First Grain of Sand — Page 133
A PERIOD OF IMPROVEMENT 117 done good in this world, is wrapped in the cloak of contentment and favour of God Almighty, which becomes a source of its purity and continued development. On the other hand, an evil soul, who had done bad in this world, would earn the opposite. To provide a reference, I cited the 30th part of the Holy Quran, from Sūrah Abasa, when God Almighty says: ثُمَّ أَمَاتَهُ فَأَقْبَرَهُ Then He causes him to die and assigns a grave to him. (Surah Abasa, 80:22) So after causing a person to die, God creates a grave for them. I explained that it is obvious that this grave that is dug in the earth is created by humans, whereas the grave mentioned in the Quran that God creates is such a place where souls are placed. A hadith also guides us towards this understanding, when the Prophet Muhammad sas said: The grave is either] الْقَبْرُ رَوْضَةٌ مِّنْ رِّيَاضِ الجَنَّةِ أَوْ حُفْرَةٌ مِّنْ حُفَرِ النِّيْرَانِ a garden from among the gardens of Paradise, or it is a pit from among the pits of the Fire. ] This also points to the understanding that it is referring to the location where souls live in the Hereafter. Upon hearing my answer, the spy seemed very pleased and sat- isfied as it was clear that he had never heard this explanation before for that hadith. He then took a piece of paper and wrote a report about me for that day, stating that I am a scholar of religion. A couple of days later, he himself told me that he came to this prison