People of Paradise

T

hose who live by the Book of God receive God’s special favours in this world and are promised heaven in the next world. But they will be granted these solely on the basis of their own actions. People of the Book tend to forget this proviso: they take it for granted that, whether they follow God’s commandments or not, God’s promise to them will be fulfilled, and they will surely enter the kingdom of heaven.

True religious spirit makes one realistic. As long as the followers of revealed religions possess this spirit, they will realize that God is just, and will reward people according to their actions alone.

On the other hand, when people lose the true religious spirit, they take to wishful thinking. Real actions give way to false hopes. They think that they will be admitted into paradise because they belong to a certain community, whether they do good deeds or not.

Success in the hereafter is for those who conform to divine justice on earth; who live according to the will of God; who fear Hell before confronting it, and long for heaven before seeing it.