In the present world of trial, any man or woman
to be eligible for Paradise, needs to have two
qualifications: one is to acknowledge truth and
the other is to lead a principled life. Those men
and women who qualify in this test will be given
a place in Paradise—where all their desires will
be fulfilled. For those who fail in this test, they
shall spend their lives in a state of eternal
deprivation.
In the present world, man finds himself totally
free. However, this freedom does not belong to
him as a matter of right, but is rather a test paper.
What man has to do is to acknowledge the truth
of One God, and surrender to Him—not by
compulsion but by his own choice.
This
surrendering before the truth of One God is
without doubt the greatest sacrifice that any man
can make. Acknowledging the truth of One God
is, like making oneself smaller not only to God
but to others as well. But this is the very virtue,
which will raise man to the highest position. It
will take him to the very entrance of Paradise.
The second important thing in this set of
requirements is to lead a principled life. Generally
man’s character is moulded by his emotions—
anger, revenge, jealousy, hatred, rivalry, etc.
These are the negative feelings that shape man’s
personality. But man has to become disciplined
in such matters. He should not build his
character under the influence of external
incentives, but by his own decisions: he should
establish it on the basis of higher principles. This
is what is called Divine character.
--Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
( Ref - Reality of Life )
