who has endless justice, will never allow it.

4. When this world is observed, it will be seen that the oppressors live in dignity and the oppressed live in contempt and that they diein the same way. If the hereafter does not occur and if the oppressor gets away with it, it will be an endless oppression for the oppressed. God is far away and free from such oppression.

5. To deny the hereafter can only be possibleby denying the existence of God Almighty and His name al-Adil. To deny God can only be possible by denying the justice that takes place before our eyes. A person who denies justice must be blind or insane. Besides, we do not address people who are not sane.

6. We want to add this: The reason why justice is not manifest fully in this world  is the mystery of testing. Due to the mystery of testing, God lets the oppressors although He is not pleased with it. If He did not let them, the mystery of testing would be invalid and the wisdom of the establishment of the world would disappear. It is the same for both human beings and animals. Due to the mystery of testing, many cruelties are allowed and  the rights of the oppressed people are left to the hereafter.

In short:

God, who shows his endless justice by giving a body even to a fly, giving it a form, equipping it with endless wise organs and by training it, will not leave the rights of the oppressedin the oppressor by not bringing the hereafter.  He is far away and free from it.

Yes, one day, the oppressor will be punished for his oppression and the oppressed will be rewarded for the derogation he has suffered. Even the hornless sheep will get its claim from the horned sheep. We believe it and we confirm it.

The Proof of Mercy

Is it at all possible that the Lord of this realm, who has endless mercy and compassion with the witnessing of His visible activities, will not reward His genuine slaves in a way that fits His mercy and compassion?  Reward is virtually non-existent here; there must be a place of reward somewhere else so that His mercy will be manifest there.

We will examine this proof under two headings: Under the first heading, our eyes will make a small trip in this visible realm and see the mercy and compassion that rule the world; and we will prove the existence of the being, who is “ar-Rahim” (the All Compassionate); under the second heading, we will show that the mercy and compassion necessitate the hereafter.

1st STEP: WHO IS THE OWNER OF THE MERCY MANIFEST IN THIS REALM?

God is ar-Rahim. Ar-Rahim means the one who shows mercy, feels pity for and shows compassion to the creatures that He created. He has encompassed all of the realms with His mercy.

• He created this realm out of nothing with His mercy,

• He clothed each being with a dress peculiar to each being,

• He educated each being in different forms,

• He taught them their duties,

• He equipped them with the tools that are necessary for them to maintain their lives,

• He met their material and spiritual needs with compassion.

Let us see some drops from that sea of mercy together!

If you saw a great fire being extinguished by water coming out of a hose but if you did not see the hand that held the hose, would you think the hose itself extinguished the fire? Of course not! The doer of the deed of extinguishing must have attributes like life, knowledge and power. A being that is lifeless, that does not know what fire is and that cannot hold the hose cannot extinguish the fire.  Above all, extinguishing originates from mercy; a being without mercy cannot be the doer of that deed. If everybody came together, they could not make us believe that the hose itself extinguished that fire.

Who sends water down in drops from the clouds that are like a hose in order to extinguish the fire of the earth and to soothe the temperature of life?

Doubtlessly, lifeless and unconscious clouds cannot be the doer of the deed that make us feel this mercy and compassion. Then, who is holding the hose? Let the Quran answer the question:

“He is the One that sends down rain (even) after (men) have given up all hope and scatters His Mercy (far and wide). And He is the Protector Worthy Of all Praise.” (ash-Shura 28)

Each drop that comes down in the form of rain is the manifestation of the name ar-Rahim. And other manifestations of mercy!

To make curative and sweet honey in the abdomen of a poisonous insect and to serve that honey with the hands of that insect cannot be the deed of that insect. That is, what makes honey is not the insect but the mercy of God.

In the season of spring, to clothe all of the trees in the best clothes like the houris of Paradise and to decorate them with flowers and fruits and to feed us through dry branches that are like hands with fruits of different flavors, colors, aromas and shapes is definitely a manifestation of mercy. Otherwise, those dry trees would not know us and would not show mercy on us.

To clothe us in a very soft dress like silk through a handless insect is the outcome of mercy. Otherwise, that handless insect would not eat the green mulberry leaves and produce white silk for us.

What about animals like cows, camels, sheep and goats? It is the deed of mercy to make them eat green grass and produce white nourishing milk out of blood and flesh and to make those animals like a milk plant.

And to make that huge sun a stove and lamp for the world, to make the moon a candle and a calendar and to decorate the sky with stars is definitely a manifestation of mercy.

Now, let us have a look at a partial manifestation of mercy in man:

What would we do if we did not have eyes? A completely dark realm!

What if we did not have ears? A silent realm!

What if we did not have a tongue and it did not have the sense of tasting? A realm with no speech and flavor!

What if we did not have a nose? A realm with no smell!

Of course, it would be very difficult to live in a realm like that. What would we do if we did not have material gifts like hands, feet and fingers and spiritual gifts like the mind, fear, compassion and love? It means a manifestation of mercy is visible in the grant of every organ.

God, who decorated man with such material and spiritual organs and feelings, equipped animals with the organs that are necessary for them in order to be able make use of this realm. He equipped birds with wings and taught them to fly; He equipped fish with fins and taught them to swim; He gave each being a body and organs that are necessary for them to maintain their lives, treating them with His mercy. The mercy of God has encompassed everything like that.

In short: If the affairs of this world are observed closely, it will be seen that every living being, from the weakest one to the strongest one, is given the sustenance they need. Not even one of them is forgotten. Every needy creature is unexpectedly given what he needs. Such feasts and grants are given to creatures that it is obviously seen that an endless hand of mercy is in question.

Tens of volumes of books can be written regarding the mercy and compassion seen in the universe. As the saying goes, “A word to the wise is enough”, we do not want to add anything else and refer the other manifestations of mercy to your meditation and we move to the second step, “mercy and compassion necessitate the hereafter.”

2nd STEP: THE NAME AR-RAHIM NECESSITATES THE HEREAFTER

This is the question: What do endless mercy and limitless compassion necessitate?

The answer: Endless mercy and limitless compassion necessitate grant and mercy that fit it. However, only one part out of millions of parts like a drop in the ocean of that mercy and compassion will take place and be manifest in this ephemeral world and short life.

It means this world is not a place enough for that limitless mercy. It proves that there must be a place that deserves and is suitable for that mercy and compassion; and there is such a place.

To deny the existence of this mercy, which is visible by the eye, is like to deny the existence of the sun that fills the day with its light. If the hereafter does not occur, the mercy and compassion that we see will be meaningless. Not only will it be meaningless but it will also be transformed into its opposite.

For instance, the mind is a gift of mercy. However, if the hereafter does not occur, the mind will not be a gift but a trouble. It will gather the sorrows of the past and the fears of the future at present and bites its owner like a snake.

The feeling of mercy and compassion in man is also a gift. However, if the hereafter does not occur, and if death becomes the end, this feeling ceases to be a gift and becomes a trouble. Is it necessary to explain how the feeling of compassion will burn man, who always loses his beloved ones and buries them in non-existence?

All of the bounties like that will be transformed into torture and mockery if the hereafter does not occur. Therefore, the hereafter is necessary so that the mercy and compassion will not be transformed into its opposite. There is no doubt that the Owner of Beauty, who owns this mercy, will not let mercy and compassion be transferred into their opposites and He will create Paradise, which is as easy as creating a flower for Him.

In addition, imagine this now:

A poor person has rolled down a high mountain and has clutched at a tree just as he is about to fall into a precipice.

If we throw a rope to him and pull him upwards and, just as he is about to be saved, let the rope go and cause him to fall into precipice, will our previous compassionate deeds be of any importance? Does that compassion not turn to mocking? And does the feeling of compassion that encourages us to save him let us release the rope? Definitely not!

Just like this example, we clutched at the rope of power of God, came to existence out of non-existence, and were saved from falling into the realms of non-existence? Yes, God gave us this body and sent us to this realm. He bestowed many grants on us. If the hereafter does not occur and we go to non-existence with death, will it not be like releasing the rope?

There is no doubt that the divine mercy will not send us to the darkness of non-existence, which is similar to letting the rope go. If he wanted to send us to non-existence, he would not bring us to this world and he would not treat us with compassion.

If the hereafter does not occur, the compassion will be transformed to mocking. Will it be a favor and grant if we send a table full of food to the cell of a person whom we sentenced to death? Definitely not.

If the hereafter does not come, there will be no difference between that prisoner and us. Will God ever let this incident happen, which will deny His compassion and mercy? Definitely, not!

Let us look at the fact that mercy necessitates the hereafter with the binoculars of that example:

If we see someone drowning in the sea, we will jump into the sea and save that person if we have a bit of mercy and if we know how to swim.

Now the question is this: Will we hang this man after saving him by facing thousands of difficulties? Or will we send him into fire?

Definitely not! Our mercy will net let us do it. If it did, we would not save him from the sea and let him die there.

Saving him from the sea proves the mercy in us; the mercy in us proves that we will not hang him and will not throw him into fire.

Similarly, God Almighty saved us from the sea of non-existence and brought us to this realm. He fed us with His compassion in this realm like a baby. Is it at all possible for God, who is the owner of this mercy, to kill man and not to resurrect him and make him deny His mercy? Definitely not!

If He were so merciless as to kill us and not to resurrect us, He would not have created us out of nothing and would not have fed us like a delicate baby.

Now let us summarize this proof in items:

1.Endless mercy and compassion are visible in this realm. This mercy and compassion have encompassed everything everywhere, from a fly to planets.

2.Since deeds cannot be without doers, this mercy and compassion must have an owner. Blind power, unconscious nature, fictitious laws and lifeless causes cannot be the doer of this mercy and compassion. The doer of those deeds can only be God Almighty, who is ar-Rahim and al-Karim (the Generous).

3.Since God Almighty has endless mercy, there must be the hereafter, too. Endless mercy wants to grant and show mercy that fits it. However, this mercy is too big for this ephemeral world and this mercy cannot be manifest fully in this world. That is, eternal places and houses are necessary for this mercy to be manifest fully. Those eternal places are present only in the hereafter and in Paradise.

4.It is necessary to deny God, who is ar-Rahim, in order to be able to deny the hereafter. A person who cannot deny God and His name ar-Rahim cannot deny the hereafter because the existence of mercy and compassion necessitate the existence of the hereafter as we have proved.

5.A person who cannot deny God cannot deny the hereafter; similarly, a person who cannot deny the mercy and compassion visible in this realm cannot deny God. A name cannot exist without a being and an attribute cannot exist without the thing to be attributed. The visible attributes of mercy and compassion prove the existence of a Being who is ar-Rahim and al-Karim. Since the unconscious nature and blind coincidence cannot own those attributes, the owner of those attributes is God and nobody else can be the owner of them.

6.Since the hereafter can only be denied through denying God and since God can only be denied by denying the visible mercy and compassion, which is impossible to deny, we can say that it is necessary to deny the visible mercy in order to be able to deny the hereafter. And nobody who is sane can do it.

7.If the hereafter does not occur, the visible mercy and compassion will be transformed into their opposites, that is, into mercilessness and ruthlessness, and the mercy and compassion will be transformed into mockery. Since we have given the examples related to the issue, we will be brief and complete this proof by attracting the attention to this point:

The Being who has endless mercy and generosity will never transform His mercy into mercilessness and His compassion into ruthlessness; He will not transform those manifestations into mocking. The only way to do it is through the hereafter. As it will be proved later, to bring the hereafter and to create Paradise is as easy as to create a flower for His power.

Belief in the Hereafter : Introduction

“When the sun (with its spacious light) is folded up; When the stars fall, losing their luster; When the mountains vanish (like a mirage); When the she-camels, ten months with young, are left untended; When the wild beasts are herded together (in human habitations); When the oceans boil over with a swell; When the souls are sorted out, (being joined, like with like); When the female (infant) buried alive, is questioned― For what crime she was killed; When the Scrolls are laid open; When the World on High is unveiled, When the Blazing Fire is kindled to fierce heat; And when the Garden is brought near  (Then) shall each soul know what it has put forward.”

As is clear with the statement of this kind of verses, one day shall come and there will be an end for this world and the gate of another realm will be opened. This is as definite as the existence of the universe that we see.

In this work named “Belief in the Hereafter”, the gathering, which means resurrection after death and coming together in the Gathering Place and which is one of the pillars of faith, is proven with the certainty of two plus two equaling four. The truths mentioned in this work are so powerful that they convince even the most stubborn disbeliever.

If someone was to claim about a palace or a city: “This palace or city will be destroyed, and will then be repaired and reconstructed so that it is intact,” six questions would surely arise in the face of his claim.

The First: Why should they be destroyed? Is there a reason or something to necessitate it? If the answer is “Yes” and if it is proved, the second question will be asked.

“Does the builder who would destroy and then reconstruct them possess the power to do so? Would he be capable of it?” If the answer is “Yes,” and if it is proved, the third question will be asked.

“Is the destruction of this palace or building possible?” If the answer is “Yes,” and if it is proved, the fourth question will be asked.

“And, will such a possible destruction occur in the future?” If the answer is “Yes,” and if it is proved, the following two further questions would arise:

The Fifth and Sixth questions “Is it possible for this strange palace or city to be reconstructed? If it is possible then, Will it be constructed?” If the answer is “Yes,” and if they are proved as well, then in no aspect or corner of this matter can a gap or chink remain through which any doubt, misgiving or suspicion might enter.

Just like that simile, if it is proved that there are reasons for the destruction and reconstruction of this palace of the world and the city of the universe, that its doer and master is able to do it, that its destruction is possible and will take place and that its reconstruction is possible and will take place, there will be no doubt or suspicion regarding the issue.

In this work, each one of those six aspects will be proved with the certainty of two plus two equaling four, and the existence of the hereafter will be shown definitely like the sun.

In order to properly benefit from our work, first of all, you need to know the path and method that we followed. In this work, “Belief in the Hereafter” we followed a method like this:

We examined the proofs under main headings and items. Each heading is separate and enough to prove the existence of the Hereafter. The strength resulting from all headings is absolutely irrefutable.

In each proof, there is a two-step method:

Step 1: In this step, the actions and manifestations in the universe are mentioned, and then we pass from action to doer, from name to its owner and from attributes to their owner.

For example, in the first step of the first proof, we will mention the sovereignty visible in the universe; through this proof, we will prove the existence of God, the Monarch of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity. In the first step of the second proof, we will mention the mercy visible in the universe and by using this proof of mercy, we will prove the existence of God, the All-Merciful. In the first step of the third proof, we will mention the dignity visible in the universe and through it, we will prove the existence of God, the Most Dignified One. The same method will be applied to the other proofs.

So, in step 1, we will mention the actions, names and attributes and then pass to doer from action, to the owner of the name from names, to the owner of the attributes from the attributes because actions cannot be without doers, names without owners, and attributes without makers; a needle cannot exist without a manufacturer and a letter cannot exist without a writer.

So in step 1, the existence of God is also proven.

After the deed and the manifestation are explained and the owner of the name is shown in the first step, it is proved that this name and the attribute necessitate the hereafter in the second step. That is, this step is the step through which the existence of the hereafter is proved.

The topics mentioned in each proof consist of three rings of chain.

1- The manifestation in the universe.

2- The names and attributes visible in this manifestation.

3- These names and attributes necessitating the Hereafter.

These chains are interlaced, and one cannot do any harm to any single chain without completely destroying the whole; in other words, in order to rip off a single chain, one must destroy the whole. The topic is a whole, if one cannot refute the whole topic, he cannot refute a single part of it, either.

Therefore, we can say that,

In order to deny the existence of the Hereafter, first of all, one needs to deny the owner of the name, that is God.

In order to deny God’s existence, one needs to deny the actions and names visible in the universe.

In order to deny the actions and the names visible in the universe, one needs to deny the universe as a whole, which is not possible.

In other words, if one cannot deny the universe, he/she cannot deny the visible actions, either; if he/she cannot deny the actions, he/she cannot deny the doer, either; the one who cannot deny the doer, cannot deny the name belonging to the doer necessitating the Hereafter apparent in the actions, either.

In short: In every heading, such a way is followed that in order to deny the Hereafter, one will have to deny the universe and abdicate the reason. In this work, the existence of the universe will be proven in the most clear fashion.

While the work “Belief in the Hereafter” was being prepared, Badiuzzaman Said Nursi’s booklet, “Resurrection and the Hereafter” was used as a source, which is also known as “the Tenth Word”. All of the truths explained in our work have been taken from Badiuzzaman Said Nursi’s mentioned work.

With this work, we aim:

· To bring our faith from the level of imitation to the level of investigation regarding the belief in the Hereafter,

· To eliminate the doubts of those people who are unsure about the Hereafter,

· To be a means for unbelievers to enter belief,

· To be a guide for those who may have to be engaged in a discussion with unbelievers,

· And finally to gain the consent of God Almighty.

Success and assistance come only from God.

The Proof of Dignity

Is it at all possible that the Dignified and Glorious Lord of this realm should not teach those ill-mannered people who violate the rights of His might and who show disrespect to the grandeur of His Glory and chastise them in a way befitting His dignity and glory? There is no punishment that fits His dignity and glory in this world. So, there is, and should be a place of punishment somewhere else.

In this proof, we shall open a gate to the Hereafter through names “the Dignified One” and “the Glorious One”. First of all, let us see the dignity and glory and get to the Dignified One and Glorious One. Then, let us move on to dignity and glory necessitating the Hereafter.

STEP 1: WHO IS THE POSSESSOR OF THE DIGNITY AND GLORY VISIBLE IN THE UNIVERSE?

Aziz (Dignified) as a name of God Almighty: Aziz means God’s being the Dignified One, His being the greatest of all beings, His being the defeater and not the defeated and His creatures obeying Him and not being disrespectful towards Him.

Yes, God Almighty is Aziz. When we look at the universe, we see that –due to the mystery of testing- apart from men and some beasts, everything from the sun, the moon and the earth to the smallest creatures, carries out their duties with perfect attention. No creatures transgress their boundaries. The huge sun and the stars cannot act in a disorderly way. None of them remains behind and cannot be disobedient to Him. Everything moves in a circle of obedience.

The fact that everything is in a general obedience proves that they move with the order of the One Who is Glorious and Dignified and that they obey Him.

We do not wish to prolong the manifestations of the names Dignified One and Glorious One. Whoever wishes to ponder over those names should look at the high mountains, vast oceans, the storms in the sea, vast deserts, the moon, the sun and the stars. He will hear that all of them are saying “O Dignified One, O Dignified One, O Dignified One”. Each creature to which greatness has been bestowed is a mirror of His name Dignified One.

Or, if he wishes to see other manifestations of the names Dignified One and Glorious One, he should look at the remains of the older nations that were perished. If he cannot, he should listen to the Qur’an because the name “Aziz (Dignified One)” is seen in the nations that were perished.

STEP 2: THE FACT THAT THE NAMES DIGNIFIED ONE AND GLORIOUS ONE NECESSITATE THE HEREAFTER

We said in the beginning: Is it at all possible that the Dignified and Glorious Lord of this realm should not teach those ill-mannered people who violate the rights of His might and who show disrespect to the grandeur of His Glory and chastise them in a way befitting His dignity and glory? Definitely not! Boundless glory and dignity necessitates teaching the ill- mannered people and punishing the rebels.

However, in this world, there is no chastisement befitting His Dignity and Glory. The oppressor usually retains his power, and the oppressed people are usually humiliated, as they both depart from this realm. Their affairs are, then, left to the same Supreme Tribunal; they are postponed; they are not cancelled.

He sometimes punishes people in the world too, like the blows inflicted on some rebellious, stubborn nations. Those chastisements show and prove that man is not unowned and may any time be subjected to a blow of divine glory. Is it at all possible that man should have an important duty and skill among other men and then:

In return to God Almighty’s making Himself known by His so many magnificent works, man should not know Him through belief,

In return to His mercy making itself loved through all those fruits, man should not make himself loved through worshipping,

In return to showing His love and mercy to man with lots of bounties, man should not show respect to Him through thanking and praising Him, and murders should be unpunished, man should be unowned, and the Dignified and Glorious One should not prepare a place of requital? It is impossible!

We can sum up this proof as follows:

1. The general obedience in the universe and the divine blows inflicted on the rebellious nations, make the Dignified and Glorious One known to us.

2. Dignity and glory wish to teach the ill-mannered people and punish the rebels. The dignity and glory can only be preserved in this way.

3. In this world , even though there are some divine blows to the oppressors and rebels, mostly, the oppressors and rebellious nations pass away from this world without any punishment. Now this situation proves that there is and, should be, a Supreme Tribunal somewhere else so that dignity and glory may thus protect its grandeur.

4. That is, to deny the Hereafter is only possible through denying God’s names, the Most Dignified One and the Most Glorious One.

5. To deny the names the Dignified One and the Glorious One is only possible through denying the general obedience visible in this universe and the blows inflicted upon the rebellious nations. If the general obedience and punishment inflicted upon the rebellious nations are not denied, acting upon the rule: “Acts cannot be without doers”, one needs to accept the owner of the general obedience and those divine blows. Having accepted that, one needs to agree that He should bring the Hereafter.

To sum up: The one who cannot deny the dignity visible to our eyes, cannot deny the Hereafter, either. We have nothing to say for the one who denies something which he sees with his eyes.

The Proof of Giving Life

Is it at all possible that God should give life to the vast earth that becomes dead and dry in winter in spring, should demonstrate His power by deploying more than three hundred thousand different forms of creation, each of them as remarkable as man and should further demonstrate in this deployment His all-embracing knowledge by the infinite distinctions and differentiations He makes in the complex intermingling of all of those forms and then He should not bring about resurrection, should not gather His creatures together or be unable to do so, should not restore man to life, or be unable to do so, should not be able to inaugurate His Supreme Court and should not be able to create Heaven and Hell? No, never!

Now, let us explain the proof:

We see that the Owner of this realm shows many samples and examples of resurrection after death every century, every year and even every day on this narrow and ephemeral earth.

For instance:

Every spring, we see that in the course of five or six days more than three hundred thousand different kinds of small and big animals and plants are resurrected and the creatures that die in winter are revived. The roots of all the trees and plants, as well as some animals, are revived and restored exactly as they were. The creatures that are created become almost the same as the creatures that died in the previous winter.

The seeds which appear, in their outward form, to be so close to each other, nonetheless, become distinct and differentiated from each other. And then, with extreme speed, ease and facility, they are brought to life in the utmost order and equilibrium in the course of six days or six weeks. And this revival takes place all over the world at the same time. None of them is confused with other beings; no organs of any creatures are forgotten.

Is it at all possible that for the One Who does all of this anything should be difficult that He should be unable to create the heavens and the earth through one command and that He should be unable to resurrect man with a single blast? No, by no means is it possible!

Now let us look at this truth with the binoculars of examples:

Let us suppose there were to be some gifted writer who could write out in a single hour the confused and obliterated letters of three hundred thousand books on a single sheet without any error, omission or defect, complete and in the best form. If someone were then to say to you that that writer could write out again from memory a book written by him that had fallen into the water and become obliterated, would you then say, He cannot do it; I do not believe it”?

You can never say so! It is very easy for that person who could write out three hundred thousand books on a single sheet to write your book, which had fallen into the water. Besides, he had written the book that fell into the water. That is, he knows all of the writings in the book by heart.

Similarly, the earth is a sheet, too. If we regard each species of creatures as a book, three hundred thousand species of creatures are created in spring; that is, three hundred thousand books are written on a single sheet. No book is confused with other books; no errors, mistakes or confusions are observed.

Is it at all possible that a Being that can write three hundred thousand books on the sheet of spring without confusion cannot rewrite the book that fell into water? As a matter of fact, he had written that book for the first time.  Could we doubt that our book of life will be written again after we see with our own eyes the three hundred thousand books written on a single sheet?

Or think of some talented king. In order to demonstrate his power or for the sake of providing a warning example, He removes whole mountains with a single command, turns his realm upside down, and transforms the sea into dry land. Then you see that a great rock rolls down into a valley, so that the path is blocked for guests traveling to attend the king’s reception and they are unable to pass. If someone should say to you: “that exalted one will remove or dissolve the stone, however great it may be, with a single command; he will not leave his guests stranded”, would you then say that he will not remove the stone, or be unable to do so?

Definitely not! The fact that He removes mountains with a single command, turns his realm upside down, and transforms the sea into dry land proves that He can lift a stone.

Similarly, the Lord of Majesty invites his guests to the land of the hereafter and to the gardens of Paradise. This world is a stone that blocks the way of the guests. To be able to reach the land of the hereafter is only possible if that stone is removed. Can it be said for the Being who spins the stars and galaxies like a catapult stone, “How will He remove the stone on the way to the hereafter for the guests?”

Or look at the truth with the binoculars of this example:

If you see someone summon together a great army in one day and if someone were then to say, “that person is able to call together the troops in his army, who had dispersed to take rest, and assemble them again in battalions,” and you were to say,

“I do not believe it,” you know well how lunatic would be your denial…

Similarly, every man is a battalion. Atoms and particles are the soldiers of this battalion… God Almighty, who is the commander of this battalion, created man by bringing the atoms and particles together. Doubtlessly, the Being that created this battalion out of nothing will gather the particles, which are the soldiers of this battalion and which started to rest as a result of death, with the blow of a trumpet and the battalion of human beings will be formed again.

Is it difficult for the Being who creates a big regular army consisting of three hundred thousand nations in spring  out of nothing to bring together the particles of the human body? Definitely not!

Revival after death is not something that is irrational. Examples of revival and resurrection are seen every century, every year and even every day. Here are some of them:

The creatures that die in winter are created again in spring either exactly in the same form or in a similar way.

The day is killed by the night and is created again the next morning.

Human beings are killed by sleep and are created again and dispersed in the morning.

The clouds are brought together in the sky; then they are dispersed and then brought together again, showing the samples of the Gathering (hashr).

The trees that die in winter are decorated like houris of Paradise and they are given life.

If you imagine yourself to be alive a thousand years ago and if you compare the past and the future, which are the two wings of the time, you will see samples and examples of the resurrection and the hereafter as many as the number of centuries and days.
Would it not be madness to deny the resurrection of man by regarding it unreasonable despite observing so many samples and examples?

Now, look what the Quran says about the truth that we have mentioned:

“Then contemplate (O man!) the tokens of God’s Mercy! how He gives life to the earth after its death: verily the Same will give life to the men who are dead: for He has power over all things.”(ar-Rum, 50)

The glorious and eternal Dominicality, the almighty and all embracing Sovereignty of the One Who gives life and death to this vast and wondrous earth as if it were a mere animal; Who has made of this earth a pleasing cradle, a fine ship, for man and the animals; Who has made of the sun a lamp furnishing light and heat to the hostelry of the world; Who has made of the planets vehicles for the conveyance of His angels – the Dominicality and Sovereignty of such a One cannot rest upon and be restricted to the transitory, impermanent, unstable, insignificant, changeable, unlasting, deficient and imperfect affairs of this world.

He must, therefore, have another realm, another kingdom, one worthy of Him, permanent, stable, immutable and glorious. He causes us to work for it, and He summons us there.
Now, let us summarize this proof in items:

1. The three hundred thousand species created in spring, in other words, the three hundred thousand resurrection and gathering, introduces us and makes us know the Being behind the curtain, who is al-Muhyi (the Giver of Life), al-Mujid (the Inventor) and al-Khaliq (the Creator).

2. It is not difficult for the Being who writes three hundred thousand books on a single sheet in spring to write our book again. Besides, He had written our book earlier.

3. The person who cannot perceive and realize resurrection and gathering will see that stranger resurrections and gatherings than those of man always take place before the eyes of everybody if he looks at this realm carefully. We do not want to mention some examples again since we have already mentioned them.

To sum up: The person who denies resurrection should look at the season of spring! If his soul still denies the resurrection of man after seeing so many resurrections and gatherings in spring, he should condemn himself!

The Proof of Preserving

Is it at all possible that the preserver that preserves everything whether small or big  in the heavens and on the earth should not preserve the deeds and acts of man, who has been given the rank of vicegerency on earth and should not punish or reward him  duly?

Definitely not!

We will examine this proof under two headings:

1st STEP: WHO IS AL-HAFIZ (THE PRESERVER) THAT PRESERVES EVERYTHING?

When we look at this realm carefully, we see that the deeds of everything, small or big, valuable or worthless, are preserved. For instance:

All the programs and life stories of flowers are preserved in minute seeds.  In the next spring, the seed rips and all of the deeds of the flowers are transmitted from the seed.

Who is the Being that preserves all of the plans and programs, deeds and life stories of the flowers in tiny seeds?

Who is the Being that preserves the deeds of even a simple plant and transmits those deeds in the next spring?

Who else can preserve the plans and programs of endless flowers in tiny seeds and in the next spring can make those flowers emerge from those seeds without confusing any of them? Yes, who but God can do it?

All of the programs and deeds of all trees are preserved in tiny seeds. That tiny seed keeps all of the deeds and programs of the tree. When it is put in the ground, it transmits the book of deeds of the tree.

Who places the plans and programs of all deeds into tiny seeds and gives the books of deeds of the trees to their tiny seeds?
Can you show a doer other than God for that wise deed?

Who but God can make those tiny seeds books of deeds for trees?

The programs and life stories of animals are preserved in their eggs. Those small eggs are like books of deeds for those animals, and all of the properties of those animals are kept in the eggs.

Who is the Being that preserves a colorful peacock in a simple egg and then cracks the egg to take the peacock out?
Who is the One that makes all eggs like books of deeds for animals and preserves all of the programs of animals in that egg?

It is God because nobody else can have the power to do it. Preserving necessitates endless knowledge, limitless power, endless wisdom, unconditioned will and other attributes. It is impossible for a Being that does not have those attributes to preserve the plan and program of an animal in an egg. Only God has those endless attributes.

The plans and programs of humans are preserved in a drop of liquid. In that liquid called nutfa, all of the plans and programs of man are preserved and all of his properties are recorded. We are asking again:

Who is the Being that preserves man, who is a wonderful piece of art, in drop of liquid called nutfa? Who is the One that makes a drop of liquid like a library and writes man in that liquid?

Yes, it is God. It is God who makes a drop of liquid the beginning of man and who preserves the extraordinary program of man in it?

What about the DNAs of man? The DNA molecules in one single cell are like a 46-volume encyclopedia, each of which has 20.000 pages and contains that much information. There are 60 thousand trillion cells in man.

Who is the One that makes each DNA a giant encyclopedia and preserves information of one million pages in it? It is definitely God because coincidence cannot write even a letter on its own let alone books.

Have a look at the memory of man, too! In a small place like a nail, all of the things that happen to man, his life story and all of the information that he learnt throughout his life are kept and preserved. Who is the One that keeps and preserves all of the deeds of man and his experiences in life in the tiny memory? It is definitely God because this extraordinary deed cannot be explained by any reasons.

There is no need to explain the proofs of preservation in this realm at length because even man, who is very weak, can record everything by making use of the law of preservation. Cameras, computers, tape recorders, flash memories, hard disks and many more devices are things that have been produced based on the law of preservation.

The preservation in this realm, that is, the preservation and recording of the plan, program, life story and deeds of each creature with care, informs us about the Being behind the curtain with His name “Hafiz”. Such preservation cannot be an act of the coincidence and blind and dumb causes. Only God can be the doer of that wise deed.

Now, let us move to the second step and open the gate of the hereafter:

2nd STEP: THE NAME AL-HAFIZ NECESSITATES THE HEREAFTER

Is it at all possible that the  preserver that preserves everything whether small or big  in the heavens and on the earth should not preserve the deeds and acts of manwho has been given the rank of vicegerency on earth and should not punish or reward him  duly?

Since the Owner of this Realm is the Preserver, since he preserves everything that takes place in His Land and since He preserves ordinary, ephemeral and unimportant things like that, is it at all possible that He should not preserve the deeds of man, who is the vicegerent of God on earth and the carrier of His trust, and should not account him based on that preserving? Definitely not!

It is understood from the manifestation of the preserving in this way that the Owner of those beings takes great care of the recording of everything that takes place in His land.

He takes utmost care of His domination. He takes care so much that He writes and has the slightest event and the smallest service written; He preserves the copy of everything that takes place in His land.

This preserving indicates that an important book of deeds will be opened and especially the great deeds, important acts of man, who is the most honorable creature, will be subject to an important accounting and weighing; his pages of deeds will be published.

Is it possible to doubt and say, “How will He preserve the spirits of those who die?” for the Preserver, who preserves the program of a tree which resembles a spirit in its tiniest seed like a point?

Is it at all possible that man should be honored with vicegerency and trust and then he should lie in the grave comfortably, not be awakened, not be accounted for all of his deeds, whether big or small, not go to the Gathering place, not see the Great Court, go to non-existence and hide under the ground? No, never!

Now, let us summarize this proof:

1- The fact that the programs and copies, in a sense, deeds of everything are preserved in seeds, kernels, liquid drops called nutfa, memories, DNAs and other places proves that there is a Being behind the curtain and He preserves everything in His land.

2- The fact that the plans and programs of simple and worthless things like flowers and trees are preserved proves that the deeds of man are preserved, too. Man is the trustee of the rank of vicegerency, carrier of the great trust in this realm; and he is addressed specially by God. It is impossible for God Almighty to preserve the deeds of the simplest things but not to preserve the deeds of man, who is related to the sultanate of His lordship.

3- Man’s deeds are preserved because there will be an accounting. However, man is not accounted or questioned at all in this world. This situation proves that there must be another place and a great court where man will be accounted for his deeds. That place is the hereafter.

4- Then, we can say that it is necessary to deny the name al-Hafiz of God Almighty first in order to be able to deny the hereafter. A person who cannot deny the name al-Hafiz will have to accept that the deeds of man are preserved. Since this preserving is done for accounting and the accounting is not in this world, the existence of the hereafter will have to be accepted.

5- It means it is necessary to deny the name al-Hafiz of God in order to be able to deny the hereafter. It is necessary to deny this universe and lose one’s senses in order to be able to deny the name al-Hafiz because there exists preserving in everything, from seeds to kernels, from the power of memory to eggs, from DNAs to cells. As the rule, “deeds cannot be without doers” indicates, this preserving must have a doer, too. A person who cannot deny the preservation that takes place before his eyes cannot deny its doer, the All-Preserving Lord of Majesty, either. To deny the preservation can only be possible by losing one’s mind and humanity. We have nothing to say to those who give up their mind and humanity!

The Proof of Grandeur and Majesty

Is it at all possible that the Being who makes all of the beings from atoms to the sun obey his orders like obedient soldiers and who shows His grand sultanate by controlling the whole universe should deal only with the ephemeral beings who live temporarily in this guest-house of the world and should not create an eternal and permanent land that will be a mirror for His grand sultanate? Definitely not!

We can explain this proof as follows:

A person who looks at this realm carefully will see that a magnificent sultanate and training is dominant over it.

The magnificent activities like the alternation of the seasons, the ultimately regular and grand movements of the stars and galaxies, astonishing obedience like making the world a cradle for the creatures in it, making the moon a candle and the sun a lamp for them, perfect activities like reviving and decorating the earth, which dies and dries in winter, in spring…

And other magnificent activities, which are too many to count, show that there is a great training behind the curtain; and it rules and dominates with a magnificent sultanate. Doubtlessly, such a sultanate wants creatures worthy of Him and beings that will reflect His grandeur.

However, you see that His most valuable guests and the most favored slaves, human beings, come together in a wretched state and temporarily in this world guest-house. The guest-house gets full and empty every day; it changes every hour.

All people stop for a few minutes in this exhibition of the world in order to watch the samples of the valuable works and the antique works of the art of that Being in the stalls of the markets of this world and then disappear. The exhibition of this world changes every minute; those who come to the world leave it and those who leave it do not return.

This state and situation shows it definitely that there are permanent palaces for that eternal sultanate, fixed houses and gardens and treasures full of the best originals of the samples that we see in the world behind this guest-house, this area and this exhibition. That is, the hard work and efforts here are for them. He makes us work here and gives the reward there. Everybody will have bliss there –if they do not lose the test –based on their ability and deeds.

It is impossible for that grand sultanate to dominate over the ephemeral and despicable people that are bound to die here and not to have another land.

Now, let us have a look at this truthwith the binoculars of this example:

You are on a road.You see there is an inn on the road.A notable personbuilt that innfor his guests.He spentmillions of gold coinsfor the one-night stay and enjoymentof the visitors to decorate the inn.

Those guests watch those decorations for a short time; they taste very few of those bounties and leave without being able to satisfy themselves. However, the guests take pictures of the decorations in the inn.

The servants of that notable person pay great attention to the deeds of the guests and record those deeds carefully.

You also see that the notable person destroys most of those valuable decorations every day and makes new decorations for the new guests; he spends millions of gold coins on the inn every day.

Will you doubt that the person who built that inn have permanent and high palaces, unending and valuable treasures and permanent generosity after you see that inn? The treats and bounties of that person in the inn aim to increase their desires and to make them incline toward the presents he has prepared for them.

As it is pointed in the example, if you look at the situation in this guest-house of the world carefully and without getting drunk, you will understand these nine principles:

First principle: You will understand that this world is not for itself just like that inn;it is impossible for the world to take that form.This worldis a guest-housebuilt by wisdom so that the convoys of creatures will stop at and then go on.

Second principle: You will also understand that the ones staying in that inn are guests.Their generous Lord invites them to Paradise, the Land of Peace.

Third principle: You will also understand that the decorations in this world are not just for enjoyment or wandering because it may give you pleasure for some time but it will give you pain when it leaves you. It will make you taste some food and whet your appetite but it will not fill you up. Either its life or your life is too short to fill you up. It means the decorations that are valuable but short-lived exist so that that you will draw a lesson and praise God; they are there to encourage you to obtain their originals in Paradise and they are there for some other lofty reasons.

Fourth principle:You will also understand that the decorations in this worldare the samples and copies of the bounties that God, who is All Merciful,and All Compassionate, prepared for believersin Paradise.

Fifth principle: You will also understand that those ephemeral creatures were not created so that they would disappearor that they would be destroyed after appearing for a while; they were created so that they would appear for some time,their copies would be produced, their pictures would be taken,their meanings would be known and their ends would be recorded.

For instance, one of the thousands of their results is this:the ephemeral views in this worldwill be permanent for the people of Paradise.

The people of Paradise will watch the recordings of this worldin Paradise andthey will remember their memories in the world and rejoice.It is understood by this that things were created for permanence not for mortality; they may seem to die but they actually complete their duty and move to another place. A mortal thing dies in one aspect but it remains eternal in many aspects. A word that comes out of your mouth disappears but it entrusts thousands of its examples to ears, it makes as many meanings as the minds of people that listen to it permanent; and then it disappears.

Similarly, a flower, a word of God’s power, smiles and looks at us for a short time, and then hides behind the veil of annihilation. However, it hides by leaving a copy of its apparent picture in the memory of everything that sees it and its spiritual nature in each of its seed. It is as if each memory and seed were a camera to save the flower, or a house for its continuation and perpetuation. If such be the case with an object at the simplest level of life, is it not readily understood how closely man, the highest form of life and the possessor of an eternal soul, is tied to eternity?

Sixth principle:You will also understand thatman has not been left to graze where he wills,with a halter loosely tied around his neck; on the contrary, the copies of all his deedsare recorded and registered,and the results of all his actsare preserved for accounting.

Seventh principle:You will understand, further, that the destruction of the beautiful creatures of summer and spring in the autumn is not the death of the creatures. Instead, it is a form of dismissal after the completion of service;it is also a form of emptying in order to clear a space for the new creation that is to come in the following spring.It is a form of divine warning to conscious beings to awake from the neglect that causes them to forget their duties, from the drunken torpor that causes them to forget their obligation of offering thanks.

Eighth principle: You will understand this, too, thatthe eternal Maker of this transient world has another, everlasting world; it is to this that He urges and impels His servants.

Ninth principle: You will understand, also, that so Compassionate a Being will bestow upon His choice servants in that world such gifts as no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, nor has their image crossed the heart of any man.

We believe in it.

The Proof of Generosity

Is it at all possible for endless generosity and largesse, unending fortune and treasures not to want an eternal land of bliss and a permanent place of banquet and permanent needy guests in it and to regard it sufficient to have this ephemeral world and the ephemeral guests in it? Definitely not! This world cannot be a real place for generosity and largesse; it might be a place for only one part out of a million part of the generosity.

This situation proves that there must be a permanent land where the generosity that is too big for this world will be manifest fully, and there must be permanent guests in that permanent land; and there are.

We will examine this proof under two headings:

1st STEP: WHO IS THE OWNER OF THIS GENEROSITY IN THE UNIVERSE?

A person who looks at this realm carefully will see thatan infinite generous hand operates in this realm. Do you want proof for it? Then pay attention:

To decorate the earth with so many embroidered works of art,

To make the sun a lamp and the moon a candle,

To make the earth a table of food and to fill it with the most beautiful kinds of food,

To make trees with fruit bowls and to renew those bowls in each season,

To make people eat honey, a sweet food, out of a poisonous insect and wear silk, a soft material, clothes out of the silkworm,

To make animals like the sheep, goats, cows a milk factory,

To decorate dry trees like bones in the style of the houris of Paradise and mount very nice, embroidered flowers on their thin branches,

To create each creature out of nothing and to equip each creature with very valuable organs… They definitely show endless generosity and infinite largesse

We do not know; is it necessary to explain the generosity in this realm? If man looks at himself only, not at the realm, and meditates the organs, devices and feelings that he is equipped with, will he not approve that generosity and largesse?

Then, let us ask:

Who is the owner of this generosity and largesse? Who decorated the earth with embroidered works of art? Who made the sun a lamp and the moon a candle?

Who made the earth a table of food and the spring a bunch of roses for this table?

Who decorated the trees with flowers, fruits and leaves? Who produces honey from a poisonous insect andsilk from a handless insect?

Who makes some animals fountains of milk for us?

Who creates those endless creatures out of nothing and equips them with all kinds of organs and devices?

Is there any answer other than God to those questions?

Who other than God can treat the creatures so generously and meet all of their needs and grant them so many things?

Who other than God has unending treasures and fortunes?

The light of the sun proves the existence of the sun;similarly, that unmatched generosity and endless largesse show us and prove the existence of the Being, who is Jawwad (very generous) and Ghaniyy (rich), and who is behind the curtain.

Now, it is time for the issue that this generosity necessitates the hereafter.

2nd STEP: GENEROSITY NECESSITATES THE HEREAFTER

Such endless generosity and largesse, unending fortune and treasures and mercy want a permanent place of banquet and an eternal land of bliss that is permanent and desired, and that contains everything. It definitely wants those who enjoy that banquet to stay permanently in that place of bliss so that they will not feel pains due to separation and death. The cessation of pain is pleasurable, so too is the cessation of pleasure painful. Such generosity does not want people to suffer such pain.

Therefore, endless generosity and unending treasures want an eternal paradise and eternal needy people. Endless generosity wants to give people endless grants and bounties. Endless grants and bounties want the continuation of the existence of the person who receives them.A small pleasure that lasts short and that gets bitter with death is not appropriate for the requirements of such generosity.

That endless generosity wants endless largesse and the permanence of the people it will bestow bounties on. However, in this guesthouse of the world, people disappear quickly. They taste a tiny part of that generosity and grant, get up an appetite but leave the world without feeling full and satisfied. Then, there must be another land that is permanent and the permanent guests of that land must be served and granted endlessly so that the generosity will be manifest fully.

Now, let us meditate again, what we have learned about this proof in the form of items:

1. There seems endless generosity and limitless largesse in this realm.

2. That endless generosity and largesse proves that there is a Being andHis unending treasures behind the curtain.

3. Unending treasures and endless generositywant to bestow on people limitlessly.

4. The guesthouse and the needy people in the guesthouse must continue to existfor the continuation of the endless bestowal.

5. The world cannot be the guesthouse we are mentioning because it is ephemeral and the guests in it are ephemeral, too.

6. Then, there must be another land. There must be eternal guests in that eternal land and the Owner of the generosity that is visible must bestow on His eternal guests in a way that fits Him.

7. Then, it can be said that to deny the hereafter can only be possible by denying God Almighty and His generosity.To deny God and His generosity can only be possible through closing the eyes and not seeing the generous treatment before our eyes and through the mind denying what the eyes see, which is not possible for sane people.

In short:

The existence of the hereafter is as definite as the existence of the generosity.

A person who cannot deny one cannot deny the other one, either!

The Proof that the Value Given to Man Necessitates the Hereafter

Is it at all possible that God Almighty should value man so much, love him, make Himself loved by him, and then should condemn him to non-existence and not give him the endless bliss? No, never!

Regarding this proof, we will mention the value given to man first and state the signs of this value in items.

Yes, the most important and the most acceptable guest of the Owner of this realm is man because:

1. Man is the center of the general lordship of God Almighty in this universe. All of the things were given to him to use; it looks as if this realm was created for man and was trained so that man would benefit from it. Every creature, from plants to animals, from the sun to the moon, is a servant to man and was created in such a way as to serve him. This situation proves that man is the most valuable guest of the Owner of this realm.

2.  Man, who is a thinker, is addressed by God Almighty. That is, God talked to man only, in this realm, and addressed him through heavenly books. This situation – that is, that man is addressed by divine words – shows that man is the best creature of the Owner of this realm.

3.  Man is a large mirror for the names of God. The names that become manifest in almost every part of the universe become manifest in a single man, and man virtually becomes a huge realm by being the object of that manifestation. Yes man is the object of the manifestation of the most of the names of God, His greatest name and the greatest manifestation of each name of God. This situation proves that man has a different value in the sight of God.

4.  Man is a miracle of the power of God. He was created out of a drop of liquid and was equipped with endless material and spiritual organs and feelings. If the mind given to man is weighed and compared to all of the organs given to another creature, the mind alone will overweigh. If you add the other organs and feelings of man to this mind, you will see how valuable man is!

5.  Man is an inspector for the treasures of mercy. God Almighty created man in the form of an inspector for His treasures and equipped him with the best organs and tools. Everything, from the tongue to the eye, from the ear to the mind, from the nose to the hand, becomes keys for him and weighs the bounties of the treasures of mercy. This situation proves that man is the most delicate guest of the Owner of this realm.

6.  Man is the vicegerent of God on earth, the bearer of His trust, the chief of His creatures and the observer of the manifestations of the divine names. When these aspects are considered, no creature can catch up with man; and this tiny man overweighs the giant stars of the sky.

The value given by the Owner of this realm to man is too much to count. Besides, any person who meditates on his body will see the value shown to him and approve that he is the most important guest of this guesthouse.

Is it at all possible that the Lord of this realm should value man so much and then should kill him without the intention of resurrecting him, should condemn him to non-existence by reducing His love and appreciation for him to nothing and should do injustice, which is contrary to His justice and truthfulness. Definitely not!  

Yes, the value given to man proves that man was not created only for this world; he will go to an eternal, temporary land and he works for it.

Besides, those organs cannot have been given to man only for this life. For instance, if the following is said to the power of imagination, which is a servant and describer to the mind: “You will be given the sultanate of the world with a lifespan of one million years but then you will be annihilated”, he will be sorry instead of being happy unless the delusions deceive him and his soul intervenes. That is, the biggest ephemeral thing cannot satisfy the tiniest organ of man.

The hands of man that extend toward the eternity, his thoughts that have surrounded the universe and his desires that extend toward the endless bliss show that man was created for the eternity and he will go there. For man, this ephemeral world is a guesthouse and a waiting room for the hereafter.

In short: So much value given to man and so many organs and tools he is equipped with show that man is a candidate for the hereafter and he is invited to Paradise.