Invitation to Ahmadiyyat — Page 207
207 thought of as a place where God would subject evil-doers to eter - nal damnation and, like a cruel tyrant, never forgive them. The Promised Messiah as rejected these misconceptions and restored people’s faith in the Hereafter through arguments and miracles. He expounded upon the ephemeral nature of this world and the excellence of the Hereafter and inspired others with the eagerness to act accordingly. He also undid the absurd notions about Paradise. He said that Paradise was not a mere metaphor, nor was it a place of physical delights that was only more stable and on a larger scale than the physical delights of this world. He said that the delights of Paradise are very different from those of the material world. The physical delights of the Hereafter are like the joy one derives from worship and good works in this life. In other words, what we call the soul in this world becomes the body in the next; and the soul of the next world is a more developed and a more advanced form of existence than anything we know of in this world. This can be likened to the man who develops out of the sperm but has far greater powers than the sperm. Similarly, the Promised Messiah as also proved that the pun - ishment of Hell is not eternal and that it is bound to end sooner or later. It may last a long time but it is not forever, because Allah says: 25 ْيِتَمْحَر َو ْتَعِس َّلُك ٍءْيَش ‘My mercy encompasses all things. ’ It is, therefore, contrary to His Majesty that He should subject some - one to eternal damnation. Also, when the Holy Quran speaks of the bounties of paradise it describes them as 26 ٍ ۡر َ مَجۡذُوۡذ ي غَ ‘which shall not be cut off ’, and 27 ُرْيَغ ٍنْوُنْمَم ‘rewards unending’. However, the punishment of Hell is not described in the same way. Why should the readers of the Holy Quran not observe and heed this