Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | ST Weekly Blog | Jan 01, 2018
GOD, according to His will, created a perfect world called Paradise. A world in accordance with all of our desires as human beings, in that it is free of all limitations and disadvantages, free of fear and pain; free of all imperfections. An eternal world where there is no death or old age, where we could achieve complete fulfillment.A perfect Paradise cannot be inhabited by less-than-perfect beings. So, God created perfection-seeking beings—us. He intended us to spend a period of trial on this present and imperfect world and after this, according to our deeds, we will earn the right to inhabit the perfect and eternal world.
As part of this test, Paradise is hidden from us. This world, therefore, has all the components necessary for a test. It has perfection-seeking beings in a less-than-perfect world. We have been given complete freedom to choose their actions. We thus have a choice—we can misuse our freedom to do evil, or we can use our freedom wisely, submit to God and qualify for Paradise.
God created this limited world to put us on trial, so He can select those fit to inhabit the perfect world of Paradise. The life of this world is a journey. Not the destination. It is a time to sow, not to reap. The present world is limited. It does not have the means to fulfill our unlimited desires. It has the means to provide us subsistence at the physical level, but does not have the means to give us fulfillment at the spiritual level.
During this limited life on Earth, what we need to seek out the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. Having seen a glimpse of Paradise on this earth, we should seek it in the core of our being. Intellectually, spiritually and morally, we should make ourselves deserving of Paradise. We should devote our lives to preparing for the next life. All of us come into this world like ore, which has to be extracted and refined until it can be of use.
We have to expand our consciousness through intellectual and spiritual development. This expanded consciousness is what being human means. Those who fail to attain the human level fail the test, and fail to achieve Paradise. Those who succeed will find both peace and happiness in this world, and a place in the Garden of Joy in the world to come, which we call Paradise.