279
See also: Preparing for the afterlife 58–59 ■ The promise of a new age 178–81
■ Jesus’s message to the world 204–207A
ccording to the Qur’an,
the end of the world will
be accompanied by the
Day of Judgment, when the fate of
every person will be determined by
the scales of justice. Those whose
good deeds on earth outweigh their
bad deeds will proceed to jannah
(paradise), depicted in Islam as a
luxurious garden; while those
whose bad deeds outweigh their
good deeds will be relegated to the
fiery torments of jahannam, or hell.
This idea of divine judgment is
set against the Qur’an’s pervasive
descriptions of God’s mercy and
forgiveness. Indeed, Muslims are
distinguished clearly from non-
Muslims as those who hope for
God’s mercy. They also hope
for a meeting with God (the Day
of Judgment is often referred
to as this in the Qur’an), when
they will receive his clemency.Hope and paradise
The Muslim scholar Abu Hamid
Muhammad al-Ghazali focused
on the relationship between the
Muslim concepts of hope andparadise in a treatise entitled
The Book of Fear and Hope. He
argued that those who truly fear
God will run toward him, longing
for his mercy. Al-Ghazali likens
the desire for a meeting with
God to a farmer who sows seed
in tilled ground, faithfully waters
the seed, weeds the ground
regularly, and rightly hopes for
a harvest. Similarly, the Muslim
who believes in God, obeys his
commands, and pursues morality
can expect both compassion from
God and the rewards of paradise. ■ISLAM
THE WORLD IS
ONE STAGE OF THE
JOURNEY TO GOD
THE ULTIMATE REWARD FOR THE RIGHTEOUS
IN CONTEXT
KEY FIGURE
Abu Hamid Muhammad
al-Ghazali
WHEN AND WHERE
1058 –1111, Persia
BEFORE
500 BCE The Hebrew Bible
describes humankind’s first
existence in a heavenly garden.
1st century CE Jesus
announces the inauguration
of God’s kingdom on earth.
From 874 Shi‘a Muslims
believe that the hidden imam
will return in the future to
usher in the end of days.
1014–15 Muslim philosopher
Ibn Sina (Avicenna) writes
his most important work on
eschatology, Al-Adhawiyya.
AFTER
119 0 Muslim philosopher
Ibn Rushd (Averroes) discusses
the Day of Judgment in his
On the Harmony of Religions
and Philosophy.
And nothing but the
reins of hope will lead to
the vicinity of the Merciful
and the joy of the Gardens.
Al-Ghazali