Dr.
Hafiz Muhammad Fazlur-Rahman Ansari (R.A.)
At
the very outset it seems necessary to make a few remarks concerning the
function of philosophy with regard to this problem. The problem is of a
transcendental nature and directly pertains to our religious consciousness.
That heaven is real and exists cannot be revealed to our senses. But should it
for that reason be denied by philosophy? No. Philosophy must take its data from
various forms of human consciousness -- from the scientific consciousness, in the artistic consciousness, from the moral consciousness - so also in the
religious consciousness. It is not the function of philosophy to question their
facts because they alone are its data. Its function is rather “to grasp their
elements conceptually and to combine them into a system.” (Realism: S. Z.
Hasan, p.2.)
Life-after-death
and hence heaven and hell are data given to us by the religious consciousness.
The business of philosophy is to understand them to evaluate them.
My task at the present occasion is to present the
Qur’anic conception of heaven for it is this conception which seems to me to be
the most reasonable. But 'before doing so it seems necessary to give briefly
the views of the Qur’an concerning the various stages of human life. The
following verses from that book are highly instructive in this connection:-
(Those) who shall inherit the heaven, they shall abide
therein. And certainly we created man of an extract of clay; Then We made him a
small life-germ in a firm resting place; Then We made the life-germ a clot;
then We made the clot a lump of flesh; then We made the lump of flesh bones;
then We clothed the bones with flesh; then We caused it to grow into another
creation; so blessed be Allah, the best of the creators. Then after that you
will most surely die. Then surely on the day of resurrection you shall be
raised. And certainly We made above you seven Ways; and never are We heedless
of creation. And We send down water from the cloud according to a measure; then
We cause it to settle in the earth, and most surely We are able to carry it
away. Then We cause to grow thereby gardens of palm-trees and grapes for you;
you have in them many fruits and from them do ye eat. (Al-Mu'minun
[23]: 11-19)
These
verses give us in brief the Whole process of human evolution as also the part
played by religion in human life. Man arises out of the earth. The earthly
matter passes through several stages of evolution before it finds its
sublimation in the human form. It takes the form of the life-germ which, though
it is microscopic in size, is the repository of the physical, intellectual and
moral features of man. The germ grows and becomes man. In a grown-up man it is
the physical aspect which is more usually and more thoroughly realized. But the
human frame is only a vehicle for the soul to develop itself. The soul has to
evolve itself from the crude form of simple consciousness to a certain stage of
spirituality. This evolution can be worked out only through the cultivation of
our faculties. The Qur’an uses the word falah for this cultivation. Falah
literally means the furrowing out of the latent faculties. Thus the peasant who
tills the land and brings to the surface the innumerable treasures of the earth
is called fellah in Arabic. Man ought to act similarly. His soul possesses
infinite potentialities of advancement. He has to till the field of the depths
of his soul and bring out his latent faculties. But just as the ordinary
peasant needs rain for his crop, so a man too needs a rain. That rain comes
from Gill in the form of Revelation and is given to humanity through the medium
of Prophets. Man should become a receptacle for this spiritual rain if he
wishes to reap a good harvest. Without it the field of human soul would become
sterile and subject to decay. This has been pointed out in another verse:
“Consider the soul and Him who made it perfect, than
breathed into it its sin and its piety. Successful indeed is he who purifies it
and sorrow will indeed be his portion who corrupts it.”(Al-Shams[91]: 7-10)
Thus
the Qur’an regards man as an evolutionary being who has been created of the
goodliest fiber and possesses the highest capacities of making spiritual
progress. In fact, the very first attribute of God: mentioned in the opening
verse of the Holy Qur’an is Rab, i.e., He who leads His creatures through one
stage after another until & attain perfection.
Our
present life is a preparation. It is necessary to work out our faculties and
bring them up to a certain stage of evolution in our earthly sojourn. Then
alone shall we be fit for progress in the life after death.
Our
every action in this life has a hereafter. It creates a permanent impression on
the soul. When the soul departs from the body, it leaves this body for good. It
then adopts another kind of body. The great Muslim philosopher and divine, Shah
Waliullah, calls it Nusma. (Hujjatullalt-il-Balighah)
This Nusma is perhaps what is spoken of by Sir Oliver Lodge as
ectoplasm. He says: “Exudation of strange white evanescent dough like
substance, which has been photographed by scientific enquirers in different
stages of evolution, and which shapes itself into parts or whole of the body,
beginning in a putty-like mould, and ending in a semblance. This is the
spiritual body that contains the Spirit and yet is distinct from the ordinary
body.” (The Mystical Message; p. 109. 6. XIV.)
Death
is thus not annihilation but a gateway for entering into a new life - a life of
unlimited progress. But we can enter that life only if we have made ourselves
fit for it. This may be illustrated by an example. Suppose we take down two
seeds from a tree – one ripe, the other immature. We sow both under similar
conditions but we do not get any plant from the immature seed although it
commences its life with the same potentialities as the ripe one. Similarly if
we have not attained a certain stage of spiritual development in our earthly
life, we cannot enter the heavenly life.
Now,
after departing from the physical body the soul does not enter its life of
heaven or hell at once. It remains suspended in the ethereal world called Berzakh
in Islam. Here its faculties remain in abeyance, though intact, and this
state will continue till the hour of resurrection when it will be sent to
either heaven or hell. But the impressions which it has acquired on earth
through its actions come to the surface. Character being the crystallization of
one’s thoughts “the thoughts that he or she was thinking in this world take
their shape. Virtuous thoughts take happy shapes and wicked thoughts take
shapes of calamities according to what he believed in this world.” (Keemiya-i-Sa’adat: Imam Ghazzali)
The
Qur’an declares that a day will come when the solar system will be destroyed
which will result in ending the present conditions of life totally. God will
then bring into existence new heavens and a new earth. As the Qur’an says:
“On
the day when the earth shall be changed into a different earth, and the heavens
(as well), and they shall come before Allah, the One, the Supreme.” (Ibramin [14]: 48)
This
new world will have an affinity with the body of the soul which will be
different from the one that it had on earth. This new body has been described'
in the Qur’an as “new creation.” It has been further stated to take the colour
of our actions on earth. The Qur’an says:
“
........ (some) faces shall turn bright and (some) faces shall turn dark, then
as to those whose faces shall turn dark (it will be said) : Did you disbelieve
after believing? Taste therefore the chastisement because you disbelieved; And
as to those whose faces turn bright they shall be in Allah’s mercy; init they
shall abide.” (Ale Imran [3]:106)
Now,
the souls which are suffering from spiritual diseases and do not come up to a
certain standard will be sent to a spiritual hospital called hell. The Qur’an
has to say much on the subject but to go into details would be a long
digression. Suffice it to say that hell will be one of the stages in the
process of evolution for the soul that has not utilized the opportunities,
provided to it in its earthly sojourn and has stunted its faculties and got
diseased and corrupted. After cure it shall come out of that state and shall
start on its evolutionary journey. Imam Bukhari records a tradition of the Holy
Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) to this effect:
“When
the sinners shall have attained tahzib and tanqit, they will be allowed to
enter heaven.”
The
words tahzib and tanqiyah are highly meaningful. Tahzib
means the cutting off of the branches of a tree so that the tree may enjoy a more
luxuriant growth; and tanqiyah means the separating of the corrupt and
the corruptible parts from a thing in order to purify it completely.
Having briefly viewed the nature of hell, let us come to
the heavenly life. The souls which attain the required standard of perfection
will start on their evolutionary journey anew in the next world. They will
carry impressions of their actions done on earth. These impressions will,
because of rightness of the actions, engulf the soul in a garb of indefinable
happiness– “indefinable” because it will be of a wholly different character
from earthly happiness. In our present state of finite and chained existence we
cannot realize its reality. Our words have been invented to express things
primarily of the physical nature. They cannot convey ideas of transcendental
verities. These can be described only allegorically as the Qur’an does. Ibn
Jareer says: “Whatever is in the heaven has no resemblance with anything of
this world except in name.” The Qur’an says: “No souls know what is in store
for them of the joys (lit., that which will refresh the eyes) as the reward of
their action.” According to a Hadith, “God has provided for the righteous that
which “no eye hath seen, no ear hath heard, nor hath it ever occurred to the mind
of man.” Thus the expressions descriptive of heaven which occur in the Qur’an
are allegorical, e.g., gardens, rivulets, costly garments, delicious fruits,
etc. To illustrate this point further, I may cite an incident of the Holy
Prophet’s life. A pious lady saw a river in a dream and she somehow or other
came to think that it pertained to one of the deceased Companions of the Holy
Prophet, Othman bin Maz’oon. She related her dream to the Holy Prophet ﷺ for explanation. He said: “It (i.e., the river) is his (noble) actions
flowing for him (or for his benefit).”
I shall now give certain verses of the Holy Qur’an which
depict the heavenly life, but would like to put them under nine different
headings for the sake of clarity.
(1)
The Qur’an speaks of the heavenly life as the eternal one. It says:-
“
........ and Whoever (believes in Allah and does good) deeds, He will cause him
to enter gardens beneath which rivers flow to abide therein forever.” (Al-Talaq [65]:11)
“Toil
shall not afflict them in it, nor shall they be ever ejected from it.” (Al-Hajar [15]:48)
-
“Abiding therein; they shall not desire removal from them.” (Al-Kahaf [18]:108)
(2)
That life will be free of all toil, of hunger and thirst and other physical
needs. The Qur’an says:-
“Surely
it is (ordained) for you that you shall not be hungry therein, nor bare of
clothing; and that you shall not be thirsty therein, nor shall you feel the
heat of the sun.” (Taha [20]:118-119)
“The
gardens of perpetuity, they shall enter them, rivers flowing beneath them: they
shall have in them what they please. Thus Allah rewards those who guard
(against evil).” (Al-Nahal [16]:31)
“Toil
shall not afflict them in it.” (Al-Hajar [15]:48)
(3)
It will be free of evil thoughts and propensities. The Qur’an says :- '
“They
shall not hear therein any vain discourse, but only ‘Peace’.” (Maryam [19]:62)
“And
We will remove whatever of ill-feeling is in their breasts.” ( Al-Araf [7]:43)
(4)
It will be a state of supreme peace for the soul. The Qur’an says :-
“They
shall have the Abode of Peace with their Lord .... (Al-Anam
[6]:127)
“They
shall not hear therein vain or sinful discourse except the word peace, peace.”
(Al-Waqiah [56]:25-26)
“Surely
those who guard (against evil) shall be in a place of security ...” (Al-Dukhan [44]:51)
“And
as to those faces turn bright they shall be in Allah’s mercy; in it they shall
abide.” (Ale Imran [3]:107)
(5)
The Heaven will be the Abode of Light. The Qur’an says:-
“On
that day you Will see the faithful men and the faithful Women - their light
going before them and on their right hands ... ” (Al-Hadid
[57]:12)
(6)
In it a halo of holiness will encircle the souls. The Qur’an says:-
“Whoever
does good, Whether male or female, and is a believer, We will most certainly
bestow upon him (or her) a pure life ...” (Al-Nahal
[16]:97)
“And
they will be guided to pure (thoughts and) words and they will be guided into
the path of (Allah) the Praised One.” (Al-Hajj [22]:24)
“He
will cause you to enter ... the Abode of Purity." (Al-Saff [61]:12)
“For
those who guard (against evil) are ... pure mates” (Ale-Imran
[3]:15)
“... and their Lord shall make them drink a pure drink.” (Al-Insan [76]:21)
(7)
In the glorious state of being encircled by Light, Peace, Mercy and Holiness of
God, the souls shall sing hymns in praise of the Lord. The Qur’an says:-
“Their
utterance in it shall be: Glory to Thee O Allah! and their greeting in it shall
be: Peace; and they will end by saying: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the
worlds.” (Younus [10]:10)
(8)
In the heavenly state the souls will be blessed with the goodly pleasure (ridwan)
of Allah. The Qur’an says:-
“O
soul that hath found satisfaction! Return to thy Lord well pleased (with Him),
Well pleasing (Him).” (Al-Fajar [89]:27-28)
“Allah
has promised to the believing men and the believing women gardens beneath which
rivers flow, to abide in them, and goodly dwellings in gardens of perpetual
abode; and best- of all is Al1ah’s goodly pleasure –– that is the grand
achievement.” (Al-Taubah [9]:72)
(9)
The climax of the blessings of the heaven will be reached in the vision of
Allah and in living in His Holy Presence. The Qur’an says:-
“Surely
those who guard (against evil) shall be in gardens and rivers, In the Seat of
Truth, before (or with) the most Powerful Lord.” (Al-Qamar
[54]:54-55)
“Some
faces on that day shall be bright, looking to their Lord.” (Al-Qiyamah [75]:22-23)
“Their
salutation on the day that they meet Him shall be Peace.” (Al-Ahzab [33]:44)
“Peace: a Word from the Merciful Lord.” (Yaseen [36]:58)
But
when the description of the heavenly life has been given, I would emphasize a
point again. This description is only meant to give us an idea and not to
portray the really real heaven. The Holy Prophet says: “Leave that which you
know of it (i.e., that form which you make in your mind).” With regard to the
real nature of heaven, I would ultimately refer to the meaning of the Word
“Jammu” which has been generally used in the Qur’an to denote heaven. In the
first place, Jannah means something concealed from the naked eye; in the
second place, it means rank and luxuriant growth. Thus the heavenly life,
according to the Qur’an, is a life hidden from the eyes which consists in the
un-folding of the latent faculties of the soul and its complete growth. Verily,
it is a life of unlimited progress, as the Qur’an says:-
“Most
surely this is our provision (or sustenance): it shall never come to an end.” (Sa’ad [38]:53-54)
In the end I have to submit that this
conception of heaven seems to satisfy all what the heart and the intellect
requires of heaven. There is no element in it which conflicts with these
yearnings. It satisfies my scientific consciousness because it affirms the
existence and validity of law in that life. It satisfies my artistic
consciousness because Heaven is a World of Beauty and Grace. It satisfies my
moral consciousness because it is the abode where righteousness is combined
with happiness and perpetual progress. It satisfies my religious consciousness
because it affirms the realization of the highest yearning of my soul –– the
Vision of and proximity to my Lord. It fulfills the requirements of the
conception of a transcendental condition and is best fitted for our acceptance.
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