In the book The Fire of Hell, the author Maulana Wahiduddin Khan explains that the most powerful motivating force in our lives is fear. Consciously or subconsciously, each and every person function because of some real or imaginary fear. God has created man: He controls the vast universe and has complete power over man’s destiny. Anyone who truly believes this, will certainly fear God. But there is more to the matter than this: God will raise us up after death and will judge us according to our words and deeds on earth. We are responsible to Him for our actions. We must do our utmost to protect ourselves and others from the torment of hell fire. God’s prophets taught man the reality of life. According to their teachings, the real issue we face in life is how to avoid God’s punishment in the next world. We must prepare ourselves for meeting God and must exhort others to do the same. As Muslims, this is the basic task that lies before us. Other things that we desire in life can be ours only if we perform this fundamental task.
