Happily Ever Hereafter

Nobody can live forever. Allah (SWT) created us and gives us life, and Allah will decide when to end our lives and take us back to Him (2:156). Naturally, we might fear the time when loved ones will pass away, and we also might worry about when our own time will come. But our faith tells us about death and teaches us what we must do to prepare for the hereafter. In this book, we teach two key lessons.  In the first story, “Life Goes On,” Amira’s parents explain that they can’t and won’t always be with her, but that Allah (SWT) always is and will always continue to take care of her. Not only that, a person’s life doesn’t stop with death; rather, it is a transition from one world to another. Therefore, while it’s expected to miss the one who passed away, we should take solace in the fact that, “The hereafter is better and more lasting” (87:17).  The second story is about preparing ourselves for the hereafter. Our belief in Qiyamah, the Day of Judgement, fundamentally changes how we live our lives. We didn’t come into this world simply to go to school, get a job, have a family, and then die. Allah (SWT) tells us that He created death and life as a test to see who is the best in deeds (67:2). We must try to perform the best of deeds such that we become good human beings in the eyes of God, before our time on earth is up. Good deeds are like bricks, which we can use to build our house in paradise, our ultimate destination, insha’Allah. The second story, “A Home in the Hereafter,” conveys this lesson through Haroon Uncle’s example, as he role models what it means to live a life for the next.