A Jewish lady once summed it up succinctly:
"Islam is all about the afterlife. What happens on earth is not all that important; only to the extent that it helps you get into heaven. The amount of suffering is irrelevant. If you kill a few babies it's no big deal; you're just helping them get into heaven a little bit sooner.
"Judaism is very much about this life. We believe that God's going to come down, reanimate the corpses, and send people to heaven and hell, but that might be a billion years from now. What counts is what people think of you now, and after you're dead. So we have to do our best while we're here. This is why it's so difficult for Jews and Muslims to communicate. We're literally not in the same place.
"Christianity falls exactly in the middle. They're concerned with heaven, certainly. But they have a strong imperative to do their best while they're here. God tells them that it's their duty to be charitable to everyone and alleviate their suffering, and that it's especially bad to cause suffering. Christians can talk to us, and they can talk to Muslims. Christians are the key to world peace."
That is one persons opinion.
Why attach so much weight to it?
Anyway, as a Muslim (Sufi background) it is a bit simplistic to say Islam is all about the afterlife. If that was the case, the life of a Muslim would focus entirely on religious practices and little involvment in everyday life, but that is not acceptable in Islam. Celibacy, cutting yourself off from this world, not living, working, mixing with people, learning etc. is condemned, by word by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
In Islam, it is emphasised that every individual has a unique level in the eyes of God. No one person in the history of mankind has or will be the same. Our character, attributes, deeds, desires, dreams etc. are unique to us. In the same way, we are told that we all have our own path to discover God. It is not a one-size fits all religion. It is a journey we all have to underake on our own, we all have different routes and different destinations.
The thought of heaven, the rewards God has instore for the rightful believer in itself is a way for God to distinguish between the believers. At the lowest level a person does good deeds in order to have pleasures once he dies, this is acceptable in Islam but it is considered to be
the lowest level. The highest level is doing good in this life, without any regard for the hereafter, helping your fellow man, without even thinking about heaven, not seeking a reward in this life (praise, recongintion) or in the hereafter (rewards in heaven). That is considered to be complete submission.
Sufis and mystics say the rewards in heaven itself are a test to the believer. Would we pray, would we do the hard things in this life if God took heaven away? yes or no. The answer should be yes. Sufis aim to battle their egos, their desires and through this they find divine inspiration. They don't focus on heaven, they focus on God, and helping their fellow man.
No religion is really simple, or black and white. Certainly not Islam.
I'm afraid to say some of the comments in this thread are simply the ramblings of idiots
