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that falls for short of the forcefulness of the original Book of God. For these reasons,
no quotation marks will be inserted in any strict fashion in what appears here as
translation.
4. The true Muslim believes in the angels of God. They are purely spiritual and
splendid beings whose nature requires no food or drink or sleep. They have no
physical desires of any kind nor material needs. They spend their days and nights in
the service of God. There are many of them, and each one is charged with a certain
duty. If we cannot see the angels with our naked eyes, it does not necessarily deny
their actual existence. There are many things in the world that are invisible to the eye
or inaccessible to the senses, and yet we do believe in their existence. There are places
we have never seen and things like gas and ether that we could not see with our naked
eyes, smell or touch or taste or hear; yet we do acknowledge their existence. Belief in
the angels originates from the Islamic principle that knowledge and truth are not
entirely confined to the sensory knowledge or sensory perception alone (16:49-50;
21:19-20. See also the references in article two above).
5. The true Muslim believes in the Last Day of Judgement. This world will come to
an end some day, and the dead will rise to stand for their final and fair trial.
Everything we do in this world, every intention we have, every move we make, every
thought we entertain, and every word we say, all are counted and kept in accurate
records. On the Day of Judgement they will be brought up. People with good records
will be generously rewarded and warmly welcomed to the Heaven of God, and those
with bad records will be punished and cast into Hell. The real nature of Heaven and
Hell and the exact description of them are known to God only. There are descriptions
of Heaven and Hell in the Qur’ an and the Traditions of Muhammad but they should
not be taken literally. In Heaven, said Muhammad, there are things which no eye has
ever seen, no ear has ever heard, and no mind has ever conceived. However, the
Muslim believes that there definitely will be compensation and reward for the good
deeds, and punishment for the evil ones. That is the Day of Justice and final
settlement of all accounts.
If some people think that they are shrewd enough and can get away with their wrong
doings, just as they sometimes escape the penalty of the mundane laws, they are
wrong; they will not be able to do so on the Day of Judgement. They will be caught
right on the spot defenceless, without any lawyer or counsel to stand in their behalf.
All their deeds are visible to God and counted by His agents. Also, if some pious
people do good deeds to please God and seem to get no appreciation or
acknowledgement in this temporary world, they will eventually receive full
compensation and be widely acknowledged on That Day. Absolute Justice will be
done to all.
Belief in the Day of Judgement is the final relieving answer to many complicated
problems of our world. There are people who commit sins, neglect God and indulge in
immoral activities, yet they seem to be “ superficially” successful in business and
prosperous in life. And there are virtuous and God-minded people, yet they seem to be
getting less rewards for their sincere efforts and more suffering in the present world.
This is puzzling and incompatible with the Justice of God. If the guilty people can
escape the mundane law unharmed and, in addition, be more prosperous, what is,
then, left for the virtuous people? What will promote the cause of morality and
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