—for that reason He has established another abode in which the benefactor will be recompensed for his beneficence and the evildoer for his wickedness, so that the results of all deeds become evident there. This present world is the arena of action; the Hereafter is the arena of requital—either Paradise or Hell. He has not left us unattended, as the atheists and materialists claim. Allah says: “They say, ‘There is nothing but our worldly life; we die and we live, and only time destroys us.’ Yet they have no knowledge of this; they only conjecture” (al-Jathiyah 45:24). Such is the statement of those who deny resurrection. Allah censures them, saying: “Shall We then treat those who submit as We treat the criminals? What is the matter with you? How do you judge?” (al-Qalam 68:35-36). He also says: “Or do those who commit evil deeds think We will make them like those who believe and do righteous deeds—equal in their life and in their death? Evil is the judgment they make” (al-Jathiyah 45:21). And He says: “Shall We make those who believe and do righteous deeds equal with those who spread corruption on earth? Shall We make the God-fearing equal with the profligate? That can never be” (Sad 38:28). (4) Because worship must not be based on personal taste or blind imitation of so-and-so, Allah sent messengers to explain it to us…