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BUDDHISM'S ERRONEOUS BELIEFS
The erroneous beliefs of Buddhism vary greatly from country to country,
because over the past 2500 years, this religion has mingled with the various
local religions, customs, and established cultures of countries into which
it has spread. Today, the varieties of Buddhism practiced in Japan, China,
Tibet, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and America are all quite different from one
another.
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In Tibet, the dissemination of Buddhist texts
is one of the most important acts of worship. In particular, priests
who have removed themselves from the world completely give themselves
solely to this work. With no idea of the true nature of the afterlife,
these people live out their worldly lives in vain pursuits.
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As historical sources show, Buddha always chose to speak about his basic
tenets and deliver his way of worship orally; centuries of research has
determined that he left behind no written texts. Buddhists maintain that
his sermons were passed down orally from generation to generation for
400 years, until they were finally compiled in the Pali canon. However,
most scholars believe that the great majority of these words are not Buddha's
at all, but were added to in the course of centuries until they attained
their present form. Therefore Buddhism, not relying on any written texts,
underwent many changes and distortions over the course of time, being
considerably reshaped by additions and omissions.
Today, Buddhism's holy book, written in the Pali language, is called
the Tipitaka, which means "triple basket." It is not known for sure when
the Tipitaka was written down, but it is thought to have attained its
present shape in Sri Lanka sometime in the first century B.C. Its texts
are divided into the following chapters:
1. Vinaya Pitaka: This chapter, meaning
"Basket of Discipline," contains rules relevant to priests and nuns and
how they should be followed. There are also some matters of relevance
to those lay readers who are not priests or nuns.
2. Sutta Pitaka: Most of this volume is composed of
talks in which Buddha explained his ideas. For this reason, this chapter
is called the "Basket of Discourse." These words of his were passed down
through the centuries, becoming mixed with other legends and false beliefs.
3. Abhidhamma Pitaka: This volume contains
Buddhist philosophy and interpretations of Buddha's sermons.
Today's Buddhist priests regard these texts as holy; they worship and
organize their lives according to them. They portray Buddha as an actual
god (God is surely beyond that!), and for this reason, modern Buddhists
bow before his statues, place before them offerings of food and flowers,
and expect help from them. This is a completely illogical practice, however,
and anyone who believes that stone or bronze statues can hear or help
is greatly deceived. Later in this book, we examine these basically pagan
practices in more detail, and see how Buddhism has become a secret doctrine
concentrating on human beings without accounting for questions of how
this world's flawless systems function, much less how the entire universe
came to be.
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Throughout the centuries, libraries in Tibet
have been destroyed. But handwritten books by Tibetan priests are
still preserved in neighboring regions. All this Buddhist literature
leads people to lead a nightmarish life. This perverse and benighted
religion claims that after they die, people might come back as a
cow or a mouse and condemns them to lives of fear and anxiety.
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Priests who translate texts from ancient languages
are important in Buddhism. In the photograph on the facing page,
Buddha watches and encourages priests doing this work. Below: A
Sanskrit text from the 11th century contains sections on the life
of Buddha. Those espousing the perverse beliefs in these texts have
serious moral and psychological deficiencies, since they lack any
faith in the eternal afterlife. It is quite natural that Buddhists
have these spiritual problems because they believe that they may
reincarnate as a mouse, monkey, cow or some other animal.
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An Atheistic Religion
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Buddhism is a false religion founded on idolatry.
Buddhist priests who grow up with these beliefs spend their lives
worshipping Buddha.
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Buddhist philosophy denies the existence of God, but bases itself on
a few aspects of human morality and on escaping from sufferings of this
world. Without any intellectual or scientific support, it rests upon the
twin concepts of karma and reincarnation-the idea that human beings are
continually reborn into this world, that their subsequent lives are shaped
by their behavior in their previous ones. No Buddhist scripture considers
the existence of a Creator, much less how the universe, the world and
living things came to be. No Buddhist text describes how the universe
was created from nothing; or how living things came into being; or how
to explain the evidence, to be seen everywhere in this world, of an incomparable
creation. According to the Buddhist deception, it is not even necessary
to think about these things! The only important thing in life, Buddhist
texts claim, is suppressing desires, revering Buddha, and escaping from
suffering.
As a religion, therefore, Buddhism suffers from a very narrow vision
that keeps its believers from considering such basic questions as where
they came from, or how the universe and all living things came to be.
Indeed, it deters them from even thinking about these things and presses
them into the narrow mold of their present earthly life.
An Oppressive, Enslaving Religion
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Present-day Buddhists believe that the more
pain they endure, and the more hunger and misery they suffer, the
sooner they become enlightened. But this is not enlightenment; it
is an inhuman life of self-abuse. A verse of the Qur'an (40:31)
says, "God does not want any injustice
for His servants." This perverse practice
of Buddhists is totally contrary to Islamic morality.
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Buddhism's attempt to nullify all human desires is another aspect of
its narrow philosophy. God created the blessings of this world for human
beings' benefit and pleasure, and so that they would give Him thanks in
return. For this reason, Islam does not command people to suppress their
desires or to endure pain and suffering. On the contrary, it enjoins them
to take advantage of the beautiful aspects in the world (apart from base
and unlawful behavior), not to restrain themselves needlessly, nor to
inflict pain upon themselves. For this reason, God revealed (Qur'an, 7:
157) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had "relieved his followers
of their chains":
Those who follow the Messenger, the Ummi, whom
they find written down with them in the Torah and the Gospel, commanding
them to do right and forbidding them to do wrong, making good things lawful
for them and bad things unlawful for them, relieving them of their heavy
loads and the chains which were around them. Those who believe in him
and honor him and help him, and follow the Light that has been sent down
with him, they are the ones who are successful.
In short, Islam is a liberating religion that saves people from useless
customs and prohibitions, social pressures and worries about what other
people may think. It calls them to lead calm, peaceful lives with the
purpose of gaining God's approval. So it is that our Prophet (may God
bless him and grant him peace), in many of his sayings, advises us to
make religion simple and easy.
"Make things easy for the people, and do not make
it difficult for them, and make them calm (with glad tidings) and do not
repulse (them)."1
"You have been sent to make things easy (for the
people) and you have not been sent to make things difficult for them."2
 Buddhism
enslaves its devotees in misty monasteries and forces them into a life
of suffering and poverty. Strangely, it discourages good food, cleanliness,
comfort-the blessings that God has created for human beings-accepts suffering
as a virtue and advises its devotees to lead a miserable life.
For Buddhist monks and nuns, life is full of all kinds of difficulties.
They are forbidden to work or own property, obliged to feed themselves
by going from door to door and begging among the people, with their bowls
in their hands. For this reason, Buddhist priests are even called bhikkhus
(beggars) by the people. Buddhist priests are forbidden to marry or have
any kind of family life; they may own only one robe, which must be of
poor quality yellow or red cloth.
Besides this robe, their only other possessions include a hard bed to
sleep on, a razor to shave their heads with, a needle case for their own
use, a water bottle and a bowl to beg with. They eat only one meal a day,
generally consisting of bread and rice flavored with spices, and drink
either water or rice milk. They must finish this food before noon and
are not allowed to eat anything until the next day. Other foods, even
medicines, are regarded as forbidden luxuries. A priest may eat meat,
fish or vegetables only if he is sick and then, only with the permission
of a higher-ranking priest. In short, Buddhist strictures are a form of
self-torture.
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According to Buddhism, hunger, misery and
pain guide the way to the truth.
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This situation is a manifestation of the truth of the verse in the Qur'an
(10: 44) that reads, "God does not wrong people
in any way; rather it is people who wrong themselves." But to those
who believe in Him and submit themselves to Him, God promises a very good
life, both in this world and the world to come. To them belong both the
blessings of this world and those of the afterlife. According to the Qur'an
(7: 32):
Say: "Who has forbidden the fine clothing God has
produced for His servants and the good kinds of provision?" Say: "On the
Day of Rising, such things will be exclusively for those who believed
during their life in this world." In this way, We make the Signs clear
for people who know.
Another dark aspect of Buddhism is its pessimism. The "nirvana" it promises
to its believers is nothing less than a schizophrenic breaking of all
connections with life by a melancholic mind that takes a dim view of the
world. The Catholic Encyclopedia describes this aspect of Buddhism
in these words:
Another fatal defect of Buddhism is its false pessimism.
A strong and healthy mind revolts against the morbid view that life is
not worth living, that every form of conscious existence is an evil. Buddhism
stands condemned by the voice of nature the dominant tone of which is
hope and joy. It is a protest against nature for possessing the perfection
of rational life. The highest ambition of Buddhism is to destroy that
perfection by bringing all living beings to the unconscious repose of
Nirvana. Buddhism is thus guilty of a capital crime against nature, and
in consequence does injustice to the individual. All legitimate desires
must be repressed. Innocent recreations are condemned. The cultivation
of music is forbidden. Researches in natural science are discountenanced.
The development of the mind is limited to the memorizing of Buddhist texts
and the study of Buddhist metaphysics, only a minimum of which is of any
value. The Buddhist ideal on earth is a state of passive indifference
to everything.3
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This picture
shows Buddha and his followers, bowls in their hands, accepting
offerings. These irrational Buddhist traditions continue today.
Those who fall into Buddhist perversity, are obliged to beg, even
though they have no need, and be humiliated. Instead of working
for a living, Buddhism leads people into laziness and indolence,
condemning them to primitive living conditions. But Islam enjoins
exactly the opposite-a vigorous religion that makes its believers
dynamic and directs them to do useful work. In contrast to the
dark atmosphere of Buddhism, Islam enjoins cleanliness, courtesy,
and fruitful labor and encourages the development of science and
technology. |
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Those who are not priests nevertheless assist
priests in the collection of offerings, believing that they will
gain merits for a future life. Buddhist priests walk the streets
early in the mornings, with bowls in their hands, accepting offerings
from the people. But this superstitious practice, done in the name
of worship will do them no good in this world or the next, unless
God wills otherwise.
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Islam does not make its adherents indifferent; on the contrary, it calls
them to liveliness, activity, and joy. All those who adopt the teachings
of Islam are very sensitive to what goes on around them. They do not regard
the world as Buddhism does, as chaos to avert the eyes from, but as a
testing place-an arena in which they can put the high moral teachings
of the Qur'an into practice. For this reason, Islamic history is full
of just and successful leaders who ensured comfortable and happy lives
for their people. In sharp contrast, Buddhism produces only wretched adherents
who cause themselves suffering, drag themselves and others into passivity
and poverty, and whose only solution to the problems they encounter is
to immolate themselves. This is one of the biggest games that Satan plays
with people.
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(Left) A Buddhist priest set himself on fire
to protest some actions by the government in Saigon. This one photograph
is enough to show the dark spiritual state and perverse understanding
that Buddhism leads to.
(Right) Buddhists spend their days performing empty, soul-darkening
works that will bring no benefit in either this world or the afterlife.
But Islam offers people well-being, beauty and contentment in this
life and the next, and forbids any kind of practice that goes against
human nature.
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A Pagan Religion
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Buddhism is a pagan religion, inasmuch as it worships idols. It is said
that today's Buddhism has been divided into different schools, and that
worship of Buddha characterizes only some of them. But even to accept
Buddhism as an infallible guide-an error that all schools of Buddhism
fall into-is an indication that this religion views Buddha as a god.
According to historical sources, Buddhist priests began to deify Buddha
shortly after his death. Statues of him were erected everywhere, and the
perverse belief gained strength that Nirvana had actually taken shape
in his body and was embodied in these statues. The excessive respect that
Buddhist priests paid to Buddha later turned into outright worship. Today,
giant statues of him adorn every country where Buddhism is the dominant
religion. In many countries from Asia to America, you can see statues
and temples with Buddha's eyes painted on them-again, suggesting the message
that Buddha sees everything and watches people constantly, and that they
should be thinking of him every minute of their lives. Clearly, it's a
completely untenable belief that someone who died thousands of years ago
can still see those who believe in him, protect them, and listen to their
prayers. The basic truth that Buddhists are unable to grasp is that God,
Lord of all the Worlds, Who encompasses everything and knows the deepest
hidden secrets of all things, created Buddha, like all human beings.
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The eyes painted on some temples represent
Buddha's eyes, which supposedly see everything. This kind of temple,
statues of Buddha and painted eyes are frequently seen in countries
where Buddhism has been widely accepted, clearly showing how Buddhism
has made Buddha into an idol.
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Belief in Karma
The doctrine of karma supposes that everything a person does will have
its effect on him sooner or later, and will have a bearing on his so-called
next incarnation. According to this belief, people are continually reborn
into this world, where they must bear the consequences in that later life
of what they did in a former one. Buddhism denies the existence of God
and believes that karma is the unique power that governs everything.
Karma is a Sanskrit word that means "act," and refers to the law of cause
and effect. According to those who believe in it, a person will experience
in the future what he has done in the past, for good or ill. The past
is one's former life; the future is supposed to be a new life they will
begin after death. According to this belief, anyone who is poor in this
life is paying with his poverty the price for evil that he committed in
some former life. This superstitious belief also claims that in a later
life, an evil person may be "demoted" to rebirth as an animal or even
a plant.
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According to the theory of karma, those who
are poor, handicapped or ill are paying the price for evil deeds
committed in a previous life. Therefore, they deserve their present
misfortunes. This perverse understanding results in prevalent injustices
in societies where belief in karma is widespread.
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One harmful result of believing in karma is that it teaches that present
helplessness, poverty and weakness are punishments for a person's moral
evils. According to this belief system, if a person is disabled, it's
because he has inflicted a similar injury on someone else in a former
life and therefore deserves it. This superstitious belief is the main
reason why the unjust social structure of the caste system dominated India
for so many centuries. (It must be remembered that karma is a Hindu idea,
and Buddhism actually arose from Hinduism.) Because the caste system was
based on karma, the poor, sick and disabled within India were despised
and oppressed. The wealthy high-caste ruling class regarded their own
privileges as natural and just.
In Islam, however, being weak is not a retribution; it is accepted as
a test from God. Furthermore, other people have the very important duty
of helping those who are in need. For this reason, Islam-like Judaism
and Christianity, other religions based on divine revelation but that
were later altered-has a very strong sense of social justice. But karma-based
religions like Buddhism and Hinduism tolerate inequality and pose a great
obstacle to social progress.
Karma is based on the belief in reincarnation: the idea that people come
back into the world with the same spirit but in a different body. This
idea of a "wheel of rebirth" supposes that every life influences a subsequent
one. But this belief fails with one single question: how does this karma
operate? If Buddhism doesn't accept the existence of God, then who judges
a person's former life and sends him back into the world in a new body?
This question has no answer! Buddhists believe that karma is a "natural
law" that functions by itself, spontaneously, like gravity or thermodynamics.
However, it is God Who created all natural laws. No natural law observes
what people do throughout their lives, keeps an account, and judges them
after death on that basis. No natural law determines, as a result of this
judgment, what kind of new life a person will have and re-creates him
accordingly; and no natural law imposes this process flawlessly on billions
of people, much less animals. Clearly no such natural law exists, and
so, neither can such a process exist.
So many people throughout the world believe in reincarnation, even though
it has no logical basis, because they have no religious faith. Denying
the existence of an infinite afterlife, they fear death and cling to the
idea of reincarnation as a way to escape their fear. Belief in reincarnation-like
belief in karma-is based in the false consolation that death is nothing
to be feared, and that anyone will be able to attain his goals in a new
birth. If reincarnation can't occur on its own, as a natural law, then
clearly it could exist only through a supernatural act of creation. But
a look at the Qur'an tells us that reincarnation is a myth. The Book that
God sent down as a guide to humanity openly declares that reincarnation
is false.
Reincarnation According to Islam
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" Those who call on anything other than God
are not really following their partner-gods. They are only following
conjecture." (Qur'an 10:66)
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As in every other matter, the Muslim point of view regarding to the philosophy
of karma must be based on what God says in the Qur'an, which states there
is only one birth and resurrection. Everyone lives only once on this earth,
and then he dies. In verse 62: 8, our Lord gives the following command:
Death, from which you are fleeing, will
certainly catch up with you. Then you will be returned to the Knower of
the Unseen and the Visible and He will inform you about what you did./P>
A person is resurrected after death and, according to all the things
he has done and the works he has performed, is rewarded with either eternal
Paradise or endless Hell. That is to say, that a human being has one life
in this world, and then an everlasting afterlife. God says very clearly
in the Qur'an (21: 95) that after he has died, no one will return to this
life: "It is ordained that no nation We have destroyed
shall ever rise again." And similarly:
When death comes to one of them, he says, "My Lord,
send me back again so that perhaps I may act rightly regarding the things
I failed to do!" No indeed! It is just words he utters. Behind them is
a barrier until the Day they are resurrected. (Qur'an, 23: 99-100)
As these verses show, one part of humanity will die in the hopes of being
reborn, but at the moment of their death, it will be revealed to them
that this is absolutely impossible. In another verse in the Qur'an (2:
28), God says this about the death and resurrection of human beings:
How can you reject God, when you were dead and
then He gave you life, then He will make you die and then give you life
again, then you will be returned to Him?
God says that every human being is dead to begin with; that is, he is
created out of the basic inanimate elements of soil, water and mud. Then,
God "formed and proportioned" this lifeless
mass (Qur'an, 82: 7) and brought him to life. At a specific time after
the individual has been brought to life, life comes to an end, and he
dies. He returns to the earth and decays back into the soil, where he
awaits the final resurrection. Everyone will be resurrected on the Last
Day when, learning that another return to earth is not possible, he will
give an account of all the actions he did in his life. In the Qur'an (44:
56-57), God says that after a human being has come into this world, he
will experience only one death: "They will not taste
any death there-except for the first one. He will safeguard them from
the punishment of the Blazing Fire. A favor from your Lord. That is the
Great Victory."
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(Left) The remains of Petra in Jordan, (Right)
The remains of the Coliseum in Rome
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These verses make it clear that death occurs only once. No matter how
much people want to overcome their fears of death and an everlasting afterlife
and console themselves with false beliefs in karma and reincarnation,
the reality is that they won't return to this world after they die. Everyone
will die only once and, as God has willed, will have an endless life in
the world to come. According to the good or the evil that individuals
have done, they will either be rewarded with Paradise, or punished with
Hell.
Eternally just, merciful and compassionate, God gives the perfect reward
for what everyone has done. If a person seeks comfort in false beliefs
because he fears death or the possibility of going to Hell, he will experience
certain ruin. Anyone who has intelligent awareness, conscience, and fears
in this regard must turn to God with a sincere heart if he hopes to escape
the pains of Hell and attain Paradise. He must conform his life to the
Qur'an, the true guide for humanity.
Never yet has being old or young, beautiful or rich been able to prevent
anyone from dying; and so, no one can disregard death's reality. Whether
people disregard that reality or not, it is something they can never avoid.
The throes of death come revealing the truth. That
is what you were trying to evade! (Qur'an, 50: 19)
Reading these lines, you may be led to consider the closeness of death.
Perhaps death is closer to you than to others; and you may die before
you finish reading this book. It may come for no apparent reason, with
no illness, accident or age-related cause. God will send the Angel of
Death to come at the hour of your departure and take your soul.
We must always keep this important fact in mind and never postpone making
preparations for death. The Qur'an (63: 11) reminds us that "God will
not give anyone more time, once their time has come." Here, God tells
us that death cannot be postponed, and He speaks of the sorrow of an individual
who meets it:
Give from what We have provided for you before
death comes to one of you and he says, "My Lord, if only you would give
me a little more time so that I would give charity and be among the righteous!"
God will not give anyone more time, once their time has come. God is aware
of what you do. (Qur'an, 63:10-11)
Buddhism's Misguided Belief About the Afterlife
Buddhism's belief in karma leaves no room for belief in the eternal afterlife,
Paradise or Hell. This false and perverse position -the idea that an individual
returns into the world after each death, continually-conflicts with what
God has revealed in the Qur'an. In The Religions of India, Edward
Washburn Hopkins, a professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology, explains
that Buddhism does not believe in an afterlife:
. . . The logic of his own system led Buddha into a
formal and complete pessimism, which denies an after-life to the man that
finds no happiness in this . . . In his talks with his questioners and
disciples, he uses all means to evade direct inquiry in regard to the
fate of man after death. He believed that Nirvana (extinction of lust)
led to cessation of being; he did not believe in an immortal soul... What
he urged repeatedly was that every one accepting the undisputed doctrine
of karma or re-birth in its full extent (i.e., that for every sin here,
punishment followed in the next existence), should endeavor to escape,
if possible, from such an endless course of painful re-births. . .4
From some Buddhist writings, one can glean the following information
on the afterlife:
Whether one is reborn in Heaven or in one of the various
levels of Hell, the forms of existence in these places are transitory,
as they are on earth, and are not eternal. As in Hinduism, the period
of time during which . . . individuals remain in these places depends
on the amount of good and evil they have done while on earth. When the
prescribed time has been completed, they will return to earth again. Heaven
and Hell are no more than temporary states of existence in which the individuals
receive their reward for the acts they have committed while on earth.5
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According
to superstitious Buddhist beliefs, the existence of the universe,
human beings, death and rebirth are all uncontrolled processes.
Those who believe in this irrational claim are spiritually unbalanced.
They live in tension and discomfort that comes from the frightening
idea that everything in the world is arbitrary. But Islam teaches
that God controls everything that happens in the universe. Those
who understand this trust God at every moment, living in the joyous
comfort of His support and protection. |
Buddhism teaches that there is a kind of Paradise and Hell, as a reward
and punishment for what a person has done. But because this belief does
not stem from a revealed religion, it contains many contradictions and
illogicalities. Above all, and contrary to what God has revealed in the
Qur'an, Buddhism believes that Paradise and Hell are only transitory.
Again, one of this belief's most illogical aspects is the idea that all
systems in the world operate, in effect, by themselves. According to Buddhism,
just as the existence of the universe and human beings is uncontrolled,
so is the cycle of death and re-birth. There is no room in this belief
for a Creator Who has brought into existence the world and the life upon
it, together with Paradise and Hell, and rewards human beings for what
they have done. However, accepting the existence of Paradise and Hell
as places where reward and punishment are given, but not explaining how
these realms were created, is an extremely illogical, unacceptable claim.
But who deals out the rewards and punishments? Moreover, how were these
realms created? The philosophy of karma claims no account of how Paradise
and Hell could have come into being without a Creator. This superstitious
belief has been passed down from generation to generation, without ever
being questioned or logically explained. Buddhism has no logical explanation
for the existence of the universe or how it functions, nor of the origin
of the flawless creative art evident in all living things. For this reason,
Buddhism can never presume to be more than a mystical movement with no
basis in logic, supported only by myths.
The Reality Awaiting Us in the Hereafter
The only source where we can learn the facts about life in this world
and belief in the afterlife is the Qur'an, sent down as a guide for human
beings and the teachings (Sunnah) of the Prophet (may God bless him and
grant him peace).
God says in the Qur'an that life in this world is a temporary testing
period for everyone, and that the afterlife is our eternal homeland. Everyone
will have a reward in Paradise or Hell for all the deeds he has done over
the lifetime he has spent in this world. God reveals this truth in these
words (Qur'an, 6: 32):
The life of this world is nothing but a game and
a diversion. The hereafter is better for those who do their duty. So will
you not use your intellect?
Someone who submits to God, conforming his life to the true guide He
has sent down and to the teachings of the Prophet (may God bless him and
grant him peace), believes with all his heart that on the Last Day, he
will account for all for his deeds-and will receive the reward in eternal
Paradise or endless Hell. God has revealed this to humanity in the books
He has sent down and the prophets He has chosen. But Buddhism is a man-made
doctrine, built through hearsay on the foundation of a philosophy propounded
by one single man.
Using human reasoning to change what has come from God is a serious error.
Those who get their heads full of half-baked ideas about the Buddhist
way and, in their desire to imitate their favorite pop musicians or film
stars, start to follow Buddhism as a fad, should consider this and free
themselves from their mistake.
In the Qur'an, God reveals the state of those who say there in no afterlife:
As for those who denied Our Signs and the encounter
of the hereafter, their actions will come to nothing. Will they be repaid
except for what they did? (Qur'an, 7: 147)
But as for those who did not believe and denied
Our Signs and meeting in the hereafter, they will be summoned to the punishment
(Qur'an, 30: 16).
The "repayment" and "punishment" mentioned in these verses will begin
at the moment of death. Those who realize what an error they had been
living during their earthly lives will feel unrepentable sorrow:
If only you could see when they are standing before
the Fire and saying, "Oh! If only we could be sent back again, we would
not deny the Signs of our Lord and we would be among the believers." (Qur'an,
6: 27)
If only you could see the evildoers hanging their
heads in shame before their Lord: "Our Lord, we have seen and we have
heard, so send us back again and we will act rightly. Truly we now have
certainty." (Qur'an, 32: 12)
However much they may beg and ask for forgiveness, they will begin an
afterlife full of agony from which there is no escape, much less a return.
Their repentance will not be accepted, and never will their desire to
return to the world be fulfilled. Though warned many times, the godless
who did not believe-and bowed themselves before statues of stone and wood
that they associated with God; who espoused vain philosophies only as
a show to attract the interest of others; who did not fear God as they
should have-will enter unending humiliation from the moment they meet
the Angel of Death. Their souls will be taken with blows to their back
and sides, they will be grabbed by the forelock and be thrown into Hell;
this will be the beginning of their afterlife.
God will not allow them to speak, and their voices will be no louder
than a whisper. (Qur'an, 20: 108) Hell will be the final place for all
those godless people who exalted themselves before God, did not believe
in the resurrection or the afterlife, were rebellious despite the warnings
and did not lead a moral life. The people of Hell,
"shackled together in chains" (Qur'an, 25:
13), will be jammed into "a sealed vault
of Fire" (Qur'an, 90: 20) and live
in the murk of thick black smoke. They will hear the fire gasping harshly
as it seethes and find people moaning in it. Their endless pain will never
be relieved, despite their entreaties, causing them indescribable anxiety.
Physically, the denizens of Hell will have a terrible appearance. They
will be bound with shackles and chains, and their eyes will be downcast,
darkened by debasement. A scorching wind will burn their skin, which will
be continually replaced to burn yet again, as God describes in verse 4:
56, "Every time their skins are burned off, We will
replace them with new skins." They will be beaten with cudgels
made of iron and bound in "a chain which is seventy
cubits long" (Qur'an, 69: 32). Their foreheads, sides and backs
will be branded with the fire. Boiling water will be poured over their
heads, and they will be wearing shirts of tar.
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The Qur'an also tells about the terrible food and drink reserved for
those in Hell. God announces in verse 69: 36 that they will have
"no food except exuding pus" to eat-which people in this world
can hardly stand. In the Hell they have entered for forgetting God and
pursuing their own passions in this life, they will be made to drink boiling
water mixed with pus. And because nothing will pass through their torn
throats, they will not be able to swallow. In Hell, God will also make
the sinners eat bitter thorny bush and zaqqum (the infernal tree):
The Tree of az-Zaqqum is the food of the wicked,
seething in the belly like molten brass, as boiling water bubbles and
seethes. (Qur'an, 44: 43-45)
As for those who believe in God and turn to Him, they will not be condemned
to this state, but will pass through an easy accounting. Because they
did not follow vain philosophies and, in order to please God and fearing
the torments of Hell, lived according to the Qur'an, they will receive
their eternal reward and be welcomed in Paradise, free from fear, sorrow
and sadness. On that day, God says, the faces of believers will be radiant.
As God says in the Qur'an (39: 71-73):
The unbelievers will be driven to Hell in
companies and when they arrive there and its gates are opened its custodians
will say to them, "Did Messengers from yourselves not come to you, reciting
your Lord's Signs to you and warning you about meeting [Him] on this Day
of yours?" They will say, "Indeed they did!" But the sentence about torment
will [already] have fallen due upon the deniers of the truth. They will
be told, "Enter the gates of Hell and stay there timelessly, for ever.
How evil is the abode of the arrogant!" And those who heeded their Lord
will be driven to the Garden in companies, and when they arrive there,
finding its gates open, its custodians will say to them, "Peace be upon
you! You have done well so enter it timelessly, for ever."
Everyone should take seriously God's constant warnings
that the day of reckoning approaches, that "the Hour is coming without
any doubt" (Qur'an, 22: 7). In another verse, God says:
Mankind's Reckoning has drawn very close to them,
yet they heedlessly turn away. No fresh reminder comes to them from their
Lord without their listening to it as if it was a game. (Qur'an, 21: 1-2)
On that day, the good will receive a perfect recompense for their deeds,
while anyone who committed evil will wish that there were a long span
of time between himself and that day. Each individual will go alone into
God's presence, where he will be judged with complete fairness:
We will set up the Just Balance on the Day of Rising
and no self will be wronged in any way. Even if it is no more than the
weight of a grain of mustard-seed, We will bring it forth. We are sufficient
as a Reckoner. (Qur'an, 21: 47)
All man-made philosophies are deceptions
that alienate people from a belief in the existence of God and from His
service. Buddhism's superficial understanding of morality is completely
contrary to human natural pattern in many aspects. To an extent, it lets
people avoid the torments of conscience that comes from having no religion
and so, functions as a false source of spirituality. Believers in Buddhism
console themselves with the idea that they have attained spiritual mastery
by inflicting pain on themselves and denying the needs of the body. But
there's one basic truth of which they take no notice: that people must
realize that they are servants of God. A good deed is of any value only
if it is done to consciously serve God and win His pleasure. Bridling
the wishes and desires of our hearts carries great value, but only if
done to win God's pleasure, and to the extent that He desires. Of those
who exert this kind of effort with no view to winning His pleasure, God
says that "their actions have come to nothing
in the world and the hereafter." (Qur'an, 2: 217)
Buddhism's Idea of the Life of This World
Those who accept the idea of karma believe that their cycle of rebirths
will never end-that they live again after every death, until they attain
nirvana. And so, they assume that before them lie countless possibilities.
Therefore, if someone decides to commit sin, he may think he will be able
to atone for it in a later incarnation, even if his very next life is
worse than his present one. An understanding founded on such an erroneous
foundation cannot restrain a person from committing evil.
Attachment to this world is most people's major weakness. They believe
in a perverse idea like reincarnation chiefly because they want never
to give up earthly temptations. Therefore, only if someone has an accurate
conception of the real nature of this worldly life can he radically alter
his behavior so as to live morally.
Anyone aware of the real nature of the life of this world knows that he
has been created to serve the Lord, his Protector and Helper, Who has
created both him and the universe. Also, he knows that God will hold him
responsible for all his thoughts, words and deeds, and that he must give
an accounting to God after his death. The Lord reveals the reason for
the creation of the life of this world in the Qur'an (67: 2): "He
Who created death and life to test which of you is best in action. He
is the Almighty, the Ever-Forgiving."
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As this verse states, God has created human beings and placed them in
this one life temporarily, as a test. Here, He tries us with the things
that happen to us, and causes our lives to continue in order to separate
believers from the unbelievers, to purify them of their sins, and to guide
them to the moral values that lead to Paradise. In other words, this world
is only a place of training, where we can win God's pleasure.
In the Qur'an, verse 2: 21, God reveals that He has created human beings
to serve Him: "Mankind! Worship your Lord, Who created
you and those before you, so that you may do your duty."
God has clearly indicated the limits that human beings may not transgress,
and the kinds of behavior that will win His approval and the kinds that
will not. On the basis of their behavior in the world, people will receive
reward or punishment in the eternal life to come. This means that every
moment we live brings us closer to either Hell or Paradise. God reminds
His servants of this reality and warns them against that day in many verses
of the Qur'an, including this one (59:18):
You who believe! Heed God and let each self
look to what it has sent forward for Tomorrow. Heed God. God is aware
of what you do.
Believers who fear God's punishment, serve only Him, obey His commands
absolutely, avoid evil and act in ways that will win our Lord's pleasure.
To be attached to God with strong bonds of love, fearing Him and heeding
His commands and being determined to serve Him-that is the only way to
gain moral superiority that a person should commit to. He would never
compromise that goal, even if it conflicts with his interests. He may
have a few fine moral qualities otherwise, but these will be restricted,
short-lived or depend on some condition.
Buddhism also recommends good deeds, of course, but they may have no
value in the sight of God. What value lies in a person's doing some good
to those around him, if he is ungrateful to God, denying the existence
of the One Who created him from nothing? In order for his deeds to have
any value, they must be done with faith in God-with a view to gaining
His approval, in awe of His glory, obedience, and with awareness of His
power. For this reason, believers' superior moral character does not rest
on romanticism. Their worship is continual and uninterrupted, as God has
commanded in the Qur'an:
God augments those who are guided by giving them
greater guidance. In your Lord's sight, right actions that are lasting
are better both in reward and end result (Qur'an, 19: 76).
Everything in the heavens and earth belongs to
Him, and the religion belongs to Him, firmly and for ever. So why do you
fear anyone other than God? (Qur'an, 16: 52)
Wealth and sons are the embellishment of the life
of this world. But, in your Lord's sight, right actions that are lasting
bring a better reward and are a better basis for hope. (Qur'an, 18: 46)
People must be wary of growing attached to transient and deceptive baubles
in this life, because life in this world is very short. Wealth, beauty
and worldly possessions are worthless in the afterlife. The buried body
will decay; time will destroy material possessions. Everyone will be brought
into the presence of God to give an account. Moreover, if you ask a thirty-year-old
what he has experienced up to this point, he'll say that his life has
passed by very quickly. He may live another thirty or fifty years in the
same way, before his life will come to an end.
In several verses, God draws our attention to the fact that the span
of life in this world is short; He informs us that in the afterlife, people
will openly confess this:
On the day We gather them together-when it will seem if they had tarried
no more than an hour of a single day… (Qur'an, 10: 45)
On the Day the Last Hour
arrives, the evildoers will swear they have not even tarried for an hour.
That is the extent to which they are deceived. (Qur'an, 30: 55)
It will be very unwise for a person to be deceived by the transient attractions
of this short earthly life and to pay no regard to the afterlife. The
day when people will have their account to God is a reality. In the Qur'an
(10: 7-8), God commands:
As for those who do not expect to meet Us
and are content with the life of this world and at rest in it, and those
who are heedless of Our Signs, their shelter will be the Fire because
of what they earned.
But to those who are not fooled by the life of this world and choose
the endless life of the world to come, God announces good news:
If anyone desires to cultivate the hereafter, We
will increase him in his cultivation. If anyone desires to cultivate this
world, We will give him some of it but he will have no share in the hereafter.
(Qur'an, 42: 20)
Do not direct your eyes longingly to what We have
given certain of them to enjoy, the flower of the life of this world,
so that We can test them by it. Your Lord's provision is better and longer
lasting. (Qur'an, 20: 131)
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Right: Buddhist literature proposes meditation
as the best way to attain a sense of well-being and avoid daily
anxieties. But this is a great deception. Those who meditate to
push concerns out of their minds come face to face with the same
worries when their meditation ends. Trying to forget worries may
afford temporary relief, but does not remove them; temporary tranquilization
of the brain is of no use. The only way to true well-being and happiness
is submit to the fate that the One and Only and True God has decreed.
The believer who knows that no single leaf falls apart from the
will of God, knows too that everything that happens to him is a
test. Throughout his lifetime, a person is tested by everything
he experiences and by every deed he does. And in the life to come,
he will receive the most just reward for them.
Left: A statue of Buddha in the Wat Po Temple in Bangkok.
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Today, mystical movements such as meditation
and yoga are very popular in the West. But the true path to inner
peace, happiness and a good conscience is not found in such transient
tranquilizations of the brain; it comes from believing in God, submitting
to Him with a faithful heart, and leading one's life in a way that
will please Him.
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Around Buddhist temples, you can see hundreds
of prayer flags attached to ropes. According to this superstition,
prayers written on these flags are more likely to be fulfilled if
carried by the wind. Like other Buddhist ideas, this too is a myth.
Denying the existence of God, Buddhists are at a loss to explain
to whom they are praying or why. In the Qur'an, God reminds us that
only prayers addressed to our Lord, the One and Only God, will be
accepted.
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(Left) Buddhists meticulously practice the
traditions inherited from their ancestors; they spend days saying
prayers in the precincts of their temple and spinning prayer wheels.
But in seeing these practices as a way of salvation, Buddhists are
greatly deceived. Statues of wood and stone that they bow before,
burn incense to and pray to cannot hear their entreaties or answer
their prayers.
(Right) Strange ceremonies performed in places dedicated to the
name of Buddha demonstrate the perversity of Buddhist beliefs. In
these pagan ceremonies, stone statues of Buddha are worshipped,
even though they have no power to do either good or harm. It is
irrational to expect assistance from these statues, but those brainwashed
by Buddhist teachings reach the point where they cannot recognize
plain nonsense.
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Buddhism's beliefs and ceremonies make people
spiritually ill, with no regard for science, technology, art, esthetics
or civilization in general.They are greatly deceived in their belief
that they are worshipping by burning candles.
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According to Buddhist rituals, the beads pictured
here are holy. Buddhists repeat their prayers to Buddha millions
of times (they will never gain anything by these prayers). This
community, having forgotten God, expects help from a powerless servant
whom He created, and is leading itself into great anguish if it
does do not give up their perverse beliefs.
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"They said,' We found our
fathers worshipping them. 'He [Ibrahim] said, 'You and your fathers
are clearly misguided.'" (Qur'an 21:53-54)
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Buddhists perform strange rituals in front of statues of Buddha.
Here, one of these is prostrating themselves on the ground in a
gesture of respect. The first thing they do after entering a temple
is to bow before the statue of Buddha and touch their faces to the
floor
Islam rejects the perverse beliefs
of pagan communities and commands everyone to serve our Lord, the
Compassionate and the Merciful, the only Master of the universe.
In the Qur'an, God says,
"So glorify your Lord with praise and
be one of the prostrators. And worship your Lord until what is Certain
comes to you." (Qur'an, 15: 98-99)
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A trumpet 4.5 meters in length called the
radong is very important in Buddhist rituals and is used during
their ceremonies. Buddhism has devolved into a religion of ceremonies,
rites and rituals that cause people great loss, both in this life
or the world to come.
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Buddhist priests must conform to very different
rules from those that ordinary Buddhists follow. After the noon
meal, they cannot eat anything until the next day, and must meditate
every night without interruption. These strange customs have no
place in true religion. But God always commands what is easy for
His servants; in the Qur'an He says:
"As for him who gives out and guards
against evil and confirms the good, We will pave his way to ease."
(Qur'an, 92: 5-7)
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Though Buddhism has thousands of rules and
ceremonies, none is founded on any belief in the everlasting afterlife,
thus causing great spiritual damage to those caught up in its perversity.
Along with superstitions, the unjust practices of Buddhists indicate
their lack of sincerity. Where Buddhism is widespread, many suffer
from great poverty, but no expense is spared in constructing pagan
temples dedicated to Buddha. Rejection of the truth of the afterlife
leads Buddhists into moral and spiritual ruin, cutting them off
from the external world, giving them no concern for justice or regard
for others. Those with such a dark and gloomy outlook cannot find
or implement intelligent solutions to society's problems.
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In some quarters, Buddhism is seen as a path of
high morality, mutual support and self-sacrifice. But the fact that
people are living in destitution in Buddhist countries like Nepal,
Tibet and Cambodia shows clearly that this mutual support and self-sacrifice
is not a reality.
Nepal is one country where Buddhism is strongest, but the Nepalese
people are very poor. In the region of Mustang on the slopes of
the Himalayas, people live in dingy houses made of mud. |
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