Believing in the soul and the afterlife is foremost about having faith in the Unseen. Just as our souls are intangible beings, giving life to our physical / material bodies, the world we see around us is functioning based on an invisible support-system created by God who is Ever-Watchful and All-Aware. Muslims believe that The God is also Just and He maintains a meticulous record of our deeds. We will be recompensed for our earthly lives in the hereafter where ultimate justice prevails.
It is embedded in human nature to seek justice in all aspects of their lives, and quite logically so. When a person does well, he expects to be recompensed with something good and vice-versa, under his natural disposition. Even though we strive hard to establish justice in this world, the reality is that we are never able to do perfect justice, simply because we do not have all knowledge and control over everything, at once. It gets impossible to judge without being able to know the intention behind any particular act.
At times, the criminals go unpunished, while the oppressed are denied basic rights, simply due to our inability to reach the truth. This raises many serious questions: do lives simply dissolve without any accountability or fair dealing or there is a life in continuity to settle the scores? What about multitudes of innocent souls murdered by one person unjustly? How could he be recompensed for the murder of thousands in only one life? Would they simply not be recompensed for the good or the bad they committed or for the sufferings they endured haplessly?
Nay, The God, Himself proclaims in the Qur’an, “Do those who commit evil deeds really think that We will deal with them in the same way as those who believe and do righteous deeds, that they will be alike in their living and their dying? How badly they judge!” [Qur’an: 45:21].
According to Islam, one of the greatest injustice humans can commit is to deny The God’s existence, add partners to Him or worship worldly ideals or materialistic goals. Islam teaches that The God is the Creator, Sustainer and Nourisher of every being in the heavens and the earth. It is His right that we worship and obey Him, as His creation. He showers us with His blessings every day out of His love and mercy. Worshiping Him alone is an expression of gratitude to The God, and ignoring Him or worshiping others is ungratefulness and a denial of His blessings.
When our man-made judicial system punishes people for committing injustices against others, it is even more understandable that The God would punish those who deny Him His rights and commit injustices against Him and His creation. The God says in the Qur’an, “We shall set up scales of justice on the Day of Resurrection so that none will be wronged in the least. (We shall bring forth the acts of everyone), even if it be the weight of a grain of mustard seed. We shall suffice as Reckoners.” [Qur’an: 21:47]
Verily I am The God (Allah). There is no god beside Me. So, serve Me and establish Prayers to remember Me. Indeed, the Hour (of Resurrection) is coming. I have willed to keep it hidden so that everyone may be recompensed in accordance with his effort. [Qur’an” 20:14-15]
It is thus clear that The God created us justly, and will certainly settle the scores with ultimate justice. Those who have done good by The God’s standard will be rewarded Heaven, and those who have done bad by The God’s standard will be rewarded Hell Fire, and no injustice will be served on any single soul: “Whoever will come to The God (Allah) with a good deed shall have ten times as much, and whoever will come to The God (Allah) with an evil deed, shall be requited with no more than the like of it. They shall not be wronged.” [Qur’an: 06:160]
