Belief in the Hereafter is a fundamental tenet of the Islamic faith. The real message of the Qur’an is that this world is transitory in nature and shall one day give way to an everlasting world where man shall be rewarded or punished on the basis of his attitude in this world regarding certain basic truths.
    It is evident from the Qur’an (2:62)¹ that these basic truths are:
    1. Belief in the One and Only God.
    2. Belief that a person shall be held accountable on the Day of Judgement.
    3. Righteous deeds based on the concepts ordained in human nature as well as on those specified by the Prophets of Allah.
    It is in the interest of man to remain heedful to the reward and punishment which will take place on the Day of Judgement on the basis of these basic truths. However, since man tends to forget this reality, the Merciful Allah has made several arrangements to constantly remind him of this profound reality. Among these, perhaps the most powerful one is that the whole episode of blessing the righteous with reward and meting out punishment to the disobedient has been made a visually observed reality for man. Visual evidence, it is said, is the ultimate form of evidence since the observation of something is the greatest proof of its existence – seeing is believing.
    In other words, the basic feature of this period is that the reward and punishment that is to take place in the Hereafter is substantiated visually by the Almighty through the agency of his Rusul so that mankind may always remain heedful to this reality. The court of justice which will be set up for every person on the Day of Judgement was set up for the nations of Rusul in this world so that the latter could become a visual testimony to the former. The Qur’an at numerous instances has used this argument for the reward and retribution of the Hereafter. In Suah Haqah, for example, it says:

The Inevitable! What is the Inevitable? What do you know what the Inevitable is? It is the Pounding One which the ‘Ad and the Thamud denied. As for the Thamud, they were destroyed by a calamity that exceeded all bounds and the Ad by a storm, fierce and violent. He let loose this [storm] on them for seven nights and eight days to ravage them. You would have seen them lying overthrown as though they were hollow trunks of palm-trees. So do you now see any of them? And the same crime was committed by Pharaoh and those before him and by the overturned settlements also such that they disobeyed the Rasul of their Lord [sws]. So He gripped them with an intensifying grip. [Similarly, as a consequence of denying Noah (sws)] when [the storm blew over and] the flood rose high it was We who carried you upon the ark to make this [account of your ancestors] a reminder for you and that retaining ears may retain it . (69:1-12)

Mankind was one single nation, and God sent messengers with glad tidings and warnings; and with them He sent the Book with truth to judge between people in matters wherein they differed; but the People of the Book, after the clear signs came to them, did not differ among themselves, except through selfish contumacy. God by His Grace guided the believers to the truth concerning that wherein they differed. (2:213)

a. The Basic Criterion of Selection
The Almighty selects a Rasul on the basis of His all embracing wisdom and sagacity. The basic criterion is that people who have a very exceptional moral character are chosen for this great task.³ They are ones who lead unblemished lives before they are called to serve Allah. Human attributes are at a pinnacle in their personalities. Honesty and integrity, nobility and honour, fortitude and courage, sympathy and compassion, perseverance and endurance find themselves epitomized in their character. Their inclination towards good and aversion to evil is exemplary. They are an embodiment of what they teach, and practice what they preach. Their deeds do not contradict their words. Friend and foes alike acknowledge their character. The Qur’an refers to this aspect of their lives as ‘Bayyinah’(a clear sign):

Can those who are on a clear sign from their Lord, and then a witness also comes to them from Him and before this, the Book of Moses is already present as a guide and a mercy and those who are without any insight be equal? (11:17)

He said: ‘O my People! Tell me if I am on a clear sign from my Lord, and moreover He also specially blessed me with His mercy, but that the mercy has been obscured from your sight? Shall we compel you to accept it when you are averse to it? (11:28)

He said: ‘O my People! Tell me if I am on a clear sign from my Lord, and, moreover, He also blessed me with His mercy – who then can help me against Allah if I were to disobey Him? (11:63)

He said: ‘O my People! Tell me if I am on a clear sign from my Lord, and moreover He also specially blessed me with His sustenance [pure and] good as from Himself? I wish not, in opposition to you, to do that which I forbid you to do. (11:88)

b. Protection of the Divine Message
    Since on the acceptance or rejection of the divine message delivered by the Rusul depends the fate of their addressees, the Almighty ensures that the message is delivered in its original shape. He protects and guards them from faltering in delivering the divine message. As a result, in their capacities as divine appointees, they present to their addressees the very message of Allah without any adulteration and alteration. The Qur’an says:

As for those whom He chooses as His messenger [they can say nothing of their own] because He guards them from behind and from the front that He may know if they have delivered the messages of their Lord; and He surrounds whatever is around them and keeps count of all their things. (72:16-28)

Before them the People of Noah denied and the confederates after them; and every people tried to seize their Rasul and disputed by means of vanities therewith to condemn the truth: but it was I Who seized them! And how terrible was My requital! (40:5)

c. Divine Assistance
    The Qur’an says that besides being equipped with outstanding qualities of head and heart and besides being the recipients of divine revelation, the Rusul are bestowed with certain other manifest signs to corroborate further their status as divine appointees in order to stir their nations out of their deep slumber.
    Abraham (sws) was saved from being burnt in the fire when his people tried to burn him:

So the only answer of [Abraham’s] people was that they said: ‘Slay him or burn him.’ But God did save him from the fire. Verily, in this are signs for people who believe. (29:24)

Now [O Moses] throw your rod! But when he saw it moving [of its own accord] as if it had been a snake, he turned back in retreat, and retraced not his steps: ‘O Moses!’ [it was said] ‘fear not: truly, in My presence, those called as Messengers have no fear -- but if any have done wrong and have thereafter substituted good to take the place of evil, truly, I am Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.’ ‘Now put your hand into your bosom, and it will come forth white without stain [or harm]: [these are] among the nine signs [you will take] to Pharaoh and his people: for they are a people rebellious in transgression.’ (27:10-12)

And he [-- Jesus –] told the progeny of Israel: ‘I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by God’s leave: and I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I bring the dead to life by God’s leave; and I declare to you what you eat, and what you store in your houses. Surely, therein is a sign for you if you did believe. (3:49)

    In words of the Qur’an, the basic objective of the Rusul of Allah is to decide the fate of their people in such a manner that if these people deny their respective Rusul, then they are subdued in this very world.

And the disbelievers said to their Rusul: ‘Be sure we shall drive you out of our land, or you shall return to our religion.’ But their Lord inspired [this message] to them [-- the Rusul –]: ‘Verily We shall cause the wrong-doers to perish! ‘And verily We shall cause you to abide in the land, and succeed them. This is for those who feared the time when they shall stand before My tribunal and those who feared My warnings. (14:9-14)

Indeed those who are opposing Allah and His Prophet are bound to be humiliated. The Almighty has ordained: ‘I and My Rusul will always prevail’. Indeed Allah is mighty and powerful. (58:20-21)

As to those who believe and do righteous deeds, they have for them the Gardens of Paradise for their entertainment wherein they will dwell forever. (18:107)

To you [O People of the Quraysh!] We have sent forth a Rasul as witness to the truth before you just as we sent a Rasul to the Pharaoh. (73:15)

But when they saw Our punishment they said: ‘We believe in Allah – the One God and we reject the partners we associated with Him.’ But their professing faith when they actually saw our punishment would not be able to benefit them. (40:82-5)

I believe that there is no god except Him Whom the children of Israel believe in. I am of those who submit to Allah. (10:90)

O assembly of Jinn and men! Did not there come to you messengers from amongst you setting forth to you my signs and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours? They will say: ‘we bear witness against ourselves.’ It was the life of this world that deceived them. So against themselves will they bear witness that they rejected faith. (6:130)

They will say: ‘Our Lord! Twice did you give us death and twice have you given us life! Now have we recognised our sins: is there any way out [of this]?’ (40:11)

    A Rasul’s mission passes through various phases before it culminates in achieving the above mentioned objective. During these phases, the truth is gradually unveiled to the addressees. With the special help and assistance of the Almighty, the Rusul remove misconceptions which may surround the basic issues of religion and vehemently say that if people do not accept these truths they shall be doomed in this world and in the Hereafter too. Those who profess faith in their Rasul are promised success in this world and in the Hereafter, and those who knowingly deny these truths are punished in various degrees so that this whole episode can become an evidence of the reward and punishment that will take place on similar grounds in the Hereafter, as has been pointed out earlier. Various stages pass in the mission of a Rasul before believers are rewarded and punishment is meted out to those who reject him.⁴
    Surah Ibrahim summarizes the struggle of Rusul in the following words:

Has not the story reached you [O people!] of those who went before you? -- of the People of Noah, and ‘Ad, and Thamud? -- And of those who came after them? None knows them but God. To them came Rusul with clear signs; but they put their hands up to their mouths, and said: ‘We do deny [the mission] on which you have been sent, and we are really in suspicious doubt as to that to which you invite us.’ Their Rasul said: ‘Is there a doubt about God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth? It is He who invites you in order that He may forgive you your sins and give you respite for a term appointed!’ They said: ‘You are no more than human like ourselves! You wish to turn us away from the [gods] our fathers used to worship: then bring us some miracle.’ Their Rusul said to them: ‘True, we are humans like you, but God does grant His grace to such of His servants as He pleases. It is not for us to bring you a miracle except as God permits. And in God let all men of faith put their trust. No reason have we not to put our trust in God. Indeed, He has guided us to the ways we [follow]. We shall certainly bear with patience all the hurt you may cause us. For those who put their trust should put their trust in God. And the disbelievers said to their Rusul: ‘Be sure we shall drive you out of our land, or you shall return to our religion.’ But their Lord inspired [this message] to them [– the Rusul--]: Verily, We shall cause the wrong-doers to perish! And verily We shall cause you to abide in the land, and succeed them. This is for those who feared the time when they shall stand before My tribunal and those who feared My warnings. (14:9-14)

a. The Retribution
    It is evident from the Qur’an that the retribution of the disbelievers normally takes two forms, depending upon the situation that arises.
    If a Rasul has very few companions and he has no place to migrate from his people and attain political power, then the Rasul and his companions are sifted out from their nation by the Almighty and made to migrate to a safe place. Their nation is then destroyed through various natural calamities like earthquakes, typhoons and cyclones. The Qur’an says:

Each one of them We seized for their crime: of them, against some We sent a violent tornado with showers of stones; some were caught by a mighty blast; some We sunk in the earth; and some We drowned in the waters. (29:40)

Why was there not a single township which professed faith so that its faith should have profited it, -- except the people of Jonah? When they believed, we removed from them the penalty of ignominy in the life of the present, and permitted them to enjoy their life for a while. (10:98)

Indeed those who are opposing Allah and His Rasul are bound to be humiliated. The Almighty has ordained: ‘I and My Rusul will always prevail’. Indeed, Allah is mighty and powerful. (58:20-21)

Behold! God said: ‘O Jesus! I will give death to you and raise you to Myself and cleanse you from those have denied; I will make those who follow you superior to those who reject faith till the Day of Judgement. Then shall you all return to me, and I will judge between you on the matters wherein you dispute’. (3:55)

But God was not going to send them a punishment whilst you are amongst them. (8:33)

And remember Zu’l-Nun, when he departed in wrath thinking that We will not hold him responsible! But he cried through the depths of darkness: ‘There is no god but You; glory to You. I was indeed wrong!’ (21-87)

So wait with patience for the command of your Lord, and be not like the Companion of the Fish, -- when he cried out in agony. (68:48)

Then Abraham approached him and said: ‘Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare that place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?’ The Lord said: ‘If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.’ Then Abraham spoke up again: ‘Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?’ ‘If I find forty-five there’, He said: ‘I will not destroy it’. Once again he spoke to him: ‘What if only forty are found there?’ He said: ‘For the sake of forty, I will not do it.’ Then he said: ‘May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?’ He answered: ‘I will not do it if I find thirty there.’ Abraham said: ‘Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?’ He said: ‘For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.’ Then he said: ‘May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?’ He answered: ‘For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.’ (Genesis 18:23-32)