Jannah

'And whoever is in awe of standing before their Lord will have two Gardens ... ˹Both will be˺ with lush branches. ... In each ˹Garden˺ will be two flowing springs. ... In each will be two types of every fruit. ... Those ˹believers˺ will recline on furnishings lined with rich brocade. And the fruit of both Gardens will hang within reach. ... In both ˹Gardens˺ will be maidens of modest gaze, who no human or jinn has ever touched before. ... Those ˹maidens˺ will be ˹as elegant˺ as rubies and coral. ... Is there any reward for goodness except goodness? ... And below these two ˹Gardens˺ will be two others. ... Both will be dark green. ... In each will be two gushing springs. ... In them are fruits, palm trees, and pomegranates. ... In all Gardens will be noble, pleasant mates ...˹They will be˺ maidens [houris] with gorgeous eyes, reserved in pavilions. .... No human or jinn has ever touched these ˹maidens˺ before. ... All ˹believers˺ will be reclining on green cushions and splendid carpets. Then which of your Lord's favours will you both deny? (Q.55:46–76, Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran)

Choirs of angels will sing in Arabic (the only language used in paradise), the streets will be as familiar as those of the dwellers' own countries, inhabitants will eat and drink 100 times more than earthly bodies could hold and will enjoy it 100 times more, their rooms will have thick carpets and brocade sofas, on Fridays they will go to a market to receive new clothing to enhance their beauty, they will not suffer bodily ailments or be subject to functions such as sleeping, spitting, or excreting; they will be forever young.

On Saturday God Most High will provide drink [from the water of the Garden]. On Sunday they will drink its honey, on Monday they will drink its milk, on Tuesday they will drink its wine. When they have drunk, they will become intoxicated; when they become intoxicated, they will fly for a thousand years till they reach a great mountain of fine musk from beneath which emanates Salsabil. They will drink [of it] and that will be Wednesday. Then they will fly for a thousand years till they reach a place overtopping a mountain ...|group=Note}} and every meat (Q.52:22) and trees from which an unceasing supply of fruits grow (Q.36:56–57), "that looks similar ˹but tastes different˺"; (Q.2:25) adornment with golden and pearl bracelets (Q.35:33) and green garments of fine silk and brocade (Q.18:31); attended upon by [ghulman] (Q.52:24), servant-boys (eternal youths (56:17, 76:19)) like spotless pearls (Q.52:24). While the Quran never mentions God being in the Garden, the faithful are promised the opportunity to gaze upon His face, something the inhabitants of the Fire will be deprived of.|group=Note}} Inhabitants will rejoice in the company of any parents, spouses, and children who were admitted to paradise (Q52:21) —conversing and recalling the past. ;Non-physical pleasures While the Quran is full of "graphic" descriptions of the "physical pleasures" for the inhabitants of the Garden, it also states that the "acceptance [*riḍwān*] from God" felt by the inhabitants "is greater" than the pleasure of the Gardens (Q.9:72), the greatest of all rewards, surpassing all other joys. On the day on which God brings the elect near to his throne (*ar*), "some faces shall be shining in contemplating their Lord". The visit is described as Muhammad leading the men and Fatimah leading the women to approach the Throne, "which is described as a huge esplanade of musk". As "the veil of light before the Throne lifts, God appears with the radiance of the full moon, and His voice can be heard saying, 'Peace be upon you.'" Hadith include stories of the saved being served an enormous feast where "God Himself is present to offer to His faithful ones delicacies kneaded into a kind of pancake". In another series of narratives, God personally invites the inhabitants of Jannah "to visit with Him every Friday". ;Houri "Perhaps no aspect of Islamic eschatology has so captured the imagination" of both "Muslims and non-Muslims" as houri (*ḥūr*). Men will get untouched Houri in paradise (Q55:56), virgin companions of equal age (56:35–38) and have large, beautiful eyes (37:48). Houri have occasioned "spectacular elaborations" by later Islamic eschatological writers, but also "some derision by insensitive Western observers and critics of Islam". The Quran also states the saved "will have pure spouses," (without indicating gender) (Q2:25, Q4:57), accompanied by any children that did not go to Jahannam (Q52:21), and attended to by servant-boys with the spotless appearance similar to a protected pearls (Q52:24). Despite the Quranic description above, Houris have been described as women who will accompany faithful Muslims in Paradise.{{#tag:ref|Lange argues that "purified spouses" cannot refer to houris as they are heavenly creatures not in need of ritual cleansing. ===Size, geography and structure=== {| class="wikitable floatright" |- ! colspan="2" |Layers of Jannah according to different scholars (in descending order) |- ! al-Suyuti ! *Kitāb aḥwāl al-qiyāma* |- |*al-firdaws* (Paradise)|| *jannāt ʿadn* ("garden of Eden") white pearl |- |*jannat al-na'im* ("garden of bliss")||*jannat al-firdaws* red gold |- |*jannat al-ma'wa* ("garden of refuge")||*Jannat al na'īm* ("garden of bliss") white silver |- |*jannat 'adn* ("garden of Eden")||*jannat al-khuld* ("garden of eternity") yellow coral |- |*dar al-khuld* ("abode of eternity")||*jannat al-ma'wan* ("garden of refuge") green chrysolite |- |*dar al-salam* ("abode of peace")||*dar al-salam* ("abode of peace") red sapphire |- |*dar al-jalal* ("abode of glory")||*dar al-jinān* ("abode of the garden") white pearl |- ! Source: al-Suyuti; ! Source: *Kitāb aḥwāl al-qiyāma* |} The Qur'an describes paradise as a "great kingdom" (Q.76:20) stretching out over and above the entire world, and "lofty" (Q.69:22). Paradise is "as vast as the heavens and the earth" (Q.3:133). There are four rivers: one each of water, milk, honey, and wine (47:15). (They were later identified as *Kawthar*, *Kafur*, *Tasnim*, and *Salsabil*.) {{#tag:ref|The names given the rivers come from the Quran, where they are identified as sources of water with religious significance, but not as rivers of honey, wine, etc. in paradise. * Q.76:5 on the water of *Kafur*, of which the righteous shall drink; * Q.83:27–28 on the waters of *Tasnim* drunk by those brought near to God; * Q.76:18 on the water of a spring named *Salsabil*; and * Q.108:1, which speaks only of abundance [*kawthar*]. The last is sometimes applied to a river running through the Garden and sometimes to the *hawq* of Muhammad. |group=Note}} Despite the details given in the Quran about jannah/garden, "nowhere" is there found "an ordered picture of the structure" of the abode. "For the most part Islamic theology has not concerned itself with questions about the location and structure of the Garden and the Fire on the understanding that only God knows these particulars." ====Layers/levels==== On the basis of "several scriptural suggestions", scholars have created "a very detailed structure" of paradise, but there is more than one, and not all of the traditions on location of paradise and hell "are easily pictured or indeed mutually reconcilable". For example, Qu'ran 23:17 states "We created above you seven paths [Ṭarā'iq]" from which is drawn a heaven of seven tiers (which is also "a structure familiar to Middle Eastern cosmogony since the early Babylonian days").|group=Note}} Some descriptions of jannah/the garden indicate that the most spacious and highest part of the Garden, firdaws, which is directly under the throne and the place from which the four rivers of paradise flow. Others say the uppermost portion is either the garden of Eden or 'Iliyi and that is the second level from the top. Another possibility is that there are four separate realms of the blessed, of which either Firdaws or Eden is the uppermost. This is based on Surah 55, which talks about two gardens: ("As for him who fears standing before his Lord there are two gardens [jannatan]") S 55:46). All descriptions following this verse are of things in pairs, (i.e. in the Arabic dual form) – two fountains flowing, fruit of every kind in pairs, beside these two other gardens with two springs (Q.55:62,66). Still others have proposed that the seven levels suggested by the Qur'an are the seven heavens, above which is the Garden or final abode of felicity, while many see paradise as only one entity with many names. One version of the layered garden conceptualization describes the highest level of heaven (*al-firdaws*) as being said to be so close that its inhabitants could hear the sound of God's throne above. This exclusive location is where the messengers, [prophets, Imams, and martyrs (*shahids*) dwell. Al-Suyuti and *Kitāb aḥwāl al-qiyāma* each gives names to the levels that do not always coincide (see table to right). {| class="wikitable floatright" |- ! colspan="2" |Gates of Jannah according to different sources |- ! Soubhi El-Saleh ! Huda Omam Khalid |- |*salat* (prayer)|| *ar*: For those who were punctual in prayer |- |*jihad* (struggle in the cause of islam)||*ar*: For those who took part in jihad |- |almsgiving||*ar*: For those who gave charity more often |- |*sawm* (fasting)||Bāb al-Rayyān*ar*: For those who fasted (siyam) |- |repentance||*ar*: For those who participated in the annual pilgrimage |- |self-control||ar: For those who withheld their anger and forgave others |- |submission||*ar*: For those who by virtue of their faith are saved from reckoning and chastisement |- |the door reserved for those whose entry to Paradise will be without preliminary judgment|| *ar*: For those who showed zeal in remembering Allah |- !Source: Soubhi El-Saleh, based on numerous traditions ! Sources: Doors of Jannah Islam KaZir |} ====Gates/doors==== Two verses of the Quran (Qu'ran 7:40, 39:73) mention "gates" or "doors" (using the plural form) as the entrance of paradise, but say nothing about their number, names or any other characteristics. * "To those who reject Our signs and treat them with arrogance, no opening will there be of the gates of heaven ..." (Qu'ran 7:40) * "And those who kept their duty to their Lord (Al-Muttaqoon – the pious) will be led to Paradise in groups till when they reach it, and its gates will be opened" (Qu'ran 39:73) As in the case of the levels of Jannah, later sources elaborate, giving names and functions but don't agree on all details (see table to right).{{#tag:ref|See Soubhi El-Saleh (*La Vie Future*, chapter 1, pt. 3), who cites numerous traditions describing the gates and gives their categorizes (see table to right). Al-Samarqandi (Macdonald, "Paradise." *Islamic Studies*, 5 (1966), p. 343) gives a similar classification, although the order and some of the particulars differ; cf. *Kitāb aḥwāl al-qiyāma*, pp. 105–106, which presents the same description.|group=Note}} In traditions, each level of the eight principal gates of Paradise is described as generally being divided into a hundred degrees guarded by angels (in some traditions Ridwan). The highest level is known as *ar* (sometimes called Eden) or Illiyin. Entrants will be greeted by angels with salutations of peace or As-Salamu Alaykum. Jannah is accessible vertically through its gates (Qu'ran 7:40), by ladders (*ma'arij*) (Qu'ran 70:3), or sky-ropes (*asbab*). However, only select beings such as angels and prophets can enter. Iblis (Satan) and devils are kept at bay by angels who throw stars at them, whenever they try to climb back to heaven (Q.37:6–10). Notably and contrary to many Christian ideas on heaven, God (Allah) does not reside in paradise. {{#tag:ref|"...Muslim literature on the otherworld often stresses that God does not reside *in* Paradise, but above *it*." ====Rivers==== A few hadith name four rivers in paradise, or coming from paradise, as: Saihan (Syr Darya), Jaihan (Amu Darya), Furat (Euphrates) and Nil (Nile).{{#tag:ref|According to the website Questions on Islam, "The number of the rivers coming from Paradise is mentioned as three in some narrations and four and five in others." * Three rivers:"For instance, while explaining the sentence “For among rocks there are some from which rivers gush forth” in verse 74 of the chapter of al-Baqara in his book called Sözler (Words), Badiuzzaman Said Nursi attracts attention to the rivers like the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates and quotes the hadith 'The source of each of those three rivers is in Paradise.'" * Four rivers: "In most of the hadith books including Muslim, four rivers that come from Paradise are mentioned." For those who think that geography and hydrology have proven that the source of the rivers is in mountains and that its water comes from snow melt and rain, a Badiuzzaman Said Nursi explains that this is untrue: “It is certainly not possible that the mountains could be the actual source of such mighty rivers. For let us suppose the water was cut completely and the mountains each became a conical reservoir, they would only persist a few months before losing the balance to the swift and abundant flow of those large rivers. And the rain, which penetrates only about a meter into the earth, would not be sufficient income for that high expenditure. This means that the springs of these rivers are not something ordinary and natural arising from chance, but that the All-Glorious Creator makes them flow forth from an unseen treasury in truly marvelous fashion. Thus, alluding to this mystery and stating this meaning, it is narrated in a Hadith: 'Each of those three rivers is a drop from Paradise which continuously issues forth from Paradise, as a result of which they are sources of abundance.'”|group=Note}} Salsabil is the name of a spring that is the source of the rivers of Rahma (mercy) and Al-Kawthar (abundance). Sidrat al-Muntaha is a Lote tree that marks the end of the seventh heaven, the boundary where no angel or human can pass. Muhammad is supposed to have taken a pomegranate from jannah, and shared it with Ali, as recorded by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi. However, some scholars, like Ghazali, reject that Muhammad took the fruit, argued he had only a vision instead. ===Literal or allegorical=== According to scholars Jane I. Smith, Yvonne Y. Haddad, while there are Muslims of a "philosophical or mystical" bent who interpret descriptions of heaven and hell "metaphorically", "the vast majority of believers", understand verses of the Quran on Jannah (and hellfire) "to be real and specific, anticipating them" with joy or terror, although this view "has generally not insisted that the realities of the next world will be identical with those of this world". Besides the material notion of the paradise, descriptions of it are also interpreted as allegories, whose meaning is the state of joy believers will experience in the afterlife. For some theologians, seeing God is not a question of sight, but of awareness of God's presence. Although early Sufis, such as Hallaj, took the descriptions of Paradise literal, later Sufi traditions usually stressed out the allegorical meaning. ===Eternal, not temporal=== While some Quranic verses suggest hellfire is eternal and some that its punishment will not necessarily be forever for Muslims who committed grave sins, verses on Jannah are less ambiguous. Eternality assured in verses about paradise such as Qu'ran 3:198, 4:57, and 57:12, which say that the righteous will be *khālidūn fīhā* (eternally in it), and Qu'ran 35:35, which describes the reward of *dār al-maqāma* [the abode of everlastingness]. Consequently, neither "theologians nor the traditionalists" have had any doubts about the eternal nature of paradise or the residence of the righteous in it. ===Other characteristics=== To classical scholars on the afterlife al-Suyūṭī and al-Majlisī, one of the characteristics of Jannah (like hellfire) is that events are not "frozen in one eternal moment", but form cycles of "endless repetition" and "unceasing self renewing clockwork". For example, when a fruit is plucked from a tree, a new fruit immediately appears to takes its place; when a hungry inhabitant sees a bird whose meat they would like to eat it falls already roasted into their hands, and after they are done eating, the bird "regains its form shape and flies away"; houri regain their virginity after being deflowered by one of the saved, but they also grow like fruit on trees or plants on the land and "whenever one of them is taken" by one of the saved in paradise one for his pleasure, "a new one springs forth in her place". (So too in hellfire are the skin of the damned replaced each time that they are burned off by the fire to be burned again, and drowning sinners driven back into the sea by giant snakes and scorpions whernever they reach the safety of shore.) == Garden of Eden and Paradise == Muslim scholars differ on whether the Garden of Eden (ar), in which Adam and Eve (Adam and *Hawwa*) dwelled before being expelled by God, is the same as the afterlife abode of the righteous believers: paradise. Most scholars in the early centuries of Islamic theology and the centuries onwards thought it was and that indicated that paradise was located on earth. It was argued that when God commanded Adam to "go down" (*ihbit*) from the garden, that did not indicate a vertical movement (such as "falling" from a heaven above to earth), but instead was used in the same sense as Moses telling Israelites to "go down to Egypt". However, as paradise came over the centuries to be thought of more and more as "a transcendent, otherworldy realm", the idea of it being located somewhere on earth fell out of favor. The Garden of Eden, on the other hand lacked many transcendent, otherworldy characteristics. Al-Balluti (887–966) reasoned that the Garden of Eden lacked the perfection and eternal character of a final paradise: Adam and Eve lost the primordial paradise, while the paradisical afterlife lasts forever; if Adam and Eve were in the otherworldly paradise, the devil (*Shaiṭān*) could not have entered and deceive them since there is no evil or idle talk in paradise; Adam slept in his garden, but there is no sleep in paradise. Many adherences of the Muʿtazila, also refused to identify Adam's abode with paradise, because they argued that paradise and hell would not be created until after Day of Judgement, an idea proposed by Dirar b. Amr. Most Muslim scholars, however, assert that paradise and hell have been created already and coexists with the contemporary world, taking evidence from the Quran, Muhammad's heavenly journey, and the life in the graves. Islamic exegesis regards Adam and Eve's expulsion from paradise not as punishment for disobedience or a result from abused free will on their part, but as part of God's wisdom (*ḥikma*) and plan for humanity to experience the full range of his attributes, his love, forgiveness, and his creation's power. By experiencing hardship, they better appreciate paradise and its delights. Khwaja Abdullah Ansari (1006–1088) describes Adam and Eve's expulsion as ultimately caused by God, since man has no choice but to comply to God's will. However, that does not mean that complying is not a "sin" and that humans should not blame themselves for it. That is exemplified by Adam and Eve in the Quran (Qu'ran 7:23 "Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will certainly be losers".) ==See also== * Elysium * Garden of Eden * Islamic eschatology * Isra and Mi'raj * Rawdah ash-Sharifah ==References== === Explanatory notes === ===Citations=== ===Bibliography=== * * * * == External links == [[Category:Jannah| ]]