When the Nest World Crowds Out This One
When the Next World Crowds Out This One In many conservative Muslim societies, people are taught from an early age to prioritize the afterlife over the present world. While belief in the afterlife is a central part of Islam—and has inspired extraordinary acts of charity, patience, and moral discipline—an excessive focus on it can become harmful. In some contexts, belief in the afterlife has not merely guided moral life; it has been used to shut down inquiry, justify stagnation, and protect existing power structures. It can discourage curiosity, suppress new ideas, and drain the intellectual energy societies need to progress. The question, then, is not whether Muslims should believe in the afterlife, but whether that belief has, in certain contexts, been used to foreclose questions that urgently need answering. Growing up in Afghanistan, I often heard a familiar response when people questioned why Western countries enjoy better living conditions: “This world belongs to non-belie...