Let there be no vain or sinful talk | The Sunday Guardian | May 1, 2011 | Page 15
In the chapter entitled Al-Waqi'ah (The Inevitable Event) the Quran tells us about Paradise. How people will live in Paradise is portrayed as follows: "They will not hear therein any vain or sinful talk, only words of peace and tranquillity" (56:25-26).
Paradise of the Hereafter is an ideal society. The present world is like a recruiting ground, in which people are being put to the test. Those who qualify in this test will gain entry into paradise.
The present world is a selecting ground and paradise is a place where those selected will be settled.
One quality required of the people of paradise is the ability to refrain from creating a nuisance for others, i.e. the ability to live in society in complete peace and tranquillity.
Those who prove that they have the capacity to live according to this norm will be included in the list of those who will be settled in paradise.
According to the Quran, there are two criteria for anyone to be included in the society of Paradise; the first is that they should live in complete peace, thus ensuring peace and tranquillity for other members of society. The second condition is that they should refrain from creating a nuisance for others. In other words, they must prove to be no-problem members of society.
Although the above-mentioned verse is about the society of Paradise, it tells us what kind of social values are acceptable in the present world as well.
When we keep in mind that the present world is a selecting ground, then it becomes clear that in both places the same ethical norms are required, in the present world as well as in the world hereafter.
So every man and woman must be cautious in this regard.