HEAVEN AND HELL
What is the object of religion? It is that having the certainty of faith in the existence and perfect attributes of God Almighty, man should attain release from the passions of self and should develop personal love for God. That is the paradise which will be manifested in diverse ways in the hereafter. To remain unaware of the True God and to keep away from Him and not to have true love for Him is the hell which will be manifested in diverse ways in the hereafter (Chashma Masihi, pp. 25-26).
The reality of heaven and hell that has been set forth by the Holy Quran has not been set forth by any other book. It has indicated plainly that this system starts in this very life. It is said: For him who fears to stand before his Lord, there are two Gardens (55:47) One Garden is obtained in this very world. The fear of God restrains a person from vice. To run after vice generates a restlessness and distress in the heart which is a fearful hell. He who fears God avoids vice and escapes the torment which is generated by the slavery of passion and he makes progress towards faithfulness and leaning towards God whereby he is bestowed a delight and joy and thus his heavenly life begins in this very world (Malfoozat, Vol. III, pp. I55- 156).
Of the people there are those who dedicate themselves to seeking the pleasure of Allah; and Allah is Most Compassionate towards such devoted servants (2:208). In this verse God Almighty says that it is the one who sells his soul in order to win the pleasure of God who finds deliverance from all suffering. Such a one gives proof by his devotion that he belongs to God and conceives himself to have been created for the obedience of the Creator and the service of His creatures. He performs all good actions that are related to every faculty with such eagerness and sincerity of heart as if he beholds the True Beloved in the mirror of his obedience his will conforms to the will of God Almighty and all his delight is in obedience to Him and righteous action proceeds from him not by way of labour, but on account of its delight and attraction. The paradise that a spiritual person finds immediately and that which will be bestowed upon him in future are a reflection of this life which will be personified physically in the other world by the power of God.
This is indicated in the verses: For him who fears to stand before his Lord are two Gardens (55:47) Their Lord will give them to drink of a pure beverage (76: 22). The virtuous shall drink of a cup tempered with camphor, from a spring wherefrom the servants of Allah drink. They cause it to gush forth from the earth through their efforts (76: 6- 7). They will be given to drink of a cup that is tempered with ginger, from a spring which is called Salsabil (76:18-19). We have pre- pared for the disbelievers chains and collars and a blazing fire (76: 5) He who is blind in this world shall also be blind in the hereafter and even more astray (17:73). This means that he who fears God Almighty and stands in awe of His Greatness and Glory will have two Gardens, one in this world and the other in the hereafter. Those who are devoted to God are given to drink of a beverage which purifies their hearts and thoughts and designs. The virtuous shall drink of a beverage which is tempered with camphor out of a spring which they dig out themselves.
The root of the word camphor that has been used in this context means suppressing and covering up. This is an indication that they have drunk of the cup of cutting asunder from the world and turning to God with such sincerity that their love of the world has been cooled down. All emotions are generated by the ideas of the heart and when the heart withdraws far away from improper thoughts and has no concern with them, the emotions are subdued till they disappear altogether. In this verse God Almighty desires to convey that those who turn wholly to Him cast aside their passions and their hearts become cool to worldly activities and their emotions are covered up and suppressed as poisonous matter is suppressed by camphor.
After this the virtuous drink of a cup which is tempered with ginger. The word for ginger in Arabic is composed of two roots which mean ascending a mountain. It should be known that after a person recovers from a poisonous disease, his health passes through two stages. The first is a condition when the poisonous matter is subdued and dangerous tendencies are corrected and poisonous conditions are left behind and the fatal storm that had arisen is banked down. But the limbs are still weak and the patient cannot carry out anything that requires strength and moves about like a person who is half dead. The second stage is when health returns and the body gains strength and by the restoration of strength the patient is encouraged to think that he can ascend a mountain and can run about with delight on the heights. With reference to this condition, God Almighty indicates that virtuous people drink of a cup which is tempered with ginger, that is to say, their spiritual condition arrives at full strength so that they can scale the heights and carry out difficult tasks and exhibit wonderful devotion in the cause of God Almighty.
This property of ginger, that it strengthens bodily heat and improves the digestion, and its Arabic name that has been used in the verse is adopted as an indication that it so strengthens a weak person and generates such heat in him as enables him to scale the heights. The purpose of these two verses which refer to camphor and ginger is to indicate that when a person moves away from passion towards virtue, his poisonous tendencies are suppressed and begin to decline as camphor suppresses poisonous matters. That is why it is found useful in cases of cholera and typhoid fever. When poisonous matters are suppressed and a weak health is gained, the next stage is that the patient is strengthened with a drink tempered with ginger. This drink is a manifestation of the beauty of God Almighty which constitutes a nourishment for the soul. When a person is strengthened by this manifestation he is able to ascend great heights and to perform such surprisingly hard tasks in the cause of God Almighty as cannot be performed unless the heart is inspired by the heat of love. To illustrate these two conditions God Almighty has here employed two Arabic words, one camphor which con- notes suppression and the other ginger which connotes ascending the heights. These are two conditions that are encountered by the seekers in their progress.
Then the verses proceed, that for those who are disinclined to accept the truth God has prepared chains and collars and a blazing fire. The meaning of the verse is that those who do not seek God Almighty with a true heart suffer a reaction. They are so occupied with the world as if their feet are chained, and they are so much bent down in secular pursuits as if there are collars around their necks which do not permit them to raise their heads, and their hearts burn with worldly desires that they might acquire so much wealth or property or dominion over a region or victory over an enemy. Finding them unworthy and occupied with evil deeds God Almighty subjects them to these three handicaps. There is an indication here that when a person acts there is a corresponding action by God Almighty. For instance, when a person shuts all the windows of his room the corresponding action of God Almighty is that He makes the room dark. That which has been appointed as a necessary consequence under the Divine law of nature is the action of God Almighty, inasmuch as He is the Cause of causes. In the same way, when a person swallows a fatal dose of poison the reaction of God Almighty would be that he would die. In the same way, if a person acts carelessly so as to attract an infectious disease, the reaction of God Almighty would be that he would suffer from that disease. Thus, as in our physical life there is a necessary consequence of every action and that consequence is an action of God Almighty, the same is the case in spiritual matters. For instance, it is said: We guide along Our paths those who strive after Us (29: 70); and as a contrast it is said: So when they deviated from the right course, Allah made their hearts perverse (61: 6). This means that those who seek God with full effort, their action is followed by Divine action that they are shown the path of God; and those who deviate from the right course, their action is followed by Divine action that their hearts are perverted. This is further illustrated in the verse: He who is blind in this world shall be blind in the hereafter and even more astray (17:73). This is an indication that the righteous behold God in this very world and thus the foundation of heavenly life is laid in this world and the blindness of the hereafter is generated by the foul and blind life of this world. Again it is said: Give glad tidings to those who believe and act righteously that for them there are gardens beneath which rivers flow (2: 26). In this verse God Almighty has described faith as a garden beneath which rivers flow. It is here pointed out that the relationship which streams of water have with gardens is the relationship which subsists between faith and actions. As no garden can flourish without water, no faith can be a living faith without righteous action. If there is faith and there are no actions, that faith is vain, and if there are actions but there is no faith, those actions are mere show. The reality of the Islamic paradise is that it is a reflection of the faith and actions in this life. It is not a new thing which will be bestowed upon a person from outside. A person's paradise is generated from within himself and everyone's paradise are his faith and his righteous action, the delight of which begins in this life. The gardens of faith and actions and the streams that flow through them are seen in a hidden manner in this life, but in the hereafter they will be perceived overtly. The holy teaching of God Almighty tells us that the true and pure and firm and perfect faith in God and His attributes and His designs is a pleasant garden of fruit trees and righteous actions are the streams that irrigate that garden. This is indicated in the verse: Allah sets forth the case of a good word, which is like a good tree whose root is firm and everyone of whose branches reaches into heaven. It brings forth fresh fruit at all times by the command of its Lord (14: 25) . This means that the word of faith which is free from all excess and defect and falsehood and vanity, and is perfect in every way, is like a tree that is free from every defect, its root is firm in the earth and its branches spread into heaven and it brings forth fruit at all times. At no time are its branches without fruit. In this verse God Almighty has likened a word of faith to a tree that bears fruit at all times and has specified three signs of it. The first is that its root, that is to say, its true meaning should be firm in the soil of man's heart. Nature and human conscience should have accepted its truth and reality. The second sign is that its branches should spread into heaven, that is to say, it should be reasonable and should be in accord with the heavenly law of nature which is the action of God. The arguments in support of its correctness and truth should be deducible from the law of nature and should be so perfect as if they are in heaven and cannot be reached by any criticism. The third sign is that its fruit should be eternal and unending. That is to say, its blessings and effects should be perceptible in every age and should not cease after any particular period.
It is then said: The case of an evil word is like that of an evil tree, which is uprooted from the earth and has no stability (14: 27) . This means that human nature does not accept it and it has no firmness. It is not supported by reasonable arguments or by the law of nature or by human conscience and is like a mere tale or story. As the Holy Quran has referred to the good trees of faith as resembling grapes and pomegranates and other nice fruits, and has said that they will be personified like those fruits and resemble them, in the same way, it has called the evil tree of faithlessness in the hereafter by the name of Zaqqum, as it is said: Is this better entertainment or the tree zaqqum? We have made it a trial for the wrong-doers. It is a tree that springs forth in the bottom of hell; its fruit is as though it was the heads of Satans (37:63-66).... The tree of zaqqum is the food of the sinful; like dregs of oil, it will boil in their bellies like the boiling of scalding water (44:44-47).... Now suffer this, thou who didnt hold thyself mighty and noble (44:50) . The wicked will be asked whether the gardens of paradise are better or the tree zaqqum which is a trial for wrong-doers. It is a tree that springs forth from the bottom of hell, that is to say, it is born of arrogance and self-esteem. Its fruit is like the heads of Satan, which means that its eating would be fatal. It is the food of those dwellers of hell who deliberately choose sin. Its eating is like swallowing molten copper which boils up in the belly like scalding water. The one condemned to hell is asked to eat it and is reminded that if he had not been arrogant and had not turned away from the truth out of self-esteem, he would not have had to endure these torments.
Thus as God Almighty has likened the words of faith of this world to the trees of paradise, He has likened the words of faithlessness of this world to the tree of hell and has indicated that the root of heaven or hell begins from this world. At another place hell is referred to as the blazing fire of Allah which mounts upon the hearts (104:8), that is to say, hell is a fire the source of which is the wrath of God. It blazes forth from sin and first overcomes the heart. This is an indication that at the root of this fire are the sorrows and desires and torments that seize the heart, inasmuch as spiritual torment begins with the heart and then comprises the whole body. At another place it is said: Its fuel are men and stones (2:25; 66:7); that is to say, the fuel of the fire of hell which keeps it blazing are first those men who turn aside from God and worship other things, as it is said: You and that which you worship beside Allah are the fuel of hell (21:99). Secondly, the fuel of hell are the idols. The meaning is that if these things had not existed there would have been no hell. Thus in the holy word of God, heaven and hell are not like this physical world. The source of both of them are spiritual matters. It is true that in the other world they will appear as physical, but they will not belong to this physical world (Islami Usul ki Philosophy; Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984), Vol. 10, pp. 7I-79).
The Torment And Comfort Of The Grave Are Perceived Through The Body
To enter heaven it is necessary to have a body, but that body will not
be compounded of physical elements inasmuch as the fruits of heaven will
not be physical, but will be a new creation. Therefore, the body in heaven
will also be a new creation which will be different from the original body.
It is necessary that after death the believers should have a body. On the
night of his ascension, the Holy Prophet did not see only the souls of
the other Prophets, but saw the bodies of all of them, and Jesus had not
a body different from the others (Zameema Braheen Ahmadiyyah, Part V,
p. 2I3, footnote).
We have also exposed the error of the Christians in that they think
that heaven will only be a spiritual experience. We have proved that the
nature of man is such that his spiritual faculties need a body for their
perfect and complete functioning. For instance, it is our observation that
an injury inflicted upon a certain part of the brain destroys memory, and
that an injury inflicted upon another part destroys the faculty of thinking,
and that a disturbance occasioned to the nervous system affects several
spiritual faculties. Such being the case that a minor disturbance of the
body occasions a disturbance in the functioning of the soul, how can we
expect that after a total separation from the body the soul would be able
to maintain its integrity? Therefore, Islam teaches that everyone is bestowed
a body in the grave which is needed for the perception of delight and torment.
We cannot say from what material that body is prepared except that this
mortal body becomes naught and no one observes that it is revived in the
grave. Very often it is cremated or is preserved in a museum or is kept
outside a grave for long periods. If it were a fact that it is revived,
that would have been witnessed, yet it is proved from the Holy Quran that
a dead person is revived and we have, therefore, to accept that he is revived
with another body which we are not able to see. Very probably that body
is made out of the fine qualities of this body and along with it human
faculties are revived. As that body is much finer than this body, the door
of visions is opened widely to it and the realities of the hereafter are
seen as they are. The wrong-doers then suffer a torment of despair in addition
to the physical torment. It is thus an agreed principle in Islam that the
torment or comfort of the grave is perceived through a body. Reason also
demands this as experience has established that the spiritual faculties
of man do not manifest themselves without a body (Kitabul Bariyyah (Qadian,
Ziaul Islam Press 1898); Now printed in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984),
Vol. 13., pp. 70 7I).
The Philosophy Of Punishment In The Hereafter
There is a philosophy about punishment in the hereafter which is not set forth perfectly by any religion except Islam. God Almighty says in the Holy Quran: He who is blind in this world shall be blind in the hereafter and even more astray (I7:73). This shows that a person takes with him from this world the eyes with which to behold God Almighty and the senses with which to perceive Him. He who does not acquire these senses in this life will not enjoy them in the hereafter. This is a mystery which is not understood by the common people. If its meaning is not that which we have set forth, then it is entirely wrong that those who are blind in this world shall be blind in the hereafter. The truth is that to recognize God Almighty without any error and to acquire a true understanding of His attributes in this world is the key to all comforts and delights of the future. This verse clearly indicates that we carry a torment with us from this world and that the blind existence and foul actions of this world will appear in the form of the torment of hell in the other world and they will not be anything new. As by shutting the doors of a room a person deprives himself of light and of fresh life-giving air, or by swallowing a poison he puts an end to his life, in the same way, when he moves away from God and commits sin, he falls into a darkness and is involved in torment.
The meaning of the Arabic word for sin is to incline and to move away from the true centre. When a person moves away from God and withdraws from the light which descends upon the hearts from God, he is involved in a darkness which becomes a source of torment for him. Then he suffers the same type of torment of which type is his turning away. If he wishes to revert to the centre and transports himself to the spot where that light falls, he regains the light. As we observe in the world that we enjoy light in a room when we open its windows, in the same way, in the spiritual system to return to the true centre becomes the source of comfort and rescues from the suffering which had resulted from departing from the centre. This is called repentance. The darkness that is produced in this manner is called the misguidance of hell and to revert to the true centre which bestows comfort is called heaven. To move away from sin and to revert to virtue that would please God Almighty, becomes the atonement of the sin and wipes out its consequences. That is why God Almighty has said: Good does away with evil (11:115). As vice contains the poison of destruction and good contains the antidote of life, good alone is the means of overcoming the poison of vice. In other words, torment means the absence of comfort and salvation means the achievement of comfort and Joy.
Torment Is The Result Of Man's Actions
Illness means the condition when the body does not function normally
and health is the condition when all natural matters function in the proper
way. The moving away of a hand or foot or any other limb from its proper
position causes pain and if this condition persists for a time not only
the affected limb becomes useless, but it begins to affect other limbs
also. The same is the case with the soul. When a person moves away from
God, Who is the true source of his life, and departs from the religion
of nature, he is involved in suffering and if his heart is not dead and
retains its feeling, he feels the torment keenly. If this condition is
not reformed, there is an apprehension that all spiritual faculties might
gradually become useless and a severe torment might ensue. Thus no suffering
comes from outside; all suffering is generated within a person. We do not
deny that torment is God's action, but it is the consequence of man's actions
as when a person swallows poison, God kills him. This is indicated by God,
the Glorious, in the verses: It is Allah's kindled fire which rises over
the hearts (104:8). This means that the torment of God is the fire that
God kindles and its flame rises from the heart of man. It is thus clear
that the real seed of torment is the foulness of one's being which assumes
the form of torment.
In the same way, the source of the comfort of heaven are a person's
own actions. If he does not depart from the religion of nature and does
not move away from the centre and, as a servant, he lies at the threshold
of God and partakes of the lights of Godhead, then he is like the healthy
limb which has not moved from its position and is performing the function
for which God has created it and he suffers no pain and all is comfort.