El-Ghazali, the great Muslim imam, told a story one day about Isa ibn Maryam: Jesus, Son of Mary. One day Isa saw a group of people sitting miserably on a wall, moaning out loud and full of fear. "What is you affliction?" he asked. "It is our fear of hell," the people complained.

Then Isa came to a second group. They were emaciated and wan and full of anxiety. "What is your affliction?" Isa asked them. "Desire for Paradise has made us like this," the people cried.

Finally, Isa came upon a third group. They were scared and bruised, wounded and tired, but their faces were radiant with joy. "What made you like this?" Isa asked. And the people answered, "We have seen the Spirit of Truth. We have seen Reality," they sighed. "And this had made us oblivious of lesser goals."

And Isa said, "These are the ones who attain. On the Last Day, they will be in the Presence of God."

— Joan Chittister, Becoming Fully Human