If you fail to navigate, the worst thing that could happen is you'll slip and when worst come to worst, you'll fall headlong into the rushing river: limbs, guts, motorcycle and all. And thus concluded your history on Earth.
This is why berkah Ramadan is a boon. You pass, you get to your destination; you fail, you'll die mati syahid--it was Ramadan after all--and heaven is ensured. Virgin consorts, rivers of milk and honey await. I myself just hope that there'll be a cornucopia of aphrodisiac as well. I imagine eternity--even one envisioned with endless consorts--would be quite tedious.
When we consider the alternative--dying not in Ramadan, though, there's only one question to consider. Do people retain their immaterial souls' characteristic as they are subjected to divine retribution in hell? If so, I'm curious to find out whether hope will be included in the package.
Because without hope, the almighty might as well be flogging a desk that snubbed his toes. Just like a desk that have no agency to wish the flogging to end, torturing a soul dispossessed of hope is not as pleasurable as torturing a soul that hopes. Without hope to extinguish, a deity will fail to make the subjects of his punishment feel as dreadful.
Equally confounding is when the soul remains able to hope. Especially when its visit to hell is purgatorial. With hope, the pains are but a blink of an eye. And when the pains felt none-too-long, that's not really a worthy retribution for all the earthly wrongs done, isn't it?
No comments:
Post a Comment