wherein there is what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and has never occurred to any human heart. ﴾Is brought near﴿ means that it is brought close and adorned for the believers. Consider the contrast between the two: the abode of the disbelievers is set ablaze and kindled, whereas the abode of the believers is adorned and brought near. ﴾And when Paradise is brought near.﴿

All of this will take place on the Day of Resurrection. When we recite these verses:

﴾When the sun is folded up; when the stars fall; when the mountains are set in motion; when the pregnant camels are neglected; when the wild beasts are gathered; when the seas are set ablaze; when the souls are paired; when the infant girl buried alive is asked for what sin she was killed; when the records are spread open; when the heaven is stripped away; when Hellfire is set ablaze; and when Paradise is brought near﴿—

these are twelve clauses, yet the response to the conditional has not appeared thus far. They are all governed by a conditional—﴾When the sun is folded up﴿—but its response has not yet come. What will happen when all these things occur? Allah Most High says: ﴾Every soul will know what it has brought forth﴿—that is, the good and evil it sent ahead. ﴾On the Day when every soul will find whatever good it has done brought before it, and whatever evil it has done﴿ [Āl Imrān: 30]—meaning that the evil will likewise be brought before it—﴾it will wish that there were a vast distance between itself and that evil. Allah warns you of Himself﴿ [Āl Imrān: 30].

Thus, on that Day every soul will know what it has brought forth of good or evil. In this world, we know the good and evil that we do, but we soon forget. We have forgotten a great many acts of obedience and sins alike. But will all of that simply be lost because we have forgotten it? By Allah, no! It remains. When the Day of Resurrection comes, you yourself will bring it forth by admitting against yourself that you committed it. This is why Allah Most High says: ﴾Every soul will know what it has brought forth.﴿

A person should—and indeed must—reflect upon these tremendous verses, take heed of the admonitions they contain, and believe in them as though witnessing them with his own eyes. Whatever Allah has informed us of, once we understand what it signifies, is more certain to us than what we have seen with our eyes or heard with our ears. Allah’s report can never be false; it is the truth. By contrast, what we see or hear is often subject to misperception. You may see