Paradise in Islam

In the context of innuendoes about Islam, there was a great deal of talk about "houris, youths, milk and honey," about "bodily pleasures" and about everything related to sensory and materialistic bliss that is too far off from spiritual joy which is the epitome of "Heaven" in Christianity.

In fact, the "Gardens of Bliss" or "paradise" in Islam is quite different from, even the opposite of, everything that has been said.

Let us now turn to the Holy Quran and review briefly what it says about this very matter :

"Enter ye the Garden, ye and your wives, in (beauty and) rejoicing. To them will be passed round, dishes and goblets of gold : there will be there all that the souls could desire, all that the eyes could delight in : and ye shall abide therein (for aye). Such will be the garden of which ye are made heirs for your (good) deeds (in life). Ye shall have therein abundance of fruit, from which ye shall have satisfaction", [Ornaments of Gold : 70-73].

"(Here is) a parable of the Garden which the righteous are promised : in it are rivers of water incorruptible; rivers of milk of which the taste never changes; rivers of wine, a joy to those who drink; and rivers of honey pure and clear. In it there are for them all kinds of fruits; and grace from their Lord", [Mohammed : 15].

"For them will be Gardens of Eternity; beneath them rivers will flow; they will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold, and they will wear green garments of fine silk and heavy brocade; they will recline on raised thrones. How good the recompense! How beautiful a couch to recline on!", [The Cave : 31].

First, we must point out that, contrary to what is widely held, Quran makes no mention of beautiful women, prostitutes or ladies of the night to whom human societies have turned, since time immemorial for sexual pleasures and earthly desires.

As we have said earlier, Quran mentions "married couples"; that is, wives and lawful female companions. Attention must be drawn, however, to the fact that by "wives" it is not meant the wives who lived in this worldly life with their husbands, but new and young wives : "We have created (their companions) of special creation, and made them virgin-pure (and undefiled). Beloved (by nature), equal in age", [The Event : 35-37].

This is what the Quran says about houris and youths : "In Gardens of Bliss. A number of people from those of old, and a few from those of later times. (They will be) on thrones encrusted (with gold and precious stones), Reclining on them, facing each other. Round about them will (serve) youths of perpetual (freshness), with goblets, (shining) beakers, and cups (filled) out Clear-flowing fountains : No after-ache will they receive therefrom, nor will they suffer intoxication, and with fruits, any that they may select; and the flesh of fowls, any that they may desire. And (there will be) Companions with beautiful, and big lustrous eyes. Like unto Pearls well-guarded. A reward for the Deeds of the past (Life)", [The Event : 12-24].

And also : "Verily, for the Righteous there will be a fulfillment of (the heart's) desires; gardens enclosed, and grape-vines; Companions of Equal Age; and a Cup full (to the brim)", [The Tiding : 31-34].

Is this sensory bliss (or can it be) proof of a concrete reality that can be perceived through the senses, such as sight, hearing, taste, and touch ? Can the soul - after death, and after it has been liberated from the body to return unto its Creator and after it had been admitted into His Paradise - taste and savor materialistic things that are a nourishment for the body, even terrestrial and of the same nature as the body itself ?

The answer to this question is not difficult: in its essence, the soul is the same : it does not change according to religions. A firebrand from Allah, the soul draws its eternal existence from the eternity of Allah and its nature from His nature, just like a drop of water owes its existence to the spring.

The exultation of the soul is spiritual, because the soul itself is a spirit, but Allah - He is Exalted in Might, Wise - used double-entendre and metaphor and mentioned things for which the inhabitants of Arabia had a strong desire and a craving, such as : fresh cool water, a gentle breeze, rivers overshadowed by trees, milk and honey, fruits, goblets, pitchers, gold bowls, birds, pearls well-guarded, and houris and youths, making clear that the last two are a delight to the eye.

In any case, we must not lose sight of the fact that all this serves the same purpose, one that never changes : to motivate the believers and to prompt them to adhere to the Straight Way, to do righteous deeds, to shun evil, and to forbid wrong so that they may obtain, as a reward, entrance to that paradise in which the soul rejoices in great spiritual beatitude. The latter is reminiscent of the pleasure and enjoyment that the body experiences when it drinks fresh cool water and milk of which the taste never changes, eats pure honey and delectable fruits, reclines on raised thrones, wears green garments of fine silk and heavy brocade, when it is bedecked in gold bracelets, and is waited on by youths and houris with beautiful, big, lustrous eyes.

If Christianity, for example, spoke of Hell as a place of the burning fire, it did not mean, nor did it ever think, that after death, the human being would actually writhe with pain on fire as a requital for the sins of his past life. As everyone knows, the body decomposes after death in the darkness of the grave; whether this body is that of a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, an Indian or a Buddhist, it makes absolutely no difference.

What Christianity means is that once the soul is liberated from the mortal body, it will endure spiritual and moral suffering. The soul will suffer great pains, the kind of which man experiences in his life: he is tormented in his soul, heart and mind when afflicted by a misfortune, or a disaster; he feels a fire inside him, in his heart and conscience, and he screams from pain, even though his suffering is not bodily, but spiritual and moral.

In Islam, Hell is the fire which sears the soul and the body, as grief burns it, as remorse torments and tortures conscience, and as woe burns the heart, all of which are psychical and spiritual burns.

In any case, Islam affirms, time and again, that the great reward is the meeting with Allah, and that this Paradise, some of whose aspects have been mentioned earlier, is but a mirror which reflects, through the details, the integral whole : the return of the soul unto Allah; that is, the return of the drop of water to the spring, and the part to the whole :

"But Allah doth call to the Home of Peace : He doth guide whom he pleaseth to a way that is Straight. To those who do right is a goodly (reward) yea, more (that in measure)! No darkness nor shame shall cover their faces! They are Companions of the Gardens; they will abide therein (for aye)!", [Jonah : 25-26].

The word "more (than in measure)" is used in this verse to mean "more contemplation of the face of God". Verse 72 of the Surah "Repentance" is more allusive and very clear :

"Allah hath promised the Believers - men and women Gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein, and beautiful mansions in Gardens of everlasting bliss. But the greatest bliss is the Good Pleasure of Allah : supreme felicity".

It becomes clear, therefore, that the good pleasure of Allah, that is, His Mercy and forgiveness, is more important and much greater than that Paradise and everything in it; it is to Allah that the believers must turn.

The righteous deed to which Islam calls continuously has its great reward which is way above any other reward : the meeting with Allah.

"Whoever expects to meet his Lord, let him work righteousness", [The Cave : 110].

"Allah is the protector of those who have faith : from the depth of darkness He will lead them forth into light", [The Cow : 257].

"O ye who believe! Celebrate the praises of Allah, and do so often; and glorify Him morning and evening. He it is Who sends blessings on you, as do His Angels, that He may bring you out forth from the depths of darkness into light: And He is full of Mercy to the believers", [The Clans : 41-43].

"But We leave those who rest not their hope on their meeting with Us, in their trespasses wandering in their distraction to and fro", [Jonah : 11].

"Those who rest not their hope on meeting with us, but are pleased and satisfied with the life of the Present and those who heed not our Signs. Their abode is the Fire because of the (evil) they earned", [Jonah : 7-8].

"And there are men who say : 'Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and defend us from the torment of the Fire!' To those will be allotted what they have earned; and Allah is quick in account", [The Cow : 201-202].

"Then fear Allah, and know that ye will surely be gathered unto Him", [The Cow : 203].

In its essence and at its basis, Islam is, first and foremost, a religion of the Hereafter, wherein the soul of the believer meets with its Lords, and remains eternally in His spiritual bliss. That is why Islam enhances the importance of "Righteous deeds, godliness and spirituality", and abases material things and worldly blessings; it even forbids them most of the time : "By men whom neither traffic nor merchandise can divert from the Remembrance of Allah, nor from regular Prayer, nor from the practice of regular Charity", [Light : 37].

This Verse clearly shows, albeit indirectly, that Islam does not encourage amassing wealth, but tends to strengthen "the remembrance of Allah," and the establishment of regular prayers and regular charity, for these are more important and loftier.

Regarding mischief in the earth, this is what the Quran has to say about it :

"Why were there not, among the generations before you, persons of balanced good sense, prohibiting (men) from mischief in the earth, except a few among them whom we have saved (from harm) ? But the wrong-doers pursued the enjoyment of the good things of life which were given them, and persisted in sin" (Hûd : 116).

It is clear from this verse that Allah describes the tyrants from among those who indulge in excessive wealth as criminals.

"When We decide to destroy a population, We (first) send a definite order to those among them who are given the good things of this life and yet transgress; so that the word is proved true against them: then destroy them utterly", [The Night Journey : 16].

Therefore, debauchery and luxury are one of a pair; extravagance leads to destruction - self-destruction - and brings about the wrath of God, but the Mercy of Allah is the greatest wealth :

"But the Mercy of thy Lord is better than the (wealth) which they amass", [Ornaments : 32].

Wealth puts a distance between man and Allah : "It is not your wealth nor your sons, that will bring you nearer to Us in degree :but only those who believe and work righteousness, these are the ones for whom there is a multiplied Reward for their deeds, while secure they (reside) in the dwellings on high!", [Saba : 37].

Belief and working righteousness is better than wealth and sons. A person who hopes to receive the reward of Allah, must do good and eschew evil. He must not spend all his time running after wealth, because it does not bring him nearer to Allah in degree; nor does it reserve a place for him in Heaven. The believers who work righteousness reside secure "in the dwellings on high"; that is, their place is secure in Heaven -  "in the dwellings."

Within the same context, we read these clear and unequivocal words : "Fair in the eyes of men is the love of things they covet : women and sons; heaped-up hordes of gold and silver, horses branded (for blood and excellence); and (wealth of) cattle and well-tilled land. Such are the possessions of this world's life; but in the nearness to Allah is the best of the goals (to return to)", [The Family of Imran : 14].

This means that the hordes of gold and silver are possessions of this world's life which is ephemeral, and that this wealth does not open the gates of Heaven to those who have it; the wealth that is everlasting and immutable, however, is earning the Pleasure and Mercy of Allah, returning unto Him and remaining in His Eternity.

Also : "Say : Shall I give you glad tidings of things far better than those ? For the righteous are Gardens in nearness to their Lord, with rivers flowing beneath; therein is their eternal home; with companions pure (and holy) and the good pleasure of Allah. For in Allah's sight are (all) His servants", [The Family of Imran : 15].

Piety to Allah is far better than all the gold, the silver and the horses, and more valuable than all the temporary conveniences. If a person wishes to have Heaven his resting place, he must not content himself with amassing gold and silver, and raising horses; he must spend his substance in the cause of Allah and be pious, and god-fearing; he must do good, work righteousness, and establish regular prayer and regular charity; he must not say a word of contempt to a beggar, or treat an orphan with harshness; and he must proclaim the bounty of Allah.

Wealth is a spur to tyranny and obstinacy : "Nay but man doth transgress all bounds, In that he looketh at himself as self-sufficient", [The Clot : 6-7].

This is why Allah reminds the believers that everything in this world is ephemeral, and that to Him is their return : "Verily, to thy Lord is the return", [The Clot : 8].

"To the righteous (when) it is said : 'What is it that your Lord has revealed ?' They say : 'All that is good.' To those who do good, there is good in this world and the Home of the Hereafter is even better and excellent indeed is the Home of the righteous", [The Bee : 30].

From beginning to end, the Quran continuously calls on the believers to be pious and to work righteousness, so much so that we may say that "working righteousness" is a, if not the, fundamental condition for earning the Mercy of Allah and gaining admittance to His Paradise. We invite the reader to ponder over these words :

"As to those who believe and work righteousness, verily We shall not suffer to perish the reward of any who do a (single) righteous deed", [The Cave : 30].

"And adore your Lord; and do good, that ye may prosper", [The Pilgrimage : 77].

"Then those who have believed and worked righteous deeds, shall be made happy in a Mead of delight", [The Romans : 15].

"For those who believe and work righteous deeds, there will be Gardens of Bliss", [Luqman : 8].

"For those who believe and do righteous deeds are Gardens as hospitable homes, for their (good) deeds", [The Prostration : 19].

"Then, as those who believed and did righteous deeds, their Lord will admit them to His Mercy : that will be the Achievements for all to see", [Crouching : 30].

"And those who believe in Allah and work righteousness, He will admit to the Gardens beneath which rivers flow", [Divorce : 11].

This bouquet of verses is redolent with good deeds, the kind of which the Quran is replete with.

Islam is the religion of piety and goodness, of spiritual, not materialistic, wealth.

"The parable of those who spend their substance in the way of Allah is that of a grain of corn: it groweth seven ears, and each ear hath a hundred grains. Allah giveth manifold increase to whom He pleaseth", [The Cow : 261].

It is difficult, if not impossible, to find in any other religion - revealed or of the East- such an emphasis on piety, doing good and on abstinence from the good things in life and renouncing worldly pleasures as is clearly shown by these verses which are but a drop in the ocean.

A religion such as Islam, which has reached such a spiritual dimension, cannot be characterized as a religion of "houris, youths, milk and honey" all of which are, as we have said earlier, a double-entendre and a metaphor.