We humans have been endowed by the creator with a soul and a freewill as well as reason. But unfortunately we are naturally inclined to follow our whims and desires. In order to guide us the creator has sent a lot of messengers throughout the evolution of mankind and it is our duty to learn from their message in order to understand and follow their teachings for the sake of our souls. The main purpose of the message was to teach us about worshiping the creator. These teachings form what we refer to as religion. Even though the foundations of religion rest on ethics, the main motivation for giving up sins and some aspects of the material world to follow the path of religion is the hope to be rewarded in this world and in the hereafter. The reward in the hereafter is Paradise. Paradise has been described in many cultures and religions as the ultimate abode of the righteous in the hereafter. For some it is a sensual garden of delights beneath which rivers flow , for others it is a state of the soul where all the desires and aspirations are fulfilled for ever.
In my earlier encounter with the study of divine revelations, I came across a lot of people claiming that religion is just an opium of the people or an instrument used by the elite to spread the believe in morals and that paradise is an invention of ancient societies. This however was in contradiction with the fact that there are sincere believers among the rich and the poor, the learned and the unlearned, the wise and the ignorant. Indeed religion has been used as an instrument for various worldly purposes but religion is a transcendent necessity that handles the everlasting part of human nature. So if we consider religions, we believe in paradise and would like to know how to get there.
It is a fundamental of religious doctrine that the goal of a faithful follower of religious teachings is the reward with paradise after death on the one hand. There is an evidence from scripture that the reward of doing good and shunning evil is paradise. On the other hand disbelievers are warned about a grievous punishment in hellfire where they will be burned for ever. “And for those who disbelieved in their Lord is the punishment of Hell, and wretched is the destination. “ (quran 7:6).
If you ask people where paradise is located, the majority will agree that it is in heaven.
A mere anthropological study of the organization of human societies has brought evidence that ancient societies were mainly polytheistic. Even though some well-organised ancient societies such as that of the Egyptians evolved to the idea of the existence of one main deity such as the sun God, there were other deities or partners subordinated to the main God. At a point of history revelation were brought to the people about the existence of one and only one true God. Hinduism and Buddhism for example are among the oldest religions and are mainly polytheistic and completely linked to a culture.
Revealed religions however are founded on revelations brought by prophets who performed a set of miracles as the proof of their prophet-hood. “We sent a messenger to every community saying, “ Worship God and shun false gods.”(quran 16:36). There have been more than 28 main prophets sent to teach the message of the uniqueness of God. Moses was sent to free the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt. The story of Moses is recorded in the scriptures of the main world’s monotheistic religions. In the 20th chapter of the glorious quran among others, there is a record about Moses meeting God and receiving guidance for his people:
“And has the story of Moses reached you? When he saw a fire and said to his family, “Stay here; indeed, I have perceived a fire; perhaps I can bring you a torch or find at the fire some guidance.”And when he came to it, he was called, “O Moses,Indeed, I am your Lord, so remove your sandals. Indeed, you are in the sacred valley of Tuwa. And I have chosen you, so listen to what is revealed [to you]. Indeed, I am your Lord, so remove your sandals. Indeed, you are in the sacred valley of Tuwa. And I have chosen you, so listen to what is revealed [to you].
Indeed, I am Allah . There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance. Indeed, the Hour is coming – I almost conceal it – so that every soul may be recompensed according to that for which it strives.”(quran 20:10-15)
Another major prophet who brought to mankind a clear message from God is Jesus the son of Mary. Jesus was sent to the children of Israel who had disobey God even though there were freed from bondage in Egypt. Mary received the visit of archangel Gabriel who gave her announcement about the miraculous birth of Jesus(pbuh) . There are various passages in the glorious quran where the story of Jesus in mentioned. Here is an example when Mary received the announcement that she will give birth to Jesus(pbuh) the Messiah:
And mention in the Scripture Mary, when she withdrew from her people to an eastern location. She screened herself away from them, and We sent to her Our spirit, and He appeared to her as an immaculate human. She said, “I take refuge from you in the Most Merciful, should you be righteous.” He said, “I am only the messenger of your Lord, to give you the gift of a pure son.” She said, “How can I have a son, when no man has touched me, and I was never unchaste?” He said, “Thus said your Lord, `It is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign for humanity, and a mercy from Us. It is a matter already decided.”( quran 19:16-20)
And in the Bible Jesus(pbuh) is referred to as a man approved by God even though most Christians still mistakedly consider him as God.“Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:”(Acts 2:22)
And the 29th main messenger Muhammad(pbuh), is the seal of the prophet. Archangel Gabriel revealed to him the final message of God and while he was answering the elite of his people he said:
Ha, Meem. A revelation from the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. A Scripture whose Verses are detailed, a Quran in Arabic for people who know. Bringing good news, and giving warnings. But most of them turn away, so they do not listen .And they say, “Our hearts are screened from what you call us to, and in our ears is deafness, and between us and you is a barrier. So do what you want, and so will we.” Say, “I am only a human like you; it is inspired in me that your God is One God. So be upright towards Him, and seek forgiveness from Him.” And woe to the idolaters. Those who do not pay the alms; and regarding the Hereafter, they are disbelievers. As for those who believe and do righteous deeds—for them is a reward uninterrupted.
(quran 41. 1-8)
The core message of the scriptures is about the oneness of God. In the Bible it is expressed many times: “I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me..”(Isaiah 45:5)
The key of paradise is therefore pure monotheism. Monotheism is the essence of the message of the prophets and is the essence of the glorious quran, and it can be captured in the 112th chapter of the quran;
Say “ he is God the One,
God the eternal.
He begot not nor was he begotten.
No one is comparable to Him(Quran: 112)
Tawhid is expressed in the unity of God; “ There is no deity but God”. This utterance is the credo of Islam but it is not sufficient is not rooted into one’s heart and soul. Nobody except a believer in this unity will enter paradise. The essence of this utterance is in the mind, as a conviction without any doubt. He who understands that nothing happens without the will of God is capable of implementing this believe. It is a common Islamic belief that some people will taste Hell before being taken into paradise. The prophet is reported to have said: “ He who has got faith to the weight of a seed will be taken out of Hell.” It is clear that people are first of all going to be judged according to their deeds:
“ On that Day, people will come forward in separate groups to be shown their deeds: whoever has done an atom’s weight of good will see it, but whoever has done an atom’s weight of evil will see that.(quran 99:6-8)
Some people however may have canceled the value of their deeds even though they believed in Tawhid. This will be mainly based on oppression people. Imagine a man whose believe in the unity of God seems perfect but he assaulted some people, backbited others and destroyed their honor, illegally misappropriated the weak or the orphans. The victims must be given compensation from his virtues. Therefore his good deeds will be canceled until they are void in which case he will be thrown in Hell. Otherwise, the simple fact of putting your trust in your creator, worshiping him alone without joining any partner with him, is the Key for paradise.
Praise be to Allah Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the seal of the prophets Muhammad, his family, his companions and his followers. I bear witness that there is no God but God, and that he revealed wisdom to a series of messengers and that Moses and Jesus were his messengers, and that Muhammad is his last messenger. I am not a Muslim scholar and I have no claim that I fulfill any the qualities a scholar should posses. I am just sharing my own understanding of some relevant spiritual topics related to spirituality in general and Islam particularly in the light of the quran and the sunna as well as other sources. May God guide us all and make our work useful…
