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The rewards of this life are the virtues and perfections which adorn the reality of man. For example, he was dark and becomes luminous; he was ignorant and becomes wise; he was neglectful and becomes vigilant; he was asleep and becomes awakened; he was dead and becomes living; he was blind and becomes a seer; he was deaf and becomes a hearer; he was earthly and becomes heavenly; he was material and becomes spiritual. Through these rewards he gains spiritual birth and becomes a new creature. He becomes the manifestation of the verse in the Gospel where it is said of the disciples that they 'were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God' (joh 1:13). saq 223-224 (7:17) see Just as by "heaven" is meant the spiritual condition of the soul that has been born of God (joh 1:13), by "hell" is meant the condition of the soul that is deprived of spiritual qualities: (7:18) For just as the effects and the fruitage of the uterine life are not to be found in that dark and narrow place, and only when the child is transferred to this wide earth do the benefits and uses of growth and development in that previous world become revealed-so likewise reward and punishment, heaven and hell, requital and retribution for actions done in this present life, will stand revealed in that other world beyond (7:19) Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, p. 185
(7:20)
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