Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Concept of Hereafter | Al-Risala October, 1987
A one million rand (about Rs. 50 lakhs) prize was bagged at a TV quiz show, ‘Operation Hunger Goldrush’ in Johannesburg by Mr. John Smeddle, although he gave the wrong answer to the final question.
To beat the rest of the 20 competitors and win the first prize, Mr. Smeddle, representing a family team of five, needed the right answer to the last question. Asked to name three of Henry VIII’s six wives, Smeddle and his partner, Kingswood college Headmaster Neil Jardine came up with the answers ‘Anne Boleyn’ and ‘Catherine of Aragon’–both correct. But the third name eluded them and, as the precious seconds ticked away, Smeddle turned to Jardine for help, with only a few seconds left. Mr. Jardine answered, ‘Jane Grey’, which the judges promptly accepted as correct. Now, Jane Grey, the granddaughter of Henry VIII’s younger sister, was never married to the English monarch. It was actually Jane Seymour who was his wife. Perhaps because of the similarity of the names, or because of an emotionally charged atmosphere, the judges erred in accepting ‘Jane Grey’ as the correct answer. In any case, the prize money was handed over to the team represented by John Smeddle.
So, it would appear to be possible in this life to bag the first prize with a wrong answer. But in the life hereafter, no such success will be possible. In that world it is only one who gives all the correct answers who will win the first prize. Those who give wrong answers can expect eternal failure in the ideal world of the Hereafter.